ANEESA

I left the arena with mine and Roman's suitcases. A taxi cab was waiting outside for me, so I hopped into the backseat and handed the driver the address for the hotel. The driver tried to make conversation with me, but all I really wanted was to sit there in silence and think about what I was going to say to Roman and to everyone. A few minutes later, we pulled up to the hotel. I handed him some money and told him to keep the change before hopping out of the taxi. I had barely gotten the door shut before he sped off into the night. I headed into the hotel with both suitcases rolling behind me and went directly to the elevators. Seth had texted me the room number, so all I had to do was press the right floor number and I was on my way up.

DING! The elevator sounded, alerting me that it had stopped on the floor that I needed. The doors opened and I stepped into the hallway to make my way towards mine and Roman's room. A sense of nervousness surged through my body as I pulled the key card out of my pants pocket. My hand was shaking like a leaf as I inserted the card into the card reader and quickly pulled it out again. I watched as the indicator light turned from red to green, meaning that I could enter the room. I carefully pushed the door handle down and made my way into the room.

It was dark, save for the bathroom light trickling in through a small crack in the door. I could just barely make out Roman lying on one of the beds, a makeshift ice pack on his head. He was already in a wife beater and sweatpants and his feet were bare. I took my shoes off and placed them underneath the desk.

"Hey, stranger. How you feeling?" I asked as I placed the suitcases in the closet.

"Except for the pain in my head, I'm not doing too badly at all." He replied, turning his head to look at me.

"I am so so sorry about this, baby. You should be back at the arena with Seth and Dean, dishing out justice. And I should be teaming with the Funkadactyls and teaching AJ and her posse a thing or two about what a real Divas champion looks like." I said, trying not to break down.

"Hey! Stop blaming yourself for what happened. I'm not happy about it either, but what's done is done. It gives us the opportunity to talk." He consoled me.

I watched as he scooted over on the bed and patted the area next to him. Without hesitation, I made my way over to the bed and lay down beside him, sighing happily as he threw his arms around me.

"About that…you're absolutely right, Roman. We do need to talk. I'm afraid I haven't been completely honest with you or with anyone in the company. I've been tiptoeing around the topic for so long because I was so afraid of what people might say or think about me. But it's time for me to come clean and tell you who I really am." I told him.

"Does this have anything to do with what happened back at the arena?" he asked.

"Yes. What I'm about to tell you might shock you. But first, I need you to promise that nothing will change between us." I said to him.

"I'll try, Aneesa. Really, I will." Roman replied.

"Okay…here goes nothing. Everything I ever told you was true, except for the fact that I left out one crucial piece of information: it all happened years ago…2,000 years, to be exact." I explained.

I could sense that he was confused, so I continued.

"What I'm trying to tell you is that I am a real-life vampire. I came up with the vampire gimmick and the name 'Vampira' because I figured that no one would ever catch on to my true nature." I concluded.

"So…the thing with the eyes…that's not just a parlor trick?" he asked, a little taken aback.

"No parlor trick…it's the real deal. It's only happened one other time. When we were at the sushi restaurant, the hostess wouldn't stop making googly eyes at you. It infuriated me and my eyes turned blood red. It's a rarity for me. They only turn blood red when I'm extremely angry."

"Okay, that makes sense. But there are other things that I don't quite understand."

"What else do you want or need to know?"

"There have been a couple of times when I felt dizzy after having a conversation with you. Is that another part of your vampire abilities?" Roman asked.

"Unfortunately. Did it ever happen when you made direct eye contact with me?" I questioned him.

"Now that you mention it, it did!" he exclaimed, carefully sitting on his side of the bed.

"Whatever you do, don't make direct eye contact with a vampire. We tend to go a little overboard with our mind control powers and it can drain a human of their ability to think and act on their own accord. Anything else?"

"Just one more thing...just tell me the truth, Aneesa. You don't…um…you know…" he trailed off.

"I know what you're referring to and yes, I do. But it's not what you think. It's not at all what people read in books and see in movies. We don't drink everyone's blood…only people who have taken an innocent life are fed upon. Fortunately, I only need to feed on human blood once a month."

Roman sat there with his head bowed, not uttering a single word. I could tell that he was trying to process this information. I crawled on my knees across the bed and knelt behind him.

"I understand that this is a lot to comprehend. That's why I was so hesitant to tell anyone about who I really was." I told him, throwing my arms around him.

"I'm actually glad you told me this. Yes, it is a lot to process, but it's just something I'm going to have to accept. But there is one more thing I have to know." He said, turning his head to look at me.

"And what would that be, sir?" I asked him.

"You're not older than me, are you?" he asked me, failing to hide the smirk on his face.

"Are you kidding me?" I exclaimed as I grabbed a pillow and smacked him.

He laughed heartily as I hit him over and over again with the pillow.

"I was just asking!" he said in between his laughter.

"You're perfectly okay with me being a vampire, but you're worried that I'm older than you? Unbelievable!" I said.

As I continued to hit him, I felt his hands grab my waist and his fingers dug into my sides. One downside to being a vampire is that we are insanely ticklish and the slightest touch can make us weak.

"R-Roman! Cut it out! I'm v-very ticklish!" I squealed, trying to keep my grip on the pillow.

"You shouldn't have told me that…now the tickle monster is gonna get you!" he threatened, focusing on my underarms.

I couldn't stand it any longer and released my grip on the pillow. Before long, the two of us were rolling around on the bed, an all-out tickle fight unfolding right before our eyes. I knew that one of us had to tap out or this tickle war would never end.

"M-mercy! Please have mercy, Roman. I c-can't take it anymore!" I pleaded, trying desperately to catch my breath.

Roman graciously ended his torture on me and together we flopped down on the bed, our bodies intertwined. As we lay there, I couldn't help but think about the one thing I wanted most.

"Roman, you know I love you, right?" I asked him.

"Right."

"And you know that I would do anything for you, right?"

"What are you getting at, Aneesa?" he asked point blank.

"I want you to become my mate." I simply stated.

"Your mate, as in becoming a vampire?" he asked, incredulously.

"Yes, of course." I replied.

"What about Madison? You're not going to turn her into a vampire too, are you?" he asked, almost demanding to know the answer.

"Unless a child is born a vampire, they must wait until the age of 18 in human years to be turned, if they so choose. It's been in the vampire law for thousands of years. It would be improper to turn a human child into a vampire against their will. I know what a close bond you have with your daughter and it wouldn't be right for me to destroy that bond." I reassured him, trying to calm him down by rubbing his arm.

"I do love you, Aneesa. I really do, but I need time to think about it." He said, pulling me close.

"If that's what you want, Roman. I don't want to pressure you or anything. Oh, by the way, I plan on telling everyone else my secret." I told him, closing my eyes.

"When are you going to do that?" he asked as he too closed his eyes.

"Probably tomorrow or the next day…I haven't decided yet." I said, slowly falling into a peaceful slumber.

"I'm here for you, babe. I'll be right there, encouraging you every step of the way." Roman said, squeezing my hand gently.

"I love you, Roman." I breathed quietly as sleep overtook me.

"I love you too, my Aneesa." He replied as he nodded off to dreamland.