Ultimatum

The world suddenly falls silent around me.

~Did I just hear that correctly? Did he say he wants to drink from me?~

"What?" the word falls out of my mouth, because I have no idea what else to say.

Luca tilts his head, he's most definitely pleased with my reaction. "Do you want me to repeat myself?" He asks, " I said I want to drin-"

"I HEARD YOU!" I put up my hands, as if stopping him from saying it again will make it seem less crazy. "I heard you the first time."

Luca taps his fingers on his desk, "So, what do you think?"

I blink, "I-"

~I was not expecting this.... No, this is the LAST thing I expected. Luca wants to drink my blood? and he's going to pay me for it?! like I'm some kind of fancy dinner?~

I swallow at my own thoughts. "Why?" I finally ask.

Luca taps his fingers on the desk again as if he's impatient, "Do I really need to answer that?" he asks.

~Yes. You really do.~

Luca sighs and stands to his feet.

I immediately start backing up without thinking. Every bone in my body telling me to stay away from this vampire who wants to drink my blood. This is exactly what my dad always warned me about...

"Look." Luca stands in front of me and pockets his hands, "I can tell you'll need a little time to think about this."

My back suddenly hits a wall, and I realize I've been backing up since the moment Luca stood.

"So I'll give you some time to make up your mind." he finishes.

Finally I find courage to speak, "Charlie said she was going to talk to Hezikiah about loopholes in the contract." I say, "I don't need your help or your money."

Luca smirks, "The chances of there being any loopholes in the contract are very low."

"You don't know that." I argue.

"Yes I do." He says, but he looks bored already with our conversation. He pulls his phone from his pocket and begins tapping on it. shortly after, a vibrating in my back pocket makes me startle. I pull out my phone and see an unknown number is calling me.

"That's my number." Luca says, and my eyes widen.

~I have Luca Zhang's phone number... there are so many girls who would kill for this.... Maybe I could sell this for $10,000...~

"text me when you've made your decision." he slides his phone back into his pocket. "I'd say you have about two days more of missing the ping pong club before Hezi starts a lawsuit."

"What? a lawsuit? Why?"

Luca swings his backpack onto his shoulder. "Because you're not fulfilling the contract, you either need to be a part of the club or pay the money."

"But that's not fair! I don't have the money."

Luca shrugs, "Hezi comes from a family of lawyers. He takes this stuff very seriously."

I feel my knees buckle and unbuckle beneath me. "What have I got myself into?" I intend to think those words to myself, but instead they fall out of my mouth without control.

Luca pats my shoulder, and I jump because I didn't realize he was so close to me. "Two days." He reminds me, and there is a stupid grin on his face that I wish more than anything to smack off. "And don't worry if you choose the $5,000 option." he says, "If you do, I'm sure you'll enjoy it as much as I will." With that, he turns and leaves the room, and I melt into a puddle on the floor.

I don't know how long it takes me to leave the classroom. And I'm not even sure how I made it to my next class, or how I eventually made it back to my dorm room. Luca's words sent my mind and heart into a dizzy whirlwind.

~He wants to drink my blood... he wants to.... Well, I'm not entirely sure... But I don't think it's good.~

"Tia?" Anna enters our room and notices me staring into the distance. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah." I nod, but that's a total lie.

I'm stuck... I'm so stuck... I either have to stay on the ping pong team, or I can quit.... but to do that I first have to hand my body over to Luca.....

~WHAT?! does he think I'm a prostitute, or something?!~

"Welllllllll," Anna sits on my bed and I already know what she's going to ask before she starts, "How did it go with Luca?"

I shake my head, "Nothing happened. he just shared some notes with me, and I left."

Anna frowns, "that's it? You didn't try to flirt or anything? Tia, you know most girls would KILL for an opportunity like you had! no one gets to spend time alone with him!"

I almost want to laugh at her words.

~I've spent more than enough time alone with Luca.~

"Are you guys going to study together more?" She asks.

"I don't know." I'm only paying half attention to our conversation. Most of my mind is still thinking about him, still thinking about his offer, still thinking about his promise... : 'I'm sure you'll enjoy it as much as I will.'

I gulp. Although I hate to admit it, his words make me feel some weird kind of way. There is a strange kind of feeling deep in my stomach, and that feeling wants to know what he meant when he said I would enjoy it...

"Tia, are you listening?" Anna breaks me from my thoughts.

"Yeah." I lie again, and she continues talking about how if I'm dating Luca and she's dating Victor we will be dating the two hottest guys in the school. I try to pretend like I'm listening, but finally I have a reason to look away when my phone buzzes.

It's a message from Charlie.

"I talked to Hezi... He said there is no way around the payment... I'm sorry Tia."

A weight falls on my chest.

2 days.... I have 2 days to make my decision.