Forbidden Blood

Jessica sat up, swearing she heard a thump downstairs. She had made herself more than at home when she went to bed the previous night. Her steps were sliding against the wood as she tried to sneak down the stairs. Her eyes crept over the railing, gazing into the living room. She saw male hands gripping onto the couch tightly with my hands on his broad shoulders. A red liquid was dripping onto the fabric of the couch as my fangs punctured his skin. Jessica stood in a shocked disgust. I lifted my head slowly to look at her.

“Don’t be afraid to come down here, I’m just feeding.” I continued my meal. Jessica cautiously came into the living room, which you had to pass through to get into the kitchen.

“Help me.” The young man uttered. I covered his mouth with one of my free hands. Jessica felt a slight sorrow for him, watching as I carelessly sucked the blood from his veins.

“Please.” He begged with his eyes. Jessica gave in to her emotions and reached for him. I snapped his neck before she could get within range of him. His body laid limp as it slumped down on the sofa. I licked the remaining blood from my lips, picking up my steps as I went into the kitchen. Jessica stayed there staring at the body, not able to cope at how the man called out for her with such fear in his eyes. I placed my hand on her shoulder and she almost hit my nose with her fist. I managed to grab her wrist before she did so.

“What’s wrong?” I could read the worry in her eyes, the fear.

“Nothing.” Jessica quickly snatched her hand from my grasp and stormed into the kitchen. I glared at the corpse with no sense of guilt or sorrow in me, then went into the kitchen.

“I didn’t expect you to be awake so early.” I pleaded my case to her as she took a box of cereal off of the fridge. Her hands were shaking and she couldn’t control them. Her body was set in a state of fear, something she couldn’t help.

“I always wake up at six, you know that.” The bits of cereal went all over the counter, missing the glass bowl almost completely.

“I must have lost track off time.” I replied. Jessica spilled milk over the cereal that had littered the counter, making it spill onto the tile. She picked up a spoon from the drawer and attempted to carry her bowl to the table. The bowl fell from her trembling hands. I caught it before it could reach the floor and shatter. My increased speed frightened Jessica, causing her to slam her back into the counter. I set the bowl on the counter and approached her.

“Calm down.” I advised. Even her pupils were shaking. I’ve never seen her so struck with fear. It was if she was staring at death. Jessica took in short breaths, trying to slow her heart rate. Usually, my hunger would be thriving at her heart rate, but it was fully satisfied for now. I held her shaking hands against the counter to stop them. Jessica was looking right into my eyes as they changed from a dark, blood red to a gentle midnight blue.

“Calm down.” I repeated more softly.

“Why didn’t you stop? He was begging you.” Jessica’s heart began to slow to a normal rate.

“They all ask me to stop. That’s how it goes.” I released her hands and took a few steps back.

“I thought you were through with human blood.” She uttered.

“How can I possibly be through with it? It makes me stronger and that is what I need to be right now.” I replied.

“By killing?”

“What do you expect of me? I can’t be this harmless little animal, it’s not in me.”

“That’s not what I’m asking Deanna. I want you to just stop. Stop being what you are because that’s not who you are.” Jessica said.

“You don’t know a damn about who I am. If you can’t handle this, then just go. I’ll make sure the Keepers don’t follow.” I stated.

“The only way you could do that is by killing them and I don’t want you doing that!” Jessica yelled.

“Do you see another way Jess? I used to be naive like you, thinking things can be solved by communicating.” I took steps towards her.

“But things don’t work like that. This is a fight and you can’t fight with words Jess. You’ll only get yourself killed.” I explained.

“You can fight with words. You just have to use the right ones.” Jessica said.

“Let me rephrase, this is a war and you will die if you try to talk this out with them. Why are you so open mined about them? I have tried time and time again to explain their ways to you, but yet you side with them.”

“I am not siding with them, they just make more sense than you do. They seem innocent and caring.”

“The Keepers? The ones who tried to kill you twice.” I replied.

“The first time was--”

“Not a mistake or a coincidence that you were there. They knew that you would be there with me. Do you not think that they plan these things?” I questioned.

“I am just trying to understand how you got on their bad side.” Jessica said.

“You don’t need to understand! That’s the point. You shouldn’t be standing here trying to understand why the world isn’t what you thought it was or how come you can’t control anything around you. It is not for you to understand and they got on my bad side, not the other way around.” I clarified.

“Well I am going to try to understand Deanna. I want to be on the level you’re on right now. I need to know why things are like this. It makes no sense!”

“If you would open your eyes, it would. What you saw previously was me killing a man. What you should have seen is just another meal.” I replied.

“This conversation isn’t even about that. It’s about you not opening up to me. Do you not trust me?” Jessica asked. I shook my head at her dart to another subject, dodging the Keepers at all means, but I would turn this on her.

“You really want to talk about feelings I don’t have right now?”

“There is something you’re hiding and I know it. You just won’t tell me.”

“If you want to talk about opening up, how about talking about your mother.” I suggested.

“That isn’t fair.” Jessica shook her head and tried to brush past me. I held her in place, not letting her leave this confrontation.

“It is not that I haven’t opened up to you, it’s just that you haven’t listened Jessica. I am willing to listen to you, but you won’t talk.” I uttered.

“There is nothing to be said.”

“A part of your mind is clouded by this. Everything would be much easier if you talk about it. What she did to you.” I said. Jessica pushed me back and stomped out of the room.

“What is it really Jess? Why do you always avoid her?” I trailed her into the living room. Jessica sat on the couch beside the corpse, pretending I wasn’t there.

“I could tell you, but what would be the point? It won’t change anything.” I slowly walked up to her, making progress on the subject. Jessica’s mind has blocked the topic of her mother from me, I could not access it.

“You can tell me.” I kneeled before her as if she were royalty. Jessica remained silent, staring at the blank wall. I waited patiently for her to speak.

“The woman that was living with my father and I, was not really my mother.” Jessica murmured.

“How do you know that?” I asked quietly.

“One night, I was downstairs getting something to drink and I heard a weird noise outside. I go to see what it was, and there she was, feeding off of our dog.” Jessica continued.

“Feeding as in...”

“Vampirism.” Jessica finished the sentence for me. I cradled this statement for a second, letting it float around in my mind.

“Your mother was a vampire? How is that even possible, I would have sensed her.” I replied.

“She was turned after my birth and she had some kind of diamond that blocked her scent. She was trying to hide from you and that’s how I knew who you were.” Jessica explained.

“The Black Diamond...but her vampirism isn’t a reason to hate her Jessica.” I said.

“That’s not why. Once I figured out what she was, and threatened to tell my father, she turned ugly very fast. It as if she became another person.” Jessica lifted up a part of her jean leg. There was craters in her leg, two skin deep craters.

“She bit you.” I tried to touch the bite marks, but Jessica pulled her leg away.

“She injected me with vampire poison. I ran out into the forest before she bit me again and she just left me out there to die, like some sort of animal.”

“Then what?” I uttered.

“George found me and he saved me. This was when I was maybe fifteen or sixteen. I can’t remember.” Jessica said.

“He seems to be way too familiar of my world.” I noticed.

“It doesn’t matter. He saved my life when no else could and I will be forever grateful to him.”

“Why would you go back to the house Jessica? A vampire that has bitten a human usually wants to finish what they started.”

“George gave me some kind of stone that kept her away from me.” She replied. I thought for a second.

“The Vampire’s Stone. It is like a repellent to vampires. It can make a human very tempting, but their blood would be revolting...that explains why your blood had taken a dark shade. A piece of the stone must have been left on you.” I explained to myself.

“She made my life hell and I will never be able to wipe her filthy image out of my head.” I watched tears build up in her eyes. She knew I hated when she cried, but she could not fight these tears back. They dropped onto the tile, making tiny splashes as they did so. I tilted my head to the side like a curious puppy. She began to cry more severely, sending my senses on a roller coaster. I knew it was out of a deep pain that was resurfacing. Hesitantly, I embraced Jessica, attempting to comfort her. She was surprised by my action, but didn’t refuse it. Jessica tightly hugged me, trying to squeeze her pain from me.

“It’s okay Jess.” I whispered.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to cry.” She confessed. I backed away and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

“Don’t apologize for being human. It is what makes you special Jess. Don’t you ever forget that you are special amongst the other humans. Now, I will make you breakfast just to make you feel a little better.” Jessica smiled before I stood up, letting the pain finally slide off of her skin. I grabbed the corpse by his ankles and pulled his body off of the couch. His skull banged hard into the wood, making Jessica jump up. I let out a small “I didn’t mean to” laugh.

“Deanna.” Jessica said sternly.

“Sorry.” I laughed a bit harder as I threw the body over my shoulder.