CHAP 6:

At some point I'd fallen asleep. I opened my eyes to see the news on and closed them again. Content to be so snug and warm. Realising that there was something softly moving beneath me I opened my eyes again, to find my head and torso curled up across Elijah. My lower back downwards was between Elijah's body in line with the front of the lounge, and the back of the lounge behind me. He must have moved, because he was now lying on his back with his head resting on the arm rest. His legs nearly reaching the opposite end. Not quite awake I closed my eyes again, enjoying the warmth. Elijah? Get. Up. Flustered I lifted my head up off his chest. Stopping mid movement when Elijah's watchful gaze trapped my own. He was smiling softly. I could tell he was immensely happy with himself, but wasn't giving that away with his expression. My cheeks burned and I knew I was blushing.

"What are you smiling at?" I glared. Still sleepy. "So I fell asleep and leaned onto you. I was asleep. And you moved, so you set me in this position. This, closeness." I stated angrily, to myself as well as him. As my sleepiness wore off I became aware of the rest of my body. Namely, that my left hand was on Elijah's chest. I could feel his warm skin and his firm but not harshly muscled body, beneath my palm. I looked down confused because Elijah was wearing a shirt. My eyes went wide and I pulled my arm out from under his shirt and pushed myself off of him so that I was lying between the back of the lounge and Elijah. If not for my olive complexion I was sure that my face would be beetroot red with embarrassment. I clamoured up over the back of the lounge, awkwardly to keep the nighty from shifting the wrong way and stood behind it. I was sure I'd flashed. I made to bring the blanket with me. But Elijah wouldn't allow it. I moved to the front of the lounge and sat cross legged on the floor in front of where his legs lay and pulled the blanket down over me. The position was rather revealing if I was viewed from the front, but once the blanket covered me, all was okay. Elijah chuckled. "Like I said." I mumbled. "I was asleep. And cold"

"Are you having difficulty convincing yourself of that?"

"Excuse me?"

"I wasn't bothered by your," he paused. "Explorations." I turned and was met with the grin that I knew, knew he had on.

"Explorations? Ha. You wish. I'm surprised that a vampire would be so warm. Regardless, your warmth is the only thing you have going for you." I said stiffly. "Apart from your cooking skills." Giving credit, where it was due.

"If only what I have going for me was that simple for you." He mused. Regarding me with his deep soul-reading eyes. When I didn't reply he smiled. Knowing he was right. Assuming that he was right. I really couldn't care less that he was handsome and charming, and could cook. And looked at me in a way that was so foreign to anyone else I'd ever known. Then why have I noticed?

"You need not cause yourself discomfort by sitting on the floor my love."

"I'm quite comfortable thank you."

"Mmm, I imagine the tiles would be very soft and warm to sit on." He said sarcastically. I turned back to face the tv.

"Yes, they are." Playing along with his sarcasm. But I didn't really care if I was uncomfortable.

"Elena." His tone serious. "Don't put yourself out because of me."

"Oh, I'm not. I actually prefer the floor. Especially when the lounge is occupied."

"There is room for you."

"From your side of things, I'm sure there's always room for me. However, there is no room for you in my life, or on the same lounge."

"Ouch. That might've hurt if it were true."

"Why do you keep doing that?" Still facing away from him. "You're so damn sure of yourself, of me. It's irritating-."

"Because it's confronting. And it scares you." I didn't say anything.

"Why are you warm anyway? I assumed vampires would be cold. Being dead and all." Elijah didn't answer straight away. The pause lingered. "Stop that."

"Stop what?" He asked innocently.

"Smirking."

"How could you possibly know if I'm smirking, when you're facing away from me?"

"I-." I took a moment to think about it. "I can just tell." I said unsure. How did I know? It was a feeling. I felt it when I'd first looked into the en suite, and again during our conversation when he was cooking. "I don't know. It's a feeling." I finished sharply.

"Mmm." What's that supposed to mean? "Well, blood in a vampire's body has a different purpose to blood in a human body. As our bodies were once human, our blood travels through the same pathways. You could look at vampires as being anaemic. The blood we drink replenishes the amount circulating our bodies, as we cannot produce nor maintain blood. Only when the level in our body depletes does our body temperature become abnormal. This happens because the veins and blood vessels closest to the surface of our skin are the first to dry up. Without the circulating blood, we become cold. Severe injury or blood loss for whatever reason speeds up this occurrence. Because of the healing properties of vampire blood. Severe injuries are usually caused by wood. The use of wooden stakes in movies and books is correct. Wood is extremely painful, and when staked in the heart is fatal to most vampires. Anything else and our blood heals us fine." Why was he telling me his cryptonite? I found it odd that Elijah should so simply tell me how I could kill, or at the very least wound him. Maybe he was being cocky, and didn't think I would do it, or rather could. He'd stop me before I managed it. Regardless I took note of the affirmation to my assumptions earlier about wood.

"That whole explanation seems so obvious. It's like a blood disorder." Elijah chuckled. "So you just have human blood running through your veins?"

"Yes, and no. When vampires drink blood it is absorbed through the stomach. It doesn't pass through the digestive tract. During digestion, the properties of blood changes to harbour a high amount of enzymes. Which is why our blood heals us so quickly."

"You said that the blood in your body uses all the same vessels as human blood. Does that mean you have a heartbeat?"

"Yes. We need to have some form of heartbeat to keep our bodies pressurised. Otherwise the blood would not flow freely through veins and such. But the tempo is completely different. Instead of the fast two beat boom-boom. It's a more spaced out two beat. It may be personal to each vampire. For me, the first beat is followed approximately 20 minutes later by the second beat. Then there is a break of about 40 to 50 minutes before the two beats are repeated." I thought about this. It boggled my mind more than how old Elijah was. I thought through my basic biology classes about the human body.

"So, I'm assuming the slower heartbeat is because you don't have blood travelling to your organs for functional purposes, seeing as many of your organs have no use."

"That's right." He sounded impressed. I turned to face him, a frown on my face, as I still mulled over what he'd told me in my mind.

"And you breathe. I assume it is necessary. Because blood transports oxygen around the body to organs, and is involved in providing fuel to burn nutrients in the body. Your increased speed means you must have to produce extra energy. But because many of your organs aren't functioning from digestion of human foods. Each breath you take must provide plenty of extra oxygen to produce energy for your vampire abilities." Elijah's eyebrows were raised. He was impressed.

"Yes, breathing is necessary, and you just explained the function completely."

"Really?" I asked shocked.

"Mmm-hmm. I already knew you were intelligent. But few people can apply their knowledge with such ease as you've just done." Was that a compliment? So what if it was? I looked at him skeptically.

"I just thought about it logically, and drew information I've read as well as lessons from Biology classes." I said, brushing off the compliment. I knew Elijah could tell me whatever he liked wether it was true or not, and I'd have to believe whatever information I was given. Unless otherwise proved wrong. But I didn't feel he was lying to me. That blatant honesty that he had about him never wavered. And everything easily made sense.

I spent the afternoon in front of the lounge on the floor watching the tv. By nightfall my bottom was stiff, as were my legs. Elijah cooked for us again. Dinner was kebabs, that had been marinated in a delicious sauce, which was deeply flavoured. It was a great change from the sweet and sour, or hot'n spicy that I was used to. Like lunch, the meal was lovely. The silence that had dragged on throughout the afternoon continued, apart from functional conversation, when Elijah asked if I wanted a drink. And then proceeded to ask if I minded him drinking blood as he and I ate dinner. I think I surprised him when I said I didn't mind. I surprised myself that I ate my dinner like normal and didn't find it horrible at all. I would have thought I'd feel some distaste at what he was consuming. The overall silence wasn't uncomfortable either. I didn't know wether to be bothered by it, or just thankful I didn't have to chat. The overall atmosphere in the house as we sat down to watch tv again was civil, and I sat on the lounge again. It bothered me. I'd rather be a pain in the arse than a good little house guest.

At 9pm Elijah stood and I thought he was going to take the blanket from me. But he turned the tv off at the wall and fixed me with a hesitant look as he turned back toward me. I stared blankly at the blackened tv screen.

"Elena, it's time for bed." That caught my attention. My stomach tightened. What exactly does he mean by, bed? Continuing to stare at the tv.

"Not tired."

"You are."

"How would you know?"

"I don't know. It's a feeling." He replied mockingly. But it just sounded suave. I looked up at him.

"I told you earlier. I. Am. Not. Sharing. A bed. With. You." I stated flat toned with multiple pauses.

"For the moment. I need to you move into the bedroom so I can lock the bedroom door. As to wether you choose to keep warm with the bed covers, is up to you."

"No."

"No? I'm doing you the courtesy of asking you. You are aware I can have you in there within a second."

"Making me go into the bedroom wouldn't be very courteous of you."

"Please?" He didn't want to force me to go inside.

"No."

"Very well." He came forward and grabbed the blanket from me, throwing it over the back of the lounge so that it was draped just out of reach of me. When I reached my arm out to grab it back he took hold of my arm. I tried to twist from his grip, but his hold didn't loosen. I was surprised that it wasn't painful. It was confusing how strong he could be, yet still gentle. He pulled me up onto my feet and I forced my fist to propel towards his face. He caught my approaching wrist before my hand connected. I stomped my feet down on his own, which surprised him a little. I saw the slight curve of his mouth, before he spun me and my back was against his front, my arms released. His arms had come around my waist and he lifted me against him. He didn't speed off into the bedroom. Opting to walk up the hallway instead.

"Put me down!" I kicked and writhed in his hold. "Let me go Elijah!"

"Shortly sweetheart." He murmured just behind my right ear. I flung my head backwards trying to hit him in the face, but didn't manage to.

"God! You are such a-. An ignorant, arrogant, self righteous, dominating-." I changed tracks. "You should have just killed me. But no, your feelings are so important. What about mine? I don't want any of this! You're just selfish!" He put me down as soon as we were in the room and turned back to the door. I tried to push him aside to get it open again. When he didn't budge I beat my fists against him. But he was immovable. And he had the door locked in no time. The key he locked it with was on a piece of string which he placed over his neck so that it fell down onto his chest. He moved to the bed and drew the covers down, before turning to look at me still standing by the door. His tone became soft and I was reminded of before I'd showered. He became vulnerable again.

"I am selfish. However. Consider this Elena. As old as I am. I haven't taken a chance on anything remotely as important to me as you before. You were completely unexpected. And while I can't bring myself to kill you, you weren't living your life. You may as well have been dead." He paused, before continuing with his voice softly gravelling across his vocal chords. "How can you possibly be happy with keeping everyone at a distance? I'm not saying you need to let everyone in. But this is your life. Yet you have no personal attachment invested in it, aside from what you've strived to reconnect with Jenna and Jeremy. You're missing out on so much. You are the most bewitching woman, person, I've ever known. For a long time I was as boarded up as you, if not more. Knowing that the differing lifespans of humans as opposed to my own, was always going to be problematic to say the least. In that the loss was always so great." His expression became impassive. It was all too similar to the mask I constantly wore. "I understand loss Elena. It's a never ending aspect of my existence. It brings one down, almost irreparably. For some they cannot cope at all. But you brought me out of the dark. So much so that without your involvement in all of this I would not be so bold as to coax you into friendship with me. You are so strong, and brave. To experience such loss and still keep it together. Yet you're not brave enough to let anyone extra into your heart. It is an absence that will eat away at you." I remained standing at the door. Not wanting to believe my ears. It was uncanny and unnerving the depth in which he spoke. The truth in it. The understanding. I don't want to be understood. And his consideration. I couldn't didn't know what to say, so I didn't speak at all.

Instead I walked into the en suite and sat in the spa, hoping the sides would trap some of my body heat to keep me warm. I brought my knees up to my chest and set my head down onto them and tried to ignore everything. I wanted to be back home with Jenna and Jeremy. Or due to the doppleganger situation, dead. Done and dusted, instead of this, with Elijah. Sure it wasn't all bad. The food was great, I was comfortable except for the cold and having to hang around Elijah. So far he hadn't been violent per se. But it was early days. Maybe he was trying to get me into a false sense of security, and then he'd do whatever he had planned. I'm not stupid. He's a man. I'm a woman. It was only a matter of time before he'd take whatever he wanted from me. Lost in my thoughts I didn't know how much time had passed. But the sides of the spa weren't doing much at all to keep me warm. I waited out the cold as long as I could. It must've been 1 hour all up. I hadn't seen any clocks in the house, nor any phones except for the clock on the tv. So time seemed irrelevant. Slowly I moved to the door and opened it up to the bedroom. Elijah was in the bed, with covers drawn up to his neck. His eyes were shut. But he didn't need to see me in order to know my movements. The cream and gold bed spread contrasted with the gold flecked brown painted elements in the room and seemed to lift the lighter strands of brown in his dark brown hair. I hadn't even thought the lighter hairs existed.

I don't know how long I stood in the doorway. But in the end I silently rushed over to the side of the bed and lay down on the floor, pulling the covers that overlapped the bed and fell to the floor over me. I wasn't quite covered, but I soon found out the warmth it provided was sufficient. I really was tired, and soon fell asleep.