Part 12

She shot up from the bed in the dark and gasped heavily. It was another nightmare, but different than the ones that had plagued her when she first met Clay. It was about Clay's friend, Joey, who tried to kill her. The straps were cutting off her circulation, and the needles were digging into her skin. It was something that continued to scare her night after night.

But things were different now: Joey was dead, and his position as a half vampire was done when he perished in the house fire. And she had Clay. The person who saved her life for the third time in the span of weeks. For some reason she felt safer with him than she did before. Was it because of his heroism? Or was it because of the fact that he had a good heart? Maybe it was both, but she wasn't sure. She turned on a lamp that was next to her and revealed the inside of a small hotel room, realizing that the two of them made a stop last night after all of the driving.

"I guess I fell asleep on the way there," Jordan thought, rubbing her eyes.

She checked the alarm clock and saw that the time read 8:00, but wasn't sure if it was night or day. Someone suddenly opened the bathroom door and turned on another light, causing Jordan to grow slightly nervous for a few moments. She then spotted Clay, fully clothed but with damp hair and a towel around his neck.

"How'd you sleep?" He asked, starting to dry his hair.
Jordan nodded and said, "OK".
"It's all yours if you need it."
"What is?"

He motioned his head towards the bathroom, causing Jordan to say, "Oh. Right."
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Hours later, the two of them entered a small roadside diner to grab some breakfast and take a break from all of the driving for a few moments. Jordan was still unable to eat or drink anything except water because of what had happened before they left. No matter how many times it took him to convince her that they needed to move on, she felt that it was too quick for her.

Jordan continued to stare out of the window as he asked her again, trying to snap her out of her thoughts. She glanced back at him in some confusion.

"You haven't touched anything on your plate," he said.

She glanced down at the plate of scrambled eggs and tried to take a small forkful of the yellow, sponge-like substance. He suddenly leaned over and placed a cool hand on her forehead for a few seconds, causing her to stop and glance at him again.

"I'm not sick," Jordan said, poking at the plate of eggs as he sat back down.
"I didn't say you were," Clay said, sitting back down, "But I'm worried about you."
"Why?"
"Well, you and I have been through a lot so far, and...well, now since it's just the two of us, I have every right to worry about your condition."

Jordan nodded and continued to poke the eggs with her fork. She then held her head and turned away, waiting for the tears to form. She was still scared and upset about all that had happened, and all she wanted to do was get away from everything. But the memories were still haunting her and wouldn't die down. She suddenly felt his hand cover hers on the table, causing her to turn to his face and stare at him for a few moments until she was able to calm down.

(To be continued...)