Merely Human or Something More

Chapter 3

His intense purple gaze watched me like a hawk as he stood up from my desk chair, never wavering. I felt exposed. Was he looking for something in particular? I wasn't sure what he was expecting and not knowing what to say, I waited him out or at least I tried to.

The deep red of his clothing brought me back to the fact that he was still covered in blood. His dress shoes were covered in a mixture of blood and mud. The dark blue slacks had a small tear and the matching vest was missing a button or two. What stood out most though was the red stains on his once pressed white shirt.

It seemed unlikely that he went for an evening stroll to feed, especially when it seemed like the majority of his 'food' was on his clothing. Maybe he was just a messy eater and he missed. I doubt that to be true as well though, considering how he dressed; I would say that he took cleanliness seriously. As I continued to go through the many scenarios of what could have happened, he merely stared on. Every now and then I would see a flicker of amusement and I wondered if he could read my thoughts.

He smiled at me and that's when I realized that he could!

"You can read my thoughts, can't you?" The answer was quite obvious. Still, I asked the question anyways. Maybe the deafening silence was getting to me, and I needed to break the silence somehow. Impatience was one of my many flaws.

"I can," he simply replied. I waited for him to say more, but it seemed that was all he was going to say on that matter.

I huffed while crossing my arms and he chuckled, no doubt reading my anger, but you didn't have to be a mind reader to know that. Fine, more pressing matters were at stake anyways.

"Are you going to tell me why you're covered in blood and in my dorm room?" His eyes glanced elsewhere for a few seconds before centering back on mine. He was hesitating, but why? "Ryder?"

He sighed before speaking. "There was a threat that I had to take care of and it may have ended in some...scuffle."

"That still doesn't explain why you're here," I responded, averting my eyes. Confusion was still etched on my face, I was sure, but as I slowly started to think things through that's when it clicked. "The threat...was directed at me...wasn't it?" Glancing back at him, I could see the notion of him making a nod. I grimaced. I still didn't understand what happened the night of the club, when my life was threatened and now this. What made me so unlucky?

"You're not, you're different."

I stared at Ryder in shock. I wasn't exactly expecting an answer, so either I was speaking aloud or he was reading my mind. Possibly both. Regardless, the notion of being different was bothersome. Different how? It reminded me of the saying that if everyone is unique then no one is.

"Everyone is different, which means no one is," I stated.

"Perhaps," he smiled. "But it's not about being different that makes someone different. It's about what specific thing that is different from everyone else, not the idea. It's the 'why' that is important."

In a weird, twisted way, that kind of made sense. "Then what specific thing makes me different? I mean, I attracted vampires for god's sake! Vampires! A week ago I didn't know they even existed, and now I have them after me for some reason. And you're a vampire, standing in my room, covered in blood, for apparently saving my life and getting rid of a threat." I threw my hands up in frustration as I paced back and forth. All of this was very confusing. Vampires existed and I was their target. Okay, so that part was pretty straight forward, but it was the 'whys' that were starting to get me. I was really beginning to hate that word.

"Lexington, do you trust me?"

I stopped my pacing and stared at him for a few seconds, blinking slowly. The way he said my full name always seemed to cause a pause within me. The only person that ever called me that was my dad, and that only happened when I seemed to be in trouble. Usually, in those times, it would be more of a yell and a whole lot of anger underneath, but with Ryder it was different. It was calm, collected, warm, almost like we were intimate, but not in the usual terms of intimacy. More like a familiarity with each other. Did I trust Ryder? My head was telling me no but something else inside me was telling me that I could, that I do.