True Love's Bite

03 // The Taste of Freedom

His hands flew to his face and his face morphed into a horrified expression when he realised he no longer had his shades, and his amber eyes swept across the room in search of his sunglasses.

My heart was beating in my throat as I watched him pace around, and all I could think was, his eyes are glowing an almost-red orange. That was not normal.

He found them under the towels on the bed and then rushed to the bathroom, coming out with his sweater, and he headed straight for the door.

"Silas, wait!" I curled my toes as my feet landed on the cold tiles, and I paddled to the door before he could get there, blocking his way as I stood with my back against the door.

"Yvonne, get out of my way," he said in a broken voice, not meeting my eyes even though he had retreated to wearing sunglasses. "Yvonne." There was warning in his voice, and I should probably have listened, but I didn't.

"When I saw you wearing glasses earlier, I thought maybe your eyes were sensitive to light. I didn't think you were..." I paused, realising I didn't know what he was.

But he didn't see it that way, he snickered and met my eyes, and I spotted tears on his cheeks.

"That I am what? A monster? Come on, go ahead and say it."

My cheeks heated up, and I scowled at him. "What? That's... I don't even know what you are, and honestly, I don't care!" He seemed taken aback by my outburst. "I really don't. I just..." I wiped my tears furiously. "I just want someone to hold me tight and tell me that everything is going to be okay, even if we both know it's a lie." My shoulders slumped in defeat.

Silas shook his head. "I'm not the right guy for that, I'm sorry."

I gave him a weak smile. "And why not?"

I watched hopelessly as he threw his head back and pulled at his hair, and then he exhaled heavily, setting his sight on me. "I shouldn't have let things get this far, I'm just not used to having people invite me to anything. I'm the weird guy out here. To you, watching the sunrise or sunset is like a work of art. I watch the sun set because it's the only time I can look at the sun without burning to ashes. You talk about not having any choice or say in your life, well... I didn't ask to be like this, okay? Now, please move out of my way."

"No."

He grounded his teeth, and my breath caught in my throat at the two pointy and sharp fangs.

"Do you understand now?" He asked in a bitter tone.

I gulped, my mind going over everything I've witnessed and heard since I met him earlier, and all the pieces finally fell into place. "When you said there could be vampires earlier, you wanted to see whether I would freak out or not, and I didn't, that's why you gave in to the temptation of spending time with me. So, why back out now?" I stepped up to him and caressed his cheek and saw him lean into my touch.

Given the opportunity, I removed his glasses and tossed them on the nearest couch, and snatched the sweater out of his hand and threw it on the couch as well.

My hands found their way to the hem of his t-shirt, and he lifted his arms as I pulled the t-shirt over his head before tossing it away.

Silas refused to meet my gaze. "I can't believe I'm actually doing this." I laughed lightly, causing his head to jerk up, and he stared at me in confused wonder. "As a devoted Christian, I should probably be freaking out and cursing you with bible verses, am I right?" His lips twitched. "I mean, I've heard plenty of scary stories about vampires. Not that I ever thought they were real or anything. Yet, I'm stuck in a room with one right now, and I'm not even trying to run for my life."