Blood In The Water (Phan)

{7} Passion

If there is any one driving force in the world, it's passion. Passion is a terrifying emotion. It pulls us to do crazy things, pushes us to our very limits to see how far we'll bend. Passion can be beautiful, sure, it can guide us to wonderful opportunities, in some cases, wonderful people who change our lives. But passion? It can kill.

I should've known becoming a vampire would be a fucking disaster. Though, who can blame my naivety? With startling blue eyes and a laugh that hushes storms, it was all too easy to get distracted and diluted into thinking my transition into the living dead would be easy. Sure enough, after two weeks of peaceful death, someone had to go and fuck everything up.

Phil comes booming in the front door of the flat like a hurricane, his hair messy and unkempt, his eyes wild, pupils blown. When his eyes land on me, he seems to relax slightly, letting out a long breath. I glance at the clock, noting it's barely past midnight. Phil left only an hour ago to hunt, I having opted to stay home and binge watch anime since I wasn't quite hungry. I quirk a brow up at him curiously, standing from my lounging position on the couch.

"What's going on, Phil?" He makes his way down the few steps into the living room and scoops me into his arms as if it's the only thing he's wanted to do, tucking my face in the crook of his neck. I don't hesitate to wrap my arms back around his waist, smoothing my palm up his back soothingly.

"Whoa, whoa calm down. Tell me what's going on." He shakes underneath my hands, letting out a second breath, wobbly and relieved.

"We have to go see Felix right now. Pj and Chris will meet us there but we have to leave. Marcus is bored. And we're next on his list." I tense against him, my body rigid. I don't bother to fake breathing, either, too stunned to do anything but try to absorb this information.

Marcus is coming for us. I figured we'd made it out unscathed, that we could just continue living blissfully as we had been for the past couple of weeks. It's been nice, learning to control my ability, figuring out my new needs and wants, adjusting to this new life. I moved myself completely into Phil's neat little flat, leaving behind the dusty apartment I'd called home just two short weeks ago. Things move quickly in this life, I've come to learn, but I move quickly too, much faster than ever before.

But not fast enough to outrun Marcus.

"What do we do?" I finally croak out, clearing my suddenly parched throat. Phil steps back, raking his long fingers through his jet black hair, leaving it dishevelled. His eyes are calculating, mind working a mile a minute if not faster, but I have a sinking feeling that it won't be enough. Phil's been around a long time but he's still terrified of Marcus and his friends.

"We go to Felix and ask him for help. I hate dragging him into this, but he's our only shot at getting Marcus off of our backs." Phil darts towards the bedroom, pushing the door open and piling some of our clothes into a duffel bag. He wastes no time, grabbing his stash of money and tossing me my phone and wallet. I catch both on reflex and stuff them into my jean pocket.

"And if he can't?" I ask though I'm unsure I want to know the answer. Phil sets the bag down on the end of his bed and turns to me, caressing my cheek briefly. It's a quick motion, unsettling.

"Remember when you asked if we could just run away?" His voice is soft, longing. I smile sadly and nod, capturing his hand in mine and tracing the still veins in his wrist. "We could always give it a shot." I chuckle without humour and look up into his startling blue orbs.

"Like you said, we'd never get far."

"It might be our only option."

I sigh and grab the bag off of the bed. "Will we ever get to come home again?" I inquire, sliding into my shoes and watching as Phil kills the lights before we head to the front door. Turning, he takes one last look at his flat, our flat, and smiles though it doesn't reach his eyes.