Color Me Crimson | 𝘙𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘝𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦

2͓3͢

Onyx hair ruffled and windswept, Levi almost looks panicked. "Why did you leave the cabin? Did something happen?"

Faded ruby eyes dart to look behind me. That's more emotion than he's showed all day. Interesting.

My tongue takes longer to catch up than his does.

"No," I answer after a pause, regaining mental balance after the blatant use of inhuman abilities and shocking display of human emotion. "I went out for a walk."

He frowns, but seems to have assessed there's no emergency and dials down the first responder protocol. "With no shoes?"

I shrug. "I was fine without, and besides, I don't have any here."

It's not my fault shoes weren't included in the one and only care package from my apartment.

A blank expression resettles on his face. "Make a list of everything you need. You can't be going around like this."

Not like I didn't know that; but I thought a pair of dirty socks wasn't a big deal. Guess I was wrong.

Maybe there's more I've been wrong about. "I guess I should add nicer clothes and a makeover to the list, so I look less like this." I motion to myself in general.

Pieces of leaves and little barbs cling to my jeans, and I'm sure a stick or two has gotten caught in my hair. But he's seen me looking worse than this. "If appearances mattered so much, you should have left me to—"

"Enough," Levi cuts me off before I can finish.

We glare at each other.

"Go inside and wash off."

Crossing my arms, I turn on my heel and stomp off—delicately stomp, or else I might get poked too hard on the bottom of the foot. Here I was thinking two weeks in this place might not be as bad as it seemed, but now I hope I can leave in a few days. Obviously, I've been getting on Levi's nerves more than he's let on.

I can't tell if he follows me back or not, and I don't look behind to check. As soon as I step into the house, however, he's right behind me, closing the door.

"The forest isn't a place to be wandering around," he scolds. "Especially alone and unprepared."

I purse my lips, although he's behind me and won't notice. "Turns out I wasn't alone, was I?"

"Another good point—you didn't notice me until I was in front of you. What if that had been anyone else?"

Oh—he means someone like Lucien? I almost laugh. I'll be seeing him soon enough, for better or for worse. I peel off my muddy socks, intending to wash them off in the bathroom. "Well, it wasn't."

Levi steps in front of me, blocking the path to the hallway. "You can't trust me as much as you do. Your first response should have been to run away, or to at least scream."

"Not like either of those things would stop a vampire." Certainly didn't when I was cornered by Lucien.

"That's not my point."

I match his energy, hand on my hip. "What is it then—your point?"

His face hardens, and he takes a measured step towards me so we're toe-to-toe. Goosebumps rise along my arms.

"You know what I am," he hisses, lips curling back to expose sharp fangs. "What I'm capable of."

I pause. Something feels off about that statement.

Then I get it, he groups himself with all vampires. He doesn't acknowledge that being Levi, and being a vampire, means two different things.

"You're nothing like them," I protest in a harsh whisper, very aware of the sliver of space between us.