My Precious Nightmare

14: A Parasite

The vampire's swollen pupils shrank to pinpoints in the bathroom light till balls of scarlet stared out at her from the white almonds of his eyes. His jaw didn't hang from engorged fangs, but nor was his mouth completely closed.

She stiffened. Her heart ran off. Her head started to spin. She couldn't get enough air. Darkness rolled across her vision like fog off the sea.

She tipped and her knees buckled at once. She knew her head would bash against the sink.

Yet, when her senses popped back in, it was warm arms and bare chest that held her rather than the threadbare bathroom mat and a headache.

A hum rumbled up through the too-warm chest and she felt the vampire's face nuzzle back into her hair, though more gently this time.

"Careful," rumbled across her cheek.

She pushed at his chest. He let her go, but she hadn't been expecting this and found herself falling once again. This time, at least, she had enough blood to her brain to direct her butt to the floor.

"S-s-stop!" she squeaked.

A little valley dipped between his brows.

"Your finger is still bleeding." He crouched down.

She snatched her hand from his reach. "I said stop!" This time it was a screech.

The confused dip between his eyebrows vanished to wide-eyed guilt.

"I'm sorry, I controlled myself the best I could, there was an...altercation."

"I can fucking tell! You're covered it blood!"

And, so he was. Dried, dark, and cracking, but caked all over his front, except for where some had been scraped off by...whatever that was in his beanbag. She was only surprised there wasn't any on his face.

"It's nothing, vampire's just bleed a lot. It's how we heal. But I'm better now," he gestured to his chest, only to stop mid-action with a crooked, chagrined grin. "Not that would make your situation any better."

He looked at her for a long moment, her knees pinched together, her bleeding finger held tightly to her chest, shivering on his blue bathroom mat that had probably once been navy.

His jaw shifted. His nostrils flared.

Lea clenched herself together, shutting her eyes. She didn't want to see his handsome face contort when he came at her.

But the feel of fangs didn't come.

"At least let me bandage your finger. It will make things easier for both of us."

She felt his heat as he reached past her to the cupboard under the sink. She opened her eyes to see him pull out a slightly dusty first-aid kit, old enough that the band-aids papers had yellowed with time.

"I mostly market my medicines. It's not very often I get open wounds." The plastic clicked as he opened the lid. He tore open an antiseptic wipe.

"I can do it myself," she said, more out of an attempt to avoid feeling him again than pride. Lea had no pride. That was Sky. She had enough pride for them both.

"Fingers are hard to bandage by yourself. Let me. I'm the one who did it."

When he finally had his hot fingers on her cold hand, however, he didn't use the antiseptic wipe. Rather, after a long, uncomfortable stare, where his too-bright red eyes shivered, he ducked down to lap up the blood that had had the time to drip down her wrist.

She reflexively yanked back, but his grip was strong.

"Stop. Please."

"If you're not infected by me now, you won't ever be," he said, giving her finger one last cleansing lick before finally using the little antiseptic towelette.

"Wh-what?"

"You didn't think I'm like this naturally, do you? No. I'm like this because of a disease. A parasite, to be exact."

He once more displayed his unnatural speed in bandaging up her finger in gauze and tape.

Then she finally had her hand back, though a new cold fear had come over her.

"I-I could have a parasite?"

He glanced at her, mouth opening to probably scold her for not listening, but he must have thought better of that on seeing her face. Compassion once more softened his face, though it didn't mix well with the monstrous eyes and the bit of fang starting to poke out from his lips.

"No. If you're not a vampire now, you won't ever be. You either have an immunity or you do not." He closed the first-aid box with a click. "Not that I could call it an 'immunity.' The parasite either likes your blood or it does not, but there's nothing harmful to it in the bodies it deems unworthy. I've tested for it most of my life, but..."

He gave her a sad little smile, more of a straight line than anything.

"I can't let you go from this nightmare. But I can at least feed you."

He took his time standing, not using one of those unnaturally quick movements, and held out a hand to her.

She frowned at it and tried to get up on her own, but having her knees unbending dropped her blood pressure just enough to bring the black back. Even though she didn't black out all the way, her vision went dark and her legs went weak.

His hot hands caught her by her elbows. No. Not hot. She had just become so cold.

"...I'm sorry."

His apologies meant nothing to her.