One end of her grocery list hung above her head, trapped under her lamp but only just barely. She stared at it as if it was the most interesting thing in the room, running her eyes down what little she could make out on the piece of paper—
Chocolate-chip cookies
Grape soda
Tampons
That was the end of the list. The upper portion was still hidden under her lamp. How she wished there was more to read, anything to distract her from the creaking of the bed, from the strong grip of the hand that held her by the hair, from the unfamiliar appendage that forced its way inside her and left her but only in preparation for another quick thrust. She wished there was something in the room other than the helplessness she felt. She had tried screaming for help and even pushing the threat away but her arms were held down just the same with strength she couldn't even dream to match. She had tried pleading but was only met with a quick dismissal and a bite to the neck.
That wasn't too long ago but she had lost sense of time. Lying on her back, numb from the shock and the actual physical pain of being taken against her will in her own dorm room, she asked herself again: How did this happen? She remembered opening the door and seeing a familiar face. She greeted him and he asked if he could come in to which she said yes with a smile. I even offered him something to drink. How did this happen? He declined the soda and instead suggestively remarked that she would taste better. She laughed at this but was immediately cut off as he grabbed hold of her with lightning speed and pinned her against her bed. She pushed and screamed and pleaded. And now he'd just finished.
Had she been fully conscious of what happened, she would've known it didn't take long. Then again, she hadn't fully understood how he managed to move that quickly and why he was that strong. That is, until she remembered the bite on her neck and how he was now looking at her with his fangs out, blood dripping down the side of his mouth.
Will is a vampire?
As soon as the thought came to her, he was gone. She tried to breathe, now regaining the feeling in her body – her neck, especially, and below her abdomen. She sat up with a jolt, holding both hands against her mouth when it hit her. "He…" she mumbled to herself, unable to say it out loud. She willed herself out of bed even though her bare legs were still shaky and she was dizzy from the blood loss. She felt her neck and realized that blood was still coming out of the fresh wound so she pressed her palm against it and pulled a pair of pajamas from her closet. She struggled into them, still feeling filthy from what had happened. She limped toward her desk and fumbled around for her phone. With trembling fingers, she unlocked it and hit 1 on the speed dial. It took no more than two rings for someone to pick up.
"Hey, I'm at the store already. Where—"
"Carm, I need you back here. Please. Something happened and I… I can't explain this over the phone. Just please come back to the dorm room," she said in one breath, hands still trembling from what had happened. "Carm? Are you there?"
She quickly checked her phone only to find that the line had gone dead. She was about to redial when the door flew open, revealing a raven-haired girl in her trademark tight jeans and loose flannel shirt who looked as though she had appeared from thin air – a sight all too familiar to her that signalled her that it was now okay to break down and cry.
"What happened?" the girl asked, rushing to her side as soon as she fell to the floor in tears. "Laura… who did this?"
Laura took in a breath as she held on to the girl's shirt, dousing it in her tears and traces of blood from her neck wound. She spoke through ragged breaths: "It was Will. He just came over and—and I let him in. It happened so fast. I don't understand how… Carm, he's a—"
"A vampire," the girl said, making it known to Laura that she already knew. She paused for a moment, seemingly deep in thought until her senses grew sensitive to Laura's scent. "You're bleeding." No sooner than the words were out of her mouth did she pick Laura up from the floor and assisted her to a chair. She licked the wound clean and Laura didn't even flinch. She had licked blood off of Laura's body before but under different circumstances and definitely not with Will's involvement. She rarely got to taste Laura's blood but this wasn't the time to relish it. She bit into her finger, drawing blood, and pressed it onto Laura's neck wound. Some of Laura's blood had dried around the wound, which had now closed up and healed after coming into contact with the girl's blood. "I'm going after him. Stay here," the girl said, her voice hard and cold.
"Carmilla, Carm… He…" Laura started to say as she wrapped her arms around herself, disgusted at the thought of having been touched against her will and the fact that she had been so helpless.
Carmilla met her eyes and again it looked like she already knew what was left unsaid. "I'm going. Lock the door," she said. She bit back her anger. It wasn't Laura who deserved it. Without waiting for a reply, she rushed out of the room, unknowingly leaving Laura with a painful reminder that her vampire reflexes were the same as Will's.
