The wooden planks of her bedroom creaked against my weight as I entered. Her eyes shot up at mine, and I was suddenly met with glassy orbs of a light pistachio colour. Her shinny blonde hair lay in thick layers around her head, almost completely covering the pillow. Her breathing was shallow and loud and she was extremely pale, even for a vampire, and I knew this was due to the infectious bite that would soon take her body and soul.
Her eye-brows creased and her beautiful eyes swept over me in curiosity. What was she thinking?
"Are you going to kill me?" She asked, her voice shook despite her efforts to keep it calm. I winced and took a step forward. Something hard sat in the bottom of my stomach when I thought about hurting her.
"On your birthday? You really think that low of me?" I wouldn't put it past her, I mean it's not like I haven't done it before. But for some strange reason, I was disgusted that she even pondered I would- I would murder her on the day she was brought into this world, the day she was born to die.
There was a pause. She kept her eyes on mine, glaring with unnecessary force, before she answered. "Yes." Her voice rung clear and confident in my ears. I frowned. I didn't want her to think so low of me. How peculiar.
I moved towards her until I was standing directly over her bed. I took a deep breath as I reached out to her blanket. She gasped but did not move. I took in a sharp breath as I revealed her wound. It was red and swollen, oozing blood and puss.
"That looks bad." I whispered drawing my hand away. "My apologies. You're what's known as collateral damage, it's nothing personal."
She raised those stunning eyes angrily to mine, and it felt like something was moving in my stomach. Something light, almost like air, but at the same time it felt like it was weighing me down. She continued to hold my gaze and without thinking, I reached out and lightly touched the charm bracelet that dangled along her wrist.
"I love birthdays." I continued, and I could feel the corners on my lips turn upwards as she made a noise that surprisingly sounded like laughter. It was only a quick, airy snort, but it was enough to make my inside burst.
She swallowed hard, "Yeah." Sniff "Aren't you like, a billion or something?" She said with a hint of a smile. I was suddenly caught off guard by the change of mood.
"We have to adjust our perception of time when you become a vampire, Caroline." I liked the way her name sounded on my lips. "Celebrate the fact that you are no longer bound by trivial human conventions." I paused to stare at her eyes, her hair, her cheeks, her lips… "You're free."
"No." She said, her voice growing weaker. "I'm dying." She stated simply and my stomach churned.
I leaned down carefully to get a closer look at her face, her eyes widened but she didn't protest, so I continued to slide into a sitting position on her bed. "And I could let you," I whispered. She swallowed hard so I continued. "Die. If that's what you want. If you really believe your existence has no meaning." I was completely consumed by those wide green eyes. Words started flowing out of my mouth before I could stop them. "I thought about it myself, once or twice over the centuries, truth be told." I leaned in closer so I could feel her breath on my lips. I could hear heart beat fasten and I felt my lip twitch upward. "But let me let you in on a little secret… There's a whole world out there waiting for you." My voice had dropped so low that only her vampire ears could hear me. "Great cities and art, and music." My eyes travelled down her face and stopped half a second on her lips before drifting to her charm bracelet (one Tyler got her, no doubt). I reached out and touched it again, this time grazing her skin, sending amazing waves of electricity through me.
My eyes rested on hers again. "Genuine Beauty." I smirked as I thought about how beautiful she is in this moment, half dead in her pyjamas, hair in thick knots surrounding her face. Her breath hitched and I continued to trace my fingers along her wrist.
"And you can have all of it. You can have a thousand more birthdays. All you have to do is ask." I finished and I realized I had moved closer as I was talking, her face just inches away.
Her eyes searched my face, waiting for me to say something more, but when I didn't her jaw set and her eyes watered. "I don't want to die." She squeaked, voice thick and raw.
Sudden relief washed over me, I hadn't thought about what I would do if she said no, if she had denied her life. I moved my sleeve up and supported her head with my free arm. I gave her a small smile before bringing her head to my lap. Her hair fell over my fingers in curls and her skin was surprisingly soft.
"There you go sweetheart. Have at it." I breathed into her hair. She smelt of honey and spices. I couldn't deny how good it felt to hold her like this. She hesitated only a second before bringing her lips to my wrist. I sighed with pleasure as her teeth sunk in. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling of having her tongue overlap my skin. She made short moaning sounds and my head was spinning.
"Happy birthday, Caroline." I said, letting her tear through my flesh with joy.