"Forever."
untitled
Twisted metal, smoke, pained whimpers. The night was a haze of shadows and blurs. What had happened? There had been something running across the road...he had swerved...It blurred from there. He could barely see and suddenly he knew he was dying. But a shadow...A shadow was leaning over him...
"Lia?"
He was standing beside her, so close she could feel his warm breath on her face...
"Lia!"
"Huh?" Lia snapped back to reality with a start.
"What were you doing? You've been staring out that window for the past five minutes."
"So?"
"You haven't blinked."
Lia's long dark eyelashes fluttered down as she briefly closed her eyes.
"Better?"
"I suppose. But this is your stop."
Lia's face reddened as she turned to look to the front of the bus where she saw at least a dozen impatient faces. She quickly gathered her things and she climbed off the bus, ignoring the mutters and whispers as she passed.
What had gotten into her lately? It seemed that all she ever did anymore was daydream...
Then again, she had quite few things to daydream about.
Actually, it was just one thing.
...his breath on her face, the slightest brush of his lips against hers...but something...wasn't quite right...
She woke up in a cold sweat.
What was going on?
She'd been having this dream for a month now. Every night it went on a little longer. Every night it slowly faded to black.
She didn't normally wake until her alarm went off.
The room was still and silent. Her alarm had obviously not gone off yet. She turned over and stared at the red number flashing on her clock screen: 12:00.
That was odd.
Had there been a power outage while she slept?
Lia padded silently down the hall, wearing a black tank top and a loose pair of faded jeans. She checked the living room clock. Then the kitchen clock. She even checked her mother and father's clock.
Now that was definitely odd.
Her clock was the only one that had been affected.
With a terrible sense of foreboding, she stalked silently back to her room.
Had she left the door open?
She couldn't remember.
Her heart racing, she rushed in and closed the door behind her, locking it. A chill ran through her and she froze.
Something was watching her. She could feel it. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, turning around slowly.
She opened her eyes, nearly screaming.
Nothing was there.
She let out her breath in a rush. The moon hovered hauntingly outside her window, throwing pale light into her room, increasing the shadows. She threw the curtains closed, sinking down onto her bed, trembling uncontrollably. She eventually slipped into a fitful sleep.
Outside, a shadow hid among the shadows, standing right beside Lia's window. It placed a hand on the glass almost caressingly and grinned. The whisper was soft and loving, but also...hungry...
"Soon, love...I promise..."
The next day was over almost before it had begun and Lia soon found herself staring once more into her mirror as she readied for bed.
The clear green of her eyes stared back at her, reflecting her torn thoughts. Her full mouth curved naturally into an attractive pout. She had soft, feminine features and carried a fragile appearance.
She wasn't sure what she wanted.
She loved the dreams...after all, he was in them...
But something had been wrong.
Oh well. She would find out tonight what it had been.
She let her dark hair fall, a silky brown-black waterfall down her back. She locked her door and turned off the light.
She laid down and closed her eyes.
...his lips leaving hers, tracing a soft line to her neck...his lips parted and she felt the slightest gentle scrape of his teeth against her skin...and all of a sudden she felt like she was starving...there was a metallic taste in her mouth and his teeth were slowly pressing down...and she was afraid...but he whispered for her not to worry...she leaned her head, arching her neck towards him...
"Wake up!"
Her eyes shot open.
"Mom?"
Her mother's anxious expression eased a bit. "No darling, it's Santa. Yes it's me."
"What's wrong?"
"You were screaming."
Lia was silent.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Must've been a bad dream or something. I don't even remember what it was," she said casually, flicking a wayward strand of hair over her shoulder and praying her voice wouldn't waver as she spoke the most outrageous lie of her life.
"You sure?" Her mom asked skeptically, stepping to the doorway.
"I'm okay Mom. Now go, before dad comes and sees me in those pajamas he hates so much."
Her mom shrugged and flicked off the light, closing the door with a soft thump.
A terrifying thought hit her as she stared out her window at the moon-exaggerated shadows.
Hadn't she locked her door before going to bed?
He stared at the pale, beautiful face of his love from the shadows.
Soon...
Soon she would be his.
His love.
Darling Lia...he thought with pleasure.
...Lia, my blood-bride.
The days were flying by now.
The nights seemed to stretch longer and longer, until it seemed that daylight was but a dream in and of itself.
The dreams were getting worse.
Though was "worse" the right term?
They were definitely longer, but...
She found a strange pleasure in them, something dark and animalistic...
She shuddered.
What was happening to her?
He stood at the foot of her bed, staring at the still form lying in the bed, the pale, tender throat exposed...he licked his lips, took a deep breath and calmed himself. None of that now. He could indulge later, but now...now, he needed control.
He moved to the side of her bed and leaned over her...
...the warmth of his breath, the brush of his lips...except it was...so...vivid...
Her eyelashes fluttered for a second before sleepy green eyes appeared, filled with joy, and fear, disbelief, and hope, and that dark hunger...
He smiled and held a finger to his lips. He picked her up from the bed, nuzzling her neck, feeling her pulse quicken...
He carefully lowered himself out of the already open window.
The chill air brought Lia out of her dreamy state.
This was really happening.
The boy from her dreams was here.
He was carrying her away.
She looked up at him.
"B-but...you're dead!"
He paused and looked down at his love. He lowered his mouth to hers, then pulled back.
"Not exactly."
She blushed and giggled slightly, but somewhere, deep inside, she was screaming in terror.
They rested in the shadow of trees, silver streams falling around them. He held her close, breathing in the faint scent of flowers that seemed embedded in her hair.
He brushed a strand of that beautiful hair aside, providing him access to her neck.
He moved forward, whispering in her ear, "How would you like to spend eternity with me?"
She smiled. "I'd love it..."
A grin flashed across his face.
"Good."
He placed a gentle hand over her mouth and she instantly tensed up. He brushed his lips across her skin and her muscles loosened.
He bit down.
She screamed into his hand.
He licked the blood away, making soft comforting noises.
Eventually she relaxed and he removed his hand. She turned halfway, eyes dark and in pain...but she was smiling. She leaned forward and kissed him, could taste the tang of her own blood on his lips.
"We can be together now?" She whispered, half disbelievingly.
He kissed her, smiling lovingly down at her. "Forever."
They stayed there through the night, gazing at the moon.
- <<
- <
- >
- >>
