Chapter Three

Voices

At this point in my life, I'm still so young; I should be fawning over celebrity hotties and laughing with my friends. But when you came along I had no time for friends. When you came along I saw only you, and the way your eyes sparkled forest green in the moonlight. I remember the feel of your hair, so silky as it slipped through my fingers. I can still remember the feel of your cool lips pressing against the hollow of my neck.

I wonder, do you ever remember me?

I come back to myself, held ever so tightly in this stranger's arms. How could I have thought them comforting? Perhaps I imagined that they were your arms, I always felt safe in your arms, where the hurtful snarls of the world never touched me.

Is this a dream? Am I really lying curled in your arms as the stars sweep in their cradle in the sky?

I whisper your name "Valentine."

The word seems foreign on my lips. My eyes are still closed, I want them to open, yet I don't. What if there is something horrible on the other side?

"It's not Valentine's Day, sweetheart, but it's close enough" His voice is strange, and he talks as if I am but a small child. Perhaps he is old, older than you are, maybe decades older, to that I must be an infant.

Silence resumes, we aren't in the club anymore, now I can feel the cool breeze. It carries the stench of an alleyway and cigarette smoke into my face. I wrinkle my nose against the smell and force my eyes open. I blink; everything is a blur of meshed colours and lights. But I know there are people around me, people like you. They live in paper white skin and shinning bright eyes; they glow from the inside out and smile with savage sharp teeth.

A man, or a boy, stands before me. He looks solemn, painfully thin, and slightly gawky. His features are sharp, yet soft. He reminds me of you, so much so that for a moment I believe that he is, but his eyes are a piercing brown. Not green. And he's missing the small dimple that curls your lips into a smile, even when you're sad. No, this boy isn't you, but that doesn't mean he isn't dangerous.

I see his pupils dilate, I watch him lean in, slowly, oh so slowly. I almost want to tell him to hurry up. But then his lips are against my throat, the arms that hold me are slowly pulling away. I'm left, standing here, unable to move.

Desire.

Longing.

Excitement.

These emotions, as fleeting or long lasting as they are, remind me of when you used to do this. Does it shame me to say that I enjoyed the times you fed off me? Yes and no.

How can I feel ashamed of something that feels so good?

His teeth bite deep. I gasp and stagger. His thin arms wrap around me, I feel like my weight will snap them in half. But he holds me lightly, as if trying not to hurt me. And as he drinks my blood something amazing happens.

Clawed fingers pull my hair, the wind changes to colours of purple and blue. I can see the wind singing. Pleasure courses through my body, like a tightly coiled snake I feel myself arch in against his chest.

I'm dying in this indescribable bliss.

But then he pulls his mouth away, crimson like the ruby red kisses I once bestowed upon your cheeks and your nose and you eyelids and your lips...... His lips are soft, he looks almost feminine. Hair dark brown and thick, a small curl where it meets his ear on one side and where it rests on his cheek on the other.

I waver where I stand, the high making my skin glow, and iridescent angel among the filth.

Someone is laughing, more than one, many people are laughing. They stand around me, chuckling. But he doesn't, he stares at me, with my blood dribbling neatly down his chin and dripping onto his leather jacket. I wonder what he is thinking, something as beautiful as his eyes no doubt. How I must appear to him in this state.

I can barely focus now; I stumble back, until I hit the sticky wall. My hands scrabble for something to hold onto. But I still slide down until I land with a soft bump to the ground.

The wind is now howling, I turn my cheek away, fearful that I will be hurt. And my eyes burn from its ferocity. My hair is being whipped around in a frenzy, gleeful children tearing at my locks. I'm reminded of some great beast, it preys upon the weak, seeks them out, and uses the wind to tear them to pieces. This beast is most ferocious. It plans to peel the skin from my bones.

"She enjoys your kiss." Someone says. It's him; the one who caught me, his voice is amused.

I try and look up; liquid brown eyes burn my own. I have to look away. I'm scared, how could I have been so naive. Without you here to protect me from the darkness. I'm as vulnerable as a petal wafting in the winter storm. Tossing and turning in feverish demise.

"I'll take her." The beautiful boy replies, I can feel his gaze penetrating my own, almost like a physical thing.

"Then she's yours. But only if you pay up front." His voice is low. I strain my eyes against the torrent of wind. The moon above is obscured by clouds, they swathe its pearly glow with thick black tendrils and a sinister air.

I can hear the riffle of money being counted, it passes hands, and then I hear footsteps. The smell of sweat and something more disturbing wafts about my nose. Cold hands wrap around my arms, pull me upright, then drag me forward. I can't see. I'm blinded by the wind.

It shrieks at me.

The soft, velvet feel of leather invades my senses. The respite from the wind is heaven¸ and something hits my feet, forces me to curl into a tight ball.

I wish you were here, by my side, holding me close. Tears are leaking from my eyes, they sting my wind burnt cheeks. Something pools in the palm of my hand and drips down. I force my eyes to obey; they peer down my arm, trapped awkwardly beneath me.

Its blood that drips.

A small crystal heart.

Stained red.

Like a violent rose in the sun.

The cut has not yet healed.

The tears flow faster.

A hesitant hand strokes my cheek, brushes a tear away, and then disappears. I look up to see the boy, gazing at my tear with a look of sadness.

I turn away, back to the heart.

I thought I dropped it. Back home. Where I was safe.

Where everything reminds me of you.

Hope you enjoyed the 3rd chapter. And please review and tell me what you think! It really means a lot to me.

Emily

Thank you to:

darkangel1994

vamp-temptation

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Aethor