Gone to the Vampires 9

The same look that I had upon first seeing my girly digs crossed Joey's babyish face, and I almost smiled as I closed the door.
"Here. Take your stuff off."
Joey snapped out of it and started taking off his coat and shoes, but the slightly creeped out look remained as he surveyed my baby pink walls and matching décor.
"Is your bedroom-"
"Blue? Yeah."
I bit my lip and nodded at the small moment of silliness within the serious, but it was pretty humorous. Like I said before, pets had default colors that went along with their gender and even the collared, button-down shirt my brother had on was periwinkle.
We both stared at different things for a while- Me at Joey and him at the floor. I was incredibly happy to see him alive and well, but putting that into words was proving to be quite the difficult task. How did one speak pure, unfiltered elation and relief? It was hard.
"So…" I didn't even have to rack my brain for further conversation since Joey all but tackled me in a hug with as much force as a budding linebacker, briefly stealing my breath and my sense.
"Kayla, I didn't think I'd ever see you again! Both after the takeover and the park! But your vampire- The news guy, we saw him on TV! It was at the end of his show and he asked if anyone watching knew my vampire or was actually her, and luckily we were all watching! I mean, they like to watch the news every night but I never knew Mason was your owner!"
My trembling form cringed slightly at the title, even though I'd heard it a hundred times but Joey took no notice. He was about a head taller than me now so my face was up against his chest, and I smelled the spicy aroma of air freshener or a house candle on him. It was one of those scents that followed you everywhere you went because your house smelled like it, seeping into clothes, skin and hair. But this particular one reminded me of fall spices, and I wouldn't have been surprised if the Robert's home was one of those impeccably clean places with feng-shui furniture that you were afraid to sit on and candles everywhere. Mason's house was really clean, but not all his furniture matched and the house-smell was more like fresh spring air.
"Yeah. He adopted me almost immediately after we were all separated, and I've been with him ever since."
Pulling away, an insidious sadness seeped into my veins that I couldn't explain as I watched my little brother wearily, almost not believing the situation at hand. I mean, yeah, I was super thrilled to be reunited with a member of my family at long last, but the circumstances under which we were seeing each other and the very reason for my relief was almost too much to bear.
"Oh Kayla, it's alright! I'm here now!" Joey's baby face melted into the quintessential comforting one as I sank to the floor, about to be sobbing hysterically. He knelt down beside me and started rubbing my back while my loud gasps and hiccups filled the air.
"No, it's not okay! I miss mom, I miss dad, I miss the way things used to be! I want the old life back!" My head dropped into my hands, too ashamed for Joey to see me like this. Just then, the bedroom door swung open intrusively and Mason smiled at the humans on the floor.
"Hey, can I get you guys any-"
"GET OUT!" I lifted my head up and yelled, furious that the object of my hatred would so carelessly interrupt. Mason's eyes widened a surprising amount at the fervor of my command, but he quickly stepped back and shut the door nonetheless. My eyes hadn't left the position where he just was yet, and I heard Joey give a light snicker.
"Wow, you sure told him!"
One look quelled any residual humor and Joey went back to consoling me as I sighed heavily.
"I know, sis. But what are we going to do? I hate saying this, but like a lot of other humans out there I've made the best of it."
I tried to disguise the disgust on my face as a mix of confusion and interest, hoping Joey bought it.
"What I mean is, my owners spoil me rotten. They shop for me every weekend, take me to human events and outings, take pictures of and with me every chance they get, and basically made me the center of their universe. It's a boring and by no means ideal life, but I roll with it." Joey re-situated himself on my plush, deep cream carpet while letting all that sink in, and if anything it made me feel even more low.
"My owner doesn't go that far, but he does buy me a lot of stuff and likes to spend time with me. Come to think about it, he's been making me sleep with him recently."
Joey raised an eyebrow at my now much more calm words, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Men.
"Not like that, you jerk!" I made sure to lightly smack his meaty arm for good measure. Vampires having romantic relations with their humans was essentially viewed as bestiality, so it was taboo and forbidden. Just like a human wouldn't ever think of doing their dog, vampires didn't have sexual relations with their humans.
"Do YOU ever sleep with your people?"
Joey pulled a face at my mocking return, then shook his head.
"No, but get this. They have a tiny little bed in their room for if I ever want to sleep with them. I never have."
We both snickered at that like it was some high school gossip, and Joey's face turned a slight blush. As it did so, the light smattering of freckles over the bridge of his nose stood out more, making him look distinctly attractive.
"So, your guy has never… You know." Joey curved his right index and middle fingers in the air and made a downward striking motion, all the while looking slightly grossed out. I shook my head.
"No, Joey! You know they don't do that."
We were referring to vampires biting their pets. Thankfully it didn't happen (or not that anyone would admit to, anyways) because vampires viewed it like humans would view someone eating their cat. It was gross, but in the same token, vampires had blood barns all over the place where humans were kept to donate blood, then it was shipped out to nearby "stores" for customers to buy. So what the difference was, I had no clue. But blood packaged in bags was okay for vampires to eat and directly tapping into a live vein was not.
"I was just asking!" Joey raised his eyebrows and held his hands up in a forfeiting manner, but just then a soft knock came from the other side of my door. Both Joey and I looked up quickly, almost like we had been caught hiding.
"Kayla?" Mason's voice had taken on that meek, apprehensive tone I so rarely heard but that was uncharacteristic of a normal vampire's personality. Maybe some event had occurred during his childhood that made him the way he was? Not that I cared.
"What?" I tried to make my voice less hostile than it had been, even though I was still grudging.
"I'm going to go to bed now if you guys don't want a walk."
Joey gave me a weird look but I just shrugged and faced the still-closed door.
"No, that's okay. We're fine."
"Alright."
I didn't hear his feet walking away from the door but it wasn't surprising. Vampires were normally silent.
Joey had turned to give the door an odd look now and I think I knew why.
"Mason's not your typical vampire. He doesn't have a whole lot of confidence."
Joey nodded once slowly.
"Ah, I see."
A few more beats of silence joined us in the room as we sat there, unsure of what to say next. Too many thoughts, questions and confessions were bouncing around in my head for me to grab just one and run with it, so it was more than a relief when Joey spoke up first.
"So, how have your past two years been?"