Emilee

I must’ve fallen asleep in his car ‘cos I woke up quite confused, lying on the backseat almost dazed. “You got no sleep last night,” he said knowingly.

“I know,” I admitted...I was up all night thinking of you...

“Don’t,” he said. I waited for him to finish.

“Don’t what?” I asked, after he seemed to leave it as just that.

“Just don’t.” He turned his head and smiled sweetly at me.

“Where are we?” I asked, sitting up to look out the window.

“Just down the street from our houses. I didn’t wanna take you home just yet, you’re parents would be confused, and most likely angry,” he explained. I could barely remember why. Skipping school seemed the least of my worries.

“What you said...before at the park...” I gulped. “Why did you lie like that? Why did you want to hurt me?” I was trying so hard to hold back the tears forming in my eyes. I looked out the window, concentrating a little too hard on a bird in the closest tree. It ruffled its feathers and flew away.

“I never lied. I never would lie to you Emilee,” Max said. He climbed over the seats to get in the back of the car with me. My heart fluttered. He wanted to be closer to me. This false hope was gonna kill me.

“But you didn’t make sense Max. You must have lied to me,” I said. “Some of what you said isn’t possible. You know that.” Max shuffled uncomfortably beside me. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it again, screwing up his face in uncertainty. I was glad I wasn’t the only one struggling with speech.

“I...” he stopped to think. “I’ll prove it to you.” The tiny hairs everywhere on my body stood on end.

“Prove what exactly?” I asked. I was interested now. Maybe I just wanted to hear him say he loved me again. I didn’t care how much it’d hurt me later.

“Prove I'm a vampire.” His eyes sparkled with excitement.

“Ohh...” I didn’t know what to say, he was clearly insane. A vampire?

“You have to promise you won’t tell anyone.” I nodded my head slowly. He was serious. Max got out the car. I followed, already not believing him.

“So...sunlight?” I was questioning him already. He smirked.

“Sunscreen these days works well enough,” he said. “It’s not as dramatic as it sounds, us being exposed to the sunlight. We’ve adapted quite well. Some of us burn easy, no problem really.” I could see why. He was so pale. But his complexion proved nothing.

“Ohh...makes sense,” I said. Max sighed.

“I'm not sure how I'm gonna prove this,” he admitted. I waited for him to decide what he was gonna do, or say, to make me believe. It seemed like forever that I was watching his shallow breathing as we both sat down, with his eyes closed and head back against the car door. It was somewhat relaxing to watch him so peaceful. He opened his eyes and stared back at me. “I don’t wanna scare you.”

“Maybe you won’t,” I suggested.

“Maybe.” He sighed. He reached over and took my hand in his. He was still cold, although the sun was out. “Proof enough?” he asked hopefully.

“Nope,” I replied. “Lots of people are abnormally cold, I'm sure.” He sighed again, keeping his hand in mine, lacing our fingers together. Very cold.

“Maybe I could take you to meet my coven...I mean friends,” he said. “That’d be proof enough. They're very open about what they are when we’re all alone.” Although I still didn’t believe him, I shuddered at the thought of being alone with a group of potential vampires. He felt it. “Don’t worry, they're usually nice.” He smiled his candy smile again. I smiled back. A few people walked past us on the footpath.

“What time is it?” I asked him.

“3:30. Shouldn’t you be getting home by now?” he asked, smirking across at me. I laughed.

“I guess so.” I really didn’t wanna go. What if max was just joking? As soon as he leaves, the charade is over. He’d be gone.

“You really should go,” he said. “I’ll see you tonight anyway.” My face lit up at his last words. Tonight wasn’t so far away. “I’ll introduce you to my mates.”

“Cool, can’t wait...” I wasn’t sure whether I was supposed to feel happy to be meeting them, or scared to be in their presence. I settled on feeling happy. It just felt right. Max got up off the floor, dragging me up with him. He was pretty strong. He walked me back to my house, saying goodbye and leaving before we got to the door. I missed him beside me already. Once I got upstairs and to my room, he’d already changed clothes and was heading out of his room. Quick. I dumped my bag down and got out some random books and pens, scattering them on my desk. I then headed to bed because despite having done nothing but sleep and talk all day, I was exhausted. Sleep seemed a good idea.