Chapter 22

*Adrian's POV*

Blood.

That was all my body craved it more than anything. More than food or alcohol or even my cigarettes. I needed it.

But I couldn't let myself give in to the temptation. I wouldn't allow myself.

Two weeks earlier, when Sydney was in the hospital, I made myself a promise. I promised myself I would stop drinking blood. It was stupid, but I wanted to do it for Sydney. She already hates what I am, so if I can stop the part that she hates the most she might start to love me.

I didn't tell her what I was trying to do because I knew she would tell me I was being stupid. I decided I would keep it a secret until I was completely free of the urge for blood. She would be so happy.

Maybe that was why I was painting a whole canvas different shades of red, allowing myself to paint whatever was on my mind. What was on my mind was blood. Blood… Blood… Blo-

"Adrian?"

I jumped at the sudden voice in the room, dropping my paintbrush to the ground. "Shit." I whispered. I turned to see Sydney in my clothes which was extremely sexy, even with the bed head. "Damn Sage. You need to wear my clothes more often because that is the sexiest thing I've ever seen.

She looked down at herself, a blush rising on her cheeks. I could tell she doubted herself and it hurt. She didn't believe she was pretty or sexy or beautiful, but she was. I was about to tell her that, but she stopped me. "You dropped your paintbrush."

I waved it off. "Happens all the time. This carpet has more stains then I can count." I looked at the clock and saw it was only 7 in the morning. "What are you doing up? It's early."

Her face turned even redder as she shuffled closer. "I couldn't sleep anymore. But I'm fine. The real question is why are you painting the color red? Is there a hidden message I'm missing?" She stood next to me and cocked her head to the side, examining it.

"Nope. No hidden message. Just red… Lots of red." Looking down at her, my eyes focused on one thing. Her hair was up in a messy bun, leaving her neck exposed. I could almost taste the… "No." I said out loud, quickly taking a few steps away from her.

"Adrian? Are you okay?" She turned and took a step towards me. "You look even paler than usual, if that's even possible."

I couldn't look away from her neck, thoughts consumed by how badly I needed what was underneath. I felt like one of those vampires in the cheesy romance books for tweenagers. But bloodlust overtook my body. "Sydney, I-I can't. Shit. I've tried so hard, I-I don't want to quit now."

"Quit what? Adrian, you're not making any sense!" Sydney exclaimed. She walked closer to me. If she knew what was going on in my mind, she would have never came closer.

"Q-Quit drinking blood! I wanted to quit so maybe you wouldn't see me as a vampire or an evil creature but as someone you could love!" I yelled as I backing up until my back hit the wall. I slid down to the floor. My nails dug into my arm as I hoped pain would distract me.

"You tried to… You know that's impossible! That's crazy and stupid and you're practically killing yourself because you want me to love you! I won't accept that!" Her voice rose as she ranted. She stormed over to me and grabbed my hand in a weak attempt to pull me up. "Come on. We're going to Clarence's. Now."

I let her pull me up but immediately fell back down. "No we're not. And I'm talking to all three of you." I blink a few times as the three Sydney's I saw turned back into one. "I can barely stand and I won't let you drive. So we're stuck here. But I'm fine Sage. Don't worry. I made it two weeks without blood, I have to keep going."

I wasn't really fine. Like she said, I was practically killing myself by not drinking blood. But at the time, I didn't realize how bad it was. I didn't realize it until Sage sat down next to me, tears in her eyes.

"You need blood now. And if we can't get to Clarence's…. D-Drink some of mine." She choked out the final words, tears like a waterfall down her face. It was going against everything she believed in and it was killing her just to say it.

"Sage, I can't do that to you. You'll just hate yourself."

"I'll hate myself more if I don't. You've s-saved me multiple times, i-it's the least I can do for you. J-Just please, make it f-fast." She pushed away the stray piece of hair that fell from her bun and tilted her neck, giving me full access. "P-P-Please."

I don't know who it hurt more, me or her. I hated seeing her upset, and this was 10 times worse! It broke my heart. But my body gave in.

My fangs sank into the soft skin of her neck, making her cry out in pain then she was quiet. Her blood tasted heavenly, like the richest wine. I never wanted to stop drinking it, but I knew I had to. When I pulled away, Sydney had a dazed look in her eyes.

"A-Are you done?" She whispered. When the dazed look went away, all I saw was pure horror written all over her face. "Oh my gosh… I-I need to take a shower. I feel so dirty. Violated. Defiled." She stood up, clutching the side of the couch.

I got up and put my hands on her waist. "Here, let me help-"

"No." She said abruptly, stumbling away from me. "D-Don't touch me. I just… Need a minute alone."

I sat on the couch, defeated, as she walked into the bathroom.

Even with the sound of the shower, I could hear her sobbing in the quiet apartment.

"I'm sorry Sage…. I'm so, so sorry." I whispered to myself.

I hurt the girl I loved. My heart told me she would never love me after this, and for the first time I actually believed it.

This chapter wasn't as good as I hoped... But I woke up with this idea in my head of Adrian trying to become something he's not for Sydney, desperate for her to love him as much as he does her. So why not try to give up drinking blood? It actually hurt me to write this. Trust me, as much as you want Sydrian to have a happily ever after I do too. But drama is a must in their lives.

So what did you think of this chapter? Love it? Hate it? Mixed feelings? Let me know by leaving a handy dandy review!

Also, I have a favor to ask. I entered a writing contest and the winner will get their short story featured on 8 blogs and I would love if that person was me! So I'm going to leave the link for the voting where it would be wonderful for you to vote for me. But please, read the short story I wrote (there will be a link inside the link you shall go to) and if you like it, vote for me! If you like someone else's more, vote for them! No hard feelings! My story is called Gifted by Kaitlyn Glass. Here is the link! poll/show/87822-vote-for-your-favorite-short-story -click-on-the-link-below-to-read-a

Thank you so much!

Love,

Kaitlyn xoxo