Alessandro lightly patted the warm rag across the girls forehead. She had been out for about an hour now and she had a fever. After she fainted, Leonardo gently picked her up and brought her into the living room where she now laid.
"We should kill her." Nicolai suggests, glaring down at the girls sweating body. She looked innocent, but he didn't trust her.
"It looks like someone already tried that," Leonardo leaned closer examining her neck. It was defiantly no mistake and he could see teeth imprints.
Alessandro looked to Nicolai. "She's just a girl. A human girl."
"Yeah," Nicolai growled. "But not for long. She's been bitten and the venom is spreading throughout her body. She'll be a full vampire within maybe a week and a half. We have to kill her."
"But if we can find the vampire who bit her then we don't have to kill her." Alessandro said thoughtfully. He didn't want to kill the girl. She looked like she had been through hell and she needed help. "We can just get him to suck the venom out."
Leonardo frowned at his little brother. "Why do we have to find the one that bit her? We can just get any vampire."
"Yeah, but this vampire, we know is killing people." Alessandro said. "He has to be stopped."
"No," Nicolai snapped. "What the vampires do has nothing to do with us, it's none of our business. We aren't getting involved."
"But-"
"But, nothing." Nicolai said. "You don't understand, Alessandro. You're not old enough and you could get yourself hurt. We're not helping her."
Alessandro growled. "You know what? I'm tired of you telling me that. I do understand, our parents wanted you to protect us. I get it, but I can protect myself. If I want to help her, I will and you can't keep telling me what to do."
"I can and I will, now go to your room!" Nicolai roared.
Alessandro glared at his brother harshly and stood up. His brother had changed over the years. He was now, a cold, heartless figure. He showed no emotion or any type of kindness. The old Nicolai was gone. He left after their parents were murdered by vampires.
Leonardo turned to Nicolai as Alessandro stormed off to his room. Leonardo knew that Nicolai only wanted to keep them safe, but sometimes he could be a little harsh. "You shouldn't be so hard on him. He just wants to help and do what he thinks is right. I know you're trying to protect us, but if you keep doing this, he's going to start resenting you and I don't think you'll ever forgive yourself if that happens."
Nicolai sighed. He knew Leonardo was right. Nicolai knew he was a bit over protective at times and it often caused problems like these. He didn't mean to act like that, it just happened. He had been protecting and taking care of them for so long that it just felt natural. With another sigh, Nicolai trudged down the hall to Alessandro's room. Alessandro didn't answer when Nicolai knocked, but he was in there, so Nicolai opened the door.
"I don't remember them, you know that?" Alessandro spoke before Nicolai got the chance. "My own parents and I can only remember their faces when I look at the pictures. I can't remember their voices, or personalities. Nothing."
Nicolai creep forward and sat next to Alessandro on his bed. "You were young, Alex."
"So, were you."
"But I was older than you and I had known them longer. You were only a toddler. It's not your fault." Nicolai watched his brother as he stared out the window up at the moon.
"I just wish... I could've helped somehow. I wish I had been older so that I could know them and maybe I would've been able to help them." Alessandro wanted to know what it was like to have a mother and a father. Nicolai had raised him, like a father, but he wasn't. All the other kids had moms and dads except him.
"There was nothing you could've done." Nicolai answered.
"And the same goes for you." Nicolai didn't think they knew, but they did. Every time they looked into his eyes, they could tell. He felt as if it were his fault and now, he was trying to prove something. "You're not to blame. You were just as young."
Nicolai didn't say anything so Alessandro continued. "I just want ...to help her. I couldn't save them so let me save her. Please?"
Nicolai sighed. "She's not your responsibility."
"Please, let me help her?" Alessandro begged. "I'll do whatever you tell me, just let me do this."
"Fine," Nicolai exhaled. "But you're not doing it alone."
Alessandro grinned. "Thanks."
Chuckling, Nicolai wrapped his arm around his brothers head and pulled him close. "No problem, kiddo."
"Um, guys!" Leonardo yells. "I think she's coming around."
Hurriedly, Nicolai and Alessandro made their way back to the living room. Sure enough, the girl had begun to stir. She groaned and her eyes fluttered. Lifting her hand to the knot where she hit her head, she winced and pushed herself up to a sitting position on the couch. She blinked a few times before her eyes landed on the three figures at the end of the chair. Then, she screamed and recoiled against the opposite end of the couch.
The girl was almost positive they were the ones she saw earlier. It had to be them. The forms looked the same, but their faces were different now. They didn't look so... animal-like. She had to be going crazy, but what other explanation was there? They are the only ones here so it had to be them. Oh, jeez. The girl started to cry, "Please, don't... please don't kill me? Please? I'll do whatever you say. I promise."
The boys didn't say anything. They only stared. One thought ran though all their minds amongst other things. The girl was surely beautiful even under all the dirt and bruises. She wasn't from anywhere around here; her accent sounded American. Her eyes looked so fearful and her heart was pounding. Slowly, Alessandro stepped forward. The girl whimpered, weakly before scolding herself. She felt weak for crying which surprised her because she never felt weak when she cried before.
"Si sta spaventando. (You're scaring her.)" Leonardo whispered. The girl's eyes flickered to him with slight confusion. "Devi farla rilassare. (You have to make her relax.)"
Alessandro frowned, glancing at his brother. "In che modo? (How?)"
Leonardo shrugged. "Parlare con lei. Lei deve sapere che non si ha intenzione di farle del male. (Talk to her. She has to know that you are not going to hurt her.)"
The girl was more than confused. What were they talking about? Had they understood anything she was saying? What were they going to do with her? "Do you speak English?" She asked. She was sure they weren't speaking Spanish. She knew a little of Spanish. What language were they speaking?
"Yes," Alessandro answered. Slowly, he eased his way down to sit next to her. "And we're not going to hurt you. Can you tell us your name?"
The girl pressed herself to the arm of the couch, hoping to keep him further away. The kid didn't look more than sixteen, but you never know, he could be a pro at this type of thing. Whatever it was. He was probably as tall as she was at around 5'7. His dark brown hair stood up on top of his head, pointing in all different directions and his soft brown eyes rested on her. The boy he had been talking to was tall, too at about 5'10. His eyes were a dark blue color and a soft, comforting smile graced his features, along with two deep dimples. His hair was brown and curly and his body was big. The last guy was by far the biggest. Nothing about him said comforting or soft. His dirty blonde hair laid on his forehead, slightly hanging in his eyes. He glared down at the girl with his light blue and brown eyes with his bulky arms crossed over his chest. The girl gulped. None of them were wearing shirts and they all looked very strong and handsome. She realized they could put a serious hurting on her, so she wouldn't do anything to make them mad.
"I- my... my name is Rohan." The girl croaked, fear leaking from her voice as she glanced at them.
The boy nodded. "Rohan, okay. Well, my name is Alessandro and these are my brothers, Leonardo and Nicolai." Rohan glanced at the boys as Alessandro pointed them out. Leonardo was the one with the dimples and Nicolai was the other one. She didn't say anything and neither did they. Alessandro spoke up again. "Rohan, can you tell us what happened to you?"
Rohan glanced to Alessandro then looked away. She still had no clue what happened to her. She took a deep breath and paused to think. A sharp pain went through her head and she flinch. Something, she doesn't know what, but something had flashed through her mind. It was a figure, but everything was a blur. Rohan took another deep breath and tried to think harder, but there seemed to be some type of pressure in her skull pushing the memories away. It hurt to think.
"Rohan, we want to help you, but you're gonna have to trust us. Okay?" Alessandro prompted when she didn't say anything.
"I- I don't know. I- I can't remember." She answered honestly. She looked to the boys to see them all frowning deeply at one another.
"What is the last thing you remember?" Leonardo asked stepping closer.
Rohan gulped. "I had, um, I'd gotten into an argument with my mom." The boys all kind of tensed up and Rohan started to shake slightly.
Alessandro cleared his throat. "When was that?"
"I, um, yesterday? I think." Rohan answered.
"È lei mentendo? (Is she lying?)" Leonardo asked confused. Her heartbeats were all over the place sometimes they were steady, others they weren't.
"Non lo so. Non posso dirlo. (I don't know. I can't tell.)" Alessandro answered studying her while she stared from each of them wide-eyed.
"Che sta facendo entrambi. (She's doing both.)" Nicolai spoke for the first time in his deep, husky voice startling Rohan.
Leonardo and Alessandro's eyes popped to him. "Come è possibile? (How is that possible?)"
Nicolai continued to study her. "Lei pensa che lei sta dicendo la verità, ma il suo subconscio sa qualcosa non lo fa. (She thinks she is telling the truth, but her subconscious knows something she doesn't.)"
Leonardo frowned, "amnesia?"
"Okay, what are you saying?" Rohan interrupted. She didn't want them talking about her like she wasn't there. None of the boys answered her. "What language is that and did you just say amnesia?"
"Italian. Do you remember yesterday's date?" Leonardo asked not giving her time to say anything. Something wasn't right.
Rohan thought for a moment. Her birthday had been two days before, and she had just turned nineteen so that meant. "August 21st."
Alessandro's mouth dropped slightly and he looked to his brothers. This girl was missing three whole months worth of her memory. "What can we do?"
"Talk to her? See if that helps." Leonardo suggested. Rohan sighed, deciding not to say anything since they weren't going to answer her anyway.
"Rohan, I'm going to tell you some things and I need you to concentrate and think, okay?" Nicolai spoke to her for the first time. Rohan nodded and looked away from his intense gaze. "Today is December 4th. You are missing about three whole months of memory."
"What?" Rohan inquired. Just because she couldn't remember what happened to her doesn't mean she'd lost her memory. "No, that's not possible. I- I was..."
Nicolai spoke again. "You have amnesia."
"What type?" Alessandro asked.
"Retrograde." Leonardo answered. Alex looked to him for more answers. "That means she can't remember anything from a specific date. So whatever happened after August 21st must have been something her brain doesn't want her to remember. This is a way for her brain to protect her. Whatever happened to her, must have started on August 22nd. When she was attacked, her psyche had to be damaged, causing psychological trauma. Her mind is warding off the traumatic events."
"What are you talking about?" Rohan questioned starting to get scared. "I don't... How did I get amnesia?"
"We think you were attacked... by vampires." Alessandro answered.
Rohan glared at him. "This isn't funny. Stop playing with me. I tho- wait. You had... Oh my God! Are you vampires? I know I'm not crazy. Earlier, your teeth they -"
"We're not vampires." Nicolai interrupted, glaring at Rohan.
"We're shapeshifters." Alex input.
Rohan's eyes widen. "Yea, I'm nuts."
"Anyways," Leon said. "Do you know where you are?"
"Of course, she doesn't." Nicolai spoke for her.
Leon rolled his eyes. "You're in Italy."
"Italy? No way." Rohan was shocked. She'd always wanted to come to Italy, but under the circumstances she wished she hadn't. What was she doing in Italy? How did she even get here? Rohan groaned as another sharp pain went through her brain. She saw a small dark plane and a hand. "I want to go home."
The guys all exchanged looks. Nicolai spoke what everyone was thinking. "You can't."
Rohan felt like crying. Were they holding her hostage? "Why not?"
"Because," Leonardo started. "Whoever did this to you could be looking for you now and we're the best protection you have. You're not strong enough to fight off vampires."
Alessandro smiled. "Plus, it'll be pretty hard to leave the country without a passport. You're American, right?"
Rohan nodded. He had a point. They'd probably hold her in jail or something. "So, what am I supposed to do?"
"You can stay here." Alessandro smiled not noticing the hard glare Nicolai threw his way. "The sofa has a pull out bed and there are other rooms through the kitchen, but we don't really use them. It's really cold back there."
Rohan smiled kindly. "I don't know if that's such a good idea, I mean, I don't even know you people. You could be murders or something, no offense."
"None taken," Leon grinned. "But you don't really have anywhere else to go and we're the only ones you do know, now."
Rohan sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right, but that doesn't mean I'm welcome..."
Leon frowned. "We just invited you to stay which means you're welcome."
"Not by everyone." Rohan pointed out. "I don't want to impose, you know."
Everyone turned to Nicolai expectantly. He glared slightly. He didn't want her around them, but he was doing this for them. "Fine, but stay out of my room and my way."
Rohan frown at his rudeness, but didn't comment. She was gratefully they had given her a safe place to lay her head. Exhaustion seemed to consume her, but she didn't want to sleep. It was like she was waiting for something, but she had no idea what. "How can I get my memory back?"
Leonardo answered. "Usually, it has to come back on its own. Some times they come in flashes or something like that. Don't try to think about it too hard, though, that could prolong things."
"How long will it last?" Rohan asked worriedly. What if something important had happened during those three months? Was her family worried about her? And what about college?
"It's hard to determine that. Some cases only last for a few day, a couple weeks, others can last for months or even years." Leonardo had to be the smartest of the three. He seemed to be answering all her intelligent questions. Alessandro seemed to be the nicest and Nicolai was the strongest. They were all good looking though.
Nicolai walked over and sat in one of the reclining chairs, as did Leonardo. Alessandro smiled as he sat next to Rohan. "So, how old are you?"
And that started their game of question and answer. Pretty soon they knew pretty much everything they wanted to know about one another. Nicolai is twenty-three which makes him the oldest. He takes care of the other two boys and is very protective. Leonardo is eighteen and actually is the smartest. Sometimes he could be a little snippy with his smartness. Alessandro is sixteen and he is so sweet. He is the most caring sixteen year old Rohan had ever met and he was surprisingly very obedient. If someone told him to do something, he did it. Rohan knew she was never that obedient at his age.
As they talked, Rohan began to get sleepy and the boys called it a night after lending her some covers. She took a few Advil's before laying down to rest her eyes, but when sleep consumed her it wasn't all that pleasant.