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  “I just want to go to sleep. I don’t want to be bothered.”

  “Ok,” I replied as I got up and left the room. I had been in her place many times before. I had lost people I loved. I sometimes wondered if maybe that was my motivation for sleeping so long. I couldn’t remember a time when Phillip was not in my life. I had him at my side when I lost someone.

  “He is the greatest,” I recalled telling Octavius one night long ago.

  “You have to say that because you’re my dad,” Phillip had said as we sat by the Mississippi. It had been a late summer night right before the attack.

  “No, I’m saying that because it’s the truth. I have never known anyone in my lifetime that always works at being selfless. To be like this and still look out for others is a feat.”

  “What? Am I some sort of undead crime fighter for the human race?” I had laughed as I recalled him fighting a would be thief in the Quarter.

  “You could say that.” And he was gone now. I stood in the hallway and realised that I was still not over his death. I looked up to the ceiling as I said,

  “Goddamn her.”

  Why she continued to live in the city was beyond me. Her scent clung to the very air I inhaled. I walked through the streets Uptown as I followed her trail. I knew she was living in an apartment building near Camp. I didn’t know what her game was now. She had taken my son, my life. I thought about the girl lying in my house crying her eyes out for a worthless person that did not love her. I passed a house where people were standing on the porch laughing and drinking cocktails. It occurred to me that it was Christmas now. My thoughts were clouded by Phillip as a child; celebrating his first Christmas. I sighed as I realized that I could not formulate the memory. His birth had been a miracle as I had recalled. I stopped at the corner near her apartment building as I looked up toward her window. I could see the windows were dark, five years since I had last looked into her face. She had been enraged when she attacked me. Her hands around my neck,

  “I want you to die!”

  I stood inside her door now. I could see her lying on the sofa in front of the television. I walked over to stand in front of her. She was sleeping. The apartment was smaller than my guest bedroom. It was filled with boxes that were largely still packed. I could see her clothing strewn about on the floor. I kneeled before her, staring into her face. She would be thirty now but you would never know. She had drank from me in a weak moment. I imagined she still was asked for identification when she purchased alcohol. I reached out to touch her as her eyes fluttered open. She jerked back and sat up quickly until she was scrambling over the sofa to her feet.

  “What are you doing here?” I stood up as I placed my hands on my hips,

  “I should ask you the same question.”

  “I thought you were dead!” I shook my head as I replied,

  “Impossible, you see I have this minor affliction. There is no cure for it.”

  “That’s a lie…you were as good as dead that night. Do you know how long I have been in hiding? I made a truce with Klaus but they still come after me.”

  “You tried to kill me, Samara.” Watching her standing against the wall I could see the anger building in her. She was looking around the room; she was without a weapon.

  “Why are you here?”

  “I asked you first.”

  “This is my home, Rent. I couldn’t keep running for the rest of my life.”

  “You made that choice long ago. Why didn’t you walk away?”

  “Why didn’t you just leave me alone? You were cheating on me! Do you know what it was like being made into a fool? Everyone knew you were seeing that girl. Everyone! It made me so angry. I didn’t understand how you could tell me you loved me and then go to her…it was wrong!” I frowned as I shook my head,

  “That’s a lie. It was all over with us. Everything had ended, you just didn’t want to move on. You killed my son. You took the one thing in my life that was good. He didn’t have a thing against you.”

  “He would have come after me.” I cursed as I moved across the room and slammed her against the wall.

  “Are you going to kill me?” Her voice was shaking as I stared into her face. I pushed away from her as I backed away. I headed for the door as I looked back at her standing in the middle of the room.

  “You can’t do it because you know I was right. You know what you did, Rent.” I shut the door behind me as I climbed down the flight of stairs and headed back into the cold night. I could hear her bounding behind me now. I was already crossing the street as I heard the snap of her crossbow. I ducked as I felt the arrow shoot past and shatter a car window. I looked back as she reloaded. I watched as she was knocked over by a shadowy figure. She struggled against her attacker as I made out the pale face of a boy. She was calling out his name,

  “Trevor, stop! Stop it!” I watched their violent battle on the lawn before me. I looked back as I saw Marc rushing to my side. I held up my hand as he stopped.

  “I said stop!” I backed away as the boy with the pale face looked up at us. His dark eyes were like orbs shining in the dark. I looked at Marc as he whispered,

  “He’s so loaded on Styce.” I nodded as he looked down at Samara, his mouth already wide open. He jerked down and clamped on her throat. She let out a scream as his teeth tore at her throat.

  “Shit, should we do something?” I stepped forward as the boy sat up and opened his mouth filled with her blood. He hissed at us as I stared down at her,

  “I don’t know.” Her eyes were wide as she opened her mouth to form words. She reached out as she grabbed her attacker. Her hair had come loose and was now spread out all around her. Her blood was pooled around her body now as he leaned over her and returned to drinking from her. I turned away as I grabbed Marc,

  “Let’s go.”

  We sat in the middle of Café du Monde now. I shook the excess sugar from my beignet into the café au lait. Marc sat quietly as a saxophone player sat nearby playing a mournful tune. The café was empty for the holiday. I looked around as I said,

  “He must have been her boyfriend.”

  “She called him by his name. How could she get wrapped up in a loser like that?” I shrugged, I couldn’t recall her talking about previous relationships. As far as I was concerned when I met her I was the first.

  “Didn’t you meet her when she was really young?”

  “Yeah, she was sixteen, her uncle had been tracking us for as long as I can remember. Octavius promised that we would play nice. That was until I met her. Things soured after her uncle’s death. She was sent packing and I followed.”

  “No wonder she went ape shit when you were fooling around on her.” I shook my head,

  “Things had ended. I wanted to marry her but she didn’t know what she wanted. I moved on but she never left. I’d come home and she was still there.”

  “Did you tell her it was over?”

  “Yeah, she didn’t take it well. Samara liked to be in control all the time. It made her angry when things didn’t go her way.” We grew silent as we drank our coffee, the saxophone player was talking to a couple of college girls. I thought about Ava and Nina now. I wondered if they had spilled what they had done with me. Or if they had bottled up what had occurred and chalked it up to a random encounter.

  “Who’s at your house now?” I cursed as I reached into my pocket and produced a few bills. Marc laughed as he said,

  “Did you forget about the girl?” I nodded as I headed for his car,

  “Would you mind giving me a ride home?”

  “Oh, I take it you forgot how to fly?” I laughed as I opened the door and got in. I didn’t know anyone knew that I could fly. It was a strange rumor that had started long ago.

  “Flapping your wings does not make you fly, Rent.” I glared at Marc as we headed Uptown. I could see the sun rising now,

  “You’ll have to stay at my house today.” He nodded as he sped up, without his sunscreen I would have to explain his burns
to Octavius.

  I offered him my bedroom as he headed for the darkened room. Because he was still new to it all, when dawn came, he was exceptionally tired like a newborn. It would be impossible to wake him. I understood why fledglings never made it past the first century. Having been around so long it was easy to spot the newer ones. They could sit and fall into a deep sleep almost immediately.

  “Goodnight Marc.” I headed for her room as I pushed open the door. She was sitting on the edge of the bed now. She held a cup of hot tea as she looked up,

  “I heard you come in.”

  “It was a late night.” She nodded as she pushed her hair behind her ear,

  “I have tried to figure out why you were in the cemetery that night and the only thing I can guess is that you rob graves.” I burst out laughing as I shook my head,

  “It’s far from that.”

  “So tell me, why were you out there? I mean you don’t seem like the caped crusader type.” I looked down at the jeans and gray hoodie I wore now.

  “No, I’m not. I just happened to be in the wrong place at the right time.” She nodded as she took a sip of her tea. I noticed she had changed from her clothes into a nightgown that Meredith had sent over. With the gown, I could see how thin she truly was. She noticed I was staring as she reached for the covers.

  “I was just noticing how thin you were. Do you think you might be ill?”

  “No, I don’t think so. I mean I feel fine except for when I think of that night. I do think I might be hungry.”

  “You look like you haven’t eaten in ages.” She nodded as she looked down at her arms then felt her stomach.

  “I don’t know why I’m like this. I feel really tired too.”

  “I could have my friend look you over, he’s a doctor.” She set the mug down as she stopped then plucked it off the nightstand.

  “I feel badly for putting this on your furniture. I’ll take it back to the kitchen.” She began to stand when she stopped and sat back down. I could see her legs were shaky. I grabbed her as I sat her down slowly.

  “My head feels strange. Do you think I hit my head?” I nodded as I sat down beside her,

  “Yeah, I’ve been trying to observe you. Are you sure you don’t have any memory of where your from or where you were staying?” She shook her head,

  “Not a clue, you said your friend was a doctor?”

  “Yes, he might not be able to get here until later. I could drive you over to his place.” Her eyes blinked slowly as she nodded,

  “I think I’d like to go to him, please.”

  I carried her through the door. I could see a smile on her face as she patted my arm,

  “This feels almost childish to be carried like this.” I laughed as I kicked the door closed behind me. I looked up to see Octavius descending the stairs. His long dark hair was pulled back, he was wearing a dark suit now. He nodded to us as he said,

  “Bring her into my office and I’ll examine her.” The lights in his house were dim, already the sky was filled with rain clouds. I set her down as she walked slowly beside me. Her hands were cold as she pressed them into my own. I held her as we headed to his office. He glanced back, I already knew what was going through his mind.

  “She’s very weak Octavius.” He nodded knowingly as he took her from my hands,

  “I think I have coffee in the kitchen, I’ll talk to her and when we’re done you can come in, ok?” She nodded as I let her go.

  I stood looking out at the pool. The sky was dark and I knew the rain would come soon. I wondered if I still had an umbrella in the trunk of the car. I drank the last of my coffee as Octavius entered the kitchen. He patted me on the shoulder,

  “It looks like she did hit her head pretty hard and the fact that she hasn’t eaten in days has made her weak. You know I don’t think she ate anything before her accident.”

  “I figured she was one of those girls.” He nodded as he took a bottle of blood from the fridge and heated it up in the microwave.

  “I think after some rest and a good meal – she’ll recover. We could take her to dinner at Bella Luna tonight.” I agreed, it was time to take her out. Maybe something would jog her memory and she could tell us where she came from.

  “I think it’s an excellent idea.”

  “No, I don’t think so.” I turned to see her leaning against the doorframe. Even now she looked very pale, “The person that did this to me is out there. I don’t want to go outside.”

  4.

  It was late when I left the house with her at my side. It didn’t matter that I promised to keep her safe, she would not give in.

  “The man that did this – there are others out there like him. No, I would much rather stay in your house. I feel safe there.” I had hoped Octavius would put her at ease but he didn’t.

  “I agree, Rent you should take this girl back to your home. Keep her under lock and key. I think it is dangerous for her to be in the streets.” I stared at him openly as he smirked. I knew he was playing a game now.

  “You’re rotten,” I muttered as I took her into my arms and headed for the door. She felt smaller than before as we headed to the roadster. She turned to face me as she reached out and touched my face,

  “You’re not like him.” I shook my head as she sat down in the passenger seat,

  “No, I’m much stronger than him.” I stared down into her blue eyes as she smiled, I shut the door as I wondered what Octavius had told her about us. I walked around and got into the drivers seat as I looked back at his house. He waved to us as he backed away from the window. At that moment, I wanted to go back and punch him in the face. I reversed from the driveway and headed back to my house. We rode in silence, if only for the ipod playing an electronic tune. She stared out the window, I watched as the houses bounced off her irises. Nothing caused even the slightest tinge of her memory. She turned to face me as I turned into the driveway of my home,

  “I like your home, Rent.”

  “Thanks, hey are you hungry?” She shook her head as she held out her arm, I could see the blue liquid running through her veins. I cursed inwardly for what he had done.

  “He said that I would get plenty of nourishment from this.”

  “It will also make you ill. Let’s get some real food in you.” She nodded quickly as I parked the car and got out.

  I found her sitting on the porch staring into the backyard. She was wrapped in a black cashmere blanket from the master bedroom. I stood beside her as she wiped her face. I kneeled beside her as she reached out and took my hand into her own. Her skin was like ice, I looked down and noticed she was barefoot. I pulled her into my arms as I carried her back into the house.

  “What made you go out there? Its really cold…” I could feel the weather and was sometimes guilty of walking out in the wrong clothing at times. I feigned that the air had been cold outside. She stared into my face as she looked down at the plastic gold ring on her hand.

  “I feel like I’m not mourning him. Do you think he was that awful of a person?” I shook my head as I reached down and took her hand. I brought her fingers to my mouth as I took her ringer finger and slide my tongue over it. I pulled at the ring and removed it from her hand. She watched me as I took it from my mouth and tossed it across the room.

  “Why did you do that?” I shook my head as I covered her mouth with mine. I held her in my arms as I pushed her back onto the sofa. She pushed at me as she turned her head away from me.

  “Don’t do that again!” Her face was flushed as she backed away from me. I shook my head as I said,

  “Then stop feeling sorry for him. He’s gone, I’m here.”

  “I don’t even know you,” she cried out as she got off the sofa and headed for the stairs. I stared down at the cashmere blanket on the sofa then looked up to her as she climbed the steps slowly. I grabbed the blanket and headed for her again. She raised her hand as I shook my head and picked her up. I carried her up to the bedroom where I lay her on the bed and covered h
er with the heavy duvet cover. As I moved away she shook her head and took my hand. She pulled me until I was sitting beside her. Her arms held onto my waist as I lay beside her. I stared down into her face as she fell asleep. What mystery lay within her?

  I cheated. I couldn’t be close to her without knowing who she was. I had leaned over when she was deep in sleep and kissed her throat. She had turned away from me as my teeth grazed her skin. I ran my hands over her arms; she was still very cold. I gripped her wrists as I applied pressure. I opened my mouth and without a second thought bit down on her flesh. Her eyes had flown open as she let out a cry. I felt her body jerk underneath me as I held her down. I felt her legs kick beneath me as I drank now. Already I could taste her every thought and dream. I could see her as a child running along the water laughing, the shadows of her family in the distance but most of all I learned her name.

  “Aerin! Come back from the water, I don’t want you to fall in!” The woman would me her mother. I could see her as a child smiling into the sun. Before me I watched as she grew into a young girl curious of the world around her. I pulled back just as the images of the night I found her flashed before me. I cursed, I had taken too much. I stared down into her face as she lay silently. Her mouth was moving now, she was saying a prayer. I turned her to face me as I whispered,

  “Aerin, I have something I can give you.” She mouthed the words “gift” as I nodded slowly. Her eyes drifted off onto something in the room as I replied,

  “I will make you strong again.” Already her skin was going gray before me, I knew there was little time to spare. I bit down on my own wrist as I brought it to her lips. She didn’t fight me as she drank the blood I gave her. Her eyes were fixed on me now as she drank. I nodded at her as the color began to return to her cheeks. Her blue eyes seemed to glow now as she stared at me.

  “And that’s enough,” I said as I pulled my wrist away. Her lips were covered in my blood as it seeped into her pores.

  “Do you remember everything now, Aerin?” She lay still for a moment as she nodded slowly,

  “Yes, I do. I feel as if I’ve been a fog…oh my body hurts.” I nodded as I helped her to her feet and led her to the bathroom,