Willa began to panic. She began to feel dizzy; she didn't want to pass out again. She just wanted to find Riley. Willa opened the door and stepped out, trying not to stumble, she walked towards the gas station. As she walked, she tripped over the car bell and fell on her hands and knees. The shock of the fall hit her quick. She began to cry, she was embarrassed and she knew she couldn't do anything for herself anymore. She looked up into the face of an eccentric looking old man. With tears falling, she began to call Riley's name.
"Ma'am, are you okay?" the man asked her, reaching his hands out to grab her. She tried crawling towards the door, she could see Riley at the register.
"Riley!" she called, still crawling, tears streaming down her face.
"Ma'am?" the man said again. She ignored him.
"Riley," she half croaked, half whispered, as she collapsed.
When Willa came to again, she opened her eyes and they were driving. By the darkness, she could tell that it was very late into the night or very early into the morning. She wasn't sure which.
"Riley," she whispered, still dazed.
"Yes?" he said too emotional for his role in the situation.
Willa just smiled a loopy smile, and looked out of the window at the cars passing them by. She was very glad just to hear Riley's voice. She loved watching the trees pass outside of the car. She looked away from her window, and back to Riley.
"Riley?" she hesitated, "How long have you known me? Tell me honestly." she asked weakly.
"What?" he asked taken aback.
"How long have you known me? When did you first see me?" she repeated. He waited a moment before responding.
"Only a few years," he hesitated, "5 to be exact. I saw you for the first time when Julius took you on your first date. I didn't like you because you were taking him away from his own. He prefered you to us. But, then as I watched you grow over the years, I began to feel the need to protect you, to save you from everything, even Julius." he said quietly.
"Next question, how do you know Julius?" she asked, still loopy but more sharply.
Riley sighed deeply. "He has been my bestfriend for the the past 236 years. I've supported him in everything he's done, since the day I met him," he said firmly " until you." his voice began to shake but he looked sincere. Since he'd very thoroughly proved his purpose, she believed him.
"The moment that I sensed his strength dwindling, I told him. I warned him, that he would hurt you. He said he loved you too much, and I do believe he thought so. But in the end, if you don't feed, the hunger will drive you to madness," he drew in a long breath before finishing. "I know." They sat in silence for a moment.
"Riley, why did you warn him? About me, I mean." She said this hesitantly, she almost feared the answer. Riley wasn't helping much, he was thinking, or maybe phrasing his response.
This caused Willa to explode, she was nervous enough without him making things worse. "Riley Cullen! Just because I'm dying doesn't mean I've suddenly caught amnesia! I remember the other night, you kissed-" she began to scream out in pain.
"Willa?" he gasped as her scream continued painfully. "Willa!" Riley exclaimed. Riled immediately pulled out his cell phone and dialed Carlisle.
"Yes?" came his uncles 'all knowing' voice.
"Carlisle! She is screaming! She's in pain! She won't answer me and, and she can't! What do I do?" Riley yelled into the phone, his voice revealing his fear.
"Riley," Carlisle started in a calm voice "you can't do anything. She is changing. You went through the same thing when you changed. The only thing you can do is try to keep anyone from hearing her." He continued in a calm voice.
"But I can't just let her go through this kind of pain, there must be something I can do for her," he begged.
"Riley, she has three days. This is not the worst, by far. You need to either purify her blood yourself, or hurry up and get her here so I can do it."
"Okay," Riley said making up his mind. "I'm going to bring her to you. I've risked too much trying to save her life, all of these years, to risk throwing it all away now. I'll be there in two days." He replied more calm, regaining his authoritative attitude. He ended the call. Willa had stopped screaming by now. As he glanced towards her, a beam of light from a passing car, washed over her features. Riley's eyes grew wide and he pushed the peddle harder towards the floor. The beautiful golden blonde of Willa's hair was quickly being replaced by a color so black it resembled an oil spill, sweeping silently down her shoulders.
"Oh shit," he whispered. He remembered being told that when specific vampires bit someone, it caused the new vampire to get what could only be described as a very painful cancer. The symptoms were varied, but, the one symptom they could always count on was the new vampire's appearance. It would almost always change first. Along with the appearance, the person's attitude and morals would change. The virus that was passed on was a watered down version of the purist evil that ever existed. The process was proved irreversible, but if the infected were to get the antidote in time, it would save whatever had not changed about the person yet. If their attitude were changed, sometimes there was nothing left to do but eliminate them. This was something that Riley would not allow to happen.
A few hours passed by quickly, Riley took the silence as a time when he could begin planning the last crucial moments that would either save or destroy Willa. Once he had exhausted every idea that crossed his vivid imagination, he turned to his phone again. He began dialing a foreign number, a number he hadn't dialed in a long time.
"Hello?" came the inexpectant voice of his cousin. They had a history, that was for sure. The last time they had talked, it was Thanksgiving thirty years ago. Edward, Riley's cousin, had found a new human obsession. Riley disagreed entirely upon taking a human as a toy, much less an obsession. They had fought on the topic, and Riley had stormed out in an unbelievable rage.
"Edward, it's Riley. I need your help,"
"I can't help you," Edward said sternly.
"THIS IS NOT ABOUT YOU AND ME!" Riley bellowed.
"Riley, Carlisle has told us all of the consequences if we reveal any of his secrets." Edward said, regret in his tone. Willa opened her eyes. She could see every beautiful color, even the smallest creatures. She was awed by everything she hadn't been able to see before. Then, a voice pulled her out of her beautiful intoxication. "Edward," Riley gasped, " I can't listen to her scream anymore. I love her far too much, and this is killing me."
"You're right. You can't. But, unless you want her to die, to lose everything that you admire so much about her, then you have to. I felt the same way when I went through this with Bella. I love her so much now, and I'm glad that she's going to spend eternity by my side, but, I miss her blush, the warmth of her touch, the peach color of her skin… Just hurry up, okay?" He choked out, with obvious sorrow in his voice.
"Yeah, I guess," Riley's voice cracked then Willa began to scream again, "I've gotta go," and Riley ended the call.
"Willa, shhh, its okay," he tried to sooth, "This will all be over, very soon." Willa clenched her eyes shut, and let out another pain filled scream as her body jerked, and her eyes flew open, revealing memorizing purple irises.
"RILEY!" she screamed.
"Yes Willa, I'm right here. You're going to be okay," Riley glanced back towards the road and slammed on the breaks as he realized why Willa's scream was so panicked.
