"It's not as if there was any other way. I know you must be shocked, but it's the best thing I could have done for her at that point."
I squinted my already closed eyes as I felt myself coming to from a very deep sleep, one I could only vaguely remember going into. Not that I knew exactly what was going on right now, or if it was all just a dream or not. It all felt so foggy, on top of feeling so unreal. Whatever happened had been too insane to believe to be real, and so to my just awakening mind, was nothing more than a dream. I had to also wonder if what I was supposedly waking up to wasn't also a dream of some kind of fantastical proportion.
For a moment or so, I kept my eyes closed as I got used to the light through my eyelids. And I just listened to the conversation that was already going on.
"I still..." The voice belonged to my mom. She sounded at a loss for all words. "It's a lot to take in."
"Of course." The girl's voice was unfamiliar, and I couldn't be sure who she was. "Most humans know nothing about these kinds of things, these situations. I wish I didn't have to be the one to introduce you to my world, but..."
I felt like someone was looking at me briefly.
"She's waking up", the girl said.
Another second, and my eyes fluttered open, only for me to shield them from the overhead light in the living room and give a weird snarling noise. "What the...!?" I squinted my eyes and sat up. It felt like I was looking right into the sun. "The hell's going on? Why's it so bright?" I carefully moved my arm down from in front of my eyes.
My dad sat in the cozy blue chair by the entrance to the kitchen-dining area, looking less like Mr. Spock than he usually did. Mom was standing less than three feet away from him with an expression that I could only place as completely and utterly befuddled beyond all logic. And then I saw the girl who had been speaking sitting at the other end of the couch, which I was currently laying on. They all quickly looked at me like I'd just suffered something horrible.
I sat up awkwardly, not completely sure what was going on around me. But as soon as I'd finished moving, I spasmed and gave a small wail, landing back on my back. For whatever reason, a quick, searing pain shot through my entire body as if someone had electrocuted me. Or at least, that's the only thing I could think to compare it to, because I'd never experienced either sensation before. Suffice it to say, it hurt like hell.
Carefully, I sat back up again, bracing myself for the pain that never came back. I looked to my parents. "What's... going on? What happened to me?"
Dad met my gaze and glanced away with a sigh. "I wasn't able to protect you... I'm sorry."
I looked at Mom for help in understanding, but it was the girl who spoke.
"Cari- that's your name, right?" Once I nodded, she continued. "I hope you don't find this too difficult to believe, but you're now a vampire."
"What?" I blinked several times in confusion, and frowned. "You're kidding."
"No, I'm most certainly not", said the girl. "You were attacked just earlier by another vampire, and you were going to die unless you became one. I was passing by on my own hunt for blood, and I saw what happened. The man fled after I got him away from you, and I spoke briefly with your dad that I could save you. The only reason I was able to do anything was because I'm half vampire and half witch. You, on the other hand, are now fully vampire."
"You must be joking", I said, disbelieving. "I am most certainly not a-"
The girl scowled. "Do you not feel at all different", she interrupted. "Surely you can tell that much."
I opened my mouth to protest, but I stopped. She was right about at least one thing, I felt completely different right now. My mouth closed and I sighed, looking at the blanket over my legs. "What... happened? Is this really real? It all feels so much like a distant dream..."
"Few, if any, of the myths about vampires are true. We don't burn in sunlight, we have shadows and reflections", said the girl. "Our senses, yes, are stronger. That's the only reason behind the garlic. Water doesn't affect us at all, and we can enter holy places without problems. We sleep in beds and not coffins, and we live much like humans do, along with other intelligent creatures here on Earth. We do have inhuman strength and speed, and we do need blood to stay healthy. Silver has no affect, and a stake to the heart would kill anyone. And we can actually bleed, we're just anemic."
Mom shifted awkwardly in the corner of my eye. "Cari... Your eyes... They're blood red right now."
The girl picked up a mirror and held it in front of me when I looked up at my mom in shock. My head turned to the mirror on it's own, and I saw my reflection. I was completely ashen, my skin was so pearly white it was almost scary. And indeed, my eyes were blood red, which added to the fear I felt emitting from my own person. I gasped in awe, and found a pair of fangs in the place of my canine teeth. But what caught my eye the most was my shirt, with blood stains right under the left side of my neck. By now, I knew I couldn't deny the girl was telling me the truth, and it no longer felt dream-like. The reflection of the person in the mirror was most certainly a vampire. I felt completely crest-fallen.
I looked back at the girl fearfully. "What do I do now?"
"I'll train you", she said, like it was obvious. "I was the one who changed you, so naturally I'm the one who will have to take the responsibility of helping you adjust." She set the mirror down and pulled a flask from her jacket. It was filled with a red liquid that caught my eye so much I stared at it without blinking. She saw this and smiled. "I carry this around for emergencies. I tend to keep these around my house for the event that I can't find someone out at night. Or in a case like this, I end up having to help a new vampire." She held the flask out for me.
Without a second of hesitation, I took the flask and opened it to quickly down the blood. I moaned, it was the most delicious thing I'd ever tasted in my entire life. But then I was also now a vampire, and naturally would think it was the best thing I'd ever had. In fact, my mind now teetered between control myself, and wanting more so badly I went after one or both of my parents. But I had to keep control of myself, since I refused to let my parents get hurt because of me. Even if my new instincts were powerful, I was as stubborn as a bull at times.
I handed the flask to the girl and spoke. "Make sure I don't get up from where I am for any reason until after we're all certain I've calmed down from the blood." My voice came out strained from the fact I was struggling to sit still. "I don't care if I end up pissing myself. I can't move off this couch. I don't want to have to be held back."
The girl took the flask and nodded. "By the way, my name is Rose Janus-Gale", she said.
"Cari Neil", I said. "So you know my last name, too." I smiled, straining myself not to show the inner battle I was facing. It was a task I almost couldn't manage right now.
Mom neared me- I could hear her stepping closer. "Cari..."
I tensed. "Mom, I'm sorry, but I don't know how well I can control these new instincts. Please... don't come any closer. I don't want to end up doing something I'll regret. I can't believe this", I muttered. "I'm a vampire now..."
"Look, it's alright", said Molly. "Rose did explain things. Your dad and I are just... getting used to the idea. We still love you."
Frustration boiled in me, partially, I think, due to the fact that I was trying to keep myself from attacking either of my parents for their blood. Otherwise, it was the odd frustration that I wasn't given any choice in what would become of me. It was weird, only because the situation I was in didn't give anyone a choice but to save me in any way needed. All the same, I couldn't believe I had been forced into this new and very odd life.
"I wasn't even asked if that's what I really wanted", I growled. "I'm just..."
Rose placed a hand on my shoulder, and something seeped into me and forced me to calm down. "I take full responsibility for the situation you're in. I didn't give you a choice only because I couldn't just turn the other way on your situation. I believe everything happens for a reason, including things like this."
I sighed. "I'm just... so confused right now..."
"I can't say I know how you feel, since I was born this way", said Rose. "But all the same, this kind of life isn't as bad as it might seem."
"It's not..." I averted my gaze. "It's not that I don't like vampires. I've loved them since I was little. I just thought they'd only ever stay fantasy, so I didn't have to honestly worry about really becoming one."
Everyone seemed at a loss of what to say, and so remained quiet.
"It's just... so crazy", I said. "And what do I do about school? I don't know if I feel alright going to school right after I just became a vampire..." It felt difficult now to say what I was.
"We'll figure something out for that", said Rose. "For now, it's the weekend, and you don't have to worry."
I nodded carefully. "Alright."
________________________________________________________________
I spent most of that night talking to Rose about everything in the new world I lived in. There was a lot to take in, but I listened all the same to what she said. They were things that I needed to know now, so that I didn't accidentally do something that would end in me being in trouble. And more trouble was the last thing that I wanted right now. Luckily for me, I wasn't even really that tired while we talked. The incident that I had woken up from and to had my eyes wide in shock and awe.
As for the rest of the night, I spent sitting awake on my bed thinking of what I would do now that I was so different. Many ideas popped into my mind of what I could do, but I shook my head to them. I couldn't draw attention to myself, especially since attention whas something I hated being in the middle of. And it was catching someone's attention that landed me in this situation in the first place. All I could think to do now was try and be as inconspicuous as I was before all this happened. Though I imagined it would be a lot easier said than done. But I had to at least try.
The rays of the sun peeked into my room, and I almost wished the night would have continued. But I knew that eventually, the sun would have to rise on the Earth, and I'd have to work at getting used to it again. Even the rays that peeked in were bright, and almost gave me a headache looking around me. I had asked Rose what I could do about it, and her only idea was to have me taking pain-killers to keep the headaches at bay. At least until I was used to the light again, anyway. Of course, how I'd manage to take the pills during school hours was a complete mystery to me right now. I'd probably have to make several stops into the bathrooms each day or something just to take care of the problem.
I stood from my bed finally, after the sun had begun to peek over the horizon, and walked out and into the kitchen to grab a bottle of my dad's very well stocked prescription for Naproxen. He'd promised me use of it for headaches, even if it wasn't prescribed to me at all. It was mostly because it didn't make me drowsy and he had so much of it saved up that it wasn't funny. And it was definitely lucky for me now, as I would have to take at least one bottle of it to carry around with me. I took one out of the bottle and quickly grabbed a can of juice from the refrigerator to take it with.
I didn't think ending up taking a massive amount of pain-killers each day would be a good idea for me, or anyone. But at the point I'd managed to reach, I had no choice in the matter. Heaven only knew what might happen if I took too many a day, for any reason, whatever I was. All the same, I took the pill and chugged down the juice to follow it.
When I finished the can, I heard footsteps behind me and turned to see who was there. I looked at Dad almost expectantly, not really that surprised he was awake right now.
He looked at the bottle of pills I had in my hand and then back at my face. "Naproxen?"
I nodded. "I'm going to need something for the headaches I'll have for a while. I certainly hope I don't empty the damn bottle, though."
"This is... strange", he admitted.
"Yeah, you've had history with the paranormal, but not the supernatural", I said. "I can hardly blame you for not being so much of a Mr. Spock right now. I do want you to to relax some, though. Seriously, you look so tense right now, and it's not like you. Anyway, have you seen Rose?"
Dad looked out the kitchen window. "She said she was going to be outside for a while."
I nodded and grabbed another can of juice from the refridgerator and headed outside to join my new friend.
"Yeah, well, you know me", she said as I closed the door. "I can't just leave something like that be when I had a bad feeling about the outcome. Just listen, while we're at school, I need you to look after her when you can. Considering you have the same classes, though, it shouldn't be too hard." She paused. "Yeah, and the rest of the time, I can look after her. If nothing else, through my mirror. Look, I'll be over to the clearing in later today, were we all can hang for a while and I can introduce you. I'll let the others know to come around 3:00. ... Yeah, I know. Yuki will be ecstatic for a new friend. I'm sure she's also going to look after her. And, yes, I'll tell Garnet to lay off the snark. I'll see you later." She sighed and closed her cell phone and looked at me. "I suppose you've been up all night."
"Yeah." I handed her the juice and sat down beside her at the top of the steps. "I couldn't stop thinking for a second. I mean, it's just crazy."
Rose looked at the sky. "I think I can understand that. I hope it doesn't take too long for you to get used to it, though."
I sighed. "We have to drink blood... I've never had a problem with blood, and I've sucked up my blood from wounds where I could. But this is... It's just so different. I have to drink other's blood now. I don't know how I feel about it, besides not liking the idea of hurting someone. I don't like causing pain..."
"But you already have", she said, looking back at me. "It's not hard for me to tell, really. I see something so much deeper just by looking in your eyes. Something that's much more sadistic."
I grimaced shamefully. "Look... I don't like that. I work so hard to keep that under control. I know I'm not like my dad, but in some cases, control is key. If I wasn't so bound by my kindness and conscience and everything, I wouldn't care. But I am. I can't help but control that."
"It's not like I don't understand that", said Rose. "Trust me, I know how you feel. And you know, there is a way of getting around hurting people as far as physical pain goes."
"Yeah? What is it?"
"It's something we call Kiss of the Vampire", said Rose. "It's difficult to pull off at times, but it's useful for keeping people from screaming. I use it all the time, and it's only because I'm half witch that I can do so successfully."
"How do you master it", I asked.
"It takes a lot of practice and focus." Rose stood and offered her hand out to me. "Anyway, I'm sure coming out right now isn't the easiest thing for you, considering you need to get used to the light again. Probably feels like you're looking straight into the sun."
I looked at Rose and nodded, taking her hand to stand. "Not that I don't like bright days, but you know."
Rose nodded, and we walked back inside. "By the way, there's a clearing in the forest where I hang out with my friends. I want to take you there later to introduce you to them."
I nodded again.
"They're all a bit odd, but really cool people", said Rose. "I was just talking with Aster. She's a witch, but she has an alter-ego named Raxtes. It's a little odd how it happened, though. Raxtes is more outspoken than Aster, and you'll find she's not as controlled. Rika is the only human among my friends, but you still need to be careful. She might be a little suspicious, but she had a bad experience with a vampire in the past. I'll leave her to explain if she wants to. Yuki and her brother, Akira, are shape-shifters and known for their pranking. They're part Japanese, but Yuki gets touchy about that at times. Something about her cousin... And she also uses nicknames for people she likes. Expect her to dub you with something like Cari-chan. She's dating Shane, a wizard who is also known for his pranks, along with his fox-like expression. He's a good guy, though, so you shouldn't worry. He's the oldest, but it doesn't make him the most mature. Garnet is our silver-haired Sephiroth, if you know Final Fantasy VII. I swear, it's like she's his female counterpart. And God only knows why her hair is silver. She won't say. She's also a witch. Jaden is a flower sprite, and he cross-dresses all the time. He looks like a girl. Do not, and I repeat, do not make jokes about it. He is not gay, and gets really upset if you say he is. Not only that, his sister Nebula will kick your butt. She's kind of goth, by the way, and she's dating Ember. So I certainly hope you don't mind that she and Ember are lesbian. Ember is a werewolf, and she still has a slight accent for being British. She might seem a little distant at first, though. It's getting close to a full moon. Otherwise, she's really friendly and easily excited. She loves her video camera. Then there's Jake, our fairy friend. He might look anti-social to an extent, but he's not. He also wears a rosary that he said his mom gave him. Never ask what happened to his mom, who happens to be comatose. It gets him depressed."
All I could do was nod along as she talked, making note of everyone. "I'm not worried about them being odd people", I said. "I might seem shy now, but once you get to know me, not so much. And my name is actually already a nickname, for Carolyn. As for homosexual stuff, I honestly don't care. Your friends do sound cool."
"Wonderful", said Rose. "Now, during school, Aster will be looking after you for a while, since she has the same schedule you do. Shane is a senior, but like I said, not the most mature of all of us. He'll probably help, though. I'm sure you'll get along fine with everyone."
"Well, I certainly hope so", I said with a smile. "So what do we do for now? Just hang out here or something?"
Rose shrugged. "Well, I was thinking that's probably the best idea. And not have you going out too much over the weekend. As for the forest, there's plenty of leaves that'll block the sun from coming through completely. You'll want to stay in the shaded area, obviously. I called my parents last night, after we were done talking, and they want to meet you tonight. I can either take you to my place, or they can come here."
"Doesn't matter to me", I said. "Might to my parents, of course."
"Well, we'll talk to them and see what they want to do." Rose smiled and walked into the kitchen-dining room to sit down and start on her juice. "For now, we can do whatever we want."
I nodded. "Alright."
________________________________________________________________
The full trees did some to protect me from most of the sunlight, but I still had to shield my eyes at times so I wouldn't be blinded. Rose was currently leading me through the woods to where her friends were so I could meet them. I had to admit, I was a little nervous to meet them, since I was a bit scared of what might happen. She had insisted that everyone were good people, but paranoia just crept into the back of my mind. I really hated that, how it would always end up happening lately. All the memories and pain would sneak up on me and I would be reduced to barely fighting them off.
We stepped past more trees and I saw a group of people all around the small clearing. They certainly were a rag-tag group, and didn't at all look like they were all friends. But I knew better than to judge, and knew that something kept them all together. I suddenly found myself a little envious of Rose, how she had all these friends, where I had barely managed to make a few in the past. But I reminded myself that in the end, they would very likely end up being my friends, as well.
I awkwardly followed my new friend as she stepped closer to the group of people. Of course, it didn't take long and a girl with blond hair pulled into pigtails had hopped right up in front of me, forcing me to lurch back on impulse, almost falling to the forest floor. She stared at and studied me for what felt like ages before backing up and smiling broadly. To say it all made me even more awkward was a major understatement. No one had ever done such a thing to me, not even my last-made friend, Chassidy. This girl, on the other hand, seemed to be much more hyper than her.
"So you're the new vampire", she said happily. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Yuki."
"Uh, yeah", I managed softly. "I'm Cari." I glanced around everyone nervously, not sure what all to say.
Thankfully, Rose decided to avert an awkward silence forming. "Yuki, Cari is already her nickname, so just stick with that."
Yuki looked at Rose and mouthed an 'o' before looking back at me. "Well, welcome, Cari!"
I smiled, if nervously. "Thanks."
Someone dropped down from a tree behind me, and I turned to instinctively glare at the person. And the person I glared at was a tall girl with silver hair who did look very reminicent of Sephiroth.
"So you're the girl who ended up some vampire's meal", she said, almost uninterested. "Quit glaring, kid. You'll scare everyone away."
A snarl errupted from my throat and I clenched my fist like I was about to punch her. Naturally, I was, because she'd already managed to piss me off, which was hardly a good sign as far as I could see. Thankfully, though, I made a great effort to control myself and not get into a fight.
"Well, excuse me", I said. "Excuse me for having only been a pathetic human who didn't know what was really out there!"
The silverette girl laughed. "Oh, fate picked an interesting one", she howled. "Little girl, big attitude!"
I snapped and lunged at her, slamming her against the nearest tree. My fist was poised not even a foot away from her face and I was completely ready to pound her. I could feel that my eyes had glazed over with red, and my fangs had protruded without being willed consciously.
"Say that again", I growled. "I dare you."
The girl continued to laugh. "You know, you sure do have a short temper, kid. I mean, damn. This rivals mine."
I felt a cold smile spread across my face- it felt crazed. My fist collided with her face, leaving a nice bruise on her cheek and splitting her lip a little. The blood that trickled down caught my attention quickly. "Well, that felt good", I said. I pulled my fist back and released the tension, like I was going to strangle her, when someone's hand rested on my shoulder.
"Alright, that's enough."
I looked around, my smile fading, and watched the girl with short amber hair. I promptly dropped the silverette girl and scowled slightly at the girl.
"You certainly do have a whip-lash temper", she said. "You shouldn't take everything Garnet says so personally. She just enjoys taunting people at times. Take a deep breath and calm down."
I glanced back at Garnet, who was standing up and healing her face with some magic. "Sorry", I said briskly. "I'm not used to this power, and the instincts that go with it."
"You need to learn control."
My attention shifted to Rose.
"I'm guessing this is the first time you've ever really acted on your violent impulses", said Rose. "If it finally felt good to have a release, then so be it. But if you don't control yourself, you could find yourself in a lot of trouble. And considering you're currently my charge right now, you are my responsibility."
"Remind me not to piss you off again unless I'm looking for a fight", said Garnet. Her expression became dulled. "Don't take it too personally, you seem like a cool girl."
"Hmm." I watched her for a few more seconds.
"Now, now." I heard a male's voice behind me, one that seemed a bit amused over something.
I looked to see a tall boy with his eyes half closed and a shit-eating grin on his face. It nearly threw me for a loop for a second, but I remained as calm as I had just become.
"Let's not get off to a bad start, here", he said. "I'm Shane."
"Nice to meet you", I said. "Sorry about the little scene here."
The amberette sighed. "Just don't make it a habit. I'm Aster."
I nodded. "I don't plan to."
________________________________________________________________
Rose lead me onto the top off a building in town, one were we wouldn't be so easily seen. I looked around and at her nervously, not really sure what to do. She was taking me out for my first hunt, to look for a good human to get blood from. But I was honestly afraid that there might be a repeat of my own situation just last night. And I really didn't want to be the cause of someone else becoming a vampire in such a similar situation. It would do nothing but demolish my already very fragile self-esteem, and augment all the more my Depression.
She caught my nervousness and looked at me. "Everything will be just fine", she said. "Think about the control you had last night after you downed the blood I gave you. You don't have anything to be worried about. Let's just take care of this quickly."
We turned our attention back to the streets and watched a young couple turn off onto a smaller one. It seemed they were heading home, and the alley they turned on was part of the route to get there. All the same, it left them alone and open for us to greet them and take care of our business. I was still nervous, but all the same, followed Rose down to the streets and walked out to them. Whatever happened now, I was definitely out of options for leaving after an animal like I originally wanted to.
The man looked up at us from his girlfriend in surprise. "Oh, hello."
Rose and I smiled as the woman watched us curiously.
"Looks like we're not the only ones out for a walk around here", Rose said casually.
The man smiled. "No, it seems not. Do you two live around here?"
"Just heading home from a friend's place, actually", said Rose. I was extremely happy she was the one doing the talking right now.
"Oh, alright", the woman said. "Well, have a nice night."
Rose and I nodded, and I had the distinct feeling it was about time for us to pounce on them. I was a little slower on my part, being nervous, but Rose quickly pounced the man and had him backed against the wall. Before the woman could give out a shriek, I had her in the same position with my hand over her mouth. It was all I could think to do- I didn't want her screaming and drawing attention to us. I would surely be dead for real within days, and that was the last thing I wanted. Besides that, I owed that much to Rose not to cause an uproar among the humans.
My thought process had begun to amaze me. The back of my mind no longer thought as any normal human's mind would. Now that I had become so much more than a human, I thought as a predator would. And I wanted to preserve my life. I saw the woman as a food source now, and the thought startled me so much that I almost had a freak-out right then and there. But I didn't, and merely went through with what I had been set to do. I would save the freak-out for later when I could afford to have it, which would doubtlessly be when I got home.
I could sense where the veins were in the woman's neck and knew where to go for the best flow of blood. As quickly as I had pushed her back, my mouth was at her neck and sucking the sweet skin. My fangs had already protruded without any conscious thought, and my body was ready for what was next. I bit into her neck and felt her blood all but rushing out of the new holes I created. The feeling was the strangest I'd had thus far, and I had hardly been prepared for it.
But when the blood splashed onto my tongue, I gave a soft moan. As good as the blood in the flask had been the night before, this fresh blood was all the better. I sucked down what I could manage, doing my absolute best not to waste any of it. The taste was so good, I lost complete track of the seconds and went into a haze. All I wanted was the delicious blood. I could barely tell how the woman was, and almost didn't care as my new instincts overtook most of my mind. But I vaguely knew that I had to be careful, and tried to feel how her pulse was.
It was faint, so I dragged myself away from her neck and clamped a hand over the new wound. I didn't know if I could do anything to heal the wound, but I knew I could at least clamp the bleeding some. Rose was by me in a second and carefully pulling my hand away, to find a partially closed set of bite marks. It wasn't until later that I would learn that newborn vampires usually weren't able to begin healing their marks until later. As it was, what I hadn't yet healed, Rose took care of and more. She used her magic to clean up my mess of blood and let the woman slide down the wall, unconscious.
I leaned my head back to look at the star-filled sky and gave a deep sigh of pure pleasure. "Dear Lord, that was good."
Rose looked at me and smiled. "Of course it was. And you did very well, too. My dad was a little worried I'd have to pull you away. And you partially healed the wounds, which is honestly surprising. Usually, it takes a while first." She pursed her lips tighter into the smile. "If nothing else, it shows your very kind heart."
I smiled, not caring at all whether it was creepy or not. "Wow... If that isn't amazing, I don't know what is."
"Let's get back to you're place and get cleaned up", she said.
I looked at her and nodded, forcing my smile to fade.
She grabbed my hand and teleported us back to my room and then pulled me into the bathroom. As she began to clean up at the sink, I looked in the mirror on the wall. My eyes were still red, and my fangs still protruded from where canine teeth usually were. All my teeth were coated in blood, with only a little true white showing. My lips were copmletely stained deep red, and my face was something of a mess from my meal. And that was frightening with my face straight. As soon as a smile forced it's way onto my face, my reflection was terrifying.
The expression quickly fell and became pained. I didn't hurt physically. In that case, I felt better than I'd ever felt before. But emotionally, I found myself in complete and utter turmoil. My emotions were all a complete mess right now. I had just a few minutes ago terrified a woman, and put her through the same pain I went through. Yes, I may have partially healed the wound, but it didn't take back my actions. I felt like a monster, and the blood on my face seemed like more than enough proof of that.
Rose turned around and rested a hand on my shoulder, tense as it was. In the mirror, she was completely cleaned up from any blood, and her eyes and teeth were back to normal. Compared to me right now, she seemed not at all a monster. I, on the other hand, looked like one.
"If you were a monster, why would you care so much about the human you just fed from", she asked, as if reading my mind. And I had a feeling she probably had read it. "Why would you feel so horrible for tonight? Why would you be so afraid of when you smile in this condition? You are not a monster. Intentions of the actions make the monster. Humans are just as monstrous as us. They just don't have to survive on blood like we do. They don't tend to be so anemic in such a way."
I felt tears well up in my eyes. "Why... Why do we like drinking blood...? Why do we have to drink it?"
"Legends say we were cursed by a demon in the most ancient of days", said Rose. "A way to attempt to turn us against whatever god or gods we might believe in. And knowing everything that's out there, I wouldn't be surprised if it was true."
Somehow, what she just said made terrifying sense to me. Where pain had welled up just a moment ago, now there was determination. I turned to look at Rose. "Well, I will not turn away from God." I may find myself asking Him why this happened, or repenting of the pain I cause others. But I wouldn't- couldn't turn away from my God.
When Rose smiled, I turned to the sink and began to clean my face of the blood. Whatever happened now, I had to make the best of it. Although if I knew anything at this point about the rest of my life, it would be that my emotions were going to start becoming even more of a roller-coaster ride than before. This was a new chapter in my life, and probably the most exciting. I was definitely in for a lot of adventure now.

The End