-Dealer-

I stood silently on the corner, a black duffel bag at my feet. Every couple of seconds I’d stick my head out of my hoodie, looking for platinum Mercedes Benz. I must be really desperate for money, standing on a street corner in The Bronx at 1:00 am. But whatever, money is money, no matter which way you get it.

I sighed and started walking away. “If he wants it that badly, he might as well have come to my house.” I thought as I waited for the light to turn red.  I was crossing the street when all of the sudden a speeding car stopped in front of me. “SCREEEECH!!” The platinum Mercedes Benz had arrived. I opened the door and got in. It had black tinted windows, which suited him perfectly.

Once in the car, I moved around, trying to make myself comfortable on the leather seats. It was quiet for awhile, and then we got on to the local road.

“Why weren’t you on the corner like you said you’d be?” he asked sounding jumpy.

“Why did you call me on a Wednesday?” I said lazily. “You know Lost is on.”

He turned around and rolled his eyes.

“Well, to be honest, I ran out too early and I was going crazy trying to find some more.”

“So?” I sucked my teeth and glared at him, making sure I did it in the mirror so he could see me. “Do I look like a Seven Eleven?” I paused for effect. “No, so you better tell me the best excuse to ever cross your mind.”

He didn‘t say anything.

“Thought so,” I said smirking. The conversation was over now.

Ten minutes later we pulled up in front of an apartment building. It was pretty average, yellow brick building with concrete steps, nothing to make a fuss about. But his apartment on its own was quite a sight to behold.

He pulled out his keys and slowly opened the door. And I must say, even though I’ve been here before, I’m always surprised. His living room is so….modern. That’s the only word I think to call it. The whole room was adorned in solid colors. A black marble coffee table was in the center of a series of black leather sofas and loveseats. In the corner was a black La-Z Boy recliner. But the eye-catcher of the room was the 36 inch flat screen television. All this furniture rested on an off-white carpet. Yep, this room has never ceased to amaze me.

I jumped into the La-Z Boy and spun around.

“I thought you went crazy looking,” I said noticing that the ‘modern’ room was suspiciously spotless.
  
“I did.” he said with a smirk. “I’m just that good.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Let’s just get this over with Diego,” I said letting out a yawn. “I’m not nocturnal like you.”

Diego yawned also, giving me that sleepy smile that made his fangs look larger than usual.

I opened the duffel bag. A familiar aroma filled the air.

“How much you want?” I asked.

Diego closed his eyes and thought for a minute.

“Six pints.”

I dug around inside the bag, it was cold. Blood has to be kept at certain temperature or it doesn’t taste as good.

“Here.” I laid the bags of blood out on the table.

He dug into his pocket, searching for his wallet.

“How much is it again?” He now had his wallet out and was going through many fifty dollar bills.

“Fifty bucks for one pint, so its 300 dollars,” I said as a smug smile spread across my face.

Diego cringed.

“I don’t have that kind of cash on me right now. You take checks?”

I shook my head slowly. “Cash only, can’t leave a paper trail.”

“Well can’t I give you an I.O.U, Rose?” he pleaded, now sounding desperate.

I shook my head again. “I.O.U means I’m never going to get my money. Why don’t you just buy four pints instead?”

Diego’s eyes widened, giving me that you-must-be-crazy look.

“I need six pints NOW!” he whined, getting more desperate looking by the second.

“Too bad,” I said sliding the pints of blood back into my bag.

“C’mon?” Diego said grabbing hold of my arm. “I’m your best customer!”

“Not when you don’t have money.” I snickered at my little comment and made my way towards the door.

“That’s it.” he spoke in a sinister tone. I know what’s going to happen, so it’s best I don’t make it difficult.

“I’m tired of being polite. Now I’m taking what’s rightfully mine!” He grabbed my arms and drew me in, placing his head on my neck.

I felt a pinch and warm liquid running down my collar bone.

I looked at Diego. He seemed satisfied.

“Do you know how stupid you are?” I said glaring at him.

“What do you mean? I bit you, you’re a vampire now. You’ll have to deal with the same crap I do from this moment on.”

“Not really.” I said trying to smother my giggles.

“Why?” he said curiously.

“I’m half-human.”  When humans and vampires have children, the children's blood becomes tasteless to pure vampires. Kind of like what happens to soda when it goes stale.

“So what!” he said scoffing.

“What it means is that my blood is as good to you as cherry kool-aid.”

His jaw dropped.

“You’re lying.”

I shook my head making sure my hair went on my face.

“What kind of vampire are you that you don’t know that?” I asked happily.

“It’s not that I didn’t know,” he said flabbergasted. “I just thought it was a rumor.”

“Well, it’s not. And I’ve spent too much time here so I’m gonna leave you with a piece of advice.”

“What?” Diego said as he opened the door for me.

“Don’t call me unless you have money, and until you get money, stick to catching squirrels and pigeons. ‘Kay?”

“Whatever.” he said waving bye to me as I strolled down the stairs.

I stood silently on the corner, a black duffel bag at my feet. Every couple of seconds I’d stick my head out of my hoodie, looking for a Black Rolls Royce. I must be really desperate for money, standing on a street corner in The Bronx at 2:00 am, but whatever.

Money is money, no matter which way you get it