In Tiffany's bedroom, a soft music with pop accents rose in the air. Tiffany opened her eyes. It was six o'clock, the first rays of sunlight had already appeared on the horizon, illuminating the dust dancing above the bed. She languidly reached out for her phone, and turned off the alarm.
Holding back a yawn, she pushed back her covers, dropped her lilac pink nightie on the floor, then headed for the closet. Her first instinct was to grab a flowery dress, it was summer, she wanted to feel free to move, but she stopped, wrinkling her nose. At the blood donation center where she was interning, all her colleagues wore jeans. They thought they were more hygienic, and looked more professional.
Tiffany disagreed, but she hated being noticed, so she grabbed a pair of classic jeans and a white shirt before heading to the bathroom. If she had known she wouldn't be able to wear her dresses and skirts during the summer, she would have embroidered some colorful patterns on her jeans. It would have been less depressing.
She took a quick shower without getting her hair wet, and, for makeup, settled for a slightly pink lip balm. She didn't have as much equipment as Ilona, nor the same know-how, but that didn't seem to bother Jay. He always said she was as beautiful as an angel. Her boyfriend was such a smooth talker!
Thinking of him made her chest warm, and the memory of their last date came flooding back. He had reserved a table in a restaurant where they ate by candlelight. The atmosphere was magical, and he had not taken his eyes off her during the whole meal. It was so romantic. She hoped that he would not be too busy at the Association this weekend, so that they could spend the maximum amount of time together.
Once dressed, she went downstairs to have breakfast, but she stopped before reaching the kitchen. The smell of cold tobacco wafted through the living room. Her mother Kristen, and her boyfriend Hank, had been partying without bothering to clean up after themselves. There were dirty plates on the couch, empty bottles on the floor, and a glass half-filled with cigarette butts on the dresser. Tiffany let out a long sigh, then set about cleaning the room.
After finishing the chore, she discovered that the fridge and kitchen cupboards were empty. No breakfast for her this morning. With her internship, she didn't have time to shop lately. Her mother had promised to do them the day before, but she must have forgotten again... that meant she would have to take care of it after work, and she wouldn't have time to help at the shelter.
Tiffany's phone vibrated in her pocket. It was a message from Jay, he sent her one every morning.
Jay: "Have a good day, my angel. I think of you."
A big smile appeared on her lips. He still loved her. She hoped it would last as long as possible. In any case, today was another good day. She hastened to answer him.
Tiffany: "<3"
Then she set off for the blood donation center
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Tiffany had started this new internship at the beginning of July, it had been two weeks now. It was much more interesting than the ones she had done at the hospital, because her nurse supervisor let her manage donors almost independently. Tiffany was the one who welcomed them, who helped them fill out the health questionnaire, who drew the blood, and she was even authorized to help technicians to separate the different components of the blood: red cells, platelets, and plasma. It was exciting.
And the nurse had said she was good at it!
Tiffany had just set up the blood collection room, and prepared snacks for the donors in the break room, when a lab technician called out to her:
"Hi Tiffany, can you give me a hand?"
"Hi Marcus," she replied as she walked toward him. "What do you need?"
"We have a big distribution to do today, I could use your help to gather all the blood bags that have to be sent."
She accompanied him into the storeroom and they got to work. The most time consuming part was not filling the shipping container, but keeping track of the bags to ensure traceability. Each one had a specific code that had to be entered into the computer along with its destination. Some blood donation centers had been upgraded to be able to scan these codes directly, but they still did everything manually here. And it was pretty slow, given the age of the computers.
It took them almost an hour to finish preparing the first container. Marcus immediately left to drop it off at the hospital, while Tiffany prepared the second one to go to the blood bank. She was entering a tracking code on the computer when something suddenly made her stop. There was a smell of blood in the air. How could this be? They hadn't torn any bags…
The smell of blood grew stronger and stronger, but Tiffany couldn't see where it was coming from. The air in front of her then began to pulsate in a strange way, she could no longer see through it, as if it had thickened. Tiffany didn't dare to move. Was this one of those spirits Jay was talking about? What did it want with her?
The phenomenon whirred in front of her chest, swinging from left to right, until it finally took off and passed through her. It was as if she had been struck by lightning. Tiffany's thoughts stopped for a moment as an indefinable flood of sensation washed over her.
Cold, it's so cold...
Her blood felt like it was frozen in her veins. She began to shiver. What had happened? Had the spirit... entered her? Jay had told her it was necessary to use a rune to make a bond. It couldn't have happened without her wanting it, could it? This spirit stuff made her very uneasy.
Tiffany just wanted to get out of there. Go outside and warm up a little in the sun. But as the smell of blood dissipated in the air, she realized that this thought was not hers. It came from the immaterial being that had passed through her. Was the spirit stuck in the building? What could she do to help it?
She had always had a sensitive heart. And finally, apart from the bloody and icy atmosphere that accompanied it, this spirit seemed to behave a bit like a big puppy that wanted to go out for a walk. It was probably just scared to be alone in this dreary building.
She looked around her, but the whirring in the air was gone, along with the smell of blood. Tiffany shrugged and went back to work on the computer. A few minutes later, Marcus was back, and he helped her finish preparing the second container. She preferred not to tell him about the incident. Maybe he'd already been through the same thing, but if not, he was going to think she was nuts.
By the time they were done, it was almost the end of the morning. She joined the nurse in the blood collection room, but only had time to take care of two donors before her lunch break.
At the beginning of her internship, she had wanted to have lunch with her nurse supervisor, but she was eating at home with her husband. Tiffany didn't really know the other employees, and she also had different shifts than the other nurses. As a result, she was alone every day at noon. At least it gave her time to exchange messages with Jay.
But today, when she took out her phone, it was a message from Ilona that was waiting for her:
Ilona: "I want to talk to you. Shall we have lunch together?"
Tiffany: "Where?"
Ilona: "The kebab shop down the street, I'm already there."
Tiffany was happy with the invitation. It was certainly better than eating the snacks provided for donors in the locker room... She put her phone away, took off her blouse, and left the blood donation center. It didn't take her long to get to the kebab shop. As promised, Ilona was waiting for her inside. She was at an isolated table in a corner, with her back to the entrance so that no one could see her face. It was heartbreaking to see her hiding like that.
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"Hi Luna," Tiffany said affectionately. "How are you?"
Ilona turned abruptly toward her, revealing the eye patch that hid her dead eye, and the long scar that crossed her face from her scalp to the middle of her cheek. Most people would have flinched at the sight, but not Tiffany. She had seen worse working at the hospital. Still, it filled her with compassion for her friend.
She had been so beautiful. So much so that she had been offered to become a model. Now all that was noticed was her wound. Tiffany knew that she was suffering terribly. The gloomy gleam in her left eye, and the bitter crease on her lips, testified to this.
Trying to be cheerful, Tiffany gave Ilona a hug before sitting down across from her. Pretending she hadn't noticed that her friend hadn't greeted her, she continued:
"So did you go to the Association to speak to Rafael?"
"No, it's useless, I'm not part of their little cabal. I'll ruin everything again if I go."
Tiffany squirmed in her chair as the silence lingered. She coughed, then finally said:
"So, why did you want to see me?"
Ilona gave a quick smile before answering. "I spoke with my father yesterday, he agreed to let me move into one of his apartments as long as I didn't live there alone. I figured you'd be up for moving in together."
Tiffany nearly fell out of her chair. "Really?!"
"Yes," Ilona confirmed. "He's mellowed a lot since... since winter. He passes on all my whims."
"He was very worried about you not coming out of your room for so long, you know."
"I know," Ilona replied darkly. "I just needed time to pull myself together." She shook her head. "So what do you think. Roomates?"
"Of course!" exclaimed Tiffany. "You know how it is at my house, I can't wait to have my own place. Oh Ilona, that's the best news ever!"
Her enthusiasm forced a new smile out of Ilona. "And don't worry," she added with a bit of her old malice. "I'll let you have the apartment when you need some time alone with Jay."
"Ilona," cried Tiffany. "You can't say that!"
"What?" replied her friend. "Don't you tell me you aren't interested?"
"That's..." began Tiffany before stopping.
To say the truth, she was growing impatient. She and Jay had been dating for over six months, but they hadn't gone beyond kissing and a few cuddles. She loved his romantic side, as well as how respectful he was with her. She just wished he'd been a little more eager about...
She began to blush.
"You're too good with me Ilona, I wish I could something for you in exchange," she said to change the subject.
"Hey don't worry, we're friends! And that's also good for me you know. I don't do well when I'm alone..."
"Okay, but I owe you" declared Tiffany. "Don't hesistate to tell me if you need anything."
"I will," promised Ilona. "So when are you moving in?"
"You already have the apartment?"
"It's been vacant since yesterday, I'm just waiting for you."
Tiffany hesitated. "I have to tell my mother first... I don't know how she'll take it."
"It'll be fine," Ilona said confidently. "Didn't you tell me that Hank didn't like you to be there? It will probably be a relief to her that you are moving in with me."
"Maybe..." said Tiffany without much conviction.
Ilona did not know her mother as well as her, she didn't know how unpredictable she was. If she was capable of lying to the court to get alimony, what else can she do? Tiffany was afraid of her, and of Hank too. He was brutal, angry, and sometimes looked at her like a predator. All this made her even more eager to move in with Ilona, but she dreaded the conversation with her mother, she was worried that it would trigger her.
Come on, you can do it girl!
"I'll talk to them tonight," she finally added.
"Great," exclaimed Ilona. "You'll see it'll be fun!"
Tiffany couldn't help but smile in turn. She had always dreamed of sharing a room with a girlfriend. Moreover, she knew that the apartments of Ilona's father were all luxurious, it would be a lot of fun, indeed.
A waiter brings them their meal, and they eat heartily, making all sorts of plans for their future together.
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Tiffany was back at the blood donation center for her afternoon shift. She was so happy to be able to move out of her house that she wanted to sing out loud, she had been waiting for this moment for so long. And on top of that she was going to be sharing a room with Ilona. It was the best day ever! She had to tell Jay:
Tiffany: "Guess what?"
Jay: "You bought a bikini for the pool on Sunday?"
Tiffany: "Lol, no!"
Jay: "You should though, the other guys would be green with envy."
Tiffany: "Didn't you already say they were all jealous last week? No need for a bikini."
Jay: "True, you're always gorgeous :) So what's the big news?"
Tiffany: "<3 I'm moving into an apartment with Ilona!"
Jay: "That's great news, you'll be free from the old hag!"
She was about to answer him when she saw her nurse supervisor across the room. Tiffany quickly put her phone away. It was frowned upon to be on it during work hours, and she didn't want it to come up in her internship report.
There weren't many donors that afternoon, so Tiffany set about replacing the supplies she had used during the first part of the day. She liked it when everything was in its proper place, and that could only make a good impression.
While her hands were busy, her mind turned things over in her head. She really wanted to find a way to thank Ilona for her proposal. That was what friendship was all about, doing things for each other, but she had the impression that she wasn't giving her much... and that she was always the one receiving.
What could she offer her? She didn't have much money, and even with all her savings, she couldn't compete with the exotic gifts her friend regularly received from her family. These last months especially, she had been spoiled even more than usual...
She could only fall back on something non-material, but again she had no idea. She had first thought of helping Ilona to get closer to Rafael. Except that since she had lost her eye, she had completely stopped seeking his company. She was ashamed of what she looked like, and seeing him probably reawakened her trauma.
If only there was a way to heal her. That would be worthy of the favors Ilona was doing her! But the best doctors had declared that there was no hope for her eye, and she had already had a laser treatment to attenuate her scar. Without much success unfortunately, it would really take a miracle for...
A miracle?
Magic exists, Jay showed me.
That being she had felt in the storeroom in the morning. It had to be a blood spirit. A spirit that was unhappy to be locked up here, in a place where all the blood was kept cold in airtight bags. Jay had explained this stuff about anchors to her. The only way it could get out of the blood donation center was to form a bond with a human.
I learned the rune, maybe i could get powers to help Ilona.
Can I really do this?
She had been standing there in hesitation for several minutes now, without doing anything. The nurse supervisor approached her. "Tiffany—"
"Sorry," she exclaimed. "I have to go to the bathroom!"
Tiffany stormed out of the room, her heart pounding, blood pulsing in her ears. She was going to do it. She had to. For Ilona, her best friend forever.
The closer she got to the storeroom, the more she slowed down, until she stopped in front of the room's door. Her body wasn't moving, but her will was still strong. Finally, after a deep breath, Tiffany pulled the door handle, and pushed.
The air from inside the room came with a metallic smell. A smell of blood.
Tiffani smiled.