Turning Page: The Beginning [Watty Awards 2012]

Sleeping Beauty

"Looks like it wasn't a happy ending after all. You still couldn't save her" Aaron grinned, evilly.

"You stay away from us. You are no longer welcome in my house " I glared at him.

"Come on Dante. He's not worth it. Don't waste your time" Tyler urged me to keep going.

Tyler and I began to walk again.

"You know you still can't save her! She's gone!" He laughed as we walked away.

I ignored him. I thought he was my friend, my brother. I'd never suspect him of anything like this. He betrayed not only me, but Dawn too and now for my stupidity of not reading between the lines, she paid the price for it.

I set Dawn down on her bed when we returned to the house. I turned on the small lamp on the bedside table.

"Dante, maybe you should change her out of those clothes. They're dirty and ripped" Tyler's voice suggested from the doorway.

I slowly nodded. I moved over to the wardrobe and pulled open the doors. The only thing I could find was a Purple dress. I lifted it out of the wardrobe and closed the doors. I pulled the hanger off of it and set it down.

Tyler gave me some privacy as I changed Dawn's clothes. Like a true gentleman I didn't stare at her body. I wasn't like that. I couldn't understand how anyone could take advantage of someone like that. It made me sick.

I managed to put the dress on her with out any problems. I gently lay her back down, making sure she'd be comfortable.

I pulled over the chair in the room next to her bed and sat down on it. I took her pale hand in mine. I kissed the back of her hand softly.

"What happened to you, Love?" I asked.

"I can explain" Tyler said, entering the room slowly.

I looked over at him as he walked in. He did use to work for Jared. He knew what he did behind closed doors. He was the best person to speak to about this.

"When I was with Jared at ISB he had the lab experts come up with some sort of liquid. A dangerous one. He began to test it on all kinds of creatures. Vampires, Werewolves etc but it killed the Werewolves and turned the Vampires insane. He wouldn't stop until he got it right. I guess he finally got it perfect. Now he's used it on Dawn" Tyler explained.

"What are the effects of this liquid?" I asked, terrified of what his answer would be.

"What's happened to Dawn is all the Cells in her body have been frozen. Everything has been shut down. Everything except her heart. This is to keep the blood flowing, to keep it fresh. It's like she's in a coma but I don't think..." He trailed off.

"You don't think what Tyler?" I asked.

"I don't think she'll ever wake up" He said, his voice cracking a little.

I could tell he was upset. It was affecting him too. I gazed over at Dawn lying there.

"Can she hear us talking?" I asked.

"It's doubtful but that doesn't mean she can't" He answered.

I ran a hand through my already messy hair. This couldn't be happening. She had to wake up eventually. She couldn't be like this forever.

"I'm so sorry Dante" I heard Tyler whisper.

I turned to look at him but he had already left the room. I stared at the empty doorway for a few minutes, trying to wrap my head around all of this. I shouldn't have let her step foor in this house when she first knocked on the door. I should have just taken her back to earth. She wouldn't have been part of this mess. She would have lived a happy life. Even if it meant I was to spend the rest of eternity alone.

I looked at her lying there, still. The color had left her cheeks. She was nearly as pale as I was. The color of her Black hair was beginning to fade slightly. I could only tell this because of my heightened vampire senses. Any human wouldn't have noticed those changes.

I leaned over and stroked her cold cheek. Even now she was still beautiful. I took her hand in mine once more.

"I uh... I don't know if you can hear me or not" I began to speak to her.

I hoped she could hear me, somehow. Maybe I was crazy but crazy was all I had now. Dawn wasn't here anymore. She was gone.

"Maybe I'll never see you smile again. Maybe you'll never wake up. Maybe I won't see your beautiful eyes again but I will always love you. I will always be here by your side" I said, tears forming in my eyes.

I kissed the back of her hand again and leaned my forehead on it "I just let you slip away"

The tears began to fall down my face. The last time I had cried was they day she left. The day she was cast out. I thought that was the worst day of my life but I was wrong. Today I just want time to end. Life without her? It means nothing.

I stood up and sat down on the edge of the bed. I stroked her face again. I felt so helpless.

"You don't quite know how much you mean to me. It's funny actually when we first met you were sixteen and the first thing you said to me was that I was a Vampire. You knew straight away. You were extraordinary" I said, a slight chuckle escaping my lips.

"That first day I knew I loved you" I whispered, more tears escaping.

I reached into my pocket and pulled a small box from my pocket.

"I wanted to give you this when the time was right but I'm not sure if I'll be able to give you it at all" I said.

I grabbed her left hand and slid the silver right onto her wedding finger. It was perfect on her. I kissed her hand softly and placed it back down. I stood up and gently kissed her forehead.

I couldn't settle for this. There had to be a cure. I bet anything Aaron knew where it was.

I began to make my way to the door. He was going to pay for the part he played in this. He wasn't getting away. I stopped and turned to look at her one last time.

I then opened the door and closed it behind me, leaving her in there. The love of my life, my everything, my Sleeping Beauty.