Baby, We Have Eternity

I met Pete again a week later, regardless of Brendon’s advice.

Who was he to tell me what to do with my life?

Hah. Life. Vampire humor.

I found Pete waiting in the alley near the club we had agreed on.

He smiled as soon as he saw me, and I managed to return it.

He pressed his lips against mine in greeting, wrapping his arms around my waist as I arranged mine around his neck.

It felt like some weird, twisted, vampire version of a date.

We eventually pulled away, and he intertwined his fingers with mine as we exited the alley and continued down the street.

Maybe it wasn’t such a great idea to be so open about this, but I counted on our instincts and superior senses to let us know if other vampires were near.

“So…what do you want to do?” he asked.

“I don’t know.” I hesitated. “But I can’t stay too long. I have to be back at the manor by midnight,” I added apologetically.

Another one of William’s stupid parties.

“Right,” he sighed, sounding slightly disappointed, but doing his best to hide it.

We ended up sitting on a deserted cliff that overlooked the city.

I hugged my knees, watching the nightlife of the humans through my vampire eyes.

What I would give to be one of them now. So carefree. Not even worrying about how long they had to live in spite of being mortal. No power-hungry clan to be confined too. They were just…alive.

I wish I remembered what it was like. All I had left were hazy memories I had difficulty recalling.

I exhaled slowly, sighing wistfully as I felt the wind whip my hair around.

“You miss it, too?” Pete questioned, snapping out of his thoughts.

“Now more than ever,” I replied. We fell silent, back into our own respective thoughts. “Pete?” I asked, after a little while. He glanced at me, wordlessly urging me to continue. “I’ve been meaning to ask you for a long time…” I paused hesitantly, unsure if he’d want to answer. “I’ve just always wondered how you can live with the guys, never hunt, and…well…”

“You want to know how I’ve managed to go so long without biting them,” he finished for me. I nodded.

“I don’t really know,” he replied. “It was hard at first, you know? I was so thirsty, but I just…I couldn’t do it. I hated myself so much for wanting to drink from them. I starved myself for awhile. I snapped a few times, but I managed to get out of there before hurting them.” He stopped. “Then Patrick came up with that stuff you tasted. Do you know what’s in there?” he asked, looking at me. “Garlic. Holy water. Animal blood.” He frowned in distaste. “You don’t want to know what else. It’s disgusting, but I don’t have a choice. I won’t hunt. I won’t be a real vampire. Not if I can help it.” He returned his gaze to the skyline, falling silent once again.

The vampire in me rose as I wondered what animal blood would taste like, but I shoved the thought away before my throat could start itching with thirst.

I suddenly felt uneasy. Did he think of me as some kind of monster, an animal, because I hunted? I had never truly felt guilt for my victims, never questioned my vampire habits. I accepted that I would have to hunt to live and eventually became desensitized to it.

“Do you think I’m a horrible person?” I blurted out. He looked at me in surprise.

“Why would I think that?” he asked.

“Because I hunt. Does that make me awful?”

“No,” he immediately assured me. “It’s not your fault. You didn’t know what you were getting into.” I looked away, studying my shoes. “Hey,” he said, lifting my face with two fingers. “You’re not awful,” he reassured, leaning in to kiss me softly on the lips.