God's Lonely Man

Somebody's Watching Me

"You sure you don't want to spend Christmas with us?" Laura asks, snuggled up against Carmilla's side on the couch.

Carmilla chuckles. "Hmm, spend the holiday with your father and countless other cops at the station?" She kisses the top of Laura's head. "No, thank you."

Laura pouts. "But I'll be there."

"Laura, I love you, but there's no way that––" Carmilla and Laura's eyes widen at the same time when they realize what she's said. Carmilla's voice goes up an octave. "Uhm..."

Laura opens and closes her mouth a few times before a small squeak comes out. "Y-You love me?"

"Uhm..." Carmilla repeats, panicking.

Laura doesn't pull away, but she stares at Carmilla, her eyes growing wider and wider. "Carm?"

"Y-Ye-Yes?" Carmilla clears her throat. "Yes."

"So... you've known you love me... For how long?"

"A while," Carmilla replies, trying to read Laura's expression and failing.

Laura furrows her eyebrows together. "How long is 'a while?'"

"Since the trespassing incident."

Laura's mouth drops open. "But that was–– that was months ago! We'd just started dating!"

"I know, but you had just stood up for me to the cops and then protected me again, and I just–– I just..."

Laura pulls away gently, looking like she's about to pass out.

Carmilla swallows hard. "Look, forget I said anything, alright? We'll just... forget it."

Laura shakes her head, hyperventilating. "No, I... I don't want to forget it. I... I don't... I can't..."

Carmilla places a hand on Laura's to try to calm her down. "Cupcake, it's fine if you don't feel the same way, okay? I know I'm not a good person, so loving me is..." Her voice cracks at the end and she sniffles.

"It's definitely not that," Laura says immediately. She stands up, almost stumbling over the table on her way out. "I'm sorry, I-I..."

Carmilla starts to stand up but doesn't take a step towards her. "Laura..."

"I'm–– I need to go," Laura blurts out, opening the door and basically sprinting from the house into the night.

Carmilla stands in her spot, dumbstruck for a few moments before her brain kicks back in. She shakes her head and starts to run out the door after Laura, but as soon as she makes it to the doorway, a large man is blocking it.

"Can I help you?" she demands.

"Carmilla Karnstein?" he asks gruffly.

Carmilla stares at him, trying to gauge what her next course of action should be. He apparently accepts her silence as confirmation, and he grabs a cloth out of his pocket, covering her nose and mouth with it. Carmilla's eyes widen as her head starts to go fuzzy.

"Leave her alone!" a voice yells from behind them, and the man's legs are swept out from under him.

Laura? Carmilla thinks hazily.

"Carm! Carm, hey, stay with me," Laura says urgently, catching Carmilla as her knees are going out and holding her upright.

"Laura? What are you doing here...?" Carmilla asks, her voice sounding far away.

"Shh, later," Laura rushes, pushing them back into Carmilla's home and closing the door behind her. She locks the door and supports Carmilla back to the couch before running over to barricade the door, pulling out her phone.