Bite Shift

62

The noise on the first floor was like a punch to the senses after the quiet of Sorin's bedroom. I reached the bottom of the stairs, making a beeline for the front door before anyone could stop me. I didn't want to see Will or Tamela or anyone else. The night air felt fantastic against my skin. I took a deep breath and tried not to let everything overwhelm me.

A small white paper sat under my wiper, so bright against the dark glass. My name, in block letters, cover the front. Dread filled my guts. No one knows I am here.

I unfolded the note and read:

K-

Whatever you are going through, I'm glad we are friends.

I got your back, girl!

Will

Relief washed over me. At least I got one friend out of this. If it turns out Rhys is innocent, then I have two. If Monica ever speaks to me again, that's three.

I figured I would be okay, even if it was just one. At that moment, though, I wanted to be alone and at home. I wanted to lock my doors and flip off all the lights. I looked at my watch and realized I might even have time for a movie. I hadn't watched a movie on the couch in months. It was about time I did something for myself.

I managed to make it to my little house without my phone going off, drama ruining my night or anyone trying to kill me. I was on my deck and walking through my front door before I remember that I needed to check the mail. I couldn't think of anything important that I was expecting so I decided to let it all sit in there until the next night.

I had finished off the Thermos of blood in the car so I didn't need to eat. I ran through my nighttime routine in record time and was in my bed with enough time for a movie. The tiny TV on my dresser came to life when I hit power on the remote. My Netflix account had plenty of choices that I had saved to my list for when I had time. I started to scroll through the options and landed on "The Vampire Diaries". Olivia must have added that.

"No, thank you!" I yelled out loud and kept scrolling.

I landed on "Limitless" and hit start. The honest truth was that I didn't care what I watched. All I wanted was a few hours of normality.

I propped up a few pillows and leaned back against them. The credits hit the dark screen, flying at me, and grabbing my attention. The opening scene was a serious of shots and images with a man speaking over top. Thirty seconds in, the camera panned up to a man standing on a balcony at the top of a very tall building. He held his arms out and started to lean, appearing to be about to jump. The narrator said one sentence, "I won't let them touch me."

The words hit something inside of me. It was like a part of me was cowering, curled up and in the background; too scared to function. I think it had been like that since I woke up on the carpet of Rhys' hallway. That part of me ran and locked itself away. It was trying to stay safe but, in the process, it had forgotten why it should ever come out. It was the part of me that kept telling me not to do things, not to put myself in danger of being attacked or hurt in any way. Those words slipped into the dark place that my little self was hiding in and it sat up.

I won't let them touch me.

I hit pause on the remote and all of the action stopped. I wasn't listening anyway. I thought about those words, and that little, scared part stood up and listened.

I am stronger than they realize. I am not human and they don't know that. I have powers that only Rhys knows and, if it's him, it doesn't matter because they are my powers.