Bailey Decides

  Darby sat next to Bailey on her couch as they both stared at each other in silence. It had been a full two minutes since either of them had said a word. Bailey kept opening her mouth as if to speak but then immediately closed it and continued staring.
 "So do you have any questions about what I told you?" Darby asked finally.
 "Questions?" Bailey repeated. "You come to my office and hypnotize my boss into being nicer to me and giving me an office plant, which is lovely by the way, and then show up at my house out of nowhere, demand to be invited in, tell me that you are in fact a vampire and then ask me if I have any questions?"
  Darby nodded and smiled. "Yes."
 "Do you think I'm crazy?" Bailey asked. "Do you think I'm stupid?"
 "If I thought those things I wouldn't be here," Darby said, her face turning serious.
 "I am offering you a real opportunity to have a better life. You can be something more than a lowly office worker. You could be a-"
 "A demon that goes out at night and hunts people down to suck their blood?"
 Darby flinched slightly.
"You make it sound so terrible."
"It is terrible," Bailey insisted. "I have no problems being a lowly office worker and keeping my head down."
"Well you should have a problem with that," Darby snapped, balling her hand into a fist and slamming it into the pillow on her lap.
"I am offering you something far beyond that. I'm offering you power and confidence and the ability to bend people to your will. What could possibly be unappealing about that?"
 Bailey opened her mouth to reply but at that moment the doorbell rang.
"That'll be the pizza delivery guy," she said, grabbing a five dollar bill off the coffee table and walking to the door. She opened it and there stood a young man dressed in khakis and a dark green polo shirt with a pizza stitched on the breast pocket.
"I have a large pepperoni pizza here for Haley," he said, reading the side of the cardboard pizza box he balanced on one hand.
"It's Bailey," Bailey corrected, extending her hand with the five dollars.
"A beautiful name for a beautiful lady," the delivery guy said with a smile that showed his dazzling white teeth and lit up his baby blue eyes. Bailey smiled politely back as he took her money and handed her the pizza box.
"Thank you, I appreciate that."
"And I appreciate you," the delivery guy said, looking Bailey up and down. "I'd love to appreciate you this Friday after dinner and some drinks. What do you say?"
 Darby overheard from the couch and rolled her eyes.
"Oh that's very flattering," Bailey said, her pale skin blushing beneath her blonde hair. "But I don't think I am interested."
"Of course you are," the delivery guy countered. "Look at me. You think a guy like me comes around every day."
"I doubt one does and we are all a little better off for that," Darby said, walking up to the door and standing next to Bailey.
"My friend said she was not interested in your proposition so you should take your money and move along."
"Who is she? Your girlfriend or something?" he asked Bailey, frowning at the vampire.
"It's none of your business who I am," Darby cut in. "You've done your job and you need to move along."
 Bailey shifted her weight uncomfortably.
"I don't have to do anything you say," the young man insisted. "I can-"
 He stopped midsentence as Darby took a step closer and looked intensely into his eyes.
"You will do as I say," she commanded. "Now apologize to this lovely lady, turn around and go back to your car."
  The delivery guy looked up at Bailey his eyes wide as if he were in a trance.
"I'm sorry, miss. I'll be going now."
 With that he turned and walked briskly down the hall disappearing into the stairwell. Darby shut the door behind him and turned back to Bailey.
"That's what I'm offering you. The ability to do what I just did. To have power over your own life and the people in it. If that's not something you want well, I can't say I understand but that is your choice. And also your loss."
 Bailey stood in her doorway and stared up at Darby. After a few moments of this the vampire shrugged and opened the door.
"Ok I guess I was wrong. I thought there was more to you than a simple office drone but apparently that's all you hope for. I could have given you more."
 With that Darby left Bailey's apartment and walked down the hall toward the stairs. She dreaded returning to Steven and telling him he had been right all along and Bailey was a lost cause and a waste of time.
 "I will never hear the end of it," she muttered to herself.
  Bailey looked out in the hall and watched Darby walk away. She had to admit she admired the way Darby had stood up for her here and at her office. In fact it would have been helpful to have someone like Darby all through her life since so many people had no issue taking advantage of Bailey's shy and intimidated nature. Maybe things really would get better if she let the vampire help her.

  Darby trudged down the final flight of stairs, a hunger beginning to burn inside of her. Thomas had likely not recovered from the morning's feeding session so she would have to go hunting. The sun was setting and the parks would be closed. Perhaps she could pick off someone at a local club. Or maybe a pizza delivery guy.
  Opening the door at the bottom of the stairs, she stepped out into the lobby and then stopped in her tracks. Her eyes widened with surprise and a slow smile formed on her lips.
  "You changed your mind then," she said calmly. "I hoped you would."
  Bailey looked up at her and nodded.
  "I've decided. I want to be like you. I want to be a vampire."