Stockholm Syndrome: Be Mine

I woke up the next morning early, having been plagued by nightmares all night. That wasn't a surprise though, after the uneasiness last night.

Now, with the bright sun streaming through my windows, it seemed ridiculous that I ever thought something dark was lurking in the corners. But daylight will do that to you.

Scampering down the stairs, I saw that my mom and dad hasn't left for work yet.

"Morning Sweetie," my dad said as he kissed me on the forehead.

"Morning Erin," my mom said while pouring herself a cup of coffee,"what got you up so early?"

I opened the fridge and brought out a glass bottle of OJ. "I guess I just didn't want to sleep anymore." That wasn't technically a lie.

"Well," dad said,"your mom and I better leave, it's getting late." My parents owned a funeral home together, which was actually a pretty good line of work. I mean, people can't live forever.

"Alright, love you guys." I told them, and kissing them both on the cheek.

My dad, how was hovering at the door, looked at me warily and said,"Erin, be careful today, okay?"

I nodded, confused. "Of course," then I laughed,"careful's my middle name."

He looked at me once more, and left.

**********
Despite what I told my father about being careful, I figured that there wasn't much harm in going swimming. I mean, it's not like I was going to drown. I'd pretty much decided his strange warning was just about things in general, not mundane acts like swimming. Even if it was though, I wouldn't stop. Swimming was my first love.

I scurried to my bedroom and, seeing that I was going to be changing, closed the door. It didn't really matter to me if no one else was home, it didn't feel right with it opened.

Opening my swimsuit drawer, I grabbed a simple black bikini. This thing had been my friend since 8th grade; I was going in be a junior in a matter of weeks.

Dropping my nightshirt, I slipped the top over my awkward breasts and hooked it. I say awkward because that's exactly how I felt about them. See, I had been one of those late bloomers. So by the time my body caught up with the one's of my female peers, I was perfectly content being flat-chested with small hips. I could wear virtually anything. Not that I was that busty now, but my B's were more than I wanted.

After putting the other part of my suit on, I grabbed my towel. Before I made my trip outside, I took a second to observe how I looked. It wasn't really out of importance, but habit.

My hair looked mermaid-y, being wavy and a mix of colors and pale blonde. Everything about my was pale, really. From my blue eyes down to my alabaster skin, which from all my hours in the sun never seemed to burn or tan. Weird.

The water was perfect today- crystal clear but somehow blue at the same time. The cool-crispness of it gave my a slight shock, but a much needed one a blistering day like this one.

While floating on my back, I decided that if there was a preferred life, this was definitely it.

I swam a few laps, then ended up just gliding across the bottom, back and forth. Often I wondered where I got my love for swimming from. My mother only liked to lay out, and my father didn't like the sun at all. He said he got burned too bad.

No.

There it was again, that agonizing rustle. It freaked me out, even more since I was alone.

Again, I waited a few minutes for my heart to stop racing, and went to reach for my towel.

Slam!

Someone, or something, hit me in the side, hard. Immediately, I opened my mouth to scream, but it was covered. I started sobbing, or wailing, silently.

This wasn't- no!
No!
God, please, no-!

I writhed and screamed as I felt something bite down on my shoulder. It was the most excruciating thing I'd ever felt. It got worse, though. He, her, whoever, whatever IT was, starting actually suck my blood out.

I'm being attacked by a vampire.
Vampires are real.

I was crying so hard now, and I couldn't see what was grabbing me since it had its iron-grasp on my face. My whole body shook, from tears and agony.

Suddenly, though, it stopped. If I could've made a sound, I would've almost screamed with relief. I heard my attacker let out a moan, then a curse word.

Then I fainted.