Eminence

Note 2 - Lost and Confused

The sun peered into the room, and Warren could hear the birds outside as he opened his eyes. His body felt heavy. Usually, when he drank, he'd feel like crap, but this heaviness felt different. He was sore and drained, almost like the night he had blacked out when he was in his 20s in college. He looked to his right where the woman had been lying, but she wasn't there now. He then jerked up and frantically looked around. Despite how shitty he felt with his hangover, his fear right now was much more potent. 

"Where is she?" he thought. He tried listening for the bathroom fan, but the room was silent. Slowly, he moved to the right side of the bed, and as he was about to get up, his left foot felt an arm, which made him jump a bit. 

"Fuck, that scared the shit out of me" He looked down at the arm and saw that It resembled hers, so he slowly slid off the bed and kneeled to look under. The young woman was sound asleep, but why was she under the bed? Upon realizing it, he sat back and covered his mouth with his hand. She's a vampire; she can't be in the sun. 

The gravity of the situation then hung over him, and his stomach sank into his body. Today was probably the first in his life that he had ever felt so physically ill. What felt like static began to swirl in his head. He closed his eyes and tried to remember last night. The bar, the drinks, the motel room, and giving himself to this young woman who lay before him. The pain of her teeth digging into his neck and the overwhelming sensation of being consumed. The built-up of emotions and the need to release himself from all of them. It was all too much, but he couldn't run away. 

There was an invisible collar around his neck now, and it did make him want to scream, but nothing came from those feelings, from anxiety to the cold heaviness of despair. Warren felt unable to move. He may be alive, but his life was over, as if he didn't have enough to grieve. With his head hanging over in defeat, he felt a nudge at his feet. His eyes looked up to see the woman was awake. 

"Can you please drape the comforter over the window, please? The curtains aren't enough- It's too bright for me..." She looked uncomfortable, and her voice was soft as she spoke.

"Sure..." He got up and removed the comforter, then hung it over the curtain rod, fixing it to prevent sunlight from sneaking through. 

"Thank you, Warren." She said warmly, suddenly appearing behind him and hugging him from behind. He briefly thought about how she seemed shorter than he remembered and turned around slowly. Her arms stayed in position; now, her face was in his chest, and she looked up at him. 

"You know my name?" He asked.

"I do; I went through your things after you lost consciousness. I didn't mean to drink so much. I was parched, and you were like a tall glass of water."

"I assumed you used my money to pay for that burger?" Warren asked, irritated. Despite the unusual circumstances, he was still upset about how quickly the night changed for him and felt a bit objectified, having just been compared to water.

"I'm sorry, I don't have any money myself. I've spent most of my life in a testing facility. I had to ask those I bumped into on the pier about what drunk people eat before ending up at a burger joint." She confessed. 

"The pier?" He asked

"Yes. Didn't you know where we were?"

He didn't. He only remembered showing up to the room. He was really that drunk; it's impressive that he got this far. He could've ended up dead before even meeting this woman. After a moment of waiting, she decided to answer for him. 

"I told Jack I wanted to be near the ocean, so he got us a motel near the shore. I wasn't sure if we would make it through the night, so I wanted to see it at least once before I died. It was so beautiful last night. The sound of waves crashing- How the moon reflected on the water. The sound of music and laughter that came from the pier. The colorful lights. It made me so happy, I thought that I wouldn't mind if I died right then and there...." She expressed with a gentle smile.