Vampire Babysitter (Camren)

Chapter 18

Selena's wild eyes flicked around the room, bouncing over each of us in turn. "What's happening to me? Why does my throat hurt?"

Camila looked to us for guidance. I could understand why she thought it might not be the best idea to just blurt out "vampire" given her own experience and all the mythical connotations humans had attached to the word.

Dinah wasn't quite so tactful. "You're a vampire now."

Selena looked at her like she was crazy, which was not an inaccurate assumption in my view. Selena's thoughts expressed her disbelief loud and clear. She was certain she had been drugged and pressured into some crazy lab experiment.

Selena let loose an instinctive snarl directed at Dinah. She didn't believe a word she said, and that had her hackles raised. She was teetering on edge of attacking Dinah, her instincts demanding that she eliminate the threat.

"Dinah," Camila snapped.

"What? We had to tell her sometime. Might as well get it over with."

"Mila, what's she talking about?"

Camila exhaled heavily, knowing that getting Selena to believe the truth would be a battle unto itself.

"She's telling the truth. You're a vampire. And I am, too. That's why my eyes are red. Yours are too."

Selena gave a scornful laugh that seemed uncharacteristic of the maternal woman I had known. She sobered when she noticed all the serious faces surrounding her.

"No. That's not possible. Vampires aren't real. Is this some kind of TV stunt?"

Demi knelt beside Camila, placing a tentative hand on Selena's knee. I was shocked to see she allowed Demi to touch her. She should have been savage at the mere thought of another vampire touching her.

"It can be difficult to accept realities that challenge our belief systems."

Selena scowled, her eyes flickering to the exits; she was looking for a way to escape and trying to decide if she could overpower all of us. Little did she know she was now the strongest one in the room, though Camila might give her a run for her money.

"I know reality from fiction. I'm not crazy."

"No one is saying you are," Demi offered, gentle as always. Her impeccable bedside manner was in full effect. "But there are things that you didn't know existed. Vampires are one of them. We go to great lengths to hide ourselves from humans."

Selena eyed her, suspicious. "We?"

"Me, Lauren and Dinah, among others." She gestured to Dinah and myself. "Do you remember us?"

Selena wracked her frazzled brain, trying to scrounge up even a vague memory but came up blank. Her human memories were sheathed in a fog that made them difficult to process in her new, more efficient mind. It was much like a CD player trying to decipher a cassette. The two mediums weren't quite compatible, though the end product was similar in nature.

"No."

"But you remember Camila?"

Selena nodded. "She's my..." she trailed off, doubting her own memories. "I don't know? Why can't I remember? I know she's... important."

"It's not uncommon to lose spans of memory when the transition happens," I explained. "It's the way your body heals itself. As you adjust, your memories may become clearer, or they may be lost permanently. It's impossible to say."

Demi retrieved a small handheld mirror, which she offered to Selena. "It's not just your memories. You've changed physically as well."

Selena peered into the reflective glass, uneasy with the image she saw reflected. She skimmed a finger over her face, unable to believe she was looking at herself. "I do have red eyes. And my skin looks different."