Taking What's His

Chapter Seventeen

{ Delilah's POV }

"Do you know if my mom has stopped by?" I asked Ruby as Ashton left to talk to the doctor. Her lips pressed into a thin line as she shook her head, and I could feel the disapproval of my mother rolling off her in waves. I forced a smile on my lips, my face stiffening with the expression. "It's fine Ruby--I don't expect her to just now change her ways because I almost died." I said, giving her arm a soft punch.

Ruby sighed and took a seat on the corner of the hospital bed, her fingers gripping aimlessly at the bleached sheets. "...You don't have to put on a brave front. I know how you really feel. I'm the same as you." That peaked my interest. Ruby has never talked to me about her past, which was expected. Its not like she could tell me about her life without altering some major details.

"I was born in England, in the late 1800's, if you can believe it. So much time has passed since then, and so much has changed." She seemed to stare blankly at the hospital's dull yellow walls, her eyes looking back at a past I could not even begin to imagine. "The circumstances are different, but my parents acted just as your mother does. To them at the time, I was just a pawn. A little beauty they could use to help them advance in high society, if they married me off correctly."

"I could never think of them as my parents. Sure, I came from them, but they did not love me. And I did not love them." I stretched out a hand to gently cover Ruby's, a part of my heart aching for her. I at least had part of my childhood where I was loved and cherished by my parents--she didn't have even that. Her fingers wound around my own and she gave a small squeeze, and I tried not to wince at the intense pressure.

"I became quite the rebellious child. I was sick of formal parties and midday tea and meeting suitors who bored me to death with talk of their great achievements. I started to refuse any men that called upon me, and of course that angered my parents. We once had an argument and they told me that I should thank them. That they were doing me a favour by letting me meet and get to know all these gentlemen, and that they could simply marry me off to some rich old man and that would surely cool my blood."

She snorted at the absurdity of her own memory, and I did as well. "I was upset, so of course I did what most do when they're upset with their parents. I ran away." My eyes widened at her, and the look she gave me challenged me to say something against her actions. Seeing that I was going to keep my mouth shut, she continued. "I never really thought about what I was going to do once I ran, and I had no idea how hard it would be on the streets by myself. No one messed with me during the day, luckily, but come nightfall..."

Her expression hardened, and I could clearly see the hatred that burned in her eyes. I shivered, knowing for a fact that I would hate to be the one to receive that look. "A couple of drunkards tried to assault me. It was--it was a close call. Luckily, at that moment, Ashton appeared." she said, her voice lightening. I was trying to process the numerous expressions that flickered across her face, emotions ranging from admiration and what I presumed was love, to brooding hatred and downright dislike.

"I thought he was an angel then. He murdered the men right in front of me--and I wasn't frightened. I was happy. I thought they deserved death, and I felt no remorse for them, even when they screamed for mercy... I thanked him. And he--smiled at me. That's when I got a look at what he truly was." she murmured, turning to give me a smile of her own and showing the tips of her fangs that had protruded.

I couldn't help but feel uneasy at the sight. She continued her story, the smile sticking. "I was enthralled by him, and when he told me what he was and how his life was, I asked him if I could be changed. I wanted to be free of the life I currently lived. And perhaps he saw my desperation and took pity on me, or maybe he thought it'd be nice to have a companion. Either way, he changed me, and I became a vampire."