Tenth Grade Bleeds Read Online Free PDF

sausages from human blood.”
    Vlad shifted uncomfortably.
    Otis hurried to add, “And with the argument we had this morning in mind, I’m using blood from the freezer. And with as much as I’m using, Nelly will need to stock up again.”
    They exchanged smiles before Otis scooped up bits of diced onion and dropped them in the bowl. He rinsed his hands in the sink, and as he reached for the towel, he quipped, “Unless, of course, you’re interested in trying fresh blood.”
    Vlad knew his uncle was joking, but still he flinched. “Doesn’t it bother you that you’re hurting people when you feed from the source?”
    Otis smiled. “About as much as it bothers you that you’re hurting plastic bags, Vladimir,” he said, his tone teasing. “Don’t think of them as people. Think of them as sustenance.”
    â€œIs Nelly sustenance?” It was a low blow, but Vlad was still hurting from his uncle’s plans to leave him . . . again.
    Otis stiffened. He met Vlad’s gaze, his eyes haunted. Seeing them gave Vlad a grim surge of satisfaction. “ That’s not fair,” Otis said.
    Vlad set the spoon on the counter and folded his arms in front of him. “It’s perfectly fair. You’re so concerned about my appetite and the safety of the people I’m around. What about you? Do you ever think you might forget that Nelly is anything more than food?”
    Otis’s jaw hung open. His throat emitted several stunned sounds before he shook his head sharply and said, “Vladimir, I would never harm anyone I care about.”
    Vlad picked up the spoon again and stirred the onions into the herb-blood mixture, but he kept an eye on Otis. “I know. But it doesn’t feel good to be accused, does it?”
    The front door opened and Nelly called out, “Otis? Vlad? Are you home?”
    Vlad rolled his eyes a little. After all, all of the downstairs lights were on and Otis’s car was in the driveway. Unless they’d gone for a long walk and needed a beacon to find their way back, it was pretty obvious they were home. “We’re in the kitchen.”
    As Nelly stepped into the kitchen, the grocery sack she was holding slipped from her fingers. Otis caught it moments before it hit the floor. She stared wide-eyed at Vlad and then at Otis.
    Otis placed the bag on the plank table and returned his attention to her, his brow furrowed. “Is something wrong, Nelly?”
    Vlad’s brow furrowed too. Nelly’s face had gone completely white, and her eyes kept flitting from Vlad to Otis to the room around them.
    Vlad turned to survey their surroundings for the first time since Otis had started preparing the meal. His uncle, as it turned out, was not a tidy cook, to say the least. Strewn about the kitchen were large, sharp knives, bits of ground meat and chopped vegetables, skins that the sausage would eventually find its way into, and blood. Lots and lots of blood.
    Nelly’s eyes finally stopped to focus on the large bowl of blood on the counter in front of Otis, then on his blood-soaked apron, moving up to meet the bewildered expression on his face. “What happened in here?”
    Suddenly the realization fell on Otis that to a human, the scene around them made it look as though he and Vlad had been making a nice stew out of the neighborhood children. Laughter escaped his lips. “Nelly, this isn’t what it looks like, I swear. I’m sure it seems we were gorging ourselves on the Johnsons down the street, but we are innocent.”
    Nelly looked relieved. “I’m sorry. I just wasn’t expecting to come home to a scene straight out of Psycho Slasher Chainsaw Guy from Hell. ”
    Vlad coughed. He was almost certain Nelly had never seen that movie, though the previews had been enough to give her an idea of the plot. He wondered for a moment if she had any idea that he and Henry had seen it last year