Giving Up The Gun
Someone was shaking me awake what seemed like only moments later.
"Miss," they sounded apprehensive. "Miss, please wake up."
"What?" I blinked away the fuzzy overcast and looked at the face in front of me. "What is it?"
It was an older woman, maybe 60 years old. I wondered if she had spent her entire life here and immediately felt sorry for her. Her gray blue eyes were smiling at me. "You need to come with me. I've been instructed to show you to your room." I nodded and stood up, my head spinning from the motion. "Follow me," she smiled, and I did as she asked without another word.
After taking me down a hallway she pointed to a white wooden door. "Your room is through there," she told me. "It would probably do you best to change out of those," she pointed at my heels, "and meet me in the kitchen. We have a lot of work to do."
"What do you mean?" I was stupid if I thought I wasn't going to be put to work.
"You're going to join us as a member of the staff," she clarified, her face wrinkling around her smile again yet her eyes held some sympathy. "My name is Mary."
"I'm Audra. It's nice to meet you," I pushed out a smile.
"You too. Now go, and meet me in there," she pointed to another door down the hall, "when you're finished."
She hobbled away and I reached out for the door knob. I sighed and threw the door open, not expecting what I saw inside.
It was practically a broom closet. There was a dingy mattress on a metal frame which took up most of the space in the room. Other than a bedside table and my suitcase on the bed, it was empty. I kicked my shoes off- which slid under the bed- and flipped open my suitcase. It was only a slight worry to think that this vampire had broken into my apartment and gone through my things. I didn't have to worry about him stealing anything since he was obviously wealthy.
After I had finished changing into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, I opened the door to my "room" and stepped outside. I started walking toward the kitchen when something washed over me. What was I doing?
I hadn't even tried to escape! I was alone, I had to at least try.
So I tiptoed through the hallway and poked my head around the corner. It was clear. I turned and walked into a living room, furnished with expensive pieces and rare art hung upon on the walls. The windows were two stories high and light came pouring in. I ran through the room down another hallway and almost shouted when I saw it: the front door! At least, what I assumed to be. I wrenched the door open and bolted through as fast as I could. The air filled my lungs and I felt the warm sunlight hit my face. I was free! I turned to look behind me at the sprawling mansion and there was no one behind me. As I continued to run I realized I had no idea where to go, but I wouldn't stop. I couldn't.
I would keep running for the rest of my life if it meant I was getting further from this place. I would die running if I had to.
As a smile grew on my lips, I felt a sharp tug and something hard hitting my back. The next thing I knew I was looking up at the sun. Suddenly, a dark figure moved in front of it and I felt a familiar hatred bubbling up my throat.
"No!" I shouted, clawing at the figure as he reached down for my wrist. "Let me go!"
"Stop fighting Audra," he tried. "You knew you wouldn't get far."
"Please," I abandoned my tough exterior. "I don't want to stay here, I can't. I won't say anything about you, or that woman, or this place!" I pleaded, but his expression never softened.
"You're staying here," he growled, dragging me with him back towards the mansion. His grip was like a vice and no matter how hard I struggled against it, it never loosened. "You had better learn to accept that."
"I hate you," I spat, not caring what he did with me. "I wish you would have just killed me."
He spun so suddenly that I knocked into him. His expression was dark and nearly frightening but I didn't shrink away. His brown hair, I now noticed, had flecks of gold in it, and his skin wasn't as pale as it had been in the alley. If I hadn't despised him, I might have admitted that he was gorgeous, painfully so, but even the hatred didn't stop my heart from beating faster. I wondered if he could hear it.
"You have no idea," he spoke carefully, "how badly I wish I could have."
"No one asked you to bring me here," I almost whispered. He was so close that I was afraid to shout. "You could just erase my memory."
He shook his head, "You don't understand." He was becoming less angry, I could tell, but he still didn't back away. "I can't bite you."
I felt my eyebrows rise and I finally looked into his eyes. They were the honey color from this morning, but the sun's reflection made them seem like molten caramel. I was too confused to say anything.
"This is your home now," he took a step back, "and you'll earn your stay. If there was any way to get rid of you, believe me, I would." He looked at me like I was dirt, like I was filthy and worth nothing. "If you try to leave again, there will be punishment."
I glared at him and he glowered back at me. Eventually I huffed past him, walking as quickly as I could just to get as far away from him as possible. I even slammed the door behind me, though I was sure he didn't need it to be open to get back in.