Melody no.6
Sleeping

Meryl was once again in her bed, but not as weak as the day before. She tried to remember if what happened was real or a dream. She rubbed her eyes wearily. It was as if she had been several days without sleep. The images passed through her mind like a movie in slow motion. She felt a little embarrassed and tried to understand why Caleb suddenly acted like that.

What most confused her was how she should act now. After that, she was not sure whether to behave as always. All she could do, without any doubt, was avoid him when possible, because that way she also avoided uncomfortable and embarrassing situations. Her mind felt foggy and tired. She wasn’t used to these situations and it was taking its toll. After a while, she remembered his words and she began to realize something.

The words appeared in her head. Her blood was more appetizing, and that was an accurate explanation that seemed to simplify her entire situation.

“That’s why he is interested in me,” she muttered getting out of bed. “That’s the only reason.” He wasn’t interested in anything more than food. That was clear in her mind. However, she couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

Why was she thinking like this, she asked herself, she should be happy that was the only reason he was interested in her.

“Your breakfast is in the kitchen.” Meryl heard as soon as she exited her room. “You should hurry or it will get cold.”

“Ah, thanks, Alexander.”

“Do you feel well?”

“Yes, of course. I’m going to go eat.”

Meryl climbed down the stairs while putting her hair into a ponytail. Pein was in the kitchen close to her breakfast. Danger seemed eminent. “Don’t even think of touching it, Pein.” Meryl smiled sitting down next to him.

“It’s unfair that my brother prepares you these meals and only gives me leftovers,” Pein said.

“That’s because you don’t need to eat human food,” Meryl said.

“Doesn’t matter. I’m his younger brother. He should take better care of me,” Pein said letting out some innocent and childish jealousy.

“Hey, there’s something that’s bothering me,” Meryl changed the subject. “Is your name really Pein?”

“No, it Pheinian, but Pein is simpler and I like it more,” Pein explained.

“I don’t know which name I find stranger,” Meryl said thoughtfully without hiding a small chuckle.

“Yours isn’t normal either.” He stood and left towards the entrance of the house.

Meryl took a while to eat her breakfast. There were still many things on her mind, especially how she felt. It had hurt that Caleb could think of her as an object. Did he look at her the same way she saw vegetables? As simple food and nothing else. She sighed and decided to stop thinking about it, no matter what or how she owed him her life and she had to pay by being his food. What the hell, she would do it.

“Meryl?”

“Tell me, Alexander.”

“I’m going to the city. Would you like to join me?”

“Yes.” She smiled, it might be a good distraction. “And Caleb?”

He’s sleeping right now. Don’t worry about him,” Alexander said. “When we get back. Will you give him breakfast?”

“Yes,” Meryl replied slightly uncomfortable. “Of course.”

“Ok, when you’re ready we’ll leave,” Alexander said.

“I won’t take long to get ready,” Meryl said while climbing up the stairs to the second floor.

When they left the house Jeoff waited patiently outside for them with the car running.

Meryl had only spoken with him once. He was a serious and reserved individual. At first sight, Jeoff didn’t appear to be a bitter person.

The road to the city was deserted as always. A car was a luxury item reserved for only the highest class vampires and if a human drove a car without permission he would be stopped immediately.

Before entering the city Alexander once again gave Meryl the bracelet to cover her wrist. Meryl didn’t understand about the mark or why it was so important that she had to hide that she didn’t have one. She put on the bracelet without a word.

They parked on a street that Meryl didn’t remember. They seemed to be in the middle of the city. Everything had changed so much that it was completely different to what she remembered. From when she happily walked through the city towards work.

“Do you need anything?” Alexander asked.

“Huh?” Meryl looked at Alexander in confusion as she got off the car.

“If you need to buy something tell me, ok? We’ve come here to do some errands. Caleb asked me the other day if you needed something and now that we’re here we can buy you whatever you need,” Alexander explained.

“No, I’m okay. I don’t need anything. I have more clothes than I can wear in a lifetime.” Meryl smiled thinking about the large closet full of clothes. “What do we need to buy?”

“Well, the most important thing is food. Before you came we would buy it on a whim, but for you, food is a necessity,” Alexander said.

For a moment, Meryl felt like a burden. This trip was just because of her? They didn’t want her to die of hunger. Having seen some people in that pitiful state didn’t help her feel better. They were surely feeding on only bread and water.

Meryl followed Alexander into the area and noticed that there was surveillance. Almost as if, it was the most important thing on the planet. There were armed men everywhere. This area took up almost all of the space in the building. Almost as if this was a commercial center. Meryl noticed that the men were vampires. Because they couldn’t hide the looks of disgust on their face when they looked at her and how they wished she weren’t there. There were huge banners indicating products for sale on each floor: food, clothes, cosmetics, furniture, and absolutely everything that a vampire could need. This included food and on the last floor, you could buy humans.

“Get that look off your face Meryl. I don’t like it either, but we can’t do anything about it,”Alexander said when he saw that she got closer to a 13-year-old boy who was chained to a cart and was there to serve them in whatever way they needed.

“If Caleb runs this place why does he let this happen?” Merylasked.

“He can’t do anything about this place because this entire building belongs to Amadeus,”Alexander explained. “If it belonged to anyone else this building would alreadybe closed, but that is impossible. Now it’s better that we stop talking or they will hear us.”

“Ok.”

The place looked normal but the scarcity of products was evident. Especially regarding food, everything was fresh from the farm. Bread was made from the wheat ground in a millby slaves on the city’s outskirts.

Alexander let Meryl chose what they bought because she was the one who would eat the food. The young teenager seemed amused by them or maybe it was because they were nice in the way in which they treated him for the very first time.

After an hour more or less they returned to the car and drove back to the mansion. It looked like it was getting darker and it might start to rain. The humidity was heavy in the atmosphere.

“I think that with everything that we bought, we should have enough for a month.”

“We didn’t go overboard?”Meryl asked. “Maybe we should have bought less.”

“Don’t worry about the money.” Alexanderlaughed when he saw her expression. “You need to eat and I like to cook for somebody who does not only need it but enjoys it.”

When they arrived at the mansion small drops of water began to fall. Alexander told Merylto go inside. That he and Jeoff would bring everything into the house. The weather wasn’t good and if she got wet she could catch a cold.

Once inside Meryl thought for a few seconds and decided to go up to Caleb’s room. Her legs trembled as she climbed the stairs because with each step that she took. Memories from yesterday invaded her mind, but she did not feel repulsed. Mentally she was in disagreement but her body did not respond like she wanted.

Meryl stopped in the hallway and bit her lip. Whether she liked it or not she had to go inside because she had to feed Caleb continuously until he recovered completely. He was still wounded and the poison had not disappeared. Meryl continued walking and opened the door only to be shocked at what she saw inside. She would never have imagined it. The sight was unnerving.

Caleb lay in bed, his expression didn’t say much, although he seemed to be upset. His shirt was halfway open and a woman was seated on top of him. Meryl couldn’t see her well but she had long blonde hair and a perfect complexion.

“I’m sorry!” Meryl shouted when he saw her andexited the room closing the door behind her with a bang. Meryl stood frozen in the hallway. She didn’t know if she was bothered by what she had just seen or if she simply felt embarrassed, but she felt strange. She swallowed with difficulty. She felt pain in her heart and her legs wouldn’t respond like she wanted. Meryl entered her room without wasting time.

Why in the hell didn’t I knock on the door? Meryl asked herself. It’s not my fault. I couldn’t have known someone was in there with him.

Meryl removed her jacket and entered the bathroom to freshen up. She was hot. She would never have imagined that something like this could become so extremely embarrassing. When she came back into the room she opened the window letting in the cool evening air. The darkness of the day caused sudden drops in temperature and the humidity of the rain was invigorating at that time.

“Leave,” Caleb said, looking intently at his visitor after the door closed with a bang. “I won’t tell you again, Ashe.”

“Is it my imagination, or have you become colder than last time?” Ashe asked without moving an inch. “When we were lovers my presence didn’t bother you.”

“You’re boring me,” he whispered rubbing his forehead.

“Did it really bother you that your new toy entered the room and caught us?” Ashe laughed. “Come on, she’s an insignificant human!”

“Stop chattering like a cockatoo. You cannot imagine how much you bore me.”

“You liked it before.”

“Before it was just sex. Go away. I won’t tell you again. The next time I will make you leave, and I assure you, you will not like it,” Caleb said.

The woman stood up frightened. Caleb’s gaze did not hide what he felt at that time and she knew that if he wanted to he could rip her head off. She continued acting dramatically. Pretending that she had not seen the dark expression on his face as she said goodbye with a fake smile on her face. He, this vampire that she loved was becoming odious, and she could not destroy the feeling that he caused within her, she wanted to hate him but could not.

Ashe closed the door behind her tightly, releasing some of the anger she was holding, because Caleb was the only one capable of rejecting her, and that was precisely what most bothered her because she cared more than necessary. She only took two steps before her perfect body was filled with anger. The noise of a falling object was enough to drive her crazy because it came from the room where the human was. The scent was not lying. The human was there and that meant she was special to Caleb. She clenched her fists so tightly that her nails were digging into her palms and she started to bleed.

Ashe wondered why an unattractive human was special to Caleb.

Ashe started walking quickly through the house heading for the exit. If she didn’t smell fresh air soon she would explode in anger and the only thing she would accomplish with that. Would be to anger that infernal devil even more. In addition, she knew that at that time he was taken with the human that he had taken in.

Ashe would kill her without thinking twice and sign her own death warrant.

Meryl was lying in bed and did not know exactly how much time had passed since she has arrived at the mansion. She was sleepy and wanted to be asleep, but all the information that filled her head would not let her sleep. Alexander had entered a while ago asking if she wanted to eat something, but she refused. Meryl was sleepy and wanted to go to bed early.

The window was open, it was cold, but she did not feel it too much. She had covered herself with a wool blanket that was at the foot of the bed. After thinking for a while she finally fell asleep.

Near midnight, the candle was nearly at its end and the light it emitted was low. Meryl was fast asleep but moved around a lot. In her nightmare, she was being chased by a stranger who meant her harm. She ran and ran, but he was getting closer. He stretched out a thin, pale hand towards her. Luckily, something woke her before the hand reached her. The bed began to sink on both sides Meryl automatically squeezed her eyes before attempting to open them in an effort to erase the last remnants of a bad dream. It took a few seconds while she thought she was asleep, because when she opened her eyes in the darkness in which the room was plunged. She saw eyes looking at her, bright red eyes. Meryl felt the tips of Caleb’s hair on her cheeks and realized in dreams you could not feel anything.

Meryl shifted slightly on the bed before whispering. “Caleb?”

“I’m hungry,” he said, “I was expecting you. Why didn’t you come?”

The tone of his voice irritated her and caused the young woman to fully open her eyes while she frowned, looked amazed, with reproachful eyes. “I thought I would not be necessary because you had someone who ...”

“That’s your excuse?” he cut in, raising an eyebrow without moving one centimeter. “I can bite another vampire, but that does not feed me or help me.”

“Vampire?”

“Ashe is a vampire.”

“But you were ...”

“Yes?” He smiled. “How were we?”

She suddenly felt very awkward and ridiculous. She didn’t know what to say, and seeing how that smile widened expressing with clear superiority did not help at all.

“Let it go, Caleb. I’m not comfortable,” she responded decisively, looking away wearily.

“Comfortable? Have you seen something that perhaps you did not like?” He continued playing.

“What the hell! If you want to bite me. Do it already, but don’t think I’m going to act like her,” Meryl said.

Caleb was surprised. Meryl was frustrated. He could see it in her face and could not deny that he liked the sudden jealousy that he could see hidden deep in her green eyes.

“Act like her...” he muttered suppressing a laugh. “Are you jealous?”

“You’re crazy!” She was furious, “Who do you think you are?” She raised an arm and hit him hard in the chest.

“I don’t know. You tell me.”

Meryl was going to respond, but could not, she was so furious that for the first time in her life she wanted to throw a punch with full force. However, she was unable, because in her heart she felt a little twinge of jealousy. She saw that what had happened yesterday was important to him.

“Eat and get out,” Meryl decided to say suddenly, turning her head and leaving her neck bare. “I’m tired.”

Caleb sharpened eyes were still staring, amused that she was acting like a girl sulking about not getting what she wanted. Each time she felt more interested, but despite that there were many words of disagreement coming from her mouth. The aroma emanating from her body was not lying. He could distinguish her scent, and the anger did not hide that faint smell of excitement that reached him from the small body beneath him.

He raised his fist from the fluffy mattress. Opened his hand and touched the bare skin of her neck waiting to see a reaction that came quickly. Her expression was interesting.

Meryl clenched her eyes, and in the shadow of the room. He could see her face. See how the blood swirled. Her breathing quickened slightly, a mortal would not have noticed, but he did, because hers altered with his contact of that skin as soft as velvet. He admitted that he was attracted to her and seeing her so weak and small was almost unbearable. Unable to do what he wanted was a cruel punishment. Caleb noticed that her body accepted him, but that was not enough. However, the jealousy she felt seemed like a good step forward, because where there was jealousy, there was love.

He quickly lowered his head for a moment to support his cheek on her soft hair smelling of berries. It had been a good idea to buy that bath essence that he enjoyed. A few seconds later, he was astonished to feel a little pressure on his chest. He looked down and saw Meryl’s fist tight around his shirt. Trying to hold onto him. Which certainly was not necessary. He smiled and couldn’t help feeling a heady happiness. It was a strange feeling that he couldn’t remember ever having before. She made him feel things he had never experienced.

Meryl tightened her jaw struggling internally.

For a minute, a thousand things passed through the mind of Caleb. All the women he had known had thrown themselves into his arms without hesitation, and here was this human girl who resisted him with a ferocity that surprised him. Surely, this was what he liked about her. Meryl didn’t let her instincts rule her actions. To be honest, at that moment he felt immobile. He was carefully considering which way to go. Meryl’s inexperience was obvious relating to intimate situations. If he continued he knew he could lose control because he wanted her completely. Luckily he was patient, and this was one of his strengths.

Meryl’s head turned slightly trying to watch Caleb. Her mind was a mess because even after what she had seen a few hours earlier. She could feel her hands shaking slightly and clinging to the dark fabric. The low light didn’t let her see much, but she was surprised to see him with his eyes tightly closed.

“Caleb?” Meryl called out his name regretting how little self-control she had.

He opened his eyes to look at her. She looked so beautiful that for a second he thought he’d go crazy. For the first time, he noticed her plump cherry colored lips that were asking for a kiss, a nibble, and a caress. He lowered his head wanting to taste and feel their texture. She didn’t move a millimeter but he could feel her surprise at the first brush of his lips against hers. Caleb gave her soft kisses and then nibbled on her lower lip. It was then that Meryl wanted to nervously back away, but she couldn’t because Caleb’s hands held her head firmly. Not letting her back away.

“Wait!” Meryl said.

“For what?”

“This, no… I”

“Are you so nervous that you’re unable to speak?” he murmured smiling and caused Meryl to blush. “If you think I’m leaving then you’re mistaken.”

Caleb moved back from her and she remained motionless with her lips closed tightly. Meryl closed her mouth instinctively, that was not an impediment for Caleb. Although, it was bothersome. He remained quiet for a few seconds letting her get used to the situation. Then he pushed his tongue in looking for a space that would let him enter her mouth. It wasn’t difficult.

The interior of her mouth was soft and to his surprise. It didn’t take long for him to get inside. Meryl was confused and felt a strange sensation that combined with the nervous palpitations of her heart. She wanted to move away but couldn’t and although Caleb’s hands no longer held her head, her body was making its own decisions, betraying her. A few minutes later she was surprised, when she felt his hands around her wrists, lifting her hands above her head. The tickling of her hair proved that this wasn’t a dream. It was really happening. Caleb let his body fall against hers trapping her beneath him and felt her agitated breathing. He moved slightly away to look at her expression and Meryl let her head fall to the side unable to fight any longer.

The candle had gone out, but she could feel Caleb’s eyes on her. Almost, as if he were a massive stone obelisk. She felt drunk, the touch of his hands gently squeezed her wrists and his chest was against hers. Meryl thought she would faint. She wanted to run away from the bed, but in the depths of her soul, she didn’t want that night to ever end.

After a few seconds, she felt a kiss on the corner of her mouth that lowered slowly until it reached the top of her chin. She felt a tickling sensation near the right ear, and she couldn’t stop the sigh that escaped her mouth. Caleb did it on purpose, testing her while his hands tightened slightly applying pressure on her wrists, in a desperate attempt to moderate and control himself. He couldn’t lose control. He couldn’t do more than what he was already doing. Without thinking about it Caleb once again kissed her. Meryl had no experience and just thinking that her first kiss was with him. Drove him crazy.

She didn’t know how much time had passed but noted that her lips were swollen and her head felt disoriented from all the sensations and she was starting to think that she couldn’t live without that intimate contact. That when the kiss ended it would be the first and the last.

Caleb backed away for the last time because in the darkness of the room. He could see the weariness of the woman, who drove him crazy, but he had yet to feed, and there was no better time than now. Her blood surged and the aroma was even more exquisite than before. However, he couldn’t help continuing once more. He lowered his lips from her neck to her upper chest leaving kisses on his way there. He bit the top of her dress moving it away and felt her fists clench. He sucked gently causing the blood to gather and causing her to writhe on the bed. She lifted a leg to push him away but this had the opposite effect.

Meryl was so ashamed, not because of Caleb, but because her body wanted more each time and she blushed. All her thoughts vanished when he bit her. Just like the last time she felt a sharp pain but afterward, a wave of arousal filled her body. She bit her lip unable to silence a moan. This caused Caleb to deepen his bite.

When they separated, Meryl lay half asleep and weakened by the excessive loss of blood. Her cheeks still had a strong red hue. Caleb gently released Meryl’s arms so she could be more comfortable. He looked carefully at her, she looked like an angel with that expression and he tried to divert the thoughts that would eventually drive him crazy because he wanted more of what she gave him. He kissed her again before getting up, and while excited he felt brand new. Meryl’s blood was so wonderful that he already felt the effects on his body. His cells began to remove the poison with incredible speed. He was also tormented by his own feelings and how that insignificant human made him feel. He liked her. He admitted and was aware of the power she had over him. One of the weaker living beings on the planet was now able to control him at a whim.

He put a hand on Meryl’s face, which was still warm because of what happened. He couldn’t suppress a smile.

“If you think you can escape me. You are very wrong,” Someone whispered so low that nobody else in the house could have heard.

In an attempt to avert the result that he had caused during his feast. Caleb went straight to his room to take a shower. His body was almost grateful for the water that was as cold as a frozen river, but his efforts were in vain. The image of Meryl remained on his mind as if it had been burned in his memory. He cursed her with a smile and asked himself. What did she have that she was able to achieve something that nobody had managed? Just thinking about her reaction to him was enough to make him want to return to the room next door. Meryl’s eyes did not lie. She had desired him as much as he desired her. Unfortunately, he couldn’t do anything because she kept rejecting him mentally. It was turning into torture, that delicious blood, and delicate body. Caleb had decided that he only wanted to drink from her, no other blood would do.

Morpheus was cruel, because while she slept, Caleb was watching her dreams. What had happened was being repeated again and again in her dreams.

In the morning, Meryl got up with a headache as if she had a hangover. The images that were in her mind were upsetting and she couldn’t help thinking about how to act in front of Caleb. She felt extremely embarrassed, and although she couldn’t help thinking of a thousand and one things. Just remembering made Meryl blush and she rubbed her head in confusion. She looked out the window before showering. The day was cold. Meryl would have to wear something other than the thin white dress because she was beginning to feel the cold in her bones.

“The dress ...” she muttered suddenly looking down because she was still wearing the dress and unwittingly remembered the sensation of Caleb’s teeth on her skin when he departed. “What the hell am I thinking?” she uttered aloud, shaking her head and sighing.

Meryl closed the window and went to the dressing room. She had barely entered once before and was shocked to see so many clothes. It was a large dressing room. It was the dream of any woman on the face of the earth. Everything was exquisite and tasteful. At the entrance, there were clothes that she had seen before. She was sure of this because the dress she wore had been in the same place. This meant that everything was bought for her. Meryl blushed as she imagined Caleb choosing the garments. The clothes seemed too sophisticated for an ordinary girl like her. Meryl was accustomed to wearing jeans, sports shirts, and sweatshirts. What she saw there were dresses, skirts, blouses with ruffles. All very feminine. She decided to grab something at random from the new pile of neatly folded clothes. It was another dress. It was red and black with a beautiful corset that only served as decoration. She did not deny it was nice but a bit odd. It wasn’t her style, but on impulse took it with her to the bathroom out of curiosity.

She looked in the mirror and was shocked. The garment fit her like a glove. Even she couldn’t have made a better choice regarding the size. In fact, almost every time she went shopping she ended up buying a larger size, because of laziness to try it on. Nor did it look bad. On the contrary, it seemed to harmonize well with her features, and that made her happy.

Meryl went down to the main floor when she was ready. On the kitchen table was her breakfast. Meryl looked in the adjoining room and still did not see Alexander. She decided to eat breakfast, and meanwhile saw through the window the driver, Jeoff walk by. Meryl hurried out to meet him wanting to know why no one was home in the early morning hours.

“Jeoff,” Meryl timidly called him, because she was not used to talking to him.

“Yes?”

“Is Alexander here?”

“No, he left at dawn with Caleb.There was a disturbance downtown, but I’m not sure what it was.”

“But Caleb hasn’t recovered.” she said almost to herself.

“This morning he could walk by himself. It seems that someone fed him well,” he joked, with the same serious expression as ever. “Don’t worry. They’ll return at noon. Caleb has been absent too long and the city is more chaotic than usual.”

After fifteen minutes of sitting, she was still nervous. Surprisingly more nervous than she could have imagined. Meryl rubbed her hands and pulled at her skirt in an attempt to smooth it. Suddenly, she had an idea. She went looking for the driver and hoped he would take her wherever she wanted to go.

“Can I ask you something?” she asked nervously from the door frame. He nodded. “Can you take me to a place? It’s near the outskirts of the city. It would be difficult to walk there.”

“I can’t let you go alone,” Jeoff said leaving the book he was reading on the table and stood up. “Come on, Caleb told me to take you wherever you want.”

“Thank you.”

Meryl got in the back of the car and she couldn’t help looking at the empty seat beside her, where Caleb always sat. She remembered the day that he took her home. He was serious and calm in his carefree attitude. For a moment, she felt nostalgia for something she did not understand.

Occasionally a little drop of water fell on the windows. The fields were neglected, and weeds abounded. Rusted cars were everywhere all resting in their eternal cemetery.

The imposing military base where it had all started appeared before them. Meryl wanted to see if there was something to clarify the thousands of questions running through her mind, and this was the only place she could get any answer if there was one.

Jeoff got out of the car and entered the building with her because his job apart from being a chauffeur was working as a bodyguard. Of course, Caleb had made it clear before he left that Jeoff had to watch Meryl in his absence.

“Be careful.” He grabbed her when she stumbled. “This place is in ruins.”

“Yes, it’s worse than I remembered. Let’s go through where I got out. This door is stuck. It will probably be impossible to open.”

Using the same piece of roof that had served as an escape route Meryl fell to the ground. It was dark, but Jeoff turned on a powerful flashlight that he always carried in the car. The dust was everywhere and it seemed like the emergency generator still had some energy. Jeoff walked with a serious expression. His hand lay against the wall next to the capsule in which Meryl had slept the last hundred and fifty years.

“There’s someone else here besides us.”

“What?” Meryl came closer. “Really?”

“His energy is very low, but I can feel it.”

He threw a punch that blew apart much of the wall. The noise was enormous and Meryl was stunned by the strength of this man who was usually so quiet. The blow had caused a thick blanket of dust to spray over them and Meryl covered her face. When she could finally see clearly. They saw there was another room, both entered.

“It seems you were not been sleeping alone.”

Meryl approached the capsule illuminated by the light. There was a young man inside with grayish hair and soft features. Suddenly, he opened turquoise eyes and looked at her.

“But what…”

“Get back!” Jeoff shouted placing an arm before her. “He’s a vampire!”

The boy raised his hand and placed it on the glass above him. The chamber opened and he stood up while rubbing his head wearily. He looked young, barely sixteen.

“Who are you?” he muttered looking at them.

“I should be asking you that.”

“Calm down, Jeoff. We mean you no harm. Don’t be afraid,” Meryl addressed the teenager with one hand in front of her.

“I don’t remember anything.”

“Amnesia?” Meryl looked at Jeoff frowning. “He has amnesia.”

“It could be a trick.”

The boy didn’t seem to pay attention to what they said. He opened and closed his hand constantly. Trying to find out if it worked perfectly.

“Okay, let me see if what you say is true.”

“Jeoff?”

The driver approached the young man. Who looked at him without showing any emotion, and then put his hands on his head and his expression changed looking slightly uncomfortable. After a few seconds, he returned to his starting position with Meryl.

“It seems that he knows nothing. He has no memories, but he’s still a vampire,” Jeoff said.

“What the hell have you done?” Meryl frowned at Jeoff. Unable to believe what her mind was telling her in that instant.

“I can see memories, but only from vampires,” Jeoff said when he saw she was about to ask again. “It’s complicated to explain.”

“I don’t know what happened or what is my name,” said the boy getting out of the chamber, “but when you came close I felt something strange,” he said without giving it any importance.

He sat on the edge of the strange bed staring into space. Meryl could not help feeling sorry for him. His eyes were those of an abandoned animal, full of sadness and frustration, full of emptiness.

“We can’t leave him alone.”

“I know,” Jeoff sighed. “We will go into the city and see Caleb.”

They got into the car with the teenager who sat next to Jeoff in the passenger seat. He looked out the window with the same absent look, as when he woke up, as if he knew nothing, as if completely empty, also he didn’t seem to mind his situation.

Countless questions passed through Meryl’s head. What was a vampire doing in one of the cryogenics chambers? Wasn’t she the only one? Absolutely nothing made sense, but this boy had something she could feel it, the problem was she didn’t know what.

The city was as dark as always.

Since it was no longer raining there were much more people walking down the street. Some carried out the errands of their masters. Others simply wandered around the city in what appeared to be their free time. The car parked outside a building that was preserved much better than the rest of the city. It looked like an old government building. It had large statues adorning the facade majestically, this was the office of Caleb. Inside, everything was spotless, perfectly decorated, Meryl thought that this was inconsistent with the rest of the city. It almost seemed normal, and she felt nostalgic remembering fragments of a not so distant past.

“Do you have an appointment?” A well-dressed man with glasses asked them.

“Stop talking nonsense. You know perfectly well that I don’t need an appointment.’

“Always so arrogant.” The man shrugged and turned his back to Jeoff. “Who shall I say is coming with you?”

“Just tell him I’m here. He knows that she’s coming with me. No more is needed.”

“Ok, ok. Wait here a moment.”

They did not spend more than a few minutes there when the double doors that were near the three of them opened. The man exited with a strange smile on his face. Meryl could not help thinking how strange that individual seemed.

“You can go in.”

Luckily, everything that happened the night before had departed from Meryl’s mind. It used to be a disadvantage that she would forget about everything when something important happened. However, in this situation, she was grateful to have forgotten because otherwise, she would not be able to behave naturally. Caleb was sitting at a large table and the wood shone like it was freshly polished. The seats were upholstered with red cloth and the curtains were a dark tone, almost black. He took some papers and looked at them. Then raised his eyes and looked at the unknown boy first and then at Meryl. Who suddenly felt a hot flash and could not do more but look away.

“Who is he?” Caleb asked looking back at one of the sheets of paper that lay on his desk.

“It’s a curious story.” Jeoff sighed rubbing his neck. “Let’s see. Where do I start ...” He began to tell him everything that happened from the time they left the house and Meryl hoping to find some clue of the experiment. However, they had only found a teenage boy. He had curiously been awakened by the presence of the visitors. Caleb did not seem surprised. He still had a serious expression and kept looking at the reports and listening intently to every word Jeoff said.

“He doesn’t remember anything.”

Caleb suddenly intervened. “Have you confirmed this?”

“Yes, it was the first thing I did. He remembers nothing.”

Caleb sighed and moved his body back to look at the ceiling thoughtfully. He didn’t like it. If the young man had been there asleep it meant, he was an ancient vampire. The problem was to discover how the humans had captured him and why they had him hibernating like Meryl. He did not trust the boy. Yes, Caleb trusted Jeoff’s power. The boy didn’t remember anything at the moment, but Caleb’s instincts told him to stay on alert. Appearing so helpless was not a weakness to a vampire, but a great virtue that already had an effect on Meryl. Caleb didn’t like how Meryl looked at the boy and cared about his grief. It almost made Caleb sick. There he was, calculating everything and unable to do anything. Caleb knew that if he left the boy in the streets Meryl would blame him, but if he took the boy home they would be in danger.

“Take him home. I’ll think of something,” Caleb muttered in annoyance and frowned.

Caleb noticed Meryl smile at the young man. At least for now he felt he had gotten a little joy, but he would exact payment later. Before they left he called Jeoff wanting to talk to him and alert him about everything.

“I know what you are going to say and I agree with you,” Jeoff said before hearing a single word.

“At least it’s better to have your enemy close by. Warn Alexander, he spends a lot of time with Meryl. Don’t take your eyes off him and make sure he eats. If he lays a finger on Meryl, I’ll skin him.”

“I understand. Caleb, will you be coming home tonight?”

“Don’t come looking for me. I have a lot of backlogged work. I probably won’t be home until dawn tomorrow.”

Jeoff nodded and left the room thinking of Caleb’s words. He also believed that it was strange. For the moment, they should observe how the whole situation was developing.

Meryl couldn’t help looking at the boy with the same eyes that she saw her younger brother. He reminded her so much of her brother that it hurt her heart, and she could do nothing else but wish that his death would have been quick and painless. The boys lost gaze moved her because those blue eyes were almost like glass through which you could see everything, but occasionally the young man squinted as if suddenly a glimmer of the past came to him and she could see it in his eyes.

“Do you remember your name?” Meryl asked, and he shook his head. “You want to choose another one?”

“I guess. I like Axel. It’s on my mind. Maybe, it’s my name.”

“It might be,” Meryl said thoughtfully, “but if you like we can call you that.”

When they reached the house Alexander looked at them stunned by the new presence with them. Jeoff didn’t wait but went straight to talk to him.

“I understand. I will watch him closely. It’s certainly suspicious,” Alexander said.

Went they went upstairs it was decided Axel would occupy a room next to Alexander and Pein because in that way any movement that seemed strange would alert both the butler and his brother. They both would monitor him at all times.

“Here, you must be hungry.” Alexander smiled and offered him a glass tinged with a thick red liquid. “If you need more just ask me. Don’t touch Meryl,” he added suddenly turning serious to watch Axel as he looked at Meryl, who spoke with Jeoff.

“She’s already been bitten,” Axel replied in a whisper without changing expression.

“Caleb and Meryl have a very close relationship,” Alexander said with a sharp smile that warned the boy.

“I understand.”

Caleb lost concentration easily. The papers were not important reports, but if he didn’t finish with them they would accumulate on the table. He had a bad feeling about the teenage vampire and he began to regret his forced decision. If it were not for Meryl, he would have killed him regardless of the bloodstains that would be left on the beautiful Persian carpet with impeccable reddish colors. He knew that eventually, he would regret not heeding his instincts, which still vibrated with strength throughout his body, but the sacrifice was unavoidable.

He worked all night reading reports and wondered if something happened at the house. While he trusted the two men completely, there was the childish Pein, who didn’t think before acting. Caleb knew how Pein looked at Meryl, not loving, but with affection because he respected her for what she had done to help the much-deteriorated relationship between the two brothers. Thanks to her actions and words, they had become friendly, though their relationship was still a little strained. If the new guy tried something, Pein would kill him.

“Damn Meryl,” Caleb cursed leaning back in his chair and staring at the ceiling again.

He wanted to hate the human, but because of Meryl, he couldn’t. All that Caleb could think of was her scent and her smile. Everything seemed so wonderful that at times it was maddening. She had stolen his heart completely, so much so that he was not master of himself, because she so small in actuality grew larger in his mind to an extent that no one before had accomplished, and the worst thing was that all this only put her in danger. Because after all, Caleb was one of the most powerful people on the planet. Although he was trying not to attract the attention of other major vampires. His strength, his intelligence and his way of acting had placed him under the watchful eye of those who controlled the world, except for Amadeus. He limited himself to observe anything entertaining, and that could be his end because if they were to learn his only weakness lay in a human. They would use it against him.

Meryl still hadn’t decided what her heart felt. She thought most of the time of Caleb, but also of everything against them. How the hell could she fall in love with a vampire? What future could there be in that? How could he feel something for her?

“My head hurts,” Meryl whispered while lying on her bed. “Thinking so much is going to make me crazy.”

Although she thought and looked for defects in Caleb. She failed to be productive. In the end, she felt that she liked him more and more. She could still feel those soft hands on her skin and with that thought could feel her hair bristling on her neck. The sensations seemed wonderful to her. Meryl sighed in the darkness, confused because her mental battle continued giving her a horrible headache. She wondered about so many things and she realized she had no experience. Despite all the movies about love she had seen. The current situation was beyond anything imaginable.