A Girl in the Shadows

Chapter Thirteen

"Hello?" I moaned at the sound above me and raised my arm over my shut eyelids. The light was beating down on me. "Please, can you turn off the lights?"

I could feel the heat of human breath over me. The person walked off, their footsteps fading slightly, and the room grew dark seconds later. To my distress, they came right back over.

"Drake, get the hell away from that thing!"

"Would you chill out? There's no way Tristan found a real vampire."

"Still, I wouldn't get too close to a freaky-ass pale chick."

I ground my teeth inside my mouth. Whoever these confused beings were, there was no way I could let them see my fangs. Despite the terror forming inside me, I cracked my left eye open. Before me was just as I'd expected: two muscular, confused college boys. One was standing above me, the other cowering in a red desk chair across the room that was being dimly lit by the lamp next to him. The mattress under me felt uncomfortable. All dorm beds were.

Nice going. You just had to leave the minaret, didn't you? Get out of there! I tried to raise myself up onto my elbow, but the pain started shooting through my head and my abdomen all over again. I fell back onto the pillow and looked into the blue eyes of the boy close to me. He smiled.

"You okay? It looks like someone beat the shit outa you."

"I guess." I tried to nod. "I'm achy...please don't hurt me."

"What? No...we're not gonna do anything to you! Anyway, I'm Drake. That scaredy-ass over there is Liam." He pointed backwards to the coward in the chair. "We're Tristan's roommates...and are you really—"

"A vampire? No, no, of course not! It's a fad...like goth or something. You wear a cloak and fake fangs." I let out a nervous laugh. "What did Tristan tell you?"

"That he met a hot vampire chick," Liam interjected.

"Where is he? Did he have a girl with him?" I tried to prop myself up again. My whole body was in pain.

"Maybe you should lie down," Drake said.

"I can make my own decisions, thanks. Where is Tristan and the girl?"

"They're downstairs. He said they were getting you something to eat," Drake said. "So, what's your name, again?"

"Taliah."

"Okay. Do you want something to drink, Taliah? We've got water, Doctor Pepper, or Bud Light."

I cringed at the thought of downing the cheap beer all the students bought. The best kind of drink was one that got me so drunk that I'd forget another night of my miserable life. Rum was usually my top pick.

"Water would be great."

"Okay, water it is. Go get it, Liam."

Drake turned his head and I placed my own back onto the blue pillow. The next breath I took, a faint smell of body odor entered my nose. Bad smells, clothes on the floor, and posters of bikini clad women on the walls—how typical. Liam went around the corner to the sink and emerged seconds later with a red plastic cup. Terror swarmed around in his eyes as he brought it towards me with a shaky hand. I grabbed it and downed the tasteless liquid almost instantly.

"I'm assuming Tristan told you both about me," I said, then turned my attention to Liam. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

He took a step back. "I just can't believe someone would beat up a girl, that's all."