Take Courage, My Heart

Chapter Eight

The first thing that I registered was citrus blossom paired with another rich flowery smell. Was that jasmine? Or patchouli? Or maybe it was ylang-ylang? I wasn't sure. But it was intense and so welcoming. I found myself hoping for it to remain around me forever.

But when I opened my eyes it was gone. Or rather, it was less intense. When I opened my eyes, I was met with a white ceiling and the feel of a soft mattress underneath me. The room I was in waiting for Vincent normally smelled stale, so curiously I turned my head to the side to look at the window that almost always remained closed. But it wasn't there. The entire wall had changed and was covered by panels of glass, from the floor up to the ceiling.

I wasn't in the same room.

I sat up, with a faded ache in my bones, and looked around the room I was in. Okay, it was completely different. For one, it was brighter, even though it was cloudy outside. And it was rather modern. The bed I was on proved to be a double in a simple wooden frame that only had a headboard with a puffy patterned comforter. There were two plants by the windows, both of them covered with shiny green leaves, their pots colorful and detailed. On the wall opposite the bed stood a full-length mirror and beside it were sliding closet doors. Next to the closer doors was the door I assumed led to the main area of the place I was in. There was also another room attached to this one, the ajar door letting me know it was a bathroom. 

My gaze found myself in the mirror and I looked over the oversized tee I was wearing. It was different from the one I could remember wearing last. I couldn't remember anything after the new vampires had entered the room and even that was hazy at best. Two gunshots were echoing clearly in my mind though.

I decided I needed to move. I got out of bed and waddled over to the mirror. Along with the oversized shirt I had on, I was wearing comfortable sweatpants. My eyes immediately found my neck and I reached up to touch the tender skin. It was blaring red with clear puncture wounds –more than I could count–. The rash that surrounded it reached up to my jaw and disappeared under my shirt. My wrist was in a similar state, the bite there was just as inflamed. 

The skin around my eyes looked tired and my cheeks had lost some of their fullness. I looked gaunt. I tried smiling because I was always proud of my smile. When I used to smile it split my face and showed off my straight teeth. Now I looked like a caricature. It didn't reach my eyes and looked pained. It looked forced.

I turned away from the mirror and moved to the closet. As silently as I could I slid it open and peeked inside. Rows of suits, dark-toned coats, and neatly folded buttoned shirts lay inside. The citrus scent was stronger here.

With a little crease between my eyebrows, I decided to go to the window. I did not recognize the city I was in, but it sure was a city. The floor I was on was taller than the buildings that were visible from this angle and it provided me with a wonderful view over flat rooftops and tall apartment buildings. I had grown up in a suburban, white picket fence neighborhood. Apartment buildings, diversity, and freedom of expression were never really present there.

Outside, it had snowed, a white sheet covering the buildings around me. I pressed a palm against the glass and let its coolness seep into my palm before moving towards the door.

I had no clue where I was, who had brought me here, and whether I was safe. I had things to do instead of admiring the view.

I opened the door and found myself in the lofted part of a modern penthouse. There were two other doors next to the one I had exited –both of them closed– that I chose to ignore in favor of going down the L-shaped stairs to the main floor of the penthouse.

Everything looked so expensive and new. The light wood color of the stairs was polished and without a scratch. The wall where the stairs bent was covered in full-length windows, with ledges connecting the wood to the glass, providing what looked like comfortable sitting spots.