The pounding headache I got when I woke up the next morning was worth it. The best birthday ever since the war started, that's for sure. For about two hours I had been thinking of Stefan though, how it should be when we were together. His soft lips on mine, his strong arms around me as we kissed... I smiled at the thought, hearing a soft giggle from the other side of my room. I opened my eyes and sat up in the bed, looking at Marybelle. ''Had a nice dream?'', she asked innocently, giggling again. ''You should go downstairs to father, he might need some help with preparing breakfast.'', I told her, avoiding a situation where I should tell my younger sister of ten about my dreams of a man.. That's not really something for me. Not many minutes later, I walked completely ready for the day downstairs. ''Dahlia, could you help me with something?'', my father asked after placing the bottle of vodka down on the table. I swallowed hardly. ''What's the problem, father?'', I asked carefully, sitting down on a chair at the table. ''We need your help at the council, dear. More vampires appeared in New Orleans the last few days. More drained bodies are found...'' ''Father, please... Stop with this.'' ''It's my destiny, Dahlia!'', he shouted, his fist slamming on the table. My eyes widened, looking speechless at my drunk father. ''You don't realise I am protecting you from something dangerous. Something..'' ''-That isn't real, father! Vampires aren't real, they...'' Just like I cut off my father's words, he cut off mine. But not the same. My fingertips slowly brushed over the heated skin of my cheek where my father's hand hit it. I felt a sob coming up from the back of my throat and all I could think of was getting out of here. ''Dahlia, stay here!'', I could hear my father yell after me, but I already ran out of the house. As the tears flowed down my cheeks, I walked through New Orleans. I had no idea where to go to, or where I should sleep tonight... I wasn't going to return to my house after my father hit me. Should I go to the police? No, that's just stupid. He is drunk and didn't think about hid actions, perhaps he wouldn't have done it when he was... A cold wind made me shiver, the streets -still a bit dark because the sun didn't come up fully yet- seemed to be completely empty. Yet I knew someone was keeping me company, somebody I didn't want to keep me company. I walked further, wiping the tears from my cheeks. I was seventeen, girls of seventeen don't cry like little girls. ''Dahlia...'' It was a soft whisper, but it was freaking me out. I could feel the shiver going through my spine. I had to get out of here. I started to run, run as fast as I could, noticing the thing that had been following me ever since I left my rather safe house was behind me. I was starting to panic, my breathing didn't allow me to run further and my legs were about to give up as a dark figure jumped in front of me. I took a sharp turn to the left, my tears blocking my view as I ran into an alley. Sadly enough, the alley ended a few steps later. Now I knew how it felt like to be a zebra who couldn't escape from the lion. At the moment, I was in the same situation. This was it, my life would end here. The day after my birthday, the day my father hit me. ''You shouldn't be afraid...'', the figure said, his voice rather familiar. I pressed myself as close to the wall as possible, trying to hide from the killer in front of me. ''Leave me alone...'', I softly mumbled, my voice shaking and cracking. I heard him chuckling, amused by my behavior. ''That's not an option...'' I felt his strong arms wrapping around my waist, reminding me of the dream I had about Stefan. Yet this was like the opposite of that dream. He pulled me against him, I didn't even struggle. He was the hunter, I was the prey. Yet, he didn't seem to have a weapon. Instead, I felt his... fangs.. struggling a way through the flesh of my neck to my vein, my lips parting to scream. His hand covered my mouth fast, a hopeless cry getting muted by his hand. My father was right after all. Vampires do exist and at the moment, I was the victim of one. ''Damon, stop it!'' I felt how the vampire got dragged away from me, his fangs leaving my flesh and my knees giving in so I fell down on the ground. The last thing I saw was Stefan's face, looking worried at mine. ''You'll be alright...'', I heard somewhere far away. Everything went black not soon after that, falling away from consciousness. His name was Salvatore, which meant Savior. Stefan was mine.
