by Jamie Ott
~~~
She woke, feeling pain so severe in her head. She tried to sit up, but her body ignored her commands.
Someone was in the room with her.
“Starr, are you awake?”
She just barely managed to whisper, “Yeah.” Even her tongue resisted her.
“I brought you something to eat. Lucenzo says it’s the only thing that will help you heal faster.”
She had with her a little bowl and a spoon. Gently, she pried open her mouth and inserted spoonfuls of blood.
Swallowing was excruciating.
“Don’t try to swallow. Just let it work its own way down your throat.
“Where… he…?” Starr whispered painfully, through the blood as it sat at the back of her throat.
“He’s at the cabin.”
“And u- u?”
She couldn’t say “us” because opening her throat to utter the vowel was too painful.
“We’re still in the shed.”
Lily put a few more spoons of blood into her mouth.
“I know you’re angry with me, but I don’t want to go back to being the way I was before. I don’t want to be a twelve year old vampire, forever. I have no choice but to stick with him. He’s got an antibody that keeps me lucid; he feeds me so that I don’t vamp out. If I lose him, then I lose consciousness. That’s the scariest thing that has ever happened to me. I hate this, being what I am; it’s awful. Everybody hates me; even Lucenzo is repulsed by me. People look at me like I’m a nasty fungus or parasite. I especially hate it when you look at me, Starr.”
Starr just stared at her.
Lily tried to give her another spoon, but Starr whispered, “No… hurts…,” and closed her mouth.
“He said you wouldn’t be able to eat much. I’ll come back tomorrow, though.”
She turned out the light and left.
Starr tried to move her hand, but it was like trying to pick up a ton. It barely moved, though she tried so hard.
She tried to think of what to do. All she knew was she didn’t want Lucenzo around them, and that he needed to be dealt with.
But then, what about Lily? she asked herself.