Esther spent the early morning hours talking to Adam, who was a bit nicer to her than he normally would have been. When the torrent of emotions that feeding on AnnMarie had unleashed on her finally started to subside, she told him goodbye and finally went to rest in bed beside AnnaMarie.
When she woke up from the thick nothingness, AnnaMarie was gone, apparently having woken up some time ago. Esther immediately left the room to search for her, and found her in the middle of carrying bags out to her car.
"Oh, you're awake." She said when she saw Esther. "Sorry, I wanted to wake you up but I didn't know how."
"It's fine." Esther said with a small frown. "What are you doing?"
"I'm packing up the car." She said. "I know it's already the afternoon, but I figured we could still make good time if we leave today."
"Are you sure you're ready to go?" Esther asked. "I figured after last night you… wouldn't feel too well."
"I was a little dizzy when I got up this morning, but I felt better after I ate something." She insisted.
Esther thought she still looked tired and pale, and that her movements seemed sluggish, but chose not to bother her about it for the time being. She was clearly insitant about leaving soon.
"Okay. If you're sure."
"Oh, what about you?" AnnMarie asked. "How are you feeling?"
Esther lifted up the edge of her shirt, showing AnnaMarie the large, pink gash that ran across her caramel skin.
"All better." She said. "For the most part, anyway. I told you I'd be fine."
AnnaMarie looked away, somewhat sadly.
"It's better to be safe than sorry. Does it still hurt?"
Esther pulled her shirt back down.
"It's pretty sore still, but it's nothing I can't manage." She said. "Are you sure you're rested enough to get there? The drive there is over seven hours."
"I'll be fine." AnnMarie said dismissively. "I've never been out of the state, so I'm sure my excitement will keep me up."
As she said this, she moved her light brown hair back behind her shoulder. Esther tried to surreptitiously get a glance at her neck, but found it was bandaged, so she couldn't see what sort of damage she'd done.
"Okay." Esther said. "If you start to feel unwell, just let me know."
It was quiet for the first couple of hours of the drive. They listened to the radio and Esther watched the trees pass by. After a while, AnnMarie turned the radio down and asked her something.
"Do you have any interesting stories about being a vampire?" She asked.
"Mm." Esther said thoughtfully. "I could tell you about when I met my friend Adam. He's a vampire as well."
"Is he the one who turned you into a vampire?" AnnMarie asked
"Oh no. That man died a long time ago. I guess he eventually crossed the wrong person, but I can't really remember." She said truthfully. She really couldn't even remember his name, just the awful mustache he had.
"Oh." AnnMarie said. "Well how did you meet Adam?"
"He actually dug me out of the ground on accident while he was grave robbing. He was with a human man who he convinced to give me blood to wake me up. I almost killed the poor bastard in process." She said. "Then he almost immediately dragged me to this crazy party at some woman's house, despite the fact I barely knew him. He's never really stopped bothering me since."
"I thought the vampire who made you was the one who dug you up." AnnMarie said.
"He was." Esther confirmed.
"Wait, so that wasn't the first time you were in the ground?" AnnMarie asked.
"No..." Esther said cautiously.
"Why were you there?"
"I, uh—" Esther paused and thought of how to put it. "I was very, very sad at the time, so I had someone bury me as a way to deal with it. I wasn't in the best state of mind at the time."
Part of her worried that AnnMarie would question her about what she was so awfully sad about. It wasn't something she wanted AnnMarie to know about.
Thankfully, she didn't bring it up.
"Oh." She said in her sad way. "Well, do you think you're happier now?"
"I, uh—" Esther wasn't sure how to answer that question either. She only knew she didn't want to make AnnMarie sad. It seemed like there was so much guilt inside of her, and the only way to dilute it was to make the girl as happy as possible.
"I think so. Yes."
AnnaMarie let out a sad hum and her eyes drifted back over to the road.
"I hope I can be happier one day."
It was late when they finally arrived in Tennessee. The motel they were staying in was small, musty, and nestled gently in the corner of an overpass on the interstate. Seeing it made Esther wish she had pushed a little harder to be the one to pay for a place to stay. If AnnMarie were staying in a place like this alone, she would be very worried for her.
AnnMarie checked in for them, and they made their way up to their room.
As Esther unlocked the door, AnnMarie stopped and leaned over the balcony, staring out at the cars that raced by. There was a distant, dreamy look in her eyes.
"Isn't it beautiful?" She said.
Esther glanced out at the cramped assortment of gas stations and fast food joints that lined the busy highway.
"Not really."
"I've never been somewhere with this many people before." AnnMarie continued, in spite of her indifference. "I've never been to another state. I know I'm not even really that far away, but it just seems so—" she cut herself off with a sigh.
Esther tensed at her words, then turned back to walk into the motel room. AnnMarie followed after a moment more of watching the scenery and plopped down on the bed.
She looked tired. Esther thought she had looked tired the entire ride there. In fact, she was surprised the girl hadn't fallen asleep at the wheel.
"Why don't you get some sleep?" Esther said. "I'll wake you up in the morning. That way we can get to the magic shop as soon as it opens."
AnnMarie stifled a yawn and curled up under the covers.
"Okay." She said.
Esther waited around and watched the shitty old television until AnnMarie had fallen asleep. Once her breathing was even, she quietly left the motel.
Watching the young woman sleep had made her incredibly hungry. Even just looking at her during the car ride had made her throat feel unbearably dry.
Since the girl wasn't in any shape for her to feed from, she knew she needed to go out and find some food.
She walked around the small strip of cheap entertainment for a while, until she ended up at a bar. It wasn't much, but it was the safest option at the moment. She didn't want to do anything too risky and upset AnnMarie again.
Inside, it smelled overwhelmingly like cigarette smoke, which swirled around in the air and greatly irritated her nose and eyes. It was crowded and noisy, and no one paid much attention to her.
She made her way to the bar, and took a seat by a woman who immediately turned to glance over her.
"Are you a local?" She asked.
Esther turned and glanced over her in return. She looked to be around AnnMarie’s age, probably in her early twenties, with blonde hair and skin that glittered with makeup when the dim lights caught it just right.
"Sort of." Esther said. "I was born here, but this is my first time visiting in a long while."
"Well, you're not missing much." The woman said with a scoff.
"Hm." Esther said.
"Here, you wanna drink?" The woman asked. She slid one of two frosted glasses she had in front of her across the counter.
"Sure."
Esther took the glass, though she had no intention of drinking it. She looked down at the brown liquid, most likely whisky, and watched the ice in it bobble around.
"Are you straight?" The woman suddenly asked.
Esther swished her glass around, making the ice bobble more.
"No." She said quietly, smiling a bit.
"I didn't think so." The woman laughed. "I'm Katie, by the way."
Even though they were in the south, Esther noted that her accent wasn't very strong. She supposed things probably had changed a lot since she had left.
"I'm Esther." She said.
The woman giggled. "Really? You don't look like an Esther!"
"Really?" Esther said. "How so?"
"I dunno. It seems like an old lady name."
Esther cracked a smile. "I don't seem like an old lady to you?"
"No! No." The girl laughed. "Of course not."
"Well that's nice." Esther said.
"Are you... single?"
"Hm." Esther hummed quietly and swirled her drink around again. "I guess you could say that it's complicated."
Esther felt warmth spread across her thigh as the woman placed her hand on it.
"How complicated is it?" The woman asked.
Esther reached down and placed her hand on top.
"Not too complicated, I guess."
The woman picked up her drink and downed the rest of it in one gulp.
"So do you want to hook up in the bathroom?" She said very matter of factly.
"Yeah, sure." Esther said.
The woman grabbed her hand and led her to a door that was covered with graffiti and scratch marks, and pulled her inside.
"It's lucky this place has a bathroom that locks." She said with a giggle as she turned the lock.
Esther silently agreed.
The woman turned around and moved to kiss her, but Esther turned her face away, and instead moved for her neck. She placed her lips gently on where it curved and felt the pulse throbbing underneath.
"Oh, uh—" the woman huffed as Esther reached around and grabbed her by the waist. "You feel... cold."
"Mm." Esther said as she stroked the other side of her neck with her fingers. "You feel sleepy."
"Wh—uh. Sleepy." The woman slurred, her words trailing off at the end.
"Mhm." Esther said as she trailed her tongue across the hollow of her neck, trying to find a good spot.
The woman began to grow limp and Esther tightened her grip on her as she bit into her skin.
The woman let out a soft moan, her fingers unconsciously tightening around Esther’s arm.
As the blood flowed into her mouth, there was only one emotion that filled her, and it was so pungent that it quickly overtook her senses.
Arousal.
A sudden hot feeling surged through her, though she knew her skin was still very cool. Her muscles clenched, and her legs felt weak.
She pulled away from the woman a little sooner than she normally would have, and licked the leftover blood from her neck. Her thoughts were far off as she did so, her focus suddenly away from the woman and on seeking some sort of satisfaction, some sort of relief.
The woman groaned, and began to regain some of her ability to stand up straight.
"Sorry—" she slurred. "I—I think I blacked out. I must have had too much to drink."
Esther silently guided her back into the bar, a hand on her shoulder to steady her as she wobbled along. As quickly as she deposited her back by her purse she slipped away. Her own head was starting to spin.
She left the bar and walked out into the cool, midnight air, her head clouded.
She thought about adam, and about something he had often said to her.
He always talked about using the blood of somebody who was aroused to have sex, but she'd always thought it was just one of his hedonistic ramblings. Right now, however, it seemed like a good idea.
Right now, she wanted to go back to AnnMarie.