C14 Eli

She embodies the bright light of the sun, and yet I am drawn to her, drawn to her brown eyes as soft as they are fierce. So, drawn to the faint dip in her right cheek, drawn to the subtle curve in her plump lips as she turns the page of her book. I am drawn to the smooth caramel skin wrapped around her long, slender neck. The blue veins mapping out the way to her heart entrance me.

Her ankle-length vintage blue dress was swaying in the wind, beckoning me closer to her. I am fixed on her, Ms. Amelia Rose. She glides across the bridge with her book as if she is the air itself, oblivious to me and my desires. I watch from the shadows, memorizing her heartbeat. Her heart is beating through me like a symphony drum. Deep and amplified, hypnotizing me further.

From tree to tree, I hide from her, resisting the pull; my skin goes pale. Her steady breathing is lulling me forward. I follow her.

She settles on a park bench, closes her book, and gazes into the sun’s lowering horizon. I wished I could sit next to her. Talk to her. Hold her. But the throbbing in her veins has caught me. I can’t go near her again. Her voice was too enticing at the library last week. The nearness of her heart’s beat made my dead heart nearly explode.

Words were crawling their way out of my throat, but her smile weakened them. None of them seemed good enough to grace her ears. Her lips were so close to mine that I almost lost control. Control I didn’t know I had until I saw her. Usually, I dive headfirst into impulse and fall into a depressive stupor afterward. They had convinced me my second life could be nothing more than its creator’s intentions.

I watched her smile as she relished the beauty of the sunset. I have avoided her all week, ashamed I left her waiting for the touch of my lips. I couldn’t kiss her. If I had, my restraint would have dissipated. I was drowning without her, though, wallowing in regrets. Her face, her beautiful face, I see it in the back of my mind.

Everything around her blurred, the spark in my chest fizzing stronger and stronger. Her eyes closed, lips puckered, leaning towards mine. My entire body tingles with painful need. I need her! I need to feel her, taste her! The thoughts swell inside me, and my control bursts. The evil inside me sprints to the control center of my brain, overpowering my heart’s desire to protect her.

The world is my shadow now. I creep out of my remote observatory, slithering closer to her. She senses danger. Her racing heart thumps louder. I can feel her inner panic oozing, smell it. She rubs the nape of her neck and looks around, but no one sees me until I want them to when I’m like this. With her heart beating in hyper-drive, she jumps up and walks toward the street. I know she can feel me getting closer.

She looks behind her, scanning the empty park. I’m not there. Too easy. She steps off the path and jogs across the grass. Before she gets back under the light, she looks over her shoulder again. When she turned back to the road; I blocked her path. I am quick and transcend in the darkness. She becomes an instant statue rivaling the most magnificent Greek artistry. The artistry that I need. Now. Those brown eyes are full of knowing fear.

She knows what I am, and that excites me and saddens me, too. She knows what I am capable of, and yet she isn’t moving. Her

terror is so great she may as well stand knee-deep in cement with her head tilted aside. Then wait for me to indulge in the sweet aroma she emits. A fragrance that seeks its prey and traps it in a manipulating twist of wills. I felt trapped in the will of the sinister forces that created me.

The bolting pulse in her neck breaks the gaze. I release my fangs from their cage, and she takes a step back. Then another step and another. I stalk forward, looming over her. She turns to run, and I am there. She turns in a different direction, and she is yet again nose-to-nose with me. Panting, she stops, planning her next move, I assume.

Her plump lips, so beautiful, were twitching under the park light. I longed to touch them and feel them wet pressed against mine. Her compassion sensed the internal battle I was fighting; she did the unthinkable. She put her hand up to my face, frowning. She wasn’t afraid for herself; she was worried for me. She continues to amaze me. “Can you save me?” I whispered.

She tilted the hand she was holding on my cheek, gifting me her wrist. My eyes widened, and she nodded; I didn’t ask twice. I sink my teeth into her soft skin, piercing her veins. Closing my eyes, I let her flavor marinate. She tasted better than I imagined. My mind swirled, thoughts crashing together in a haze. The only clear thought-more! Her body melted, so I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her closer, craving every drop. I squeezed her tighter, wholly withdrawn in her essence—more and more of her delicious purity.

I drank and drank and drank until I heard her breathless gasps turn into words. “Stop, please.” I dropped her on the ground as I jumped back, regret slamming into me. My precious Amelia Rose lay there with her eyes closed; I couldn’t resist. She is both my cure and my disease. I sank to my knees next to her, heaving. I lifted her hand to my heart, willing her to wake. When she didn’t, I kissed her hand, watching my tears trail down her arm, and laid it on her stomach. I listened to the slow pacing of her heart, fading to sleep. I had to save her. Erasing her memory, I scooped her into my arms and dipped back into the deep shadows.