Song Recommendation: Milky Chance - Stolen Dance
six.
Marina.
I disregarded what she said, not wanting to accept that yet. Eryn was proof that not every vampire was evil. I peered down, realizing that if she was being this honest to me, it was time to be honest as well. "Do you remember anything of last night?"
Eryn's red eyes began to fade away. The red was halfway and the grey was growing in pigment by the second. I guess her bloodlust was leaving.
It saddened me to see her this way, especially after the lengths she went to protect me. Maybe not every vampire was terrible. At least this one wasn't. She brought me to her apartment and had multiple chances to kill me. If she wanted to hurt me, she would've done it.
Eryn shook her head, wincing as she drew her leg up.
I sighed, feeling sheepish with what I was about to say. "When we started to get hot and heavy, my mer song slipped out and I put you under my hypnotism. I didn't mean to."
Eryn simpered. "So, I didn't remember us shagging?" I caught a bit of an accent slip out. I couldn't quite place it, but when she spoke it would always show depending on her pronunciation. I discerned it happened whenever she was comfortable.
I reddened, embarrassed that we didn't even do anything. "No, I felt bad for doing so. I brought you to your bed and that's about it."
Eryn burst out laughing and dragged herself to the toilet. Suddenly, her body heaved and she emptied her stomach into the bowl. I cringed not knowing if I should pat her back or something. I saw in movies that the friend would hold their hair, but Eryn's hair didn't get in the way, it was too short.
I was also a bit leery to touch her.
"Are you okay?" I asked, gingerly touching her arm.
Eryn flinched, shoving herself as far she could get. "Don't get too close, I don't trust myself."
I nodded, getting up slowly. I didn't know what to do. This was probably my queue to leave, but I didn't want to leave her sick like this. "Is it the silver?"
Eryn glanced at my hand for a moment before looking away. "Combination of everything. I ate human food, which I probably shouldn't have."
My eyes widened. I didn't know too much about vampires, but I did know that vampires born purebred could eat human food. Eryn had to be a turned vampire for food to get her sick. Their digestive system was dead. "You keep up human appearances?"
Eryn smiled but there was no humor in her eyes. "I guess I wanted to experience normalcy. It felt nice, see you cooking. It felt like a domesticated life, even if it was just for a few minutes."
I felt like this was the end of something. I didn't want whatever this was to end. I knew she probably saw it as a one-night stand, but we didn't get to do anything. She could also help me while I was here. "You can help me," I blurted, not planning what to say after. I felt as if I was grabbing at straws that were fading by the second.
Eryn furrowed her brows, "how so?"
"You can help me find who killed my sister," I answered, regretting the words the second they left my lips.
She glanced at the toilet and cringed, flushing it. "Let me guess, she was killed by a vampire."
I frowned. "I'm not too sure. I originally came here to see what it was like to be human before I go back home. I also want to know what happened to my sister."
"You think I can help you? Marina, with all due respect, but I could've hurt you. You barely cut yourself with a knife and I almost killed you!" Eryn stood up briskly and she stumbled backward, holding onto the wall for support.
I helped her across the room to her bed even when she tried to weakly shove me away. "If you wanted to kill me, you would've done it by now. You're one of the good ones. You hurt yourself to protect me."
Eryn shook her head as she sat down. "That's because I didn't know what you were. Now I know, I can't get close to you. What if you bleed again? Those syringes won't always help!"
I marched over to the fridge and pulled out a blood bag. It felt cold and squishy in my hands, but I wanted to prove that we could be a good team. She wasn't a threat to me. I approached Eryn and handed the bag to her.
Eryn narrowed her eyes. "You don't know the first thing about me. Turned vampires are unpredictable. My control will never be under wraps. You are risking your life to be around me."
"Please," I begged, pushing my siren essence onto her.
Eryn raised her brows. "Sandalwood and rose."
"What?"
"Nothing," she pushed the blood bag away, "I'm not an animal, I warm it up and drink it from a cup."
I smiled, taking back the blood and heading to the kitchen again. Part of me felt guilty for bending her will, but I needed this. I needed to know more about her. I needed to understand. I had to do this for Nerissa.
Eryn groaned and laid back down. I watched her as I placed the cup in the microwave. She looked up at the ceiling, her body not once moving. Her chest didn't rise and fall, slightly unnerving me. "Does this mean you'll help?"
"Fine, whatever. But if we are going to find out what happened to your sister, we do it my way. Understood?" she explained.
I stared at the writing on the empty bag. It was marked as swine blood. I held up the bag. "This is animal blood."
Eryn looked confused as I brought the cup back to her. "And?"
"You don't even hurt humans," I said in wonderment, completely bewildered on the lengths that Eryn went to not hurt anyone.
"Just because I drink animal blood doesn't mean, I don't hurt humans," she said darkly. She tipped the cup to her lips and watched me as she took a sip.
The bags under her eyes were the worst I'd ever seen them, and I was starting to realize that was because she didn't feed on humans. I knew I was watching her intently and it probably made her uncomfortable, but I was enamored with her. Vampires didn't have control, and here she was, fighting her nature.
"Does it taste good?" I asked, watching as she licked her lips and set the cup down. I waited for improvement under her eyes, but they only lightened up a smidge.
Eryn's grey slanted gaze narrowed in annoyance. "Want a taste? Ugh, I liked it better when you didn't know what I was. I feel like your shitty science project."
"And continue to eat human food?" I lifted a brow and smiled.
Eryn's phone began to ring, dragging her attention away. I wandered around in her loft, looking at the statues and paintings she had on the brick walls.
There was one that piqued my interest more than the others; a simple blue painted canvas. There were red droplets peppered throughout the blue, the contrast clearly apparent. I didn't know what Eryn saw in it, but it reminded me of her personality from what I could see.
She spoke in a hushed tone and I struggled to hear what she was saying. It sounded like she was having a quiet argument with someone on the other line.
With a sigh, she set the phone down. "We should go. Your friends are at my club wondering where the Hell you are."
I widened my eyes, remembering that I came with them. Eryn said she would bring me back in the morning. I looked at the clock and noticed it was now the afternoon. Everyone was probably worried about me. I didn't mean to make them worry.
Eryn got up quickly, "You need to leave, now." She walked around frantically, grabbing my dress and shoes, "some of my acquaintances are making their way upstairs. I'm sure they can pick up on your scent far better than I did. Not every vampire is like me, Marina."
With how worried Eryn looked, a sense of fear beginning to wriggle its way down to my belly. I took my dress from her and hurriedly walked to the bathroom. I gingerly opened the splintered door and rushed in, slipping on the dress in the process. I stared at the black case that was on the floor.
I picked it up and paused, looking behind me as if Eryn was in the bathroom with me. I quickly grabbed the syringe and slipped it into my bra. I had to learn more about this.
The sound of a loud bang made me jump. Eryn pushed open the door and met my gaze. "Come with me, we need to go, now!"
"Eryn! What's got yer panties inna twist? Open the door, mate!" a male voice called from the front door.
She approached the windows that gave up a view of the city. There was a clasp on the side of it and she turned it, pushing the window wide open. The cold air blew through and she outstretched her hands towards me. "C'mere. Trust me, okay?"
I had no choice to trust her. She proved that she didn't want to hurt me and here we were now, where she was safely trying to get me out.
I placed my hand in Eryn's and she yanked me close to her chest, wrapping one arm around me.
I counted to three in my mind and part of me felt like she did too because she jumped when I got to three. I closed my eyes tightly, hoping that this didn't end badly. A woosh of air surrounded me and a sharp feeling was in the pit of my stomach. However, it was gone as quickly as it came.
"You can open your eyes now," Eryn chuckled.
I opened one at a time and saw we were on street level. The floor under us was slightly cracked. Eryn jumped out of a four-story warehouse like some sort of superhero. That sentence kept replaying in my mind as we made our way across the street.
As we entered the club, a sense of dread filled my stomach for what was about to come.
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