I looked down at the floor, while I was seated at the edge of my bed.
"Are you alright, Cordelia?" Leo asked, concerned at my lack of enthusiasm for what I was having to do.
I shook my head "I suppose I am just worried that I could ultimately harm you"
"This is something that you need to do. Gabriel ordered it and he would be upset if you grew weak over something like this" Leo said, holding out his wrist "Do not worry, I am doing this willingly, so you are not attacking me"
I gave a small nod, knowing that he was right and Gabriel couldn't deal with more stress on top of all of this.
I took Leo's wrist and pressed my fangs against it, feeling them penetrate against his skin, breaking it.
As some of his blood filled my mouth, I heard him wince in pain, making me pull away quickly.
"No, no, please do not stop" he said, making it clear that he felt bad for making that sound.
I quickly shook my head "I can't hurt you"
I stood up and walked to the window, wishing I could go outside, but knowing that the there was danger lurking just outside the walls.
"When is the last time you fed on a human?" he asked, standing up.
I looked down "Technically, I have only fed on two people"
"Only two? All this time you have just been drinking blood here, instead of actually hunting?" he asked, shocked "You do realize that the blood helps you so much more when it is fresh, right?"
I nodded "Yes, I am well aware, but it is easier to drink it that way"
I watched as he picked up one of my glasses from my vanity and look down "So it is easier for you to drink it from a glass?"
"Yes, but we cannot do anything about that" I said, wondering what he was planning to do.
He looked through my vanity drawers, rummaging through my belongings "Do you have anything sharp?"
"Yes, why?" I asked, confused.
He stopped what he was doing, picking up my smaller mirror and slamming it down on the vanity, shattering the glass.
"What do you think you are doing?" I asked, upset.
He picked up one of the broken glass pieces "I'm making you drink blood one way or another"
I gasped as he cut open his arm, making a mess on the carpet, as he tried to fill the glass.
"Leo!" I cried, rushing to him.
He set the almost full glass on the vanity "Drink, now"
"No, we need to get your arm fixed!" I said, shocked that he would do such a thing.
"I will go to Montgomery and have him fix it, but for now, you are drinking" he said, picking the glass back up and putting it in front of me.
I hesitantly took it, but soon gulped it down, forgetting how good fresh blood tasted.
I licked my lips, wanting more "You shouldn't have done that"
He shrugged "Probably not, but my chances of survival are based on everyone's strength, so I will make sure that you get what is needed. Now do I need to cut open my other are, or will you willingly drink from me?"
"Please do not make me do this" I whispered.
"Why are you so against feeding on an actual human?" he asked.
I groaned "I have just been around death so much already and I do not want to be the one deciding who gets to live or die. When I feed, I worry that I will get lost in the moment and I will not be able to control myself"
I looked down at his open wound, staring at the blood and feeling hypnotized by the strong scent that was emitting from it.
He looked down at the cut, noticing my discomfort "Look, death comes for everyone at some point or another. Just because you are scared of killing someone, it does not mean that you should put your own life at risk"
"I understand that, but the urges are so strong and you smell so good" I said, feeling weak.
He shook his head "You do not have to kill anyone if you don't want to, but you are a vampire, so feeding on humans is a necessary thing for your life now"
"Why are not scared?" I asked.
"Because I have almost met death, so dying now, when I should have been dead long ago, it just does not scare me as much as Odette or Isaac" he explained.
I took a seat on the bed "Just pull away if you become weak, please"
He nodded "As long as you actually eat"
He took a seat next to me once more and held out his already damaged arm.
I sat back, accepting that in order to fight what was going on, I needed to do this. I took in the smell and sank my fangs into his cut, beginning to drink, doing my best to ignore his discomfort.
His sweet and rich blood was tingling against my tongue as I enjoyed every drop that he was supplying me.
The fear of hurting him though was still overwhelming, forcing me to pull away, letting out a gasp, before I was completely satisfied.
I rested my back against the bed, feeling better than I had in weeks, but still feeling empty.
He laid down besie me and looked at me "Better?"
"Yes, but I still want more" I whispered, feeling the blood against my face.
"Do you want another bite?" he asked.
I shook my head "No, feeding is still difficult for me, but I am making progress, so I still need some time"
He nodded "Understandable"
I looked at him "May I ask you something?"
"Of course" he said, looking back at me.
"How did you become involved with this household?" I asked, intrigued to learn what had happened to him.
He softly smiled "It is a terrible story, but in my eyes it is the story of my real life"
"Real life?" I asked, confused.
He nodded "Yes, I had become ill from a disease that had been spreading around where I lived at the time. I was on the brink of death and my family decided to abandon me, not wanting to become ill themselves"
"That is awful" I said, surprised that his family could leave him like that.
"Yes, but I had three sisters, so their chance of survival was far more important at the time. I completely understand why, since everyone knew that I would be dying soon anyway." he sighed "I had been alone for almost three days, slowly accepting death, when Phoebe and Montgomery found me on the streets. Phoebe offered me the chance of living, as long as I eventually assist her family in return"
"No one helped you when you were on the streets?" I asked.
He shook his head "No, because of the frequent deaths that were happening, no one was willing to put their own life on the line to help the ill"
I shook my head "How old were you?"
He looked up, as though he were trying to remember "I want to say I was eleven at the time"
"That is so young" I whispered.
He nodded "Yes, but kids who were much younger had lost their lives, so my age was nothing special. Anyway, when I had arrived here, my eyes had been full of hope at the idea of no longer dying. I had been placed in one of the lower rooms, where Montgomery used his biokinesis gift to heal me, allowing me to continue living" he smiled "I have been grateful ever since"
I sat up "Well, I am glad that you got to continue living"
I watched as Leo stood up, holding his arm "I should go see Montgomery about this, so if you will excuse me"
I nodded "Thank you for helping me"
He smiled "It is what I do"
As he left, I walked back over to the balcony, wondering how things would turn out, since everything had become so extreme.
I was also worried that Agnes would never be the same and that Elsie had been murdered.
They were taking us one by one and I was terrified of who they planned on taking next.