Tasting Blood After Coughing Novels & Stories

The coughing kept coming, not giving me enough space between each one to catch my breath properly. ​ When it finally stopped, I straightened slowly and looked down at the sink. ​ Blood. ​ I turned on the tap and watched the water carry it away, then rinsed my mouth, then stood there gripping the sink with both hands, staring at nothing. ​ Every other time I had done the ritual, the coughing had stopped somewhere around the second or third day after. That was how it had always worked. A few days of discomfort, and then it faded, and everything settled back into something manageable.

“ Logan!” She cried when she saw him vomiting blood once again, she hated him yes but she did not want to watch him die right in front of her. “ Why are you crying?” She heard him say as he pushed himself up from the tree against which he was leaning. When she heard his casual voice she could not help but think whether she was imagining him vomiting blood but when she looked at the small puddle of blood that was next to his feet, she knew that she did not imagine him coughing up blood. But instead of looking rouged up, the man was smiling at him with his lips dyed red, “ What do you think? Any suggestions as to why I am coughing up blood?”

It wasn’t the first cough since we had been back though it was the most persistent. “Here.” I pour her a glass of water and hand it to her. She reaches her hand out and freezes. Droplets of blood are splattered on the hand that had been covering her mouth

Looking at the bucket by her, I remember Nicoli. He saw me like that. I think and feel my stomach fall. It must have been quite a sight. All covered in blood. I hope I didn’t scare him too much. “Ah,” I wince as I feel a stretch run down my chest. I can taste blood in my mouth- Am I still coughing up more? No, I quickly find it just to be a lingering taste. I don’t think I have any more blood to pump out. That part must be over. It must be because I feel so weak and horrible.

I choked on my cough again, for the second time which I used my hand to hold back. My eyes spun like I was going to collapse because of coughing. I shut my eyes and shook my head so I would be fine but suddenly, I felt something different this time. "Are you okay ma'?" Sarah rubbed my back gently seeing my reactions. My hand became sticky and my chest throbbed so hard, leaving me in terror for a second. Taking my hand off my mouth, I couldn't believe what I saw on it. It was… "Blood?!! Blood?? You are bleeding??" Sarah yelled at the top of her voice with her eyes bulging out to what she saw on my palm.

I think I have to get some rest. I breathed in and out, but still, it was giving me a severe headache. I gathered all my strength and went to grab a glass of water. I drank it slowly, but then my hand was shaking. I started to feel uneasy and went back to sit on the sofa, but then I didn’t expect the next thing to happen. I suddenly coughed; I thought it was just a normal cough, but when I looked into my hands, I saw blood. It made me suddenly sit on the sofa, and I already knew what was going on.

She turned away from me, pressing her hand to her mouth, her whole body shaking. The cough went on and on, like something was tearing apart inside her chest. "Mom..." She held up a hand, unable to speak, still coughing. I watched helplessly as she struggled to breathe, each cough sounding worse than the last. Finally, when it subsided, she tried to hide the bright red on her palm but I had already seen it. "Jesus, Mom." My voice cracked. "This isn't nothing. This is...you're coughing up blood. You need to go to the hospital. Right now."

Ironic. The thought dragged a dry, humorless laugh from my throat. It echoed in the sterile silence of my office, a place that smelled of lemon polish and an underlying decay. My vision was now swimming on the edge of a crimson haze, each blink more laborious than the last. My hands trembled uncontrollably, and I curled them into fists, nails digging into my palms—useless pain that did nothing to steady me. Then it hit me: Bloodmatch. The name pressed against my consciousness like a shadow that refused to lift, a curse and a promise all at once—dangerous, illicit, irresistibly seductive.

I ruined his life. Suddenly, I'm coughing hard. "Kaz—" My voice becomes unrecognizable mid-sound. I stumble, one hand braced against the cold hallway wall, the other pressed over my mouth. Another cough racks through me, doubling me over. Something warm drips onto my palm. No. No. No. My hand trembles as I pull it into view. Blood. My breathing quickens. "No... no, no—" My voice breaks into a raw, panicked rasp.

Rose felt a dangerous twitch in his hand, it could not be ignored. “I am…” His face turned to the side. “I am fine.” “You sure?” “Yes, I am-” A loud cough erupted from his throat, and a huge clot of blood followed suit; it landed on the table and spread its liquid all over as if displaying a rare beauty.