The Lost Girls (Chris Cerulli Vampire Story)

Chapter 11

I woke up in total darkness with my throat burning like I had swallowed acid. I began coughing profusely at the sensation, my hands swiftly reaching up to rub my neck. A hand reached over to touch mine, causing me to almost panic before I remembered that I was in Chris's bed.

"I'm sorry for waking you. It's just that my throat is on fire for some reason." I explain in a hoarse tone.

The air quickly filled with a scent so sweet that it caused my mouth to water and made the pain I was already feeling more intense. Chris clamped his hand down over my parted lips and a warm drop of liquid fell on my tongue, making me groan at the wonderful taste.

"Go ahead, drink what you need." He beckoned as he pulled my body closer to his and without thinking I began sucking on the palm of his hand.

I heard him sigh breathlessly as I reached up to grip his wrist, finally feeling the burn extinguish itself as I drank. I released him with a sharp inhale as I attempted to process what had just happened. The room was silent besides our panting and I struggled to find my voice for a minute.

"Chris... did I just drink your blood?"

His arm wrapped around my waist and he rested his head on my shoulder whispering, "I'll explain everything in the morning."

No matter what it was that I had just consumed, it seemed to have a sedative effect to it. Before I could even consider fighting it off, sleep drug me back under.

***

I rose again some time later, discovering that I was alone in the bed. I felt around in the blackness until I found the door out of the room. Daylight illuminated the room, causing me to squint at the sudden brightness. I could now feel the beginnings of a migraine, drinking that wine was seeming like less and less of a good idea. So, to help block out the light a bit I grabbed one of Chris's thin jackets from his closet before heading downstairs. I made my way towards my bike sitting in the hallway and spotted a note resting on the leather seat.

'Hey, sorry I had to leave you here. I need to go take care of some things. I'll see you later. – Chris.'

I folded the note up and stuck it in my pocket before poking my head out the front door, making sure that no one would see me rolling my bike out of this place. On my way back home I noticed that every inch of my exposed skin seemed to burn. I was thankful for every tiny bit of shade that was provided to me along the way. When I finally made it to the house I was so focused on getting inside and out of the sun that I didn't even think of the trouble I was about to be in.

"Ashlyn Mae Emerson! Where in the world have you been?" My grandma demands as soon as I shut the door behind me.

"I accidently fell asleep at my friend Danielle's." I lied.

Even though I knew my excuse was terrible she didn't seem too concerned about it.

"Your father is very upset that you took your bike out even though he told you not to." She scolds and then leaves the living room muttering, "So you'll be hearing more from him about this later."

I turned in the direction of the staircase, finding Haylee gaping at me with wide eyes.

I rose an eyebrow at her asking, "What's your problem?"

"Why do you have something that looks like blood around your mouth?"

My hand shot up to my lips, but instead of saying anything back I rushed upstairs to the bathroom. My thoughts were racing so much that I was having a hard time keeping up with them. Had the dream I had about drinking Chris's blood really happened? I flipped on the light becoming puzzled by what I saw. My reflection seemed murky and it wasn't until Haylee popped up in the doorframe behind me that I figured it out.

"Oh my god, you're one of them now! I can't believe it; my own sister is a shit sucking vampire!" She exclaimed in disgust.

I whipped around arguing, "I don't suck shit."

"Is blood supposed to be better?"

I sighed and turned back to my faint reflection, "No, of course not. But I'm not a vampire."

"You want to tell me how you're able to be see-through? Because that's a hell of a magic trick." She seethed as she gazed right through me, our eyes meeting in an impossible fashion.

"I don't know, but I didn't bite anyone and no one bit me."

"What's on your face then?"

I licked at the corners of my mouth, the flavor caused my mind to shift into memories of the night before. It hadn't been a dream at all. I twisted on the cold-water faucet and scrubbed my face off with my bare hands. When my skin was clean and dripping wet, I felt a wave of panic wash over me as I sank to my knees.

I was surprised that Haylee moved closer to me to place a hand on my shoulder. I took in a shaky breath asking, "What do I do now?"

Haylee seemed to be struggling mentally just as much as I was. "I don't know Ash. How could this have happened?"

I then recalled Chris telling me that the wine was blood, but he had also made me drink his. I didn't know who was truly to blame, Chris or Danielle. I moved to grab a towel by its edge from the rack to dry my face before saying, "I don't know, but I intend to find out."

"Oh, I know! Maybe Alana and Ellen will know what to do." She suggests.

I let out dry laugh, "Their first thought will probably be to drive a stake through my heart before they'll be willing to help me."

"Not necessarily. Look, I'll just ask them how to turn a vampire back into a human again."

I dropped my head into my hands muttering, "I'm a fucking vampire."