by Rachel Lenna
arm may have been broken and that they are keeping her in for observations because of a head injury.”
“And when her friend wants to visit?”
“I dunno dude. It’s like 11pm visiting hours are over for today.”
“What about tomorrow?”
“Oh my god T really?” Dominic hisses in frustration at his friend. I know he’s trying to point out the obvious but right now the reality of what has happened to me and what I have become seems to be swallowing me up. “Let’s just get through tonight. We will worry about tomorrow at dawn.”
“Dude you sure you want us to leave?” Tyson seems unsure but desperate to get away. I can’t say I blame him, I have been dud company. Once Dominic pulled me out of the reborn rage I kind of fell into a sadness I have never before experienced. The thought of what I did last night and how everything has changed has really messed with my head.
How on earth does one cope with becoming something they didn’t even know existed? How does one cope with taking down forty odd humans – When I was one of them yesterday when I woke up and now I call them humans like they are a completely different species – in the space of about ten minutes? How on earth, and this is the biggest one that I am struggling with – how on earth does one cope with the fact that life has changed forever and there is absolutely no way to go back. My teachers, my friends, none of them can know what happened to me. How on earth am I meant to explain creepy red eyes to them? I can’t go back to school. Hell I can’t even go back to my dorm!
Sophie! What on earth am I going to do about Sophie? We only really have each other in this dingy hell hole and I have gone and disappeared on her. I can’t go back. But what am I supposed to do?
“Savannah?” Dominic’s soft voice rouses me from the thoughts that have plagued me for twenty four hours. “Savannah baby I need you to talk to me.”
“Go away.” I don’t want to talk to him. It’s because of him I’m like this. If he had just stayed away from me I would be at home sleeping in my warm cosy bed oblivious to this cold, cruel and crazy world.
“Baby girl you need to talk to me.”
“Go away.” I repeat deliberately shifting in my little corner so my back is facing him.
“Sav I know you’re probably wondering what the hell happened and how you’re gonna live now but it really doesn’t have to be that bad.”
I ignore him.
“Sav baby ninety percent of the teachers are vampires.”
Okay that has my attention. “Go away.” I say pretending not to be interested.
“Sav I know your curious.” Dominic puts his hand on my leg and squeezes. It’s that gesture that says I know you wanna be sooky la la and it’s okay but I’m gonna tell you what you need to hear anyway. And I hate those gestures because I always hate hearing what I need to hear. Who doesn’t?
I don’t answer him and he quietly sit’s next to me. Doesn’t touch me, doesn’t speak again and we sit there for so long I think he has fallen asleep.
“Are you asleep?” I can’t take the awkward silence anymore.
“We don’t sleep.”
“What?”
“We don’t sleep.” He repeats.
“Like ever?!” Surely they sleep sometimes. Everyone sleeps sometimes.
He shakes his head. “Like ever.”
“But how?...”
“I don’t know Sav, but I am four hundred and sixty six years old and have never slept once.”
“But how do you like… I don’t know… recharge the batteries so to speak?”
“We are immortal.” He says as if that answers everything. Uh well it doesn’t!
“And your point is what?”
“My point dear Ball buster of mine is that as an immortal we get the best of everything and the worst of nothing. Energy is included in that.”
“I’m not a ball buster!” I answer fiercely.
He raises an eyebrow at me.
“I’m not!” I say again. “In fact before I met you Sophie would always tell me that I was a prude and needed to stand up for myself more.”
“Well you clearly aren’t a prude now sweetheart.” Dominic grins at me and I want to smack it right off his face. “And I think the standing up for yourself part has certainly made an appearance.”
“Why am I so aggressive now?” I demand barely controlling the urge. Sit on your hands that may help! So I do.
“Everything now is all about being a reborn.” Dominic answers and I swear I am getting over hearing that word. “The first few days are really tough for everyone. But it gets easier as each dawn breaks. Things become a little clearer and a lot less complicated every single time. I promise.”
“How long does it take to become like you?” I ask, scared of the answer.
“You mean not raging like a manic one minute and then all sweet and beautiful and happy the next?”
If I could blush I would be. “Can vampires blush?”
“You still can.” He answers. “And it’s beautiful. But to answer your question after the first seven days you pretty much catch up physically. The first three months the mental side of it is all good and the first year all your own blood has vanished and your no longer anything human and everything vampire.”
“So your saying that I will be able to run like you, jump like you and lift things like you in a week?”
“You can already do most of those things now.” Dominic answers honestly. “Your transformation has been so far the quickest any of us have seen. The way you jumped and hit your head… I have never seen that in the first seven days.”
“Why what happens to others who do it?”
“I have never seen another do it.”
“Why could I do it then?”
“I really can’t answer that Sav.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know the answer.”
“Oh.” I slump against the wall again. We sit there in silence, both in our own thoughts for an hour before I quietly ask, “How did you cope… in the beginning I mean? I keep thinking about how everything has changed. School, Sophie everything. It’s never gonna be the same again.”
“It doesn’t have to change Savannah.”
“How doesn’t it?” I cry smacking the wall and making it crumble under my touch.
“Easy babe.”
“Don’t babe me!” I cry before I can stop myself. “I told you not now!”
“Savannah I can’t help how I feel. I know deep down you got something in you. We wouldn’t be Eternal Mates otherwise. You wouldn’t be here otherwise.”
“Don’t you dare!” I scream at him, getting in his face. “Don’t you damn well dare tell me that we wouldn’t be anything otherwise! You made me this.” I scream in his face. Nose to nose. I can’t stop myself it’s like something has taken over my body. “You and that stupid mutt Zeke!”
“I didn’t make you this.” He says carefully.
“Yes you did!” I poke him in the chest. “You talked to me! You invited me into your world! You got a crazy ex family member you have been hunting stalking you back and you’re telling me you didn’t do this to me?”
“Savannah I’m sorry.”
“Ha!” I scoff smacking a bit of wall plaster near his head. It shatters instantly. “Do you think sorry is going to bring me back my life? Do you think it’s going to give Sophie back her friend? Do you think it’s even good enough to make me okay with what I am?”
Dominic looks at me raging for a moment, he is battling with himself. Then before I can so much as blink he kisses me. It’s not just a shut the hell up kiss either. This kiss is full of passion. Full of urgency and desire. Full of emotions that I am evoking in him. I will not admit he is bringing them out in me to! Hell no! I will not kiss him back!
At first I push against his chest trying to break his hold on me. He holds his lips against mine and refuses to give in. I stomp on his foot and he doesn’t even move. Okay now I’m pissed – and impressed! He won’t let me go so I knee him as
hard as I possibly can right between the legs.
He lets me go only cos I send him flying upwards into the ceiling. His head smack’s into the roof and then goes straight through it. I gasp at the ferocious nature of it, of knowing I did it, while still struggling to cope with the constant raging one moment and practically hormonal the next – and it’s only been two days!
“Dominic!” I cry as he crumbles back down, landing on the floor like a starfish, “Oh my god talk to me!” I rush to his side. “Are you alright.”
At first he doesn’t move but then slowly he sits up. “Woman.” He says calmly. “You will be the death of me!”
“How do I make it stop?” I beg. “How do I make it all just stop? The confusion the anger the sadness the loss the panic all of it. Dominic tell me please! How do I make it stop?”
“Savannah.” He says getting up and grabbing both my hands like he just didn’t go through a roof. “Savannah listen to me.” He shakes my hands when I start hyperventilating.
I want to cry but nothing comes out. I take a deep breath and look up to meet his gaze.
“You are beautiful. You are going to get through this and I promise you come hell or high water we will kill Zeke. No I can’t undo what he did. No your life won’t ever be the same but I do promise you that with me and Sam and Tyson we will do everything in our power to make it good for you.”
“Yes.” I hear two voices from outside the door say together.
“Sam?” I say at the same time Dominic says “Tyson?”
They sheepishly walk through the door, metaphoric tails between their legs.
“We didn’t mean to interrupt your moment.” Tyson says meekly.
“But we wanted to make