I wake up, and I'm so relieved to finally be out of my nightmare. It was so different this time, Chris was trying to kill. I let out a breath, as I try to calm my nerves when my attention all a sudden is drawn to the sounds of the insects singing in the night. Then a beating sound drowns out everything else. It's a heartbeat that's beating fast with almost no breathing. Panic sets in as I sit up in my bed, drawing my covers tight around me. I dare not look because I'm afraid of what I will find. I let my eyes scan the room, and when I see Chris in the far part of the room setting on my vanity chair, I stop breathing. Then with the realization of what just happened, I find myself awake in my nightmares.
Tears
run down my cheeks again, but I make no move. Was he one of the monsters that I
was running from? Could he be one of them that wanted me at my uncle's house
that night? Was he one of them that were in the basement ready to finish me off
and finally found me? If he was, then why didn't he finish me off when we first
meet, instead of letting me fall in love with him? My feelings are mixed
towards him. I'm scared and feel betrayed by the one man I thought loved me.
When I look closer at him, he looks distraught with a haunted look on his face.
I can't imagine why he would be upset. He was the one that attacked me, and I'm
not sure what he did to me because I'm not dead.
He
stands up and starts moving toward me, and panic sets in. Before he can get
close to me, I have wedged myself up against the wall to try to stay away from
him. He stops mid-step; he looks hurt by my reaction. I really don't care how he feels, this man is a monster in its true
form. He runs his hand through his hair, and when he looks back at me, the
pain is there again, and his eyes blaze red.
"Stay
away from me," I shout as I throw my hands up to defend myself.
He
looks horrified, he slowly takes a step backward. My heart is racing, and all my
senses are in overload.
"Please,"
he says.
"Don't," I shout. My throat goes dry
as if it just became a desolate desert dying for just one drop of water. I grab
at my throat as to try to stifle the flames that burn.
In
my distraction, Chris manages to get right in front of me. He grabs me, and I
don't have time to even protest or fight him. He takes my head and pushes it
toward his throat, desire overtakes me. His blood, I want his blood, I want to
have it......"No," I shove at him.
He
pulls back just a fraction and bites into his wrist with his pointy teeth, my
mouth waters. Why did he have to go and do that? I'm so confused, but he makes
it so clear when he pushes his wrist to my lips. The blood runs down his wrist
as he holds it in front of me. My mouth waters and the smell of his blood is
overwhelming. I take his wrist into my mouth and suck, a frenzy sets in, I
can’t get enough, it’s drowning me in a bliss that I had never felt before. I
feel like an animal ready to consume him, all of him.
He
pulls his wrist out of my hands, leaving me wanting more. He leans towards me
and licks my lips, cleaning up his spilled blood. My mouth drops, and he leans back.
He shifts off the bed, walking over to the window. He doesn’t look at me, just stairs
out the window that reflects the golden locks of hair that hangs down the sides
of his face. Reality hits, and I find
myself angry at just the sight of him. "What did you do to me?" I
demand.
He
looks over at me with those hazel eyes of his that melt me from the inside out.
He looks like Chris, my Chris, that I have always known, and it’s painful. I
decide to let him explain what he just did to me, now that he finally snapped
out of his maddened state.
I
leap off the bed, darting toward him. He turns as I collide with him. We fall
to the floor, with him on his back. I’m on top of him, hitting him in the chest
with my fists as I cry. He lays there, letting me hit him, he never once tries
to stop me.
“Why, why did you do this to me. I
loved you, and you betrayed me like this. You're cruel.” I slowly stop hitting
him as all the emotions overrun me. I’m angry, sad, and broken all at once.
“I’m sorry,” he says in a whisper.
His eyes are full of tears as he looks up at me. His hazel eyes bewitch me, I
can’t look at him. I get up and move to the other side of the room. I stare at
the wall as my heart pounds in my chest.
I can hear him get up off the floor.
He stands in the same spot, motionless. I can hear him cry softly. My heart
breaks, I want to run to him, but I can’t. I feel myself trembling all over, I
try to calm my racing heart, as my mind runs wild.
Time seems to stand still as the
silence in the room is defining. He hasn’t moved or said anything since I moved
off him. Every now and then, I can hear him sniff. I can no longer take the
silence. I dart toward the door, only to be blocked by Chris.
“Leave me alone,” I shout at him. I
got to get out of here, I can’t bear to be near him.
“Let me talk,” he says as he regards
me with pleading eyes. Those damn eyes.
I turn away from him, I can’t do this. The panic sets in, and I can only see
the window. I take off in a fast run that takes Chris off guard. I jump,
hitting the window with full force. The glass shatters as I go right through
it. The glass cuts through my arms and legs as I clear the window frame. Shit!
I hadn’t really thought this through. I’m now falling from my two-story bedroom
window, with nothing to stop my fall. I hit the ground with a sickening sound.
My arm lights up with pain, I roll over to see my arm twisted in a horrible
angle.
As I get to my feet, I hear Chris
jump from the window, landing only a few feet from me. I turn to see him
walking over towards me with angry red eyes. I step backward, as my throat
seizes up. I stumble back, but I don’t fall, Chris has ahold of my arm to
steady keep me steady. In one fast motion, he has me in his arms. He doesn’t
say anything as he walks toward the house. I know there is no way I can outrun
him with my broken arm, and all the cuts on my body. He carries me up the steps
to my room. He shuts the door with his foot before heading with me to the
bathroom. He sets me down on the tub, giving me a look of anger that I have
never seen before.
“Don’t move, I mean it, Kristen,” he
says. He walks over to the sink, pulling the towel from the hook on the wall.
He wets it, then walks back over to me. I sit quietly as he sets on the commode
beside the tub. He takes ahold of my arm first. I winch in pain, as he starts
cleaning off all the blood. I look at my arms and legs, I’m stunned with how
bad the window cut me. I’m covered in blood, lots of blood.
He makes quick work on getting all
the glass out of my cuts that run along my arms and legs. I don’t say anything,
knowing he would probably scold me for the little stunt I just pulled. I was
still mad at him for what he did, but the situation had me at a disadvantage. I
stare at his golden locks that fall across his face as he leans over, working
on my legs.
“Ouch,” I screech as he pulls out a
big piece of glass.
“This is all your fault. What the
hell were you thinking when you decided to jump out of a two-story window?”
I don’t say anything, I just look
down at the floor. He stands, dropping the towel down at my feet. Before I have
a chance to react, he has me on my feet. He starts to undress me, making my
heart leap.
“What the fuck, Chris!”
“You’re a mess, you need a shower to
get all the glass and blood off. I’m not taking any more chances.”
“I can do this myself,” I say as I
pull the edge of my shirt out of his hands.
“Fine, I will be right outside the
door, don’t pull anything. I will come in this bathroom, with you naked or
not,” he warns. He walks out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. I
can hear him lean against the door.
I pull off my shirt, very careful
with my broken arm. The pain is intense with a burning, hot feeling. I try to
keep it as close to a normal position as I can. I finish undressing, with a lot
of pain. My arm is burning like it’s on fire. When I move my hand along the
skin, it’s hot and red. I step into the shower, letting the hot water run down
my head. I feel exhausted and want nothing but to wake up from this nightmare
that seems so real. I watch the blood mix with the water on the bottom of the
tub as it runs down the drain.
A soft knock on the door snaps me
out of my trance. I look over at the door, waiting for Chris to come in. I grip
the shower curtain as I watch the door.
“Kristen, are you ok in there?”
“Yes, don’t you come in here, I will
be done in a few minutes,” I snap.
I finish washing up, satisfied that
all the glass and blood is gone, I step out of the tub very carefully. I pull
the towel off the hook that is beside the shower. I dry off as carefully as I
can. Looking over the cuts on my arms, they are now almost closed. My mouth
falls open. Tiny purple marks are on my skin, with some still fresh scratches.
I know there were deep gashes on my legs and arms when I got in the shower. I
remember watching Chris pull glass shards out of several deep wounds. I step
over the blood and glass that is still on the floor to get to my bathrobe that
is hanging on the bathroom door. I slip it on carefully, then walk over to the sink
to brush out my hair.
I begin to brush my hair out a
little bit rough, as I look in the mirror, a pale-faced girl looks back at me.
I move my hair from my neck to see what he did to me. I still remember the
pain, it felt like he was ripping my neck wide open. My neck has strange faint
purple marks where I remember the pain. I run my fingers along the side of my
neck, feeling the smooth skin.
What is he? What did he do to me? Is
he a vampire? I’m running all this through my head when I hear my name.
“Kristen.” My attention snaps toward the door. I reach over, locking the door.
I step back, keeping my eyes on the door. My heart is pounding as the vision of
vampires play in my mind. No, they are not real, no they can’t be real.
Kristen, you have really gone crazy this time, I scream inside my mind.
“Kristen, don’t overthink things,
let me explain,” he says through the door.
I feel sick to my stomach; my body
feels so weak. I give in and slid down the wall, sobbing into my hands. I hear
the doorknob rattle, and Chris talking. I don’t make out what he’s saying
through my cries. The door shoves open, and Chris walks in. His eyes are
stained from his tears, with a worried look.
“Kristen, calm down, it’s ok, I
promise. Let me explain,” he says as he slowly reaches over, placing his hand
on my knee. I can’t help the sudden uneasy, feeling his touch brings. I pull
back out of reflex. His hand pulls back, he regards me carefully. Let’s get out
of the bathroom, it’s covered in your blood, let me talk to you in the bedroom,
please.”
He stands up, steps toward the door,
waiting on me to move. I slowly get to my feet, slowly walking towards the
door. When we get to the bedroom, I walk over to the bed. I set down, and my
limbs grow heavy.
“How is your arm?”
“It still hurts, it’s been burning
since I broke it.” I reflectively pull my arm to my chest.
“Can I look at it?” he asks as he
holds his hand out. “Please, I will not do anything that you don’t want me to.
I just want to make sure it’s ok.”
“It’s broke, there is nothing that
you can do,” I say with a hateful tone.
“I know it is broke, it probably
needs set before it finishes healing, it’s already healing fast,” he says.
“Fine, but if you do anything, I
will scream bloody murder,” I warn.
“I promise,” he says as he takes my
arm in his hands. Those strong hands that I loved to hold me. Now his touch
brings me pain. His fingers move along my arm, and I want to pull away. He then
let’s go of my arm. He steps back only a few feet, then looks at the shattered
window. “I still can’t believe you actually ran through the window like that. Were
you trying to kill yourself?” he asks as he looks back over at me.
“Honestly, I just wanted to get away
from you, it didn’t matter if I lived or died,” I say with a little bit of
hatred laces my tone.
Chris’s face falls, and he looks
devastated. “Why, do you hate me that much? I know what I did was wrong, I hate
myself for what I did, I was scared. I was scared that you wouldn’t except me
for who I am and what I had to do. I was afraid you would leave me.”
"So, instead of talking to me, you just
attack me like some dark scene out of a movie.”
“Kristen,
I didn’t look at it that way. I didn’t plan this, I let my emotions control me.
I grew weak and let my guard down. I wanted you in my world so bad that I
didn’t think about how you would take it. We all have gone through this, so I
wasn’t thinking.”
What
are you?" I demand.
"We
are Pure Bloods, you and me," he says as he turns back to the window.
"What
does that even mean? You are not making any sense." My mind is running wild again. I can’t comprehend all this; the whole
scene is a complete mess.
“You
have to have an open mind to this," he says as he turns back to me.
"Fine,
but if you even try to touch me......."
"Kristen,
I will not touch you unless you want me too. I will not betray you ever
again," he says with pain laced in his voice. This was enough betrayal to last a lifetime. He takes in a deep
breath as he tries to think about where to start.
"We
are Pure Bloods as I told you earlier, what that means is that I was not always
like this. Before the awakening, you look, feel, and act like any other human
would. When you are awakened, you look like me. Your traits of being a Pure Blood
are asleep the whole time, so when you awaken, your human traits die, and your Pure
Blood ones take over.
"Stop,
wait. So, what you are saying is we are monsters, like blood-sucking vampires?
Because that is what all this just reminded me of." I shout at him.
"Kristen
listen, I will tell you everything, but you got to let me ease you into all
this information, so you don't go into overload," he explains.
"I
think it’s a little too late, don’t you? I want to know everything right now.
No more waiting for this and that, I want it all," I yell at him.
He
sighs and runs his hand through his hair. “We are not Vampires, but a unique
race, I not sure how we came to be, but we are different, I promise. We are not
monsters, but we are not human either. We still have our humanity, unlike half-bloods,
that are what every human calls a vampire.”
"How
did I not know? You were here in the daylight, and even ate regular food?"
I ask.
“We
eat regular food, and the sunlight doesn't bother us. I told you we are not
like half-bloods,” he says.
"So why now?" I ask.
"Because
I was waiting for you to love me for me and not because you had to."
"I
don't understand, what do you mean when you say because I had to?"
"I
will explain that later, you need to rest, your body has been through a lot.”
I
flop back onto my pillows and cover my face with my hand. I'm so overwhelmed
with everything that I begin to sob. Tears run down my cheeks as I cry.
"Don't
cry. I know this is a lot to take in, but I will do as much as I can to
help you through this. “Do you hate me?" he asks.
"No,
but I'm confused about how to feel," I reply through my sobs.
"I
opened you up to the real world that you belong in. I took the world you knew
and destroyed it," he says. I sit up, and suddenly I feel bad.
"I don't know what to think about it all.
I just wish I could have known about it first before it happened. Why could you
not ask me if I wanted this or even talk about what you are? Why did you think
it was ok to just turn me into whatever Pure Bloods mean," I shout as I
wave my hands around in the air?
"I did what I had to because I could not
take a chance of you changing your mind to be awakened. I thought it would have
frightened you, I feared that you would have had no part of this world," he
explains.
"Well
I'm scared to death, and don't know if I want anything to do with you or your
world" I shout at him.
“I
feel like I have been running from everyone, and now the monster finally found
me," I cry out.
"What
do you mean you have been running from monsters?" he asks.
"I
have not been totally honest with you. I lived with my uncle since I was a
small child when my parents died in a car accident that left me alone. When you
first met me, those injuries were from the man I thought was my uncle. He tried
to kill me, and there were others. I don't know who they were. I never got to
see their faces, I only heard their voices before I escaped,” I explain to him.
“They
must have known who you were. They are called Hunters. They have been trying to
wipe us out for centuries,” he says as his face fills with a concerned look.
”
How did you know who I was?" I ask.
“I
have known you since you were a child."
I
jump up, face to face with him. "You're telling me that you have known me
since I was a child," I shout.
He
places his hands on my arms, making me jerk away from him. I walk over to the
window and glare out into the darkness as my temper rises. "Were the
last," he finally says.
"What?"
I shout as I spin toward him.
"I
told you that hunters were trying to make us extinct, and we are the last. I
lost track of you after the accident, you were hurt from the accident. When I
came back, you were gone from your bed. I have been searching for you since
then," he says.
"I don't care if I was the last female on
earth you should have talked to me first and been truthful with me. What if I had
not chosen this for myself? It's my life, and I should have got to choose my
own fate," I say with a sharp tone. "I need time to think about all
this, and I just can't do it with you here," I manage.
"You
want me to leave?" he asks with horror on his face.
"Yes, please, I think you have succeeded
in destroying my life, so now you can leave me alone," I say with too much
hate in my tone.
“That's
fine, have it your way? You only see me as a monster anyway, so why do I even
bother with you at all," he says as he storms out of the room.
I
move to the sink and look at myself in the mirror, and I'm stunned. There is no
blood on me. How can that be? I felt like he drank almost all my blood. The
only thing left to remind me of that night are faint purple marks where his
teeth pierced my neck. I look at my skin, and it looks perfect. I don't even
need makeup; this is a plus. I smile at myself for the first time, and my teeth
make me freeze. I move closer to the mirror. I have fangs, teeth that vampires
do. My finger runs over one of them and nicks my finger. In fascination, I
watch the drop of blood form on my finger then drop into the sink. Out of
reflex, I put it in my mouth and suck the blood off. It stops only seconds
after I did it. A little purple mark only remains. Ha, another perk to this.
Perfect skin, healing ability, and teeth like Chris.
“Vampire,"
I mouth at myself.
Now
with everything that was going on already in my life, I had to deal with this.
I felt like I was losing my mind. Times like these I wish I had my mom here to
hold me and tell me everything was alright. I'm sure if what he is telling me
held any truth in it at all, my parents would have told me about it. They would
have prepared me for this. I was just slung into this with no warning at all.
How could he not warn me? I replay Chris attacking me, and it hurts me. Everyone
in my life that I have ever loved has attacked me. I don't want anything to do
with him right now, and I don't feel any safer here than I did when I was at my
uncle's house.
With
a heavy heart, I head back into the bedroom and grab the backpack that I kept
in the closet and place it on the bed as I dig some clothes out of the dresser.
I pack a few clothes and then head to the bathroom once again to grab a few
essentials. I put everything in my backpack and pull the phone out that Hannah
gave me. I had talked to her last week, and I knew she had planned a trip down
to see me, but I couldn't stay or have her in my life and endanger her any
further. I place the phone on the dresser and zip the backpack up.
I go to leave, but the thought of not leaving Marie a note seemed cruel. She was so nice to take me in when I was a mess that I owed her a little bit of an explanation. I grab my pen and a piece of paper. "Marie, you have been so kind, and I will never be able to repay you for your kindness. You were like the mother I never had. I've got to head back and sort out my life, I hope you understand why I must leave so sudden. Tell Hannah hi, and I'm sorry I could not be here when she comes. Thank you, Kristen. I head downstairs as quietly as I can and place the note on the table. Walking out the door, I take one last look as I close it and head out into the darkness.
My emotions are all over the place with all the new changes that I have gone through since Chris turned me into what he calls a Pure Blood. I'm so torn, leaving Chris and Marie, but I know I don't belong in their world. Tears streak down my cheeks as my heartbreak comes back, rearing its ugly head. All the betrayal from everyone that I had ever loved was becoming too much for me to bear. I cry softly as I head down the driveway in the middle of the night.
