The Morning After
Disclaimer: These characters belong to ahar, not Essie.
As she pulled herself out of her comatose slumber Caryn was immedeatly assaulted with vampiric aura so forceful she almost choked. She knew without a doubt that she was in New Mayhem. Panic flooded through her before she remembered the events of the previous night. Aubrey appearing in her room, begging for her help. Being unable to heal Jessica on her own. Channeling Aubrey's power through herself. He must have brought her here when she passed out. The thought did little to mollify her fear. At least he was considerate enough to give me a room with a view.
"Feeling alright?" Caryn failed to check her impulse to jump in alarm. Forcing herself to relax she sat up and smiled at the gorgeous but deadly creature in the doorway.
"As good as can be expected." He returned the smile tightly.
"That's good." An uncomfortable silence settled over them. It wasn't the kind of tense silence Caryn would have expected to feel around a murdering leech. It was the kind of awkward silence she experienced with human boys, the conversation dwindling off into a discomfited social limbo.
"So…." Caryn trailed off in an attempt to break the tension. It worked. Realizing the silliness in his discomfort, Aubrey relaxed and moved to sit beside her on the edge of the bed. As he did so Caryn pulled the blanket up around herself more tightly. Aubrey gave no notice of her unease and instead turned to look her in the eye. Whether it was because she knew he could kill her easily in this position without using his hypnotic stare, or because she had grown some bizarre trust in him she did not know, but she let their gazes connect, and was only mildly surprised to find he didn't try to hold her there.
"I wanted to thankyou." His words didn't shock her as much as the sincerity behind them. "And ask you why you did what you did." Caryn was exhausted and her mind was blank so she pulled out the first answer that came to the surface.
"I'm a Smoke witch." Aubrey gave her an amused smile.
"I meant why did you help me, a vampire."
"I helped Jessica. She's human, if nothing else." Caryn thought she saw a hint of compassion cross Aubrey's face before he said,
"Not anymore." His meaning was clear. Jessica was a vampire. Though Caryn could hardly call the news a shock it was a disappointment, and she knew from Aubrey's reaction that her feelings on the matter were plain as day.
"If I write a farewell letter will you give it to her?" She blurted out before she even processed why she needed to say goodbye to the girl who had only ever spit on her kindness. Aubrey nodded. "And she'll want her laptop." The expression on his face told her that Aubrey didn't particularly like that idea, but he made no protest. And again they fell into an uncomfortable silence. Unable to take another bout of human awkwardness Aubrey sighed.
"Why did you help me Caryn?" Seeing that she did not understand his question he expanded. "When you tapped into my power you could have killed me, or taken more power than was needed to heal Jessica or at the very least made no effort to close my power centers when you closed your own and hers. You took great care not to harm me. Why?"
"I…" she began, but no further words came out. She had no idea what to say. She had done what she did because she was a Smoke witch. She healed wounds. She didn't inflict them. But Aubrey already knew all of this. Just as they both knew being a Smoke witch put her under no obligation to help a vampire, especially one like him: A cold-blooded killer. But that wasn't all he was. "Because I saw the humanity in you." He was certainly going to kill her for saying that, but now she had started she needed to finish. "Because no one's pure evil, not even you. Because you were willing to risk everything for the life of a human girl. Because you would've died for her. Because you love her." She waited for his violent reaction, and her imminent death, but when moments passed and he remained perfectly still perched on the edge of the bed, holding her gaze she added "Because I don't punish people for making noble sacrifices." The irony of her calling this creature noble passed briefly through her mind before she smiled gently at him and said "Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me." She almost died of relief when he cracked a smile at her words. He wasn't going to kill her. Well, he wasn't definitely going to kill her.
"I know," He smirked, "Because if you so much as think of telling anybody you'll be dead before you can finish the thought." She tried to smile at his remark, but she was certain it came out as more of a grimace. "All joking and death threats aside," he stood gracefully "if there is ever anything you need don't hesitate to ask. I owe you."
"Now that you mention it, there is something you can do for me," Aubrey quirked an eyebrow in response, "You can get me the hell out of here." He laughed lightly and extended his hand, which she took despite the disturbing sensation his touch induced. Before they disappeared she added "and don't forget her computer."