Eternally Tied

~~

Adam sighed as he exited his car dressed in his hospital scrubs. He adjusted his mask and he wore his sunglasses to keep himself shielded from the humans he might find on the way. He walked through the corridors, practically unnoticed, going towards the lab but making sure that his steps were at a normal speed. He was hungry though and the humans around him weren’t helping, especially the ones with wounds. He knew he shouldn’t have waited such a long time to get his supply.

As he neared the door, he stopped to as he sensed the scents around. He had been getting his supplies from that hospital for a while now and he smiled a bit as he recognized a familiar, sweet, flowery and female scent coming from inside the research lab. As he opened the door, he saw Davinia sitting with her back to him. As always, she was focused on work. Adam would love to know what she was doing, what consumed so much of her time and attention but he had never really bothered to ask. She never asked about why he needed the blood anyways so he thought it fair not to intrude on her task as well. Adam waited and after a few moments she glanced over her shoulder with a smile.

“Hey Doctor Faust.”

The vampire blinked and stepped further in. The majority of humans could never notice his presence or arrival until he so desired but Davinia was able to and that was the first thing that spiked his interest about her. At first, he thought she was also a vampire, but she required sleep, her eyes were normal though a very light grey colour and she did walk around in the day, so no, she was definitely a human. Apparently, she was just a very special one.

“Hello Davinia.”

She turned fully to him and the vampire didn’t smile back. He never did and Davinia was used to it. He didn’t seem like a bad man, though, he was just mysterious. For a moment Adam wanted to smile but the dark circles around her eyes, indicated lack of rest and that was something he didn’t like because Davinia looked genuinely good which was rare amongst humans. No matter the time he chose to make his entrance, she always greeted him with a smile and she had never been anything but kind with him. He knew she was working avidly and hard on something and he just wished he knew what it was so his curiosity would just be ceased. Normally, Adam didn’t like humans. To him they were zombies but Davinia had been nice and kind to him like nobody had been for centuries. Yes, he had lied to her countless times to get blood but it was his only choice. He would rather be honest with her but he knew that that was out of the question.

“Give me a second. I have what you asked for in store.” She said as she stood up.

Her smell filled his nostrils and he closed his eyes for a second. He had thought and fantasized about biting Davinia more than once, to taste the sweet crimson blood pumping through her veins but then he’d quickly push those thoughts away. If he bit her, he’d lose the fascination he had around her and he’d probably lose her like he had lost everything in his life time after time after time. He hadn’t made a connection with anyone for a long time so to ruin it with his hunger was out of the question. After over 400 years, he had learned better than that.

When the young woman returned to give him his blood, he analyzed her face carefully.

“Is work being too harsh on you again?”

She sighed. Adam usually was quiet but straight to the point when he spoke. Months passed until Davinia got anything else but a hello from his mouth and then she had noticed that he had been making an effort to say more than two-syllable words and actually establish a short conversation. That was a victory already. Now, sometimes they wouldn’t go past the hello but other times, he’d ask question but he’d rarely answer anything she asked.

“The usual.” She smiled softly “You know it’s always a bit difficult for me to have exams and work evenings on end for research.”

“Perhaps an assistant would be a good idea.” He said, putting the blood away. He knew he was supposed to leave but he couldn’t help but to worry about her.

“Doctor Faust, I’m still finishing my major. Nobody wants to be my assistant.” She said.

Adam did his best to smile but he couldn’t. Dr. Faust was a fake name he used and Davinia had bought it so easily that he hadn’t bothered with a more elaborated story.

“I still say that such lack of rest is unhealthy for you Davinia.” Adam insisted, her name slipping his tongue so easily and elegantly.

“I know Doctor, thank you for the concern.” She said softly “Same time next week?” She smiled before she returned to her work area, sitting on a stool.

“Yes. Same time.” Adam said, vanishing before she could look back.

Exiting the hospital as quickly as he could, Adam drove to his house and locked himself in. He lived in an ancient Victorian building with two floors. The amount of space was almost an absurdity because he lived alone but he was a man haunted by his memories and by the centuries so there was not a place or room in the house that wasn’t stuffed with objects.

He stripped off his shirt and went into the kitchen. He usually kept the blood in the fridge, preferring to have it cold when it was this processed blood but every vampire preferred the warm blood of a human, when the chance was provided. The problem was that it was dangerous. Human blood had started to become more and more toxic with illness and other potentially dangerous components so Adam preferred to get the blood from the hospital because he knew it was totally safe.

Filling a glass with a vial of blood he went to the living room and he sat down. His fangs were already showing by the time he approached the red liquid to his lips and he drank it swiftly, laying back on the couch as it kicked in. He held the glass lightly in his pale hand, his lips open while he closed his eyes. Savouring the taste in his mouth, Adam hummed quietly, his fangs bare and his lips covered slightly with blood.

Memories assaulted him at first. Things he didn’t want to remember, people he had lost and actions he wished he could have changed. He had, once again, the glimpse of his opportunity at love, a woman he loved but that he had lost and then images of Davinia kicked in and a little smile took over his lips as he remembered the time they first met.

Almost six months earlier

Davinia had just been given a ‘go’ for her research project for her Masters Degree in Science and Pharmacy. She wasn’t actually studying to be a Doctor or even a Pharmacist but more of a lab researcher when it came to rare conditions and now she was helping the hospital with lab results. Given that she was an intern, they didn’t have to exactly pay her, so they set her schedule as it was best for her and they gave her the tasks most of nurses or doctors didn’t want, letting her be the lab rat.

That was when Adam met her. It was his time to feed and, as usual, he had waited too long and he was almost starving. Upon reaching the lab, he was stunned to see someone new there, instead of Dr. Watson. It was a young woman with cotton-candy coloured hair and as she glanced up, Adam met the most beautiful pair of grey eyes he had ever seen. Davinia, on the other hand, was staring at him as he arrived while she ate a snack.

“Oh Sir, I’m so sorry.” She apologised in a hurry as she tried to finish her food in embarrassment, thinking that Adam was one of her superiors.

The vampire studied her behind the sunglasses that kept his silver eyes protected. “Where is Doctor Watson?” He asked coldly.

“Mhm, Doctor Watson was transferred.” She replied quickly, clearing her throat “He works only during the day now at the top floor.”

While she spoke, Adam hardly paid any attention because he was busier keeping himself from smelling her. What was she? A mortal, certainly, but the scent of her blood was intense. Either that or he was just more starved than usual.

“I see.” He replied, trying not to panic, while Davinia glanced at his name card and she raised an eyebrow.

“Doctor Faust?” She said softly, recognising the name “Before he left, Doctor Watson, told me you sometimes come here to pick blood up for your research so I have it here, Sir, if you came to get it.”

Adam eyed the mortal carefully and nodded “Yes, that’s what I came for. Did Dr. Watson say where I should get my supplies now that he has left?”

“You can still pick them up here.” Davinia replied, going inside the cabinet to get what Doctor Watson had left “He told me the quantities so I’ll always have them ready for you each week Sir.”

Adam merely nodded, waiting for questions but the woman never asked them. She let him pack up his things and, before they could exchange another glance, she gave him a little smile and returned to her look. Unlike other times, Adam didn’t immediately vanish. He watched her quietly as she rubbed her tired eyes and he tilted his head very slightly.

There was something different about her, Adam could sense it but before he could put much thought into it, he vanished to feed. Unable to wait for long, he did it in the privacy of his car and then he rested there for a while. Unaware of the passing time, Adam returned to his senses just in time to see the girl from before leaving the hospital. It was nearly 5 am and the sun would be coming out in about an hour.

The vampire noticed that he hadn’t even bothered with learning her name and he sighed. When he was hungry, he wasn’t himself and he couldn’t think straight or act as carefully as he usually did but at least his feeding was still guaranteed, even if that girl had no idea of her part in the whole process. He watched as she stood outside alone for a bit. His car was far enough for him not to be noticed by her and he watched as a motorcycle arrived just a few minutes afterwards.

The person driving was clearly a man and Davinia smiled happily once he removed his helmet as she approached. They shared a long, tender kiss and Adam nearly touched his own lips. His last kiss had been centuries ago and he forced himself to look away as the old aching took over his pale chest.
He was only able to look again when he heard the bike coming to life. He saw the girl get a helmet, her hair disappearing under it and, as she swung herself into the back of the bike, Adam turned on the engine. It was clear that it was time to go but he watched her disappear first in the opposite direction.