"Laura." something whispered quietly. I blinked quickly as I sat up in bed.

"Who's there?" I asked, trying frantically to find whoever was talking to me.

"It's me." The voice breathed. "It's Carmilla. I'm here." No. I thought, she can't be.

"No. You're not here. You're gone." My eyes started to sting with tears as I tried to put the pieces together.

"No, sweetheart. I am. It's me." She said softly. She sounded so sad. The first tear left my eye. "I promise you." She sounded weak.

"You can't be." I sniffled. My voice was cracking and shaking. Another tear fell. I heard footsteps coming towards me. "You're gone. You left. You're… dead."

"I'm not dead, buttercup. I'm right here." Her voice was gentle. She kneeled next to me on my bed. I reached out to touch her. Could it really be her? No. It couldn't. But I wasn't ready to let go of the delusion just yet.

"I can't see you. Where are you?"

"I'm here. Next to you." I still couldn't see her. Suddenly I felt a cold touch on my cheek. I gasped and pulled away because it couldn't really be Carmilla. She couldn't really be there. She's dead and she's gone and she's never coming back. But the hallucination wouldn't go away. "It's okay, sweetheart. I'm here." I reached out to touch her face and it really did seem like her face. It was soft and beautiful but oh, it was so cold and I wanted to bring her into my arms and keep her warm and safe from the Light forever. I held her face in my two hands and she did the same to me. I shivered a bit.

"How are you here? How did you get here, how are you back?" I implored.

"I—" she winced and I felt her squirm in my hands.

"Carm? Are you okay?" I questioned urgently.

"I'm so cold." She whispered.

"I'll keep you warm. Lay with me." I pulled up the blankets to let her in. I laid back down and she snuggled up next to me. "I can't believe you're really here!" I laughed, as more tears made their way on to my face. She pressed her cold nose on my cheek and kissed it. I held her face in my hands again and kissed her on the lips, in that moment I swear she was warm again. I hadn't been sleeping since she left. But that night felt like the best sleep in years.

When I woke up the next morning, she was gone.