My Love for Her

6: Losing Her

"Kimmy, there is absolutely no way that that's happening."

"Well, it's her, me or Nicholas! Look, when a vampire bites but doesn't kill a human, they have this kind of... claim over them, I guess you'd call it. It's called an entitlement. If Nicholas gets to you and gets an entitlement of you, he'll be able to do whatever he wants to you and none of us will be able to stop it. And, no offence sweetie, but you won't be able to fight against him. If you let Olivia bite you, now, she'll have entitlement of you, and Nicholas won't be able to touch you. You pretty much have until the sun sets to decide, because Nicholas will be on his way over here as soon as it gets dark." Kim touched my shoulders. "You have to do this. Olivia is much safer than Nicholas is."

"Nobody is biting me, Kim! I'll kill him before I let him!"

"Oh, no you won't! I love him, there's no way I'm letting you kill him!"

"You love him? Kim, you've only known him for a few weeks. How can you love him?"

"You don't understand, Alice. There's... When somebody changes you, tenderly, not violently like Charles did to Olivia.... There's a bond there, one that can't just be broken. He feels it, too. He just doesn't know it, because he's so determined on creating that bond with you. He made me what I am. How could I not love him?"

"He's a murderer."

"And, eventually, I will be, too."

"Eventually?"

"Yeah, the older a vampire you are the more blood you need to prevent insanity- why are we discussing the ins and outs of being a vampire instead of saving your life." Kim looked disgusted with me.

"Shut up, I only found out vampires exist today, I'm allowed to ask questions."

Olivia, who had been completely silent during all of this, finally spoke up. "We can't keep him away from you, Alice. We're both so young, we're not strong enough to fight him. Maybe... Maybe this is the only way to keep you safe; one of us biting you."

"No, Olivia! I can't believe you'd even suggest it! This is my body. Mine. Nobody is going to tell me what to do with it, especially not people who aren't even human!"

Kim and Olivia stared at me, shocked.

"Kim, take me somewhere away from the sun."

"Olivia, I'm so-"

"No, Alice. I thought we could still be together, but if you're going to attack me over trying to be safe... If you can't let go of the vampire thing, we can't have a relationship."

"Liv, please, no, don't go. I'm sorry, it's all just so-"

"I need to leave. Can you teleport me, Kim?"

"I can, but-"

"Let's go."

"Olivia..."

Olivia sat up out of the bed, and threw on a dress she'd left on the floor. "I'll see you later, Alice."

The two of them disappeared.

__________

Later, I was sitting at the campus fountain, with my camera in my hands. In all that had been happening lately, I was starting to fall behind in some of my classes. I had to build up a portfolio of what I thought showed my view of everyday life. I had came out here to take pictures of some of the students, but everything looked so... boring. Ordinary. Plain. After everything that had happened, normal life seemed too normal.

I snapped a couple of pictures, sitting at the fountain: a couple cuddling on the grass, a student with headphones on, sketching. Then, I snapped a picture of Kyle.