04

—You...— The man opened his mouth, unable to answer her.

Rebekah backed away further. She had started imitating his accent, thinking she must have it too, but he looked at her funny every time she did it, as if she were a child.

—I understand that you are angry with me, Rebekah. You know it was for your own good. He...— 

The man's words trailed off as a groan of pain emanated from the corpse—now not dead, at least not completely—which twitched. What had he called the man on the floor? Toy Boy, that's it. Fascinated, she listened as the bones clicked, realigning themselves into their correct places.

They both watched the 'toy boy' slowly recovering before standing up, only to glare at the two of them. The psychopath smiled, pulling the man to stand directly in front of him. —you remember?— They looked at each other, exchanging a peculiar glance that Rebekah scrutinized closely. Until she realized that Toy Boy was looking at her.

—Rebekah,— Stefan said, as if only then remembering who she was.

—Stefan,— the psychopath called, causing Stefan—his name, she couldn't forget—to look at him.

—I remember you. We were friends...—

—We're friends. Now let's go back to glory. Apparently, my sweet sister lost the necklace that contacts the original witch,— he said, looking in Rebekah's direction again. —First, you need some clothes.—

…

If someone had told Talita that she would be dragged shopping against her will, she would have called them crazy. She loved shopping. However, being tense and forced to shop next to two men who only heightened her unease with every action and word didn't help at all.

The white and red store he took her to made her grimace; everything screamed 2011, from the decor to the fashion. It was unpleasant; she hated the fashion of that time.

Rebekah ignored them both and ran to find something that would fit, mainly to get away from them. From what little she had understood, the psychopath who was her brother apparently really liked her. Who could have imagined? He had anger issues, was rude, and scary, but it only took those words about hurting her and he stopped. No pulling her or yelling at her, which was all he'd done since she met him. As for the toy boy she discovered was called Stefan, they— he and the girl who owned the body— were former lovers.

Now they were hunting for such an original witch to turn the puppies into hybrids? It was confusing, and that was all she understood from the few words the two men exchanged on the trip. And there was also a witch called Gloria. Many things, all very complicated, so she clung to the clothes in front of her. Her brother seemed to think she wouldn't go anywhere without going shopping - and he was right, but Talita was too afraid to say it out loud.

Talita liked several things; her taste in clothing styles was broad, as long as it made her feel pretty. Well, Rebekah was undeniably pretty, which made Talita feel akin to when she spent hours changing her Barbie's clothes. But of all the options, she decided to choose another white dress to wear. With fluffy sleeves, cinched in at the waist, and boasting a lovely round neckline that matched perfectly with the flowy skirt, it exudes pure cottagecore style. As she admired herself in the mirror, she wondered if she should try something more dominatrix next time. That body really looked beautiful with a more edgy style.

Coming out of the dressing room, she glanced at the two men sitting and drinking champagne, both of whom immediately turned their attention towards her. The strange expression on her brother's face made the girl rethink her choice of clothing. Clearly, this was not what he had expected.

As she pondered her brother's reaction, a thought crossed her mind: maybe she should try acting more like her psycho brother?

—So, let's go?— Stefan suggested, breaking the silence.

Rebekah simply walked between them and exited the store. It seemed like something he would do. The psychopath had done something very interesting with his eyes that she really wanted to try. Stefan and the store saleswoman—apparently he could control others? She needed to put this on her list of things to try; it would be so helpful.

… 

They went to the Glory Bar afterwards, and for Rebekah, it was a break from expectations to discover that the witch had a bar and didn't live in the middle of nowhere with her cat and growing her own herbs. Maybe it was offensive to witches, but she was a vampire and had woken up in a coffin, so she expected something at least as unique as that.

Resigned to not drawing attention from either of them, she sat at the bar and remained quiet, trying to understand something in the conversation. They watched the woman try to find the necklace through a spell for hours - long enough for her to discover that yes, vampires need to go to the bathroom - until somehow the psychopath with anger issues thought it was a good idea for the woman to do this to Rebekah since apparently her body had been wearing the necklace for centuries.

—I thought. A girl with her friends,— Gloria said after letting go of Rebekah's hand, who quickly pulled her hand away from the woman.

—So...— There was that cute accent again as he approached the Witch, leaning over her chair.

—I need time and space,— she said, looking at him, his face next to hers. —You are disturbing my juju.—

—Wants to know? Why don't we go eat? I'm sure that when we get back she'll have everything ready, right Gloria?— Rebekah looked at Stefan, the innocent speech seemed so threatening and unpleasant that it made her build walls between herself and him just as she had done with the other.

… 

They went out to eat, and Rebekah actually thought it would be something like a burger. Oh, how she wanted a burger. Until each one had a girl for a meal. Stefan and the psychopath with a nice accent sucking on their necks as if it were the best drink in the world - which it was.

Her throat burned; it was unpleasant how she wanted to jump on the other girl and just drink from her, just like she wanted the blood of that witch and every person they had passed. Taking a deep breath, she sat up, trying to ignore the sound of both of them sucking their respective girls and gently bit her girl's wrist.

Or was it her drink? It was something she would have to do if she wanted to be a vampire and stay alive. She understood well about that type of addiction, something so good and so delicious that you just want to have all of it. But the main thing was that she knew how to control herself in the face of these vices and knew that she should never indulge in them. It was always a path of no return. The wet sound of her own teeth digging into someone else's skin was unpleasant and wonderful at the same time. Taking small sips, she stopped every time she felt like she was going to lose control. The difference between the way the three drank blood made her close down, focusing on the world itself.

Stefan por outro lado ergueu o olhar e a encarou enquanto bebia, tão contida e com todo o cuidado para não machucar a mulher de quem sugava o sangue, não era nada como ele lembrava. 

Rebekah stopped when she felt the girl start to faint. Looking at her brother, who immediately met her gaze and smiled with a mouth full of blood, she decided to leave. Smiling at the man, she walked away into another room.

She ducked into any room while thinking furiously. Abandoning the psychopath always crossed her mind, but it didn't seem right; he was a brother, even if not hers. And she should at least try to stay by his side for the owner of that body. At least try. If he was a threat, she could always run away... maybe?

Rebekah lay down on the bed, pulling out the cell phone her brother had gotten for her. Being almost twenty years in the past was something, but there was something about that situation that continued to itch in her memories. Just something she knew she didn't remember.

A knock on the door took her out of her thoughts. She didn't even need to tell the person to come in before her brother opened the door. There he was again, not leaving her alone for even a second.

—I know you. You can't go without doing something, so tell me what you're thinking about doing?— Stefan's voice broke the silence, his gaze fixed on her.

Rebekah smiled, propping herself up on her elbows to get a better look at him. She thought furiously about how to respond in the vaguest way possible, already having a good idea of ​​how the true owner of the body acted or rather what the brothers' relationship was like.

—Can't I be tired? You know, after all these years, things are starting to look the same all the time,— she replied casually, hoping she had hit the mark. 

Bingo.

He seemed to really think about what she said. —If it's about Stefan, he already has a sister. A duplicate that died,— he explained, furrowing his eyebrows. —And he's only here because I saved his brother, you know what I mean?—

Rebekah nodded in understanding. —I understand. He is not trustworthy,— she affirmed, watching the sharp smile form on the man's face.

—When I manage to transform my hybrids, I'm sure we'll find something for you to play with, — he remarked with a tone that carried both promise and threat.