“Hmmmm…”

Diana and I looked at each other as Doc examined me closely, rolling the end of his mustache in his hand.

“So…what do you think, Doc?” Diana asked trying to break the air of awkwardness.

“I think it was a good choice to get rid of the beard, Cass.”

“Doc, we’re talking about his you know,” she cupped her hand over her mouth, “vampire affliction.”

“Ah! Yes,” he turned grabbing a stethoscope, “there’s nothing that I can do about that.”

“So what’s the point of examining him?! I thought you were going to help!” She stomped her foot.

Ignoring Diana as he wrote notes on my condition. He pressed the stethoscope against my chest and I flinched from how cold it was. 

“Heartbeat? Interesting…” He mumbled under his breath before speaking clearly, “open your mouth.”

I cooperated, letting him shine a flashlight inside as he prodded with a tongue depressor. 

“Have you consumed any human blood within the past twenty-four hours?” 

“Uh-uh.” I shook my head keeping my mouth open.

He flopped down in his desk chair rolling back slightly as he did so.

“Well?” Diana snapped at him.

“Well, bad news is you’re a vampire…” He crossed his arms.

“There’s good news?” Confused I awaited his explanation.

“Yes, though I’d like to do more tests before I conclude anyth-”

“Doc!... Just tell us.” Diana was too impatient for the runaround.

“You’re not entirely a vampire, but I’m not exactly sure.”

“How do you know?”

“Your heart is beating and you haven’t drank any human blood. A normal vampire’s heart doesn’t beat, but strangely, yours does though very faintly.” He pointed his pencil at me. “You’ve fed that much I can be sure of, but you said it wasn’t human.”

“I’m not sure where you’re going with the blood thing?” 

“It means I can conclude you’re not a threat, which means there’s no reason to kill you. Otherwise, I would have injected you with the syringe of silver beside you.” 

“What if I tasted it?” Concerned as I remembered how it had been forced upon me earlier.

“Cass, you don’t have to admit everything.” Diana nudged me.

Doc took a deep breath rubbing his jaw, “Well…do you feel like you need to feed on humans to survive?”

“Not if I don’t have to.”

“Then you’re not a threat,” he slapped his hands on his knees as he stood back up, “I’ll write a note and call the director.”

Diana and I were shocked at the casual nature of his tone. I let out a sigh standing up to leave.

“Maybe you should lay low for a while…” Diana still concerned looked at me.

“Dee, I’ll be fine if anything now I’m at an advantage against the fuckers.” I shrugged my shoulders in confidence.

“A vampire hunter sold you out, you don’t know else was in on it,” She put a hand on my shoulder, “what if Jace was working with someone?”

I grabbed her hand and pulled her in for a hug, “I promise I’ll be alright.”

An empty promise, but how else could I have reassured her? This whole situation was unfathomable and now I might not be a real vampire, whatever that means. My mind raced through all the possibilities as I made my way to my room. I flopped onto my bed nuzzling my face into the softness of the sheets. Glad to be back in the comfort of my room, it didn’t take long before I fell asleep.