Memoirs of the Night-Chpt 1

Eurgh. My head! It was agony! I tried to move, expecting to fall out of bed and crawl across the floor until I found ibuprofen. I couldn’t move! What happened? Slowly, the recent events crept back into my memory. I wanted to check my neck, to reassure myself it had all been a nightmare, but my hands wouldn’t move. They seemed to be restrained; I was handcuffed to the bed!

I finally opened my eyes, watching the ceiling swim before it settled into distinguishable shapes. I seemed to be in Rosaline’s room. What was going on? Why had she bitten me? I tried to scream, but the noise was muffled. I was gagged! I strained against my bonds, trying to yank myself free. I didn’t care how much noise I was making until I realised the rattles had drowned out the tapping of footsteps.

“Shhhhh! Emilia, it’s alright!”

Rosaline’s attempt to sooth me seemed insignificant as I struggled against my bonds. She had attacked me, tied me up and held me hostage, yet she expected me to listen to her! She reached out to touch my arm and I pulled myself away. What was she going to do to me?

Her eyes filled with tears as she stroked my face gently. Her soft, melodic voice was filled with pain as she tried to quiet me.

“Please, let me explain.”

Untying the ropes and clicking the handcuffs off, she helped me sit and curled up in a catlike manner at the end of the bed. She voice shook, and the tears brimming at the corners of her eyes erupted, sending a waterfall cascading down her pale and perfect cheeks. After several false starts, she began to explain the situation.

“I never told you my secret; I was scared you wouldn’t understand. I didn’t want to lose you. I still don’t. I didn’t think you would believe the real reason I stay indoors in the sun, or why I never seem to eat. So I stayed quiet and hoped I would be able to control myself, to maintain the façade. I guess I wasn’t strong enough.”

She looked up for the first time, catching my gaze. I wanted to look away, to break the hold the soft lilac eyes held on me. Her heart-shaped mouth opened again and I attempted to tear my attention away from her eyes, if only to concentrate on her testimony.

“I talked with my parents about this a lot. They tried to tell me I shouldn’t get attached to humans, they’re fragile. They break easily and then I’m left with nothing but memories. I couldn’t help it, I knew I was becoming dangerously close with you but a part of me didn’t care. I knew you would break and die far more easily than I, but I hoped I would be able to save you when that time came. Like last week...”

Her voice faded away as she reminisced. Last week I had been cornered; three men with knives and unsavoury objectives. If Rosaline hadn’t been there to defend me... I dreaded to think about the outcome.

“I knew I needed to make you... more like me. Stronger. I didn’t care what it took, how many hours I needed to spend reading up on the process. I just knew that if I did this, I would save you from death and myself from insanity. I was lonely. I needed someone like me who I wasn’t related to, who I could talk to about things which nobody else can know. And I knew it needed to be you.”

My voice crackled and croaked out the question I needed answering, reduced to two words by my lack of energy.

“Why me?”

Rosaline looked up again, seizing my attention with her gaze yet again. I stared into the purple iris, broken by an unnaturally small black pupil that seemed like a never-ending tunnel. She struggled to answer, but I could empathize. Now that I understood, the only answer I needed was the one I was about to receive.

“Because... Uhm... Emilia...”

An awkward silence ensued as she attempted to muster the confidence to answer. Her mouth was open but no sound was escaping. Looking down, she finally answered:

“I love you”