*.˙ ˖ ⋆ all that i want * )

     olivia turned her head towards aria’s hand, the words coming from the other’s mouth making her feel  better  about what she had done. but there was still a  hint  of guilt in the pit of her stomach. it wasn’t what marcel had taught her and now she was  confused  because the woman’s words weren’t all that far fetched - at least not in her  current  state of mind. “ i don’t want to be a  monster , ” she admitted.

     “ i’ll take a kiss on the  cheek  for that, ” she teased, stepping inside their place before looking around out of curiosity. “ only because that was the  last  of my stash, so try to make it count. ” olivia felt more at  ease  now that she knew she had a roof over her head and a place to sleep. in mason’s words, he had  only  agreed to a few nights which meant olivia would be left to worry about where her  next  place was going to be; however, for just one night she  didn’t  want to have to think about it. “ where am i going to be sleeping ? ” she wondered, turning to face carson.

     olivia hadn’t talked to cameron in  awhile . the last time she did, she remembered telling him that she  believed  someone had been stalking her. and before that had been  very  brief text messages, most of which he sounded  preoccupied . it was okay though. olivia  didn’t  blame him for being absent or having more important things to worry about. “ hey, ” she greeted cam, but without her  usual  smile. olivia was unsure and a bit  paranoid  that maybe she had said something wrong before. “ you wanted to talk ? ” / @cam-price

     “ you  might  have to pick for the both of us. you have a more  refined  palate than i do, ” she giggled, stepping towards him. olivia was the type of vampire to eat anything in her path. but the first time they had  technically  ‘hung out’ was when mason had brought two people for them to feed off of. and they had both been  incredibly  delicious. so, she trusted his judgement.

     “ yeah,  probably . i don’t know yet, ” she shrugged. olivia didn’t want to admit that she had quit her job and was  struggling  financially. and the last thing she wanted to do was  complain  to one of her best friends about it. olivia already felt like a  burden  to so many people in her life. “ i’ll figure it out. i  always  do, ” it wasn’t a lie, but it always did stress her out having to think about her  next  plan. “ yeah, marcel is still helping. it’s been really difficult for me. the other day, i wanted to give up. so, i’ve got  that  going for me. ”

     “ you’re giving me a day  off ?  are we going on a field trip or something ? ” she teased, still running with the teacher jokes. it was  difficult  for olivia to separate the voice in her mind that made her stray from her morals, but she was learning and every day she spent with marcel was a day of  success  - no matter how hard things became. because she was  there  with him for help and all she had to do was walk away. he wasn’t holding her hostage or against her will. she had the will to want to stay and work on things to make herself better and that was better than  nothing . “ i know i’m stronger now. i just don’t feel confident, you know ? like, how long until that goes away ? ”

     olivia smiled slowly, a  bit  confused as to why he said  any  of that. but then she figured that mason probably let cason know what she looked like so he wouldn’t be  completely  surprised. “ i’m just crashing here for a bit, if you don’t mind ? ” she reached into the pocket of her bag and pulled out a couple of blunts. mason said that carson liked pot and she believed that it would be a nice ‘thank you’ gift for allowing her to stay. plus, a good way to  warm  up to each other since she didn’t know him all that well.  “ these are for you. ”

     her words were both  persuasive  and  convincing  to the new vampire. and the more she listened to them, the more blood that flowed into her mouth without even a  second  thought to the life she was taking or the work marcel had put into helping her. and before she could pull back to  stop  and realize what she had done, the body was limp in her arms. “ no, no,  no , ” she whispered, looking down at the body. all she could do was  stare  at him.

     olivia looked down at the address on her phone, double checking  one  last time before she knocked on the door. mason had texted it to her while she grabbed the  last  of her things from her mom’s house. she didn’t expect to stay  long  with mason and his roommate, but certainly didn’t plan on going  back  home anytime soon. “ hey, ” she greeted the other person as soon as they opened the door. “ um, does mason live here ? ” / @causticcarson

     “ are we  really  shocked she’d do something like that to me ? ” she asked, feeling herself get  angry  at the thought. olivia knew her mother must have told her friends and coworkers that her daughter had moved away for college and that she was ‘proud’. “ well, mason said i was welcome to stay for a  few  days and i haven’t made any other plans. so, i’ll probably get a room at the motel down the road until i figure out my  next  plan. i get that i can easily compel people to give me free stuff, but i’ve learned that a lot of my compelling then turns into feeding and i’m  trying  to be good. ” it was the only hope for her humanity.

     he was  letting  her go ? olivia looked up at marcel,  shocked  that he suggested she didn’t have to stay or go through any of this training. to say the least, it was  tempting . the voice in the back of her mind told her to  leave  and  never  look back. it was the same voice that  controlled  her lust for blood, the one that had taken all of those lives. but the feeling in her  heart , her care for marcel, and the progress they had been making is what kept her from moving. “ no, ” she shook her head, “ i don’t want to. ”

     “ yeah, marcel. he takes care of a  lot  of newbies. helps them cope with the hunger thing, ” she explained, smiling at the  thought  of him. marcel was like a big brother to her - something she had been  missing  for quite some time. “ a drink ? ” she inhaled sharply, “ like,  blood , you mean. ” maybe this was her  chance  to show not only everyone else but herself that she could handle a little snack  without  any consequences. “ yeah, i’d like a drink. ”

     “ do we  have  to talk about her ? ” olivia teased, leaning back before crossing her arms over her chest. she knew maddie  only  cared and wanted to know what was going on so she could help. she knew they  didn’t  have to talk about anything, but it was always nice to have someone close to her understand what was going on. “ she thinks i’m using. it got...  pretty  bad. basically told me to leave and  never  come back. ”

     “ if he doesn’t, i won’t be offended, ” she lied, because she most definitely  would  be. the girl was more sensitive than she  liked  to admit, but was controlling her emotions as every day passed. olivia reached out for his phone, typing in her own contact information for him before handing the phone back. “  oh , marcel is helping me with all of that, but thank you. like,  really . i’m grateful you offered me a place to stay. not many people would. ”