Chapter 68
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 Andrew led Daphne and Adam to his and Erin’s apartment. They went by foot since the café was just two streets away. When they entered, Erin took one look at Adam and froze.

“Hello, Erin,” said Adam, eyes flashing yellow.

“Andrew, are you under mind control?” Sputtered Erin as he looked to the window. The drop to the first floor would be massive. Could he survive it?

“They are no longer agents,” supplied Andrew as he motioned the couch to his guests. “Would you like coffee? Tea?”

“Coffee would be nice. With some cream, if you have it,” said Daphne, and she went to sit down on the couch. “This brings back memories. We only need a stack of papers on the coffee table, and it would be just like the old days, eh, gang?”

Erin, who was still looking at the newcomers warily, went to sit at the end of the couch. He lamented on the fact that he had never bought ammunition for his gun. If the government agents burst through the door, he would be defenseless.

“Erin, don’t look at us like that. We were on the run, same as you. And for about as long as you were, too,” that made Erin consider them again. They had on casual clothes, yes, but he could see how Adam had a knife up his pant leg and that Daphne was not letting go of her bag.

“So, we are all outlaws, then?” Adam shook his head.

“We were pardoned, just like the rest of the agents. Now, Andrew is considered a terrorist and priests are searching for his ghost, so they could exorcise it. He can never uncover himself,” Erin nodded. Yes, he had figured that out by himself.

“The world changed,” continued Daphne. “There is the new Bill of Rights that became internationally recognized. You can come out as a vampire, Erin. The only thing you will need to do is register.”

“Which he shouldn’t do, seeing as he will be monitored,” countered Adam, and he rolled up his shirt’s sleeve to show a small black dot on his arm. “They will chip you, as if you are a pet in need of tracking. Sure, they will pay you for it, and you won’t be bothered much. But the insult is still there. No one chips the humans.”

Erin stared at the dot and gulped. If they chipped him, they would know where he is, always. And that would make Andrew easier to find by the people searching for him.

“People are selling blood at every corner. Why would I need to come forward?” No one asked him questions in the butcher’s shops. Better yet, he was certain that the butcher of the one he frequented knew what he was, and yet, he still asked him how the blood pudding was every time.

“Erin, this is your chance to live a normal life,” said Daphne, brows furrowed.

“My chance to make sure that both I and Andrew are caught, you mean?” Erin asked, and she looked down. Now, for most of the non-humans, even the ones who had escaped from the bases, there were some light sentences, if they have committed crimes, to be served in normal prisons. But, for Andrew, there might be a death sentence.

And there was the problem, Daphne realized. Andrew couldn’t die. Adam had shown her the footage. Of both the time when Andrew was in the coma and the two hellish days of him being awake.

She had not been able to stomach the waking ones. Daphne had broken down crying in her apartment and Adam had been there to hold her. She supposed that it was at that point that she saw Adam for the man he was: kind, caring, and trying to make the best of the shitty situation he was in.

“The coffee is ready,” Andrew came from the kitchen with a tray in his hands. He placed it on the coffee table and looked between Erin and Daphne. “What were you talking about?”

“Nothing,” said Daphne, sending Erin a pleading look. “Tell us about your wedding. Where was it? Did you have a bridesmaid? Did people sprinkle rice on you after you said the magic words?” Andrew grinned and began telling Daphne of the wedding.

“An Elvis cosplayer?” Said Adam after shaking his head. “The two of you were not expecting a baby. You could have married in a real church.”

“A Vegas wedding has its charm, too,” protested Erin. It had been his idea, after all. “I, personally, think that the cosplayer was a charming fellow.”

“Didn’t you tell me he had too short of a fuse to marry people?” Teased Andrew with a slight smile on his face.

“Well, who forces two people to kiss while they are arguing about who has to be the bride?” Asked Erin, and all four burst out laughing.

When they calmed down, Adam turned to Erin.

“What are your plans for the rest of…well, in your case I guess it is eternity?” Erin looked thoughtful. He had no idea. Here, in Ravenna, he had begun to sell Chinese medicine on eBay again. And Andrew had his sketching and painting. But, these were more of a hobby by this point.

“We don’t know yet,” said Erin. Daphne looked thoughtful for a moment and then had an aha moment.

“Why don’t you two open an antique shop that also sells Chinese medicine? You can both man it and, in about twenty or thirty years, you can sell it and move somewhere else,” Andrew looked eager about the idea, but Erin could see one major flaw in the idea.

“We, neither I nor Andrew, could speak Italian. Sure, Ravenna is a tourist city and many people speak English here. But, that is enough for us to get by. We can’t start a business when we don’t know the language,” Daphne’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Erin Hudson! It is rude to move to a country and not try to learn the language! For shame. And you, Andrew! Erin, I can understand being lazy, but I expected better from you!”

Both Andrew and Erin looked down at their hands, chastised. They had learned some basic phrases, but that was about it. But, now that they were called out on it, they did see it was rude.   

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