Vampire Girl (5 page)

"Are you sure?" I ask, looking around frantically. "I just saw him."

"This is the only way in and out, and I've been here without a break for hours. I'm sure." She looks more closely at me. "Are you okay? Do you need a doctor? You look pale."

I snort. "I'm always pale. Thanks, anyway." I walk back to my mother's room and sit next to her bed, ignoring the files the man left. I caress her hand, my thumb running over the mark on her wrist. "What's going on, Mom? What did you do?"

***

T
he hospital room feels like it's closing in on me. I can smell his cologne lingering, as if he's still here, lurking, spying, waiting to pounce. I've shut my mind down for now. There's no space in my attention to consider the existence of vampires and demons. To entertain the possibility that my mother is under a curse that will entrap her soul for all eternity and kill her body.

When Tom comes in to check on her, he studies me thoughtfully. "You should get some rest, honey. We'll take good care of her."

I've been up for two days. He's right, I should sleep, but I don't know how. "What if something happens?"

"She looks stable, but we'll call if anything changes. I'm on duty all night, so I'll keep an eye out. Rest. You're no good to her if you get sick."

I nod and grab my bag. My eyes fall to the scroll and folder. I haven't looked at them yet, and I'm not ready to, but I don't want anyone else gaining access to whatever they contain, so I shove them in my bag, lean over and kiss my mom on the forehead, and then quickly leave the room.

I can't wait to escape the hospital, and when a winter storm greets me, I smile. I might freeze to death on the way home, but I love snow. I love the way the world looks when it's covered in white powder. Magical.

The sun has already set and the street lamps cast long shadows over the snowy sidewalks. My breath is white as I exhale, and I round my shoulders and hug myself to preserve what little warmth I have.

While walking through the parking lot to the sidewalk, someone calls my name. I turn and see Fen standing by a black and silver motorcycle. He's already straddling it. "You'll catch your death out here," he says.

I shrug. "It's not so bad." Though I can barely feel my toes or my nose anymore, but whatever.

"Get on," he says, looking at the seat behind him. "I've got an extra helmet."

"Um. I can't. I don't live far. I'll be fine walking." I can feel the hives lurking under my skin at the thought of being on a motorcycle. That's even worse than a car. I take a deep breath.

He cocks his head, but instead of arguing, he takes his trench coat off and hands it to me. "If you insist on walking, at least wear appropriate clothing."

"You're wearing a t-shirt," I say. "That's less than what I'm wearing."

He chuckles. "I'm used to the cold. We get much worse where I'm from. Wear it."

I want to argue, to hand it back to him, but honestly, I'm freezing, and he's already starting his motorcycle. "Be safe, Ari."

Before I can thank him or say goodbye, he's gone. I look down at the trench coat and then pull it on. It's warmed by his body heat and smells like him, a musky woodsy scent that makes me think of tall trees and wind. I luxuriate in the thick wool as it falls to my feet, bringing warmth back into my body.

The walk home is a lot more pleasant now that I'm not freezing to death. I'm lost in thought, enjoying the feeling of the snow crunching under my feet as I walk the familiar path home, when something makes me stop.

It's not a sound. Not really. More that sense of impending doom. Someone is following me again. Is it the man from the hospital? The... I can't even bring myself to call him what I saw him to be. I just need to keep calm and get home. I'll be safe there.

Maybe it's just my imagination playing tricks on me. I haven't slept in so long, I'm probably starting to hallucinate or something. Maybe it's nothing.

But as I walk past the alley next to my apartment unit, someone grabs me and pulls me into the shadows.

I try to scream but a hand covers my mouth. "This will go better for you if you stop fighting."

I bite the hand and hear the man curse, but he doesn't let go. My eyes search around frantically for a way out, for a weapon, for anything. But all I see are two more people dressed in black approaching me. Winter masks cover their faces, and I know they are here for me.

One of them pulls out a needle.

Why not a gun? I slump in my attackers arms and slam the heel of my shoe into his knee. His grip loosens, and I spin in his arms and bring my knee up to make contact with his groin. He slumps over in pain, but it doesn't stop him from pulling me back.

I'm waiting for the others to attack me, but they are distracted by something else. No, someone else.

The two in black are thrown aside like dolls, and I feel the needle jab into my neck just as my eyes lock onto the person who attacked them.

Recognition dawns just as my consciousness fades.

***

M
y head is pounding and my mouth feels like someone filled it with cotton balls and told me to swallow. I try to keep my breathing steady, and I keep my eyes closed. I don't know where I am yet, and I don't want my captors to know I'm awake.

Why am I even still alive? No good reason, I'm sure.

I don't hear anything at first, but then small sounds trickle in. Someone is in the room with me, pacing. They have heavy boots that aren't muffled by the carpeting. I'm laying on something lumpy and made of corduroy. Something I recognize.

I listen more closely and I hear it: the faint hum of my refrigerator. It started working again. I'm on my couch.

A phone rings and a man answers with a deep, gravelly, British voice. "I have her. She's safe."

Pause.

"No, I do not."

Pause.

"There were three of them and my priority was protecting the girl."

Pause.

"Very well."

He stops talking, and I wait a few moments before I take a deep breath as if just waking up. I try to open my eyes next.

Big mistake.

Light
hurts
.

I moan, raising my hand to shield my face.

The lights go out and someone walks closer to me. "Do not move too quickly. You are still recovering from the sedative they gave you."

Large hands hold my back and head and help me into a sitting position. When I finally pry my eyes open, I look up and see the man who rescued me from my attackers.

Fen.

"What happened?" I ask, rubbing my head.

He hands me a glass of water and sits across from me. "You were attacked. I intervened and brought you home. The effects of the sedative should wear off soon. You'll feel tired and out of sorts but you will be fine."

I reach up to rub the spot on my neck where the needle entered me. It's covered in a bandage. "Thank you." As my brain wakes up, I have so many questions, but I start with the most obvious ones. "Who are you? And how is it you happened to be around when I was attacked?"

"My name is Fenris Vane. My friends call me Fen. When I saw you leave the hospital to walk home alone, I worried something might happen."

I narrow my eyes at him. "Really? Did you see someone following me? Why do you even care what happens to a random stranger?"

"Stick to being grateful, girl. Asking questions only leads to trouble."

"It appears I'm in trouble no matter what I do. First my mom mysteriously falls into a coma, and now I'm being attacked and drugged. And you show up, all rugged and viciously protective. Does that seem like a coincidence to you?"

"It seems to me like you need to be more careful." He sits there, so arrogant, so full of himself. I just want to slap him.

"
I
need to be more careful? How about other people need to stop attacking me? How about that? Let's put the blame where it belongs, shall we?"

He sighs and stands. "You are exhausting, and I have stayed here longer than I should. I made you something to eat in the kitchen. If you start to feel nauseous or dizzy, see a doctor. And try not to get yourself killed."

He walks to the door and my heart rate spikes. Suddenly I'm terrified of being left alone. My bravado drains out of me like water from a leaky glass. "Wait."

He stops and turns to me, his hand on my doorknob.

"Don't go. Please. I'm..." I swallow, hating to admit this to anyone, let alone this man. "I'm scared." My voice cracks and a tear leaks out. "I don't know what's going on. I don't understand why anyone is trying to hurt me or my mom, and I... I don't want to be alone tonight. Will you stay?"

I can see he is battling with himself, and I'm honestly not even sure why I think this is a good idea at all. He's a stranger I know nothing about. He could rob me, kill me, rape me. But, he saved me. He took me home and looked after me until I woke up. If he was going to hurt me, he would have done it by now.

"Fine. I shall stay for a few hours, but I must leave before dawn. I have somewhere to be."

I smile and sink back into the couch, suddenly exhausted. "Thank you."

He sits down again and watches me in silence.

After a few moments, I feel entirely too self-conscious. "Want to watch a movie?"

"A movie?" he asks.

"Yes. Comedy? Romance? Drama? Action?" I reach for the remote and click the TV on, then pull out my case of DVDs. "What are you in the mood for?"

"Hunting," he says, under his breath.

"A movie about hunting?" I'm confused.

"Action," he clarifies. "Something with action."

"Of course. But you should try a good romance sometime. You might find you like it."

He scowls at me, and I just laugh and put in something with a lot of guns and fighting and car chases. He has to sit next to me to see the television, and so we are close, our legs and arms touching, as we watch the movie. I find it boring, and Fen honestly doesn't seem that interested either, so half way through the movie I start to ask him questions about himself. His answers are vague, and I realize he's a private man, hard to get to know.

I give up and focus back on the movie, but I'm still so tired and my eyelids become so very heavy.

When I wake up again, my head is on Fen's lap, and his large hand is on my head, fingers tangled in my hair. I can hear him breathing deeply. He's sleeping.

His leg is like a log under my head, all muscle. I smile and lay still, enjoying the sound of his breathing.

When he finally wakes, he moves me gently. "I must be off," he whispers in the dark, as he repositions a pillow under my head to take the place of his lap.

I'm still exhausted, and too tired to protest or get up, so I just watch him leave and wonder if I'll ever see this mysterious man again.

The next time I wake, I feel stronger, more rested. I stretch, use the bathroom, then head to the kitchen for food. True to his word, Fen cooked. Chicken stir fry with vegetables and rice. I heat a bowl in the microwave and sit to eat, my mind wandering to last night and everything that happened.

I take my time eating, because the next thing I have to do will be hard. I text Es and ask if she and Pete can come over. As much as I hate to admit it, I'll need a ride to the hospital later. I don't want to walk after what happened last night. Part of me thinks I should report the attack to the police, but I don't. Because as much as I don't want to admit it, this has to have something to do with vampires and demons. And how could I possibly explain that to the police?

Es and Pete arrive a few minutes later. They bring food, but I'm full and let them have at it. "Thanks for coming over. I'm going to pack a few of my mom's things to make her more comfortable at the hospital. Will you hang out?"

They agree, and I leave them downstairs as I head to my mom's room. This is the hard part.

There are clothes piled on a chair in the corner that she meant to put away. Her dresser drawer is still ajar. I walk over, running my hand over the faded faux wood until it lands on an 8x10 framed picture of my mom and dad smiling over me when I was just a baby. We all looked so happy. So free. I pick up the picture and study it, looking for hidden secrets. If what the man in the hospital said is true, how would my mom have even known how to make a bargain with a demon? None of it makes sense.

I put the picture down gently and move to her bed, which is still a slept-in mess. I can see the impressions of her body from where she was laying when I found her.

I sit on the bed and then lay my head on her pillow. It smells like her shampoo. When I close my eyes I can almost imagine she's still here, humming as she folds laundry or cleans the house.

The tears I've been fighting so hard to keep at bay finally unleash themselves, and once they start, I can't stop them. It's a tidal wave of emotion that demands its time. My heart breaks, my grief pouring out of me as I clutch her pillow and wish for a different outcome.

I'm drowning in the sea of my emotional waste when my cell phone rings. "Miss Spero, this is Tom, your mother's nurse. You need to come quickly. Your mother is showing signs of distress."

I jump up, my heart hammering. I want to ask more questions, but I can't waste time. I grab my bag and run downstairs to where Es and Pete are watching television. "Something's wrong with my mom. We have to go back to the hospital."

––––––––

"T
here are monsters in the world, Arianna. They are real.
I
am real."

—Asher

I'm in my
mom's room, watching the machines pump life into her as the doctor explains what's happening.

"Her body is failing," Dr. Cameron says. "She doesn't have much longer, I'm afraid."

"I don't understand." I walk over and hold her hand, my finger once again brushing on the strange mark on her wrist. "Why can't the machines keep her alive longer? Can't people live for years this way?"

"Some, yes," the doctor says. "But not everyone. Sometimes the damage is too great. The body too weak." She's firm, calm, so sure of herself and her diagnosis.