Forbidden Blood

Chapter 7: Vincent

I sit on my bed, lying awake at the thought of Clara. She was so beautiful in the moonlight... I can't believe I told her I was attracted to her. I could slap myself in the face right now. That was a bad move right there.

I try to fall asleep at least before the sun reaches the middle of the sky. I'm so tired and really exhausted from all the traveling I've done in the last few days. Not to mention, I haven't even fed on human blood. Oh shoot. I think. I forgot to feed. The pang of hunger hits me like a large force of pressure on my chest. I've been so distracted that I forgot about feeding. I'll have to see if Zarro has any human blood stored away. I hope he does, otherwise I won't have the energy to go see Clara...

Clara... the thought of her puts my body into a completely different zone. I don't feel the hunger pains in my body anymore as the image of her face floats around in my mind. My pain disappears and instead is replaced with a euphoric, lightheaded feeling. How can this love I feel for her be so strong, that I don't even feel my own body anymore? She blocks out the pain of my life and brings in a more powerful substance: love.

I sit up in bed and look around to make sure I won't arouse Carter and Jacob. Carter is sound asleep, but Jacob isn't in his bed. Probably in Rina's room I think to myself. Although Carter's snoring basically drowns out any noise we make in here, I still try to be quiet.

I walk outside and down the tunnel to the main area of our cave. Next to the main area, Zarro has a small room where he usually keeps extra blood for when we can't go out to feed. I go in and drink two canteens full of it. The blood doesn't taste all that great because it's been stored for so long, but it's better than nothing. I feel full again and return to my bedroom. Carter is still snoring... I sigh and lay back down on my bed, letting the thought of Clara rock me to sleep.

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I wake up at dusk feeling groggy and tired. I sit up and look around. Carter and Jacob are still asleep. Now would be the perfect time to go see Clara, but I don't want to cause any suspicion. I decide to wait until midnight so I can at least spend some time with my friends.

I walk into the bathroom and wash my face with the water that's in the water bucket. I take a cloth and bathe, then change into a fresh pair of clothes. I set my old clothes inside another bucket and walk back into my room. Jacob is sitting up rubbing his eyes. Carter is still snoring.

"Man, I don't think I'll be able to fall back asleep with that echoing across the walls." Jacob gestures towards Carter. "I'm going to bathe, I'll be out in a little while." He gets up and walks into the bathroom. I make my bed and leave everything nice and neat before waking up Carter.

"Carter. Wake up." He sits straight up in bed and looks around.

"What?! Huh?!" Carter looks at me and then rubs his face with his hands. "Oh, it's you."

"Bad dream?" I say as I sit down. He shakes his head.

"No, just bad sleep." He plops his head back on the pillow and closes his eyes. "Rina and Jacob kept me up all night. I could hear them in the other room talking and laughing and... yeah. I did not sleep well."

"Well I slept like a baby. I can't say much."

"You mean you didn't hear them in there?" He looks at me skeptically.

"No, I didn't actually. I woke up in the middle of the night and he wasn't in his bed, but you were sound asleep, snoring up a storm."

"Oh... sorry."

"It's okay," I laugh, "besides, I was able to get some quality time to myself..." I begin to think about Clara again. Carter notices that my thoughts have drifted.