I pushed open the big, oak door, smiling softly as I waited to see him
waiting there, watching for me. I looked up from the lunch tray I was
carrying that I knew I wasn't going to eat, and my heart stopped. The world
stopped. No, nothing special was in the room. Nobody out of the ordinary.
What was so surprising was not the set, or the characters, but the plot. He
was kissing her. It was intense, steamy, and fiery. So romantic. She looked in
perfect bliss. Him, almost. I knew I was the small imperfection in his
moment.
I lost all of the feeling in my body. I suppose that's why I didn't know
what made them look up in terror until I realized I'd dropped what had been
in my fingers, letting it clatter on the tile below. He gave me one, long,
complex stare that I may never know the meaning of. All I know is that it
made the blood practically drip out of my punctured heart and slide coldly
down my backbone, letting the feeling creep slowly back into my body. I
opened my mouth, but no words came out. I could do no more than choke on the
hands of heartbreak and despair that gripped me so unforgivingly. I had to
get out of there. I felt like I might simply collapse on the spot, and my
legs refused to move.
He was the first to speak. "This isn't what it looks like." I could
almost see his words, so tainted by lies they were a sickening black color.
I wanted to scream so many things back, ask so many questions. But somehow I
knew I would never be able to. Before I knew what I was doing, I ran. No,
sprinted, speeded, bolted out the door. I had to get away. I didn't know
where, but I was already going, so I went. I ran. I ran faster than anyone
ever had. My feet carried me out the school's front door, down the
side-walk, and into the gutter. Then, they stopped, and I finally collapsed
onto the rough cement.
My hands felt around the gravel, searching for something to hold onto.
They found only my arms, and my nails dug into my flesh. I didn't mind. I
couldn't really feel it. My body felt as if it was a glass full of clear,
white wine. So easily spilled. Then, I saw myself in a rain puddle's
reflection. I realized that I could not only be spilled, but so easily
broken. But then, of course, the wine on the inside took on a whole new
flavor. A flavor that a lingering tongue could wait no longer to taste.
I heard the patter of another pair of feet. My first impulse was that I'd
been followed by my (quite recently) ex-boyfriend himself. I put my head
between my knees, trying to hide my tears. "Please, just leave me alone." My
deep, feminine voice echoed and bounced off the surrounding walls. I didn't
need to hear it that way. My last glimmering flame of confidence was quickly
and easily extinguished at the sound of my own voice.
I fixated my gaze on a deep red, forming puddle of my own, blood,
squelching beneath my feet while I waited for his answer. "If only it were
that easy." A sinister, unfamiliar voice sneered in reply. I froze, cringing
at the utterly masochistic tone in his voice.
"W-who are you?" I squeaked.
"Me?" His eyebrows raised high on his perfectly sculpted head, almost
brushing his tousled brown-red hair. "Claire, how is it that I know
everything about you aside from one thing, and you don't even know my name?"
He chuckled darkly, his light, mahogany eyes flashing green, his pupils
growing larger, somehow making what had once appeared to be a perfectly
chiseled face rather cat-like, and, I admit, terrifying.
I shook uncontrollably, my voice held down by fear. "Oh, poor dear,
what's wrong? This isn't how I want to remember you! Try to smile, be happy!
This will only take a second. You won't feel a thing." He mocked.
Was he going to murder me? Right there? Right then?! I didn't know if I
was quite ready to die yet. I decided to drag out his speal a little longer.
"What's the one thing you don't know about me?" I questioned.
"Now, what I don't know about you, my dear, is-" He clicked his tongue,
and walked in slow circles around where I sat, curled up in a ball with my
knees to my chest. I was in no hurry to rush him, and he knew it. He took in
a deep breath, and then gritted his teeth, refusing to let the air out. "Is...is
how your blood will taste under that fresh, succulent flesh of yours." He
stopped walking; his bare feet nearly two-inches from my face and kneeled
down to my level. "I love you Claire."
I simply stared blankly at him, trying desperately to figure him out.
What was he, a Cannibal? He dipped his finger in a pool of my blood, holding
it up to his face and inhaling deeply through his nose, closing his eyes in
what seemed like pure rejoice. He tilted his head back, laughed
malevolently, and then faced me again. He gave me a huge, snide grin, and
that's when I saw them. Nestled in-between his dazzling, pearl-white teeth
were two, razor sharp points sticking out like fangs.
Fangs. "Vampire." I whispered in amazement.
"My my, don't you catch on quick." He sneered. My eyes started to flutter
closed, and I started to lower my head back to the concrete, but two, ice
cold hands nearly threw me against the wall behind me, brutally shoving my
head back up.
"No no no, don't leave me so soon. I'll decide when to say goodbye. Don't
you want to know why I want you so badly? You're special, Claire. Rumor has
it that you have some of the finest blood in the world. But shh-" He lifted
his blood covered finger to his lips. "It's a secret."
And then, he stuck out his long, frost-bitten tongue and licked his
finger, letting it slide and travel around his nail, collecting my blood on
the tip of his tongue. His body began to shake vigorously and he yelled.
"Yes. YES!"
Then, he lowered his finger and let his tongue run down my neck. I
wondered if I might freeze to death before he had a chance to kill me.
"S-s-stop. I tried to resist, but he only moved closer, grabbing my hair in
his hands, locking me in place. He slid his tongue up to my ear, and brushed
a strand of my jet-black hair out of my face with his finger.
He hissed, "I love you, Claire, but love can, quite literally, hurt.
Especially-" He pulled his head back, letting his teeth graze my neck and
his lips brush mine in the process. I held my breath, trying to keep our
eyes from meeting. "When it's for all the wrong reasons."
I realized with a sickening feeling in my stomach what he was getting
ready to do. And then he lashed. There was a flash of light, a burning pain
in my throat, and then it was all over.
I'd always thought I'd die young. 16 years wasn't bad, I thought. I had been thrown into darkness, and I wondered if I would go to Heaven soon. Or was I doomed to Hell? I'd just have to see, I suppose. If I had vampires chasing after me in my life, what made me think God wanted me in Heaven after I died? I realized something. It was like I could almost see into my mind. I was pacing inside a thick fog that clouded the utter blackness that surrounded me. There was nowhere to go, and I was becoming hopelessly lost. Then, I saw the faintest glimmer of light, and I walked towards it. Heaven? Please? The only problem was, as I drew closer to the light, it began to fade away, becoming duller and duller with every slow step I took. I began to run, determined to get to it before it left.
Suddenly, the faintest beeping noise interrupted my thoughts. I WAS dead,
wasn't I?

"Why hello there, Miss Sleeping Beauty." A voice I knew well greeted me as my eyes flew open in surprise. "You gave me quite a scare, there."

I looked around the room wildly. Wasn't this… Collin's room? Why was I in my brother's room? Finally, as slowly and hesitantly as possible, I turned my head to face… was it? It was. Collin. "I scared you? I'm so very sorry." I tried to sound sarcastic, but my voice cracked, and talking, for whatever reason, made a deep pain that I couldn't quite locate surface.

"Hey hey hey, don't talk. It'll just hurt. Give yourself some time to recover."

Recover? What had even happened? Why was MY BROTHER taking care of me? What about my parents? Where were they? Did they know what happened?

"Mom and Dad are out with the police looking for you. Here's the story. You got really really upset and left to the gutter to cry. There was a man inside the gutter who asked you what was wrong, and when you didn't answer he started to attack you in frustration. He was mentally disturbed, of course. He hit you hard, knocking you out cold, and started cutting you with rocks and things. That explains the cut on your neck, and your broken leg is from the initial attack. I went out to look for you, and I found you lying there, picked you up, and took you home. That parts true."

"But the rest isn't." I coughed.

"What did I say about talking? And no, it's not. But they don't have to know that." He grinned devilishly. Instinctively, I searched his teeth for the points with my eyes, but I saw nothing.

"Do you even know what really happened?" I didn't think there was any chance that he could be one too. He was terrible at keeping secrets.

"Yeah, of course I do. How else would I have known to clean that bite before the poison spread? You got bit by a vampire. Your bite looks exactly like mine, although it's a little deeper. I really hope I got all the poison out." He rubbed at his neck nervously with his hand.

"POISON!!!" I squealed. Dying quickly? Sure, fine. Dying slowly? No thank you.

"Don't talk!" He reminded me. "Don't worry. The poison can't kill you. Sort of… Anyways, it can't kill you because all it will do is make you one of his kind. But I think we'd both rather be human. That was my choice when I got saved and that's what I think you would want too. Right?"

I nodded. This was so confusing. What vampire would want him? When did he ever get hurt? Unless of course somebody had bit him before he turned three… But how would he remember that? "Why'd you never tell anybody?" I spluttered.

"Stop talking, and who do you think would believe me if I told them I'd been bitten by a mythical creature? That's all they are to people who've never been bit. Mythical creatures." He dragged out his words and sighed.

Things were moving way to fast for me. COLLIN had been bitten by a vampire? And we, ugh, had the same blood type? I sat up, regaining feeling in my body bending and testing every knuckle and joint in my body. I shook with the effort and Collin helped prop up my pillows. "So, who do you think saved, um, us?" I was still having trouble holding on to the concept.

"I don't know. I don't want to. If he's able to hold off a vampire, I don't want to know what he is. For all we know, he could be a vampire too. But stronger."

I couldn't believe what he was saying. "B-but don't you want to know who saved BOTH of our lives! Maybe he's some kind of super hero! Or a-a good vampire! Like in all those books we read! Maybe he's-" I stopped short. The pain in my neck was flaring up, and it felt like a knife had been jabbed into my throat.

"Don't get yourself so worked up. You're really going to hurt yourself! I didn't talk for 3 days after my bite."