Revealed

Chapter Five

I felt the bed dip. I was on a bed, and someone was sitting next to me, shouldn't I have been in the car? I didn't have to open my eyes to know that it was Zander beside me. I ached all over. Like I had been to the gym, busted my butt on cardio, lifting weights that were far too heavy for me to handle. I felt heavy and stiff, and my back was sore from laying on it for so long.

I didn't move. I didn't want him to know that I was awake. I didn't want to be awake. If I was awake, then I had to do something, I had to react. Most importantly of all, I had to get myself away from him.

I couldn't make sense of what had happened last night. He was ill, incredibly ill, maybe even hallucinating, and didn't know what he was doing. He bit me, drank my blood. Which made me think that perhaps it was the other way round, that I was sick and I had no clue what was happening, that it was a fabrication of my mind. A dream.

I already knew that it wasn't. It wasn't a dream, there were no drugs involved, and I wasn't the one imagining the throbbing of a wrist. Whatever he'd done, he had done so on purpose. He had most definitely bit me, and it hurt to hell and back. Not only was my wrist still tender, but my entire body had been affected. If I didn't move now, then I wouldn't get up. I needed to get out.

I cracked open an eye lid, squinting into the light. I didn't recognise the room, but it was bright, day time. I was boiling under the sheets, heavy, coarse sheets that were thick and put pressure on my chest. Something that would have seemed so light was incredibly hefty when I was this exhausted.

I couldn't see Zander, not without moving, but I could feel his body next to mine, laying the other side of the bed. I opened my eyes fully, blinking in the harsh light, eyes scanning the room and taking in as much of it as I could whilst remaining still.

The room was bare, powder blue walls and a grey carpet. A tall wooden wardrobe and a TV on top of a matching chest of drawers. There was a table set beside the bed, an old, coil wired phone sitting on top of it. From here, I could see the door. I was closest to the door.

I didn't know if it was going to work or not, I didn't know if I was capable of holding my own weight, but I pushed myself up, clambering to my feet and bolting for the door. Zander Jolted, arm coming above my head to slam the door shut just as I had opened it.

"Charlotte, let me explain." I didn't want him to explain. I pulled on the door, tugging desperately at the handle, using my weight to move the door that he managed to keep shut with little effort on his part. His hand was on my hips, pulling me away from the door and it made my skin crawl.

"Don't touch me."

He did as I said, letting go of me, positioning himself between me and the door, walking closer to me, backing me further into the room.

"Listen to me."

"No, you stay away from me, let me the hell out of here." Sometime between the untimely death of my sister and the drinking of blood, I had finally lost it. I'd had enough of his troubles; everything was getting too much and there was a crushing weight on my chest.

"You need to calm down, you need to rest." All I could think was that I needed to get out of the room. "Come on," he took my hand. I wrenched it back.

"Get off."

"Charlotte, just hear me out," he was still moving closer, still reaching for me.

"No, get lost, you freak." I ran to the side, slipping into the bathroom, locking the door and backing up to the other side of the small room. I didn't want to be locked away, but at least the bolt kept him away from me.

He was banging on the door, and my heart matched the sounds, blow for blow, blood roaring in my ears as I felt light headed. Zander would hurt me.

Except he already had.