You Fight For All The Wrong Reasons

My surroundings were hazy at first, but they slowly came into view.

I was lying on a bed, but it wasn’t my own. Alarmed, I looked at the comforter, which was at my feet. Blue with brown and white stripes. This was Christina’s bedroom…what the hell was I doing here?

Two golden eyes smiled at me. “Hey, Sleeping Beauty.”

I gasped. “Cam!” I shot up in bed and wrapped my arms around him. He kissed my forehead.

Just sitting up made the room spin. I let my arms fall from Cam’s body and lay back down, head throbbing.

“How are you feeling?”

“Kinda dizzy.” This was still all a bit confusing still, and I had lost my sense of time. “What time is it?” I asked Cam.

“I don’t know exactly. The power went out sometime early this morning – there was a huge thunderstorm last night. Somewhere around noon, though, I’m guessing.”

I was so disoriented, I hadn’t even noticed the lights weren’t on. That would explain the candle flickering on the nightstand to my right. The dim light illuminated Cam’s face.

God, he was gorgeous.

Yesterday? “Then, what day is it?”

“July 6th.”

I did the math. “I was out for the better part of two days?”

Cam nodded.

“What happened?”

“Well, I guess I should start with who the other vampire was.” He studied the stitches in the sheets. “His name is Eli. You might remember him from the attack back in the woods.”

I shook my head. “I didn’t recognize him.” Trust me, I could never forget those awful eyes.

“Anyways, you were already bleeding pretty badly when you fell out of the car. From the side of your head. I started freaking out, of course. No vampire’s good around blood, but I’m especially bad.”

“Well, that makes me feel secure,” I said, trying to sound sarcastic and not afraid. Truth was, that comment scared me. I mean, I was glad that Cam was being honest and all, but there was now even more of a sense of danger in the room.

I sighed inwardly. Why couldn’t I just stick to my own species?

“But I couldn’t just stand there and watch him tie your arms in knots.” My shoulders ached just from him mentioning it. “So I tried to pull him away from you, I managed to do that, but Eli somehow managed to slam you into the truck. He tried to go after you again. But I took care of that.” He grinned and I laughed.

Cam’s expression grew grim again. “You were bleeding even worse after your collision with the truck windows. There were gashes in your arms and neck, and there was glass in a lot of your cuts.”

“That’s why you let go of me.”

Cam nodded, looking somewhat ashamed.

“It was the right thing to do,” I said quickly. “Your only option, really.”

“Right. Then you passed out, and I was debating whether to take you home myself or call Mr. Kostick, an actual doctor. I chose the latter.” Mr. Kostick was Christina’s dad.

“Your parents wanted to see you, of course, but then they figured that it was best you stayed with the Kostick’s, so that a doctor could be there 24/7, and we couldn’t take you to the hospital, obviously. He cleaned your cuts, and so on, but we think a minor infection set in. He says you’re going to be okay, though.”

“Wow.” I took all of this in.

“Wait, one last question. Why did Eli even want to go after me in the first place?”

“I don’t know. He doesn’t trust me anymore. But I have the feeling he’ll be at it again. We’ll be ready next time.” He stood up, stroking my hair, then kissing the top of my head. “Mr. Kostick wants to know when you’re awake. I’ll be right back.”

He started to walk out. “Hey,” I called after him. He turned around. “Thank you. For saving me.”

Cam laughed. “I didn’t save you. The guy you’re looking for is Mr. Kostick.” He gave me a cute half-smile.

And I watched as my superhero quietly closed the door.