Te Iubsec...Forever.

13 Things Have Changed

So,  a couple of nights later, we are taking our nightly ride, she loved the city lights at night, and after we rode, I could just see that child-like innocence in her that I adored.  So many of the simple things made her happy.  That was the ride too, the ride where everything changed, and well, you know how that ended, only it gets stranger still, off the rails strange. There's nothing quite like cruising down the city streets with your girl behind you squeezing you tightly; then, in a flash, you wake up hooked up to beeping monitors and a creepy lysol-smelling environment.  That goodness she was there.

Ches looked at me with tears in her eyes. I knew then what had happened, she didn't have to explain, but she did, and it pained her to do so.

"Nick, I don't know if I have ever felt love until seeing you. I know it is still very strange to you, but I will teach you everything and pray every day and night that you will find love in me the way I did in you."

She moved close so I could feel the fabric of her light, knit sweater, my hands being only slightly mobile.

"It was me, Nick; I had to bite you, had to turn you. You were gone from me, and I couldn't stand it. If you choose to hate me, I will still understand and show you and tell you everything I know that will help you."

"When did you manage to pull that off?" I questioned, still gathering the tactile sensation of my suppressive contraption.

"After we crashed. I saw you, Nick; I saw you hit the wall, and I knew before I got to you that you were gone. Your body went limp; it was your neck and how you hit the wall, Nick. It was broken. I was able to somersault off the bike and land nearly on my feet, but I fell too. I was not hurt. I was the first one to you. I removed your helmet and looked at your eyes. You were gone. I couldn't stand that. I took you, Nick, said my prayer and bit you, and held you long enough for my poison to enter your body. I didn't even hesitate, not a second. I held your hand and said my prayers again. The onlookers thought I was waiting for you to pass, but it was just the opposite. I had my thumb on your wrist and was waiting. Waiting and praying, Nick, hoping I got to you in time. I did, and when your pulse returned, maybe it was from relief, but I blacked out myself."

I looked around the room, scanning with my eyes only. Sure enough, I had a contraption on my neck, head, and shoulders that prevented practically all moment. I had one hell of a headache too. It was dark outside; I could see the black night sky and the stationary lights of other nearby buildings through the window behind Ches.

"How long have I been out?" I asked.

She smiled again. And there were those teeth. I couldn't help but smile myself. It was just too rich—a cute vampire. Now, apparently, I was one, too, minus the attractive part.

"Quite some time. They all thought you could be in a coma for days. I knew better," she confided.

"But I kept it to myself. All told Nick, you were unconscious for a little over twenty-four hours. They will want to do more tests to check for brain damage, but there will be none. I got you in time, my dear man."

Ches said, kissed the back of my hand, leaned over me, and held it against her chest.

"I want to be closer to you," she moaned, finally climbing onto the bed with me and laying her head in my lap.

I stroked her soft black hair and stared out the window; it was all I could do in the restrictive contraption I was placed in. That's just how we were when one of the night nurses came in and found us. She scolded her, but Ches responded in kind and in Romanian. It sounded vile enough for the nurse to retreat only to return with reinforcements. The gathered nurses insisted that she move and alerted the doctors that I was awake. Franceska reluctantly complied.