Femme Fatale

The Devil With Red Lipstick

Carmen's shiny new daylight bracelet she had picked up from a witch in downtown Chicago dangled on her wrist as she walked down the street, her ocean blue orbs hidden by a pair of black sunglasses and her full lips were painted with a dark red lipstick. The daylight bracelet was enchanted with a spell that enabled her to walk in the sunlight. Being turned into a vampire had changed her dramatically. The once sweet, innocent Carmen was now buried. She wasn't gone completely though. She was buried under a new cold, hard exterior. One thing she learned about being a vampire very quickly was that all her feelings were amplified. That was one thing she didn't want. The only thing Carmen let herself feel was hate. Hate towards Tate for what he did to her. Although she quickly grew to love what she had become, what he did still wasn't right. Plus, she was 20 for eternity now. She had forever to do whatever she wanted, to feel however she wanted. Nothing is what she wanted to feel. She was a sensitive person when she wanted to be strong. She wanted to keep a guard up at all times. She refused to let herself love, to let herself trust. After all, everyone betrayed you in the end, right? She learned that very early on in her childhood. So many promises were broken, so many lies were told. It was better to be heartless than to feel and let herself get hurt.

Becoming a vampire definitely appeared to work in Carmen's favor. Except for there being one little downside. The constant hunger for blood gnawed away at her. She craved it every minute of every day, it was like she was starving, like she'd die if she didn't get any blood right that minute. If Tate hadn't attacked her and abandoned her like she was nothing, she wouldn't have that problem. Maybe if he had stayed to help her, to show her the ropes on how to cope with and survive being a vampire, she wouldn't have this problem. Apart from that dilemma, Carmen loved being what she had become. She had strength far more superior than any average human. She could quickly heal from her injuries. She could compel a human to do whatever she wished. Well, she was still having trouble with the compelling part. She still hadn't got the hang of it yet. In the case that it failed and left the human in a state of confusion, Carmen ruthlessly killed them and left their body behind. Carmen was one to leave a trail of bodies, and she knew that she should have been more careful when it came to covering her tracks. The best part of all? She was immortal. She was eternally stuck at 20, never to age another day. Time had forgotten her.

Carmen continued walking down the sunny streets of Chicago, her long brunette hair flowing in the wind. She caught the eye of many people, mostly men. Some even had their wives standing next to them, but they were oblivious to the fact that their lover was looking at another woman in a way that he should only look at them in. A man stepped in front of Carmen, stopping her in her tracks. A very familiar man at that. "Carmen?" The male asked curiously. Carmen's lips parted, breaking into a smile, a small laugh leaving her lips. She removed the sunglasses from her face, setting them on top of her head, revealing those beautiful eyes of hers that you could get lost in. "Luke. Oh my God, Luke! I've missed you." Happiness washed over Carmen. This moment had to be a dream. "Although I wasn't expecting to see you here, I always do keep my promises. I suppose we were destined to meet again." He said with a grin, wrapping his arms around her waist. "How are you? You look... amazing. Fantastic, actually." He examined her feminine features closely, admiring how beautiful she was. She had gotten even more beautiful since the last time they had seen one another.

"I'm wonderful. How about we go to a café and catch up? Coffee is on me." She offered. Coffee? Could she even eat actual food considering what she was, let alone drink coffee? What would happen if she tried? Would she be fine? Would she throw it up? Would it taste absolutely disgusting? Would it have no taste at all? Luke nodded. "Give me a hug, sweetheart." He pulled her frame close and hugged her tightly. Carmen wrapped her slender arms around his neck and nuzzled her face into his shoulder. She could faint hear his heart beating from inside his chest. 'No, Carmen. He is your friend. Friends do not eat friends.' She thought to herself. Her mind said one thing, but her body was saying another. Her body said, 'Eat him. Drink him dry. You won't miss him one bit. You don't need a reminder from your past.' The last part was true, whether she wanted to admit or not. He was a reminder from her past, the most painful parts of it. She didn't want that. She didn't want to feel pain.

An hour had passed and Carmen and Luke had been chatting away. They had been speaking about the events that had transpired over the past few years since Luke had left France. Of course Carmen was very hush hush about the fact she wasn't exactly human anymore and drank human blood in order to survive on a regular basis. Carmen knew one thing for sure – he was never going to be invited over to her apartment. What would he think of the blood bags in her refrigerator that she had stolen from the hospital? Or the lack of food? What would he think of her if he knew what she was? Would he be afraid? Intrigued? She didn't know. Luke was hard to read when it came to things like that. Before they knew it, the café had quickly cleared out and the barista was nowhere to be seen. Luke gave Carmen a half smirk. "Come with me." He stood up and took Carmen's hand, leading her to the restroom. The café had a single restroom and was just big enough to fit one person. However, they would make it work. They locked themselves in the restroom and began to kiss passionately, arms wrapped around each other. It seemed as if Luke intended on picking up where they left off.

The feeling was not mutual. Carmen stopped kissing him and lightly pushed him off of her. "You know, this is all happening so fast. We only just started speaking again. I think we should take things slow and see where we go." She suggested. She wasn't going to just dump him completely. She was going to slowly distance herself from him, until they wouldn't see each other at all. Luke nodded in agreement. "You're right, I'm sorry. I guess I got too far ahead of myself. I was just so happy to see you again after so long. How about we go on a date tonight? Give me an address and a date, and I'll be there." Carmen swallowed. Him and her? Going on a date? Him going to her apartment? She wanted to say no, but she couldn't. She would feel terrible about rejecting him. This was precisely why she didn't want to feel anything.

"Sure." They stepped out of the restroom, and stood over by the table where they had been sitting. She handed him a slip of paper with her address on it, and tossed him a smile. "See you soon." She put her sunglasses back on her face and turned around to leave, her back facing him. She stepped out of the café, a deep sigh leaving her lips. This date was not going to go over well.