Without a Sound

I waited a few minutes to make sure Mikey wasn't going to come back. I was full of guilt and shame when I entered the hall at last. Not only was I completely disrespecting his privacy, but I was sneaking around and going behind his back. I felt so dirty.

And yet I still felt like I had a right to know what was troubling him. Even more than that, I wanted to help him. The only reason I really wanted to know his secret was because I wanted to help him... Or at least that's what I told myself.

I don't know why, but I tiptoed into his room even though there was no way he could hear me. He had to be miles away by now.

I stood before his dresser for minutes, not able to move. After mustering up all the courage I had, I reached out and pulled the drawer open. It was empty except for the picture frame, which was placed perfectly in the center of the drawer and was lying face-down.

As gingerly as I could, I lifted the picture frame and held it in both of my hands. First I ran my fingers over its frame, which was silver ivy intricately woven around the picture. Then, to remove all the dust Mikey hadn't, I wiped the glass with my hand.

The picture brought tears to my eyes. In the background I saw the stone bench, the fountain, and the garden full of rose bushes and climbing ivy. But it was not the beauty of the garden that made me want to cry.

It was the beauty of the people sitting on the stone bench. In his lap, Mikey held the most beautiful little girl I'd ever seen. She must have been between six and eight years old, and her blonde, wavy hair, pale skin, rosy cheeks, shiny green eyes, and pink dress made her look like a living doll. I saw the love in the way Mikey held her.

His other arm wrapped around the waist of a strawberry-blonde haired, green eyed woman, who was pressing her cheek to his shoulder. They looked like the perfect family - full of love, beauty, and happiness.

I was overwhelmed with the need to have something like that of my own. Despite Mikey's care, I suddenly felt alone and excluded.

This had to have been Mikey's wife and daughter. But where were they now? How did they fit in with the nightmares, the picture-less walls, the empty bathroom, and how he had told me he deserved to be bitten? I had all the pieced to the puzzle, but I could not for the life of me put them together to make a full image.

When I was about to put the picture back in the drawer, I saw that it wasn't empty after all. A tiny yet significant object had been hiding underneath the frame.

It was a little gold ring. A wedding ring. His wedding ring. Why didn’t he wear it anymore?

I felt dizzy and lightheaded as I put everything back just how it had been and crept back to the room with the TV. I sat on the couch, rubbing my head, which ached.

I couldn’t figure it out! I was furious with myself. I sifted through everything I knew. There were many possibilities, but none of them fit everything.

Maybe his wife and daughter had died somehow. That would’ve explained everything but the ‘deserving to be bitten’ part.

It was a possibility that his wife had left him. Then again, maybe not. Why would anyone leave him? And that didn’t explain the nightmares.

No matter how hard I tried and how many angles I looked at, I couldn’t discover the truth. I could only make rough guesses. Worst of all, I knew I couldn’t ask him. Not only would he be mad at me for snooping, but I couldn’t say a word anyways. It was hopeless; a lost cause.

When Mikey returned, I tried to act as normal as possible. It must’ve worked, because he didn’t seem to notice anything awry.

He smiled at me as usual, sat next to me on the couch, and offered me that stupid thermos. And, being thirsty as always, I took it and drank.

While I was drinking, though, I was thinking. I was not nearly as thirsty as I had been when he first found me. Maybe, if I tried as hard as I could, I’d be able to resist biting him. God knows I didn’t want to cause him any more pain than he was already in. What kind of a monster was I? A horribly ungrateful one, that was for sure.

So as I finished drinking the blood in the thermos, I mentally prepared myself. I pulled my knees to my chest, clenched my teeth, and clasped my hands behind my back, letting the thermos drop to the floor. I tensed every muscle in my body, even squeezing my eyes shut.

Seconds passed, and I began to get a headache. It was working, though. If I focused all of my energy on this, wouldn’t it be impossible for me to bite him?

“Oh, come on, Charlotte,” Mikey pleaded. “Don’t do this to yourself. You know that it’s okay for you to drink my blood.”

Maybe he thought so, but I didn’t. I knew it was wrong, no matter what he told me. I couldn’t shake my head, though. I was afraid I’d lose control if I did.

He actually pulled me into his lap and started stroking my hair. “Please, Charlotte, stop it,” he murmured.

The movement of the blood inside him was almost unbearable, but somehow I resisted. Maybe I sat there for minutes, or maybe I sat there for hours. I didn’t really know. But I started getting tired and weak

At some point it became too much. I had to relax my muscles… and when I did, I lashed out, biting the closest part of him: his hand. I drank, and I was too tired to cry afterwards.

Mercifully, Mikey carried me to the bed. Maybe I fell asleep right when he set me down, and the rest had been a dream. But I thought I remembered being surprised when his lips brushed my forehead and he whispered, “You’re so strong. I couldn’t last that long. I wish I could’ve.”