The Rose Without Thorns

Two~ Rosalie

I open my eyes and I don't know what day it is. I don't know where I am or why I feel an immense pain in my head. For the first time in 173 years, I fell asleep. I'm laying on a queen size bed with navy blue and white striped covers and judging by what I see through the massive window covering more than half of the wall in front of me, I'm in an apartment about three stories up. The walls are painted a light shade of blue and there's a brown wooden bench at the foot of the bed. How did I even get here? Did Felix bring me here last night? Or maybe it was two nights ago, I can't remember.

My skintight black dress is ripped along the side and covered in stains. I can hear someone fussing around in a room nearby, so I stand up and decide it's better if I leave before they come back to check on me. I try to run, but I can't. I try walking, but I can't. Every time I move I feel a shot of pain go through my head. I collapse on the floor, just inches from the door, making a loud thud noise. Within seconds of falling, a boy comes running into the room. The way he came in, he's like me. He didn't just run in, he RAN in. Vampires have the ability to run at crazy speeds.

"How do you feel?" he says it in a conversational tone as if this is normal.

I don't respond. Instead I study him and look for weak points in case at some point I have fight my way out. Then my eyes meet his and I realize who this boy is. "Nathaniel Avernell" I say it out loud because I'm having trouble believing it. I'm on the floor trying to back up as he inches toward me. I can't believe this. I could've been found by anyone, why did it have to be the half?

"Rosalie, are you alright" he's still coming towards me.

"Rose, I don't like being called Rosalie. How do you know my name? Where's Felix and how long was I asleep"

"Who's Felix?" There's something about his voice. It's rough, yet smooth and soft.

"What do you mean? Wasn't I with a boy when you found me?" I say it harshly, I don't have time to be nice to this kid, I need to find Felix.

"I saw you outside my apartment alone, practically laying halfway in the street. I didn't have to help you. In fact I almost left you there, you could at least pretend to be nice." I pause for a moment distracted from the harsh tone of his mellifluous voice. I can tell he's annoyed, but he looks composed.

"I'm leaving." I stand up and take a step towards the door, but my head hurts too much and I'm insanely dizzy. I feel myself falling when Nathan catches me. He wraps his arms around my waist and I can feel his muscles flex when he lifts me like I weigh nothing and places me back on what's probably his bed.

"You don't want to be near me, I get that, but right now something is obviously wrong with you. You were probably out there sleeping all night and you haven't woken up until now, in the 6 hours since I found you. Vampires don't sleep, Rosalie" he's sitting on the edge of his bed now, leaning in towards me. His scent is extremely distracting, no one has ever had this affect on me before and I start to wonder just what it is.

"I told you I didn't like being called Rosalie." I keep things simple. "H--how did you know who I was?" I say this stuttering. Part of me wants to hate him, part of me wants to know him.

"Are you serious?" he asks and then lets out a chuckle. "How could I not know who you are? You're the only vampire with the Mark of Resilience which, since you don't seem to remember, gives you purple eyes." My eyes. I did forget. I never really think about them since I can't see them. All I'm thinking about right now are his eyes. They have hints of green and flecks of gold swimming throughout these two pools of bright cobalt blue. There's so much happening in them that they almost remind me of storm clouds, busy and unpredictable.

"So who's this Felix guy you keep talking about?" Felix. He's my best friend, my only friend actually. I have plenty of other "companions", but Felix is the only real one. He likes me for myself, everyone else just wants to say they know me.

"Felix is my best friend. He found me after I was bitten, I've known him since then. I'm worried about him, he was with me last night."

"What were you guys doing? I mean it had to be some pretty crazy shit to get you knocked out for probably 10 hours." he chuckles and his whole face lights up. I only now start to realize how attractive he is. His dusty blonde hair styled upwards in a way that looks so effortless, the way he flexes revealing the veins that go up his arms, his voice that sounds like a harmony of angels through my ears, and his eyes. His eyes are my favorite part. Those unpredictable storm clouds that light up when he laughs. I've only known him for 10 minutes, yet I feel like I've known him just as long as Felix.

"Well" I laugh and hope he doesn't judge me. "You know the bar on 6th Avenue?"

"Yeah I've never been there, I only walk by it on my way into the city"

"It's a vampire-run bar. They have them all over the world as places for us to be normal. When we're there we don't have to hide or be afraid of humans discovering us. You have to give the bouncer a code to get in."

"I've heard of those places but never been. I just thought there weren't any around here. What were you doing in there that got you--" he pauses and looks me up and down "--in this state?"

"I don't remember. I know I had a drink and Felix and I went for a walk, that must be how I got here." he's staring at me now. His beautiful eyes are looking me up and down and I hear him mutter something under his breath. "What was that?"I say, and he looks me in the eye and smiles.

"Nothing" and he smiles even bigger. "I'm going to get you something else to wear, your dress has some-- ah unknown substances on it." He's smiling when he gets up and leaves me. I know I should be concerned, but I'm not. I actually feel bad for him. He's an outcast in our world, but he's nothing like what I was told. I've heard stories about him being rude, heartless, emotionless, and everything worse than that. Stories that he's uncontrollable because he's half. I should be scared right now and plotting a way to get out, but I don't want to. I want to stay with him, he's different. He seems genuinely concerned about me.

He comes back holding a military green v-neck t-shirt and it's then when I see his face that I realize my head doesn't hurt anymore. I don't tell him. I'm afraid he'll make me leave, and I can't. There's something about this boy that I can't shake. I want to know him.

"Thanks." I say, and I'm pretty sure if I could be blushing, I would. He brought one of his shirts, only a shirt. I guess it's not that big of a deal, but the idea of wearing it would make my heart skip a beat if it still worked like that.

"You can change when you start to feel better. Do you want to call your friend Felix?" Felix. Felix would be appalled with me. I'm with the half, he despises Nathan and thinks he's a freak. He wouldn't understand why I'm starting to like him and definitely wouldn't let me see him again. This is why I say no. "No thanks I'm sure he's fine, he's a big boy." Nathan looks shocked but at the same time, happy.

"Alright well I'll let you rest. Call for me when you start to feel better, I'll hear it, my walls are thin."

"Ok I will, thanks for helping me Nathan."

"Anything I can do." And he leaves me with a smile. I want to call him back here and have him rest along side of me, but I don't, I'd scare him. Instead I change into his soft shirt and close my eyes, I'd forgotten how nice it felt. I'm in Nathaniel Avernell's apartment, wearing his t-shirt, thinking about how I want him here next to me in his bed.

There's a first time for everything.