Dear Citlali [Completed]

Chapter 35. Dovi

When we saw Lee, she tried to escape. Contrary to me, as an immortal, she could sense the presence of the three of us, and it was not surprising at all that she was scared. She must have never met a vampire either.

She was very young, probably twenty years old, skinny, dark circles under her eyes and messy curly brown hair cut just over her shoulders.

"Lee," I tried to call her.

She stopped and hesitated. She slowly turned around but took a step back as if she were not sure if she was making a mistake or not. "Are you Dovi?" she said, with a small voice.

I smiled and nodded. "And this is Citlali and Kai."

Lee took a deep breath and then seemed to deflate. She lifted her hand towards her mouth to attenuate a sob.

I approached her slowly with my hands in front of me to signify she was not in danger, and when I was close enough, Lee threw herself in my arms. My arms stayed in the air for a second before I got over the surprise and I wrapped them around Lee.

"You're okay now," I said.

"She's dead," she managed to say while crying against my chest.

My voice broke. "I know, sweetheart. She... wrote a letter to us. That's how we found you."

She pulled back to look at me, and then at Citlali and Kai. "She told me about you. The three of you. You all came."

We smiled with sadness. "She was important to us," Citlali said.

Lee nodded. And then a wave of fresh tears spilled from her eyes. "It's all my fault."

Lali pushed a curl of hair out of Lee's face and rested her hand on her shoulder. "Whatever happened," she said, "I can tell you, it was not your fault, honey. Ameyal was strong, and old, and she made her own choices."

As Kai had not said a word, I took a glance at her to check if she was alright. Her eyes were locked on Lee. "I... I'm sorry. For what happened to you. I mean... I can't imagine," she said.

She took away her glasses to wipe out her eyes, and she continued. "I'm an immortal too," she said, as an offering.

Lee smiled for the first time and said: "I know."

I looked around and saw a duffle bag on the ground near the wall. "You've been staying there since..."

Before I finished, Lee nodded. "Yes, I... didn't know what to do. I was scared. I took my stuff, and I left the house."

"Come back with us, then. You're cold and exhausted. You need a tea and something to eat," Lali said.

At the evocation of tea, a flash of sadness crossed Lee's face, but she agreed.

I put my arm around her shoulders. "I promise you'll be safe. We'll take care of you."

She leaned into my embrace, and the trust she had in us disarmed me. I didn't know what Ameyal had told her, but there was no trace of fear nor doubt in her. And my heart swelled in my chest.