Head Above Water

13. Back to Reality

I opened my eyes to see nothing but blackness. I blinked a few times to make sure my eyes were, in fact, open. They were, but I could see nothing in the pitch-black room. I smelled Malcolm’s cologne and could feel his warmth along my entire body. I realized I was lying alongside him, my head resting on his shoulder. One of his arms was wrapped around me, holding me securely even in his sleep. His other hand covered my own, which rested on his chest.

I blinked a couple more times, taking in the scene. I must’ve fallen asleep in his lap and he ended up staying with me. My bladder gave an urgent squeeze and I cursed internally. I wanted nothing more than to stay in bed and enjoy the position I was in, but of course, my body had other ideas.

It took me several minutes to extract myself from Malcolm’s grasp, leaving me feeling cold. By the time I got free I realized I needn’t have bothered about being gentle. Not once did he shift or move. He was apparently a deep sleeper.

I shuffled carefully and slowly to the bathroom, keeping my hands in front of me to avoid walking into anything. Finally I felt the dresser and slid my way along its face to the end where I knew the bathroom door was. After closing the door quietly, I felt around for the light and flicked it on, squinting at the sudden brightness.

I took care of business and turned the light off again then shuffled to the bedroom door. As soon as I opened it I saw there were a few dim lights on downstairs and I sighed out in relief. Trying to navigate the staircase in the dark would’ve been interesting to say the least. It’s amazing how much one relies on their sense of sight for balance.

I closed the door silently behind me and made my way downstairs in the hopes of finding a clock somewhere. Mal had obviously blacked out the windows before bed and I had no idea what time it was. There were none to be found in the living room, but I finally spotted one over the stove in the kitchen, which read two o’clock. There was no AM/PM indicator, but I knew it was PM. We’d gone to bed really late after talking for so long and there was no way I’d slept until the next night. At least I hoped not. My mother would kill me. Jill would’ve woken me up if that had happened though since she was supposed to pick me up at three.

I decided to eat something before she came and then I’d sneak back into the bedroom to grab my things. When I opened the fridge however, I was faced with very few options…go figure. A small carton of eggs, a bottle of orange juice and a couple sticks of butter were the only things in the fridge. On the counter was a loaf of bread and a bunch of bananas. In other words, the only food he had in the place was what he’d made me the previous night. I guess it made sense—he normally didn’t eat at all.

Not wanting to make noise by cooking and searching through his cupboards, I grabbed a banana and sat at the island, peeling it slowly, my mind lost in thought. I had learned so much over the last couple hours and yet I still felt like I knew nothing. How old was Mal? Why or how had he turned? How long did it take for someone to turn? Did he have any special powers?

I grinned and shook my head silently at myself as my thoughts turned increasingly fantastical. Who could blame me though? This situation was so far out of reality. I knew something was up with Rick and Malcolm, but I never would’ve guessed the truth if I hadn’t felt the results first-hand. Vampires!

My mind switched to the more personal aspects of the situation as I thought of the kiss Mal and I had shared. Just the memory of it had my heart racing again. But what did it all mean? I finally learned the truth about him, but it wasn’t technically by his choice. Would he ever have told me himself? Plus, he kissed me, but I could tell he was holding back still—emotionally and physically. Did he still not trust me or did he not care as much as I did and he was regretting the kiss?