Sarah couldn’t scream. John had knocked the air out of her when he’d fallen on her. But it wasn’t his weight she wanted to scream at. It was the blood covering her hand. She was still holding the handrail that was sticking out of him. She jerked her hand away. What had she done? What had she done?
His eyes widened in shock. He clutched his right side. Blood poured through his fingers and dripped onto her coat. He rolled to his side, giving back her breath.
“Oh, John! I’m so sorry.” She looked left and right. “Where’s my purse? I need to call 9-1-1.” It had fallen behind her and she pulled it into her lap.
“No!” He grabbed the purse, causing the phone to slip through her fingers.
“What do you mean, no? You need a doctor.” Sarah reached for his shirt. Maybe it seemed worse than it was. But how could that be? Part of the handrail was sticking out of his side. And there was all this blood. But before she could get a look, he wrapped his free hand around her wrists.
“Sarah, you can’t call 9-1-1,” he said, panting. “I’ll be fine.” He then proceeded to pull out the railing while spitting out curse words. The blood stain grew larger.
“What are you doing? What are you doing? You’ll bleed to death!” She yanked to free her hands, but his grip was too strong. Why was he doing this? “Please, John. Give me my phone. Let me call for help.”
He released her hands. His breathing was labored and he winced, sitting up. “Despite what this looks like, I’m not going to die and I can’t go to the hospital.”
“What are you talking about?”
“This isn’t the way I wanted to tell you, but I guess I have no choice now.” He lifted his shirt and removed a few splinters that stuck to his skin. Where was the hole? There should have been blood gushing from the wound. Instead, the wound looked hours old. “See? I’m almost good as new.”
He’d healed already? How was that even possible? “I don’t understand. What’s happening?”
“There’s a reason I heal fast. There’s a reason I can’t go out into the sun and eat real food.”
“What does your allergy have to do with—”
“I’m a vampire.”
She felt for bumps on the back of her head. “Did I hit my head? I could have sworn you said—”
“You heard me correctly.”
She leaned over and whispered, as if anyone was actually overhearing their conversation, because he was talking crazy. Maybe he had hit his head. “But John, vampires don’t exist.”
“We do. We just hide our existence.”
All this time she’d thought that maybe he’d been the one. He was either crazy or…what? She was? For wanting to believe him? No way was any of this real. Tears formed in her eyes. “You’re just making fun of me because of the books I own. Aren’t you? If you wanted to end things, you didn’t have to resort to these lies.”
“End things? Sarah, I don’t want to end things. I love you.”
The cold air finally seeped into her bones and she shivered. She lifted her hands to cover her face, but blood covered one hand so she hugged herself instead. This was all a bad dream. It had to be.
“Can we go inside and talk?” he asked.
Talk? What could they possibly talk about? Would he try and bite her next?
* * * *
“Oh my God, you’re nuts! I have to get out of here.” Sarah grabbed her neck as she scrambled upright.
She couldn’t go, not yet. John didn’t want her to leave upset and confused and he stood when she did. With his blood reserves low, the sudden movement caused a cramp so severe, he doubled over. She flinched away from him, tearing a hole in his heart.
His fangs lowered and he talked, hoping she wouldn’t notice. “Please don’t leave. Let me explain.”
She stood there shivering, but she didn’t move toward the car.
“Can we talk inside, where’s it’s a little more private?”
“No. I don’t want to go inside.”
“How about the car?”
“No.” She sat on the ground, shoved her hands in the pockets, and huddled inside her coat.
John sat with her, giving her enough space. “Sarah, I’m not nuts. Please believe me.”
“Okay, say I believe you. Has this been a game all along? How many times have you bitten me?”
“I’ve never bitten you and you’d know it if I had. This wasn’t a game for me. I love you, Sarah. That’s the truth.” Not exactly the way he’d planned to tell her, but there it was. He prayed she believed him.
“You love me? Can vampires love? Aren’t they something like soulless creatures?”
“Your idea of what a vampire is and what a vampire actually is are two completely different things. I want to explain them, but you can’t tell anyone. It’s important no one finds out what you know.”
“What, like someone would believe me if I started saying I know some vampires? Hell, I’m not even sure I believe.” She sounded bitter, not that he could blame her.
“Then how do you explain this?” He peeled the wet shirt from his skin. The puckering would eventually fade, but for now it was puffy and red.
Her eyes widened. “Are those fangs in your mouth?”
“Yes, but I would never bite you. I swear.”
“Why haven’t I seen them before? I mean, we kissed…”
“They come out when I need…food.” No use telling her they popped out when she aroused him. Let her figure that out later. If there was a later.
“You mean blood.” She grabbed her neck again and what little color she had in her face fled. “Oh God.”
“Does that mean you believe me?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
Close enough for him. “This wasn’t the way I wanted to tell you and I understand your confusion, but you can’t tell anyone. Not because humans won’t believe you. It’s because other vampires will and they’ll want to shut you up. Our number one priority is to keep the secret.”
“Didn’t you kind of blow that one when you started dating me?” Her gaze bored into him, accusing. “What were you thinking anyway?”
Hadn’t he been asking himself the same thing? The phrase love is blind had never made sense to him, but it did now. He’d been blind to reason. “You’re right. I wasn’t thinking. But if you recall, I did try to break it off.”
“Yes, and you succeeded, too. I left you, John. You came back to me.”
Shit. What was he doing? He couldn’t blame this on her. “I’m sorry, you’re right. What can I say—I was weak? After the first time in the garage, I was sure I’d never see you again, but then you walked into Wings and I was curious. I felt something with you I’d never experienced before.”
Her eyes rounded. What had he just said?
“Wait a minute,” she said. “You saw me before I came to the bar? When was that? Why don’t I remember?”
Oh, crap. Think before speaking, stupid. An encounter he’d never wanted her to discover and he’d blurted it out as if it were common knowledge. Great. Now what? Well, he wouldn’t lie to make himself look good. Not if he ever hoped to have a relationship. Ha! As if that were even possible now.
He scrubbed his face. “You don’t remember because you were out cold. That was the night you were attacked.”
Her jaw dropped. “You were the one who attacked me?”
Damn it. Nothing he said came out right. “I didn’t attack you. I stopped the man who had. I just happened to be in the garage when I saw him putting you into his trunk.”
“What?” She looked down at her lap and murmured, “So, you’re the one who put me in my car?”
“Yes. After I took care of your attacker, I came back to check on you, but you’d already left. Figured it was better that way. I just never dreamed…”
“That I’d ask you out?”
“Yeah.” He sighed. “I should have said no, but I didn’t want to. There’s something about you, Sarah. I need you.” She looked up at that and raised an eyebrow in accusation. Everything he said to her she read the wrong way. That, or his blood loss had destroyed his thought process. “Not that way. I don’t know how to explain it. I just know I feel whole whenever you’re near.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks and seared his heart. He hated hurting her, wanted to hold and comfort her instead. Yeah, like she’d let him do that. She hadn’t run off yet, so why tempt her?
“Ah, Sarah. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for hurting you. I’m sorry I wasn’t upfront earlier. But I’m not sorry for loving you. You’re the best thing to happen in my life. Can you ever forgive me?”
She sat there, wiping her face and quietly shivering. He’d wait forever for an answer, but not at the expense of her comfort.
“You sure you don’t want to go inside?”
“I want to go home.” Her eyes glistened as she met his gaze. “Are you going to let me go?”
“Of course.” Did she think so little of him? Hadn’t he shown her what kind of person he was? Then again, she’d been hit with a major shock. Maybe once she processed the information, she’d come around. “Are you sure you’re up to driving? I could take you.” It would be difficult, but he’d find a way.
“No!” The fear on her face hurt him more than the stake had. “I can drive myself.”
Her words cut deep. Forgiveness seemed far off, almost impossible. “Okay. Please promise me you’ll keep the secret. I don’t care what happens to me. I don’t want them coming after you.”
“You don’t have to worry about me.” She stood and wiped her backside.
John rose with care, using what was left of the handrail for support, keeping the cramps at bay. “I’m sorry about your coat. I’ll replace it for you.”
“No. I don’t want you to do anything.” Her voice was cold, uncaring.
He couldn’t let her leave without knowing how he felt. “I hope you can come to forgive me, but I’ll understand if you can’t. You mean the world to me, Sarah. Please don’t doubt that. If you have any questions, call me. Any time.”
One lone tear ran down her cheek. Would she cry if she didn’t care about him? It gave him hope. Maybe she only needed time. He could give it to her. He had plenty of it.
She walked to the driver’s side and opened the door. “Goodbye, John.”
She drove off with his heart.