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Because the night belongs to us
Dave shook his head, watching Alyxx closely.
"A vampire. I...I'm sorry. I just can't believe it."
Alyxx chuckled humorlessly, shrugging. "Fine. Just think of me as some crazy chick you met one night and forget about me. We'll leave it at that."
"I can't do that, Alyxx," he replied softly. "I mean, I can't deny that there's something...strange going on here, but...a vampire? How am I supposed to believe that?"
"Jesus fucking Christ!" She whirled on him in a fury, and Dave, surprised, took a step backwards. "Did I ask you to believe it? Do I fucking owe you an explanation? I never asked you to approach me, I never asked you to follow me, and I never asked you to pretend you were some knight come riding in on a white horse to save me! So excuse me if I really don't give a shit whether you believe me or not!"
She turned away from him and started to storm away, but Dave grabbed her arm gently.
"Alyxx...please," he pleaded quietly.
"What?"
Her voice was soft and choked with tears. She had her face turned away from him once again, and her hair had once more fallen forward, obscuring her features. Dave sighed and pulled her closer, reaching out with his free hand to move her hair aside.
And he froze at what he saw.
She was indeed crying. Red tears. Blood tears.
"Jesus," he whispered.
Alyxx gave a short, harsh laugh.
"Yeah. I'm a fucking freak." She sighed and shook her head wearily. "Just...leave me alone, Dave."
She dropped her head down, her shoulders shaking gently with silent sobs.
Dave swallowed thickly, hesitating for a moment. Then he did the only thing he knew he could do.
He pulled her close, wrapping his arms tightly around her.
"Shhh. Don't cry, Alyxx. Hush, now..."
His attempt at comforting her only made her cry all the harder, the crimson tears soaking into his shirt.
"Alyxx, I'm sorry. I just...want to understand," he whispered softly. And he did. Even if understanding turned his entire world upside down.
She gave a soft, bitter chuckle.
"You're better off just walking away."
"And what's going to happen to you if I do?" he asked, taking hold of her wrists. "Are you going to try something like this all over again?"
"It's none of your concern," she replied with a shrug.
"The hell it isn't! First of all, I'm a doctor. I won't just stand by and let someone die. And second, you...well...there's something about you..."
He wasn't sure how to put it into words. It wasn't just that she was beautiful that drew him...there was something about her, about that quality of toughness that was just cracked enough to see the pain and fragility beneath. Maybe he saw her as a kindred spirit.
She shook her head and pulled away from him.
"There's nothing about me! It's part of what I am. We...allure mortals. We fascinate them. It's the same type of fascination you might have watching a tiger in a cage, or a wolf on the prowl. I'm a predator, Dave, one of the most dangerous you'll ever meet."
"And how would you know what I've met in my life?" Dave replied quietly. "Alyxx, I don't know what you are. I know what you say you are, and maybe you are that. But I also know there's more to you than that. And I can't just walk away and spend the rest of my life wondering about you."
She raised her chin, eyes meeting his. Her expression turned cold.
"I could kill you," she said flatly.
Dave shrugged. "Maybe. And if you are what you say you are, I probably wouldn't stand a chance."
"Jesus H. Christ!" she exclaimed, shaking her head incredulously, giving a mirthless laugh. "Do you have a death wish?"
"No," he replied. "Far from it. And I don't doubt that you could kill me. But I do doubt that you will."
Alyxx shook her head and regarded him with a smirk.
"I'll say one thing for you. You've got cajones."
Dave chuckled softly. "Do I?"
"I still don't think you know what you're dealing with," she replied, the smirk still on her face.
"Then tell me."
"You won't believe me." The smirk actually started to turn into a hint of a smile.
"Try me."
"I'm a vampire. Do you believe that?"
"I don't know," he answered honestly. "Maybe." He paused, looking down at his shirt, stained from her tears, then added, "Probably."
The smirk was completely replaced by a smile.
"Sorry about your shirt."
"It's all right," he said, returning the smile. "It was pretty old anyway.
I'll just toss it when I get home. Now...what about you?"
"What about me?"
"Well," he began, unsure of where he was even going, "you tried to kill yourself. I've accepted that you're most likely what you say you are. Now what I want to know is, why?"
"Why I'm a vampire or why I tried to kill myself?" she asked, the smirk returning.
"Whichever you feel like telling me."
"And how do you know I feel like telling you anything?"
"Because you're here. Because you haven't killed me yet."
She snorted softly. "Yet." Dave simply looked at her, until
she shook her head and rolled her eyes. "All right. I guess I'm not
going to kill you. Don't ask me why; I don't know."
"Maybe because you're not as ready to die as you think you are?" he suggested
softly.
She ran her hands through her hair, tossing her head back.
"I...I don't know. You have no idea what it's like for me. You never could. I've been existing for over two hundred years now, and I'm fucking tired. I keep thinking there's got to be more than this. Two hundred years of existence, and what do I have to show for it? An empty soul and a trail of bodies."
Dave blinked. "Bodies?"
She met his gaze with hers, grinning humorlessly.
"Bodies, Dave. Even before I became what I am now, I was a killer." The grin faded as she saw the look on his face. Shrugging, she cast her gaze down. "I told you...I'm a predator. I'm dangerous. And I told you you'd be wise to have nothing to do with me."
"I'm not going anywhere," he said quietly. "Want to tell me your story?"