THREE

Turning around on the couch, I watched Aren's sisters while they walked in the living room. The one who spoke was the girl with the greenish eyes who was wearing biker boots, skinny jeans and a plain black T-shirt that day but looked like she was just coming from a fashion show. She moved closer and sat down on the other side of the couch, to my left, smiling while fixing her eyes on my face and my breathing quickened. Shit! What's with this woman that has such a strong effect in me? The other sister remained close to the door, leaned on the doorframe, I had to turn my head to my left slightly in order to see her. She was wearing black jeans, plaid shirt, black sneakers and sunglasses even if we were inside the house... She lighted a cigarette and played with the lighter in her hand not paying attention to me.

"I told her about the job and she thinks it's an interesting proposition," Aren answered to her sister before turning to look at me. "Well, Iselen, what do you think? Do you accept?" I forced myself to avert my eyes from the two seductive women to fix them on their brother's face, biting my lower lip while thinking... It seemed too much money to me and I felt that there was something fishy going on in the situation.

"What's the trick?" I mumbled to myself but apparently it was loud enough for them to hear me, even the sister who was still near the door burst into laughing.

"She's smart, I don't like her but she's smart." She winked at me brazenly and I couldn't help blinking dazzled.

"You don't like anyone," The beautiful woman who was sat next to me let out acidly. "Come on, Aren, tell her..."

"All right. Listen, Iselen, we're... vampires." He said it like it was nothing. Vampires... that was the problem: that people was raving mad. I stared at the guy calmly raising an eyebrow not knowing what to answer to his great revelation. I didn't feel like being the housekeeper of a mental hospital, honestly. "We aren't crazy. I don't need to read your mind to know what you're thinking, your face shows it perfectly."

Reading my mind? He was looking at me with such a certainty that it was pretty obvious he believed what he was saying. Oh my God, what if I'd landed in a house full of crazy psychos? I scratched my nape biting my lip, searching in my mind the right words to tell him I wasn't accepting their proposition before running out of that manor and telling my boss that he mustn't let our best customer to step on the shop again.

"Aren ehmmm..." I hesitated, grimacing awkwardly.

"You want proofs? I can give them to you. Look..." Two sharp canines appeared out of the blue in his mouth and his eyes turned to a reddish shade that merged with the blue on the edge of the iris creating a bright violet ring. The final effect was gorgeous, no doubt...

"That's a nice trick but..." The girl burst into laughing by the door and extinguished the cigarette on the ashtray that was on a side table near her while gasping for air before laughing again.

"She doesn't believe a word and thinks your fangs are fake, Aren."

"Is that what you think?" The guy stared at me so outraged that it was almost hilarious but before I could apologize kindly someone talked to my right.

"Of course she thinks that." I stared at the beautiful blue-eyed girl in shock because she was near the door less than 5 seconds before. How did she manage to walk across the living room so fast and flop down on the armchair that was on the other side of the couch? They weren't telling the truth, it was impossible... No...

"It's my turn then, look Iselen..." The girl with greenish eyes got up from the couch and remained still near me, smiling while my heart skipped a beat... Suddenly, she was nowhere to be seen. I blinked shocked, looking around not knowing where she could be hidden till I heard her laughing above my head: she was sitting on the crystal lamp moving back and forth casually like it was a swing. She jumped with the graceful movements of a cat and landed impeccably next to me again, she didn't even need to bend her knees due to the impact, and then she flopped down on the couch. All her movements were elegant and nimble like they didn't take any effort.

"Be careful," the other girl warned her acidly. "I like that lamp."

Vampires... they really are vampires. I remained sat on that couch while my head was spinning nonstop but I felt calmed at the same time like I was having a funny conversation with my friends... like I wasn't in a living room surrounded by predators that could drain my blood in a minute. So vampires are real... fine. I assumed I was in shock and that's I felt very relaxed while talking about that subject and my eyes jumped from one of my hosts to the other. Well, that explained why they were so attractive and seductive and why my body and mind reacted in such a weird way when they were around. Everything made sense suddenly despite it was the most bizarre situation I'd ever lived.

"Well, what do you say? Do you accept the job?" I stared at Aren frowning, the guy was obsessed with the job and it was pretty obvious he didn't want to go grocery shopping anymore. I felt like laughing my ass off thinking about it. What the hell was wrong with me? I looked at the glass of juice on the table with squinty eyes and then at Aren with suspicion showing clearly on my face.

"Have you drugged me?"

"No, why are you asking me that?" His bewildered face convinced me that he was telling the truth.

"Why didn't I faint, then?" I didn't understood, I was supposed to be having a nervous breakdown but nothing odd was happening inside my head and, despite I was feeling okay, I knew that wasn't normal.

"Would you like to be unconscious in a room full of vampires?" They all looked at me like I was the crazy one and I felt like rolling my eyes hard but I restrained myself trying to be cautious, I didn't want them to get mad at me.

"Okay, let me rephrase that: why am I not having a panic attack?"

"Oh, you mean that," the blond guy smiled at me proudly. "That's because I'm holding your mind."

"Are you manipulating my mind?" I asked horrified. "That's... I think... rude?"

"No, no. If I were manipulating your mind I could give you orders and you'd be doing things against your will like in a trance. I'm just holding your mind... calming you down."

"Will you please stop doing that? Messing with my mind feels like an unacceptable invasion of privacy," I explained with the firmest tone of voice I could use. Aren sighed in resignation and then shrugged. I could feel it, like a veil being lifted little by little inside my head and, at the same time, my heart started racing threatening with jumping out of my chest, I breathed heavily due to the panic that was starting to run wild through my veins, I couldn't feel the air coming to my lungs and cold sweat coated my skin. My head was spinning and I felt dizzy. "Oh no, okay, sorry. Please, hold my mind again. This was a very bad idea." My breathing got steady at the same pace the veil was falling on my brain again and I wasn't at risk of suffocating anymore.

"Don't' worry, it's not a forever thing... Just till you're used to be around us and convince yourself that we aren't going to hurt you. I understand how you feel, honestly, these news would be a sock for anyone but you won't need me to hold your mind all the time. I promise."

"This is crazy..." I wanted to cry, I really wanted, but my mind refused to collaborate with me. "You shouldn't be awake, the sun is shining outside."

"You shouldn't believe all that's been written about us," the girl sat next to me said laughing, leaning her elbow on the back of the couch and her head on her hand... so charming... "Well, what do you think? Do you accept the job?"

"If I say no, are you going to kill me?" I whispered scared despite all their mental control.

"No but we'll erase our memory from your brain and you'll be back to that boring supermarket and shared apartment." Okay... my friend Mia was great and I loved her, honestly, but we hardly saw each other and my workmates were fine but I spent so many hours there that I didn't have time to look for a better job. These... vampires... were offering me a lot of money and a lot of freedom of action in exchange of making their lives comfortable. I could do that, I'm a very organized person despite I could imagine that the house was massive, but I was sure I could maintain it in good condition with a bit of help. And I liked cooking, I always complained about how difficult it was to cook small portions for one person. "But why me among all the people you know?"

"The truth is that we don't know a lot of people, we hardly talk to humans, that's why we need you," the sister with blue eyes answered with a harsh tone of voice to my right. The word "humans" sounded scornful on her lips and I couldn't help feeling a bit outraged.

"It's true," the other one confirmed interrupting my train of thought. "Besides, I think we can trust you. I guess I don't need to explain you why it'd be a bad idea if you tell someone about our real nature."

"Yes, as if someone was going to believe me: I don't feel like being locked in a mental hospital, thank you. Okay, I guess we could try for a few weeks..." I accepted hesitating looking at the woman who was staring at me coldly, she was the less friendly and the one that I feared the most. "Let's see how we can work together on a daily basis."

"Great!" The other one answered euphoric. "My name is Ruby, by the way, and she is Terra. Welcome to the family."

Ruby offered me her hand kindly and I didn't see any harm in shaking it because Aren was messing with my mind, most likely. However, the moment my fingers grazed hers something weird happened... like I'd touched a wire, we struck some kind of spark and I felt a warm energy pulsing between our bodies. Ruby opened her eyes wide in shock looking at me and I could hear Terra gasping surprised behind me. What the hell happened? Aren cleared his throat to catch my attention and it felt like Ruby and I were kicked out of a trance, I don't know for how long we were holding hands but when I noticed the surprised eyes of her brother fixed on me, I let her go like she was burning me.

"We need you to start as soon as possible, I mean, now. I'll help you to move, do you want to see the kitchen and your apartment? I can show you the rest of the house later."

I nodded unable to say a word and got up in order to follow Aren out of the room. I could feel Terra's stern gaze fixed on my back and, before I walked through the door, I saw her reflection in a mirror: she was sitting next to Ruby, holding the same hand I'd just dropped, but keeping her eyes fixed on me... she looked half surprised, half furious, and I couldn't help swallowing hard, scared, while listening her brother talking. The kitchen was on the other side of the entrance hall: big and luminous, with lots of cabinets, a huge fridge and an island with marble counter, fully equipped like a professional one, along with a table and some chairs near the bay window overlooking the garden. In addition to that, a door led to a pantry with shelves full of... the goodies I sold them. I looked at Aren demanding an explanation.

"Well, listen... we have no idea of how to cook these things so we eat fruit and treats and the rest is accumulating here. I bet you can do something with them..." I shook my head in disbelief while following him through another door that led to a short corridor, asking myself what kind of mess I'd got myself into. Suddenly, we found the staircase to the basement. "There's the cellar and our personal fridge," he realized I was frowning and decided to elaborate. "There's where we keep out stock, you know, the one we buy to the blood bank."

All his vampire control couldn't stop my heart from skipping a beat when I heard him and the nausea made my stomach turn and move up to my throat. Aren took me by my arm and dragged me towards the end of the corridor, where there was a door that led us to a small living room simply decorated with functional but gorgeous furniture: a couch and an armchair, a TV, shelves, a small table with chairs and some framed watercolours of flowers, like the ones an amateur botanist would paint. I let my body drop on the couch because my legs felt weak and I didn't even realize that my new boss was sitting next to me till he spoke.

"Listen carefully, Iselen. No one is going to hurt you, okay? Let's get a few things clear: none of us is going to touch you without your permission and you're part of this family now, it means no vampire in this world has the right to feed on you since you're under our protection. Basically, you're untouchable since you're living under our roof right now. You're safe here, okay?" I nodded relieved; actually, I had no reason to believe him but what Aren was telling me made sense, or at least it looked like it. It was pretty obvious that vampires didn't want to draw unwanted attention and there was no news about them leaving bloodless corpses around, at least not in newspapers I usually read, and in a modern world with social media something that big would be known immediately.

"I'm sorry, the blood matter makes me a bit... nervous," I frowned confused when I felt his hand on my arm. "Why aren't you cold? Your skin, I mean."

"You shouldn't believe everything that's been written about us. About the blood thing... it's normal but you'll get used to it eventually, I promise. We're in charge of that fridge down there, you don't even have to clean it. Just pretend that's not there. Although if you feel aversion to blood you'd better get over it soon because this employment contract includes a very special and unique medical insurance."

"What are you talking about?"

"Vampire blood is a healing agent so, twice a month, you'll only need to take some drops of our blood to keep fit, you'll never get sick and your skin will glow. Actually, human aging process slows down sand it means you'll live a very long life with excellent health and you'll look like a mature Hollywood star in the end. This is your decision, of course, no one is going to force you to drink it but I guess you understand the advantages, for you and for us. Our former housekeeper has retired at the age of 82, but she looks like she's 65, to a house near the beach with a good pension and she doesn't remember vampires exist. She'll get old in a natural way from now on, obviously, but she'll live long years with wonderful quality of life. I'd hate to change our housekeeper every few years..."

"Hey! I'm barely 30, I still have a long working life ahead."

"I know but you'll be able to live longer and better thanks to us. Think about it... This is your private living room, by the way and through that door there's a bedroom and a bathroom. There's plenty of room, a king size bed, a big wardrobe, bathtub and shower. Everything new for you! I'm sure things will work perfectly and you'll be happy here, seriously. I can't wait to work with you."

"Do you think?" The truth is that my new apartment wasn't that bad, the bedroom was bigger than the one I had in my former home and it'd be a pleasure to cook in that professional kitchen. I could picture how many cakes I'd bake in the oven. "I get the impression that Terra doesn't like me."

"Terra is naturally suspicious," Aren answered laughing, "but she won't hurt you. You're part of the family now, as I've said. It's just that she isn't social except with Ruby and they even argue very often when they're together. I haven't seen such a dysfunctional couple in my entire life and it's been a long one, believe me."

"They're a couple? I thought they were sisters" I was shocked, did vampires like incestuous relationships?

"We're siblings because the same vampire turned us, he's travelling through Europe right now so don't worry about him, by the way, but we don't have a biological relationship if that's what you mean. Ruby and Terra have been a thing for centuries. Also, bear in mind that, despite Ruby can look more friendly in general terms you must know that she's as powerful as Terra even if she's a bit younger and a cruel bitch if she gets mad at you. This is your first lesson about the vampire world: nothing is what it seems to be." Oh wow, I'd never have guessed... It's true that I noticed some degree of mutual understanding between them but also some harshness, like they were reproaching things constantly. I didn't understand how someone could live in a relationship based on centuries filled with arguments. And come to think of it...

"Aren, is it rude to ask vampires how old are they?" My boss burst into laughing and he kept laughing for long minutes. I failed to see the humour in my question, honestly.