Because I've Lost Everything

Chapter One

Draculaura

Tuesday: October 20, 2015

"Oh, my God," I whispered. "This is why you didn't care when I killed that college student. Because you do it all the time."

"I do not do this all the time. It's like, three times a week," Caleb said. "And it's rarely killing. It's normally like threatening, you know? I don't--"

"I'm not keeping quiet about this," I said as I took a step backwards.

"Yes, you are."

I took another step back. Caleb's hands were clenched into fists, his body tense. His eyes were on my feet, waiting for me to make another move. "I'm telling my dad."

"Oh, honey. He already knows," he growled. "He told you I was dangerous. I told you I was dangerous. I can't protect you from everything, and this is why," he said.

"He kept that from me? Why?" I asked. Another betrayal from my dad.

"Because he knows that I can kill him just as easily as I can kill a human. He wouldn't dare risk his own life and leave you all alone in the world." His eyes shifted to my face. "He loves you too much to leave you all to me."

"I don't blame him," I whispered.

"I won't hurt you."

"You might. You will," I said.

"I've never hurt anyone that I didn't want to hurt. I don't want to hurt you. You'll be fine," he said.

"Wh--why would you hide this from me? You said you've always loved me," I said. My voice was weak and broken. I sounded like a scolded child. I hated it.

"I hid it to protect you as much as I could. I can only do so much to guarantee your safety. Not telling you about this was the only way I knew how," he said.

"You should've told me. You're supposed to tell me this kind of thing. No secrets," I said.

His fingers uncurled. He was beginning to relax. "I didn't want to lose you. I don't want to lose you," he said softly.

"You won't lose me."

His eyes closed as he let out a long sigh. "Laura, you don't know--"

I ran. I turned around and I ran. I had to get out of the house. I had to get out of this town. I had to get away from Caleb. Now.

"Laura!" Caleb shouted from behind me. I was already out of the house. I was a vampire. I could run for quite a long time before I would be worn out. I could run pretty fast, too. Caleb would never catch me. He couldn't. I could outrun him.

The wind seemed to get stronger around me as I ran. For a second, the sky darkened. And then I realized that it was a shadow. Caleb slammed into my back, knocking me to the ground. I groaned. He was heavier than I imagined. His arm wrapped around my throat, lifting my head from the ground.

"What're you going to do to me?" I asked, my voice nothing but a whisper.

His arm tightened around my neck, cutting off my air supply. "You're not for me. Boss wants you." That wasn't Caleb's voice. For the first time since hitting the ground, I forced my eyes open. Even as darkness clawed at the edges of my vision, I realized a few things.

One, this guy was more muscular than Caleb.

Two, this guy was black. Caleb was white.

And three, "Boss" would probably be the death of me.

That was when my vision went dark and the guy stopped feeling so heavy. I had blacked out.