**** Alexis
When I woke up, it felt like morning, but I wasn't sure. I was still exhausted, so I just laid there, thinking. 'My days and nights seem to be running together. Every time I pass out, I could be out for hours or days. I have no way of telling for sure, other than asking Damian, and who knows if he'd tell me the truth. Although, he has been fairly honest with me. Maybe that's what he wants me to think. I wonder if he's really going to let them go. It might just all be a show. But why? ... Maybe it's so I'll trust him.' I slowly got up to shower and change my clothes. 'What am I going to say to Vincent? I have to make him leave. Maybe, if I could be alone with him for just a few minutes, I could tell him I think it's a trick and to hide Melanie somewhere he'll never find her. Charlotte would listen to me as long as it's for Melanie.' As I sat down at the table and picked at my breakfast, I tried to think of something to say that would convince Vincent that he had to go, but I kept coming up empty. After I ate, I paced around the room. The fifth time I passed the door, I heard some kind of shuffling, so I stopped to listen. Damian said something too low for me to hear, so I started pacing, again. I only made it about twenty feet from the door, before he came in.
As I turned around to face him, he eyed me over and smiled. "That green suits you."
I hadn't even paid attention to what I put on, so I glanced down. It was deep forest green, slightly off my shoulders and just below my knees. "Thanks."
"You're very welcome, Alexis."
"What was that noise out there?" I gestured toward the door.
"That would be Charlotte and Vincent."
'Vincent!' My heart started racing, and my breathing quickened. I was only a few feet away from Vincent. "Can I see them?" I asked a little breathless.
"In a few minutes." He started to pace around me, making me very nervous. "I have one more thing for you to remember." He had circled around me twice and stopped behind me. "Make sure you convince them that they need to go home. You'll only have a few minutes with them so make it count, Alexis." I felt him slowly brush my hair off my left shoulder and put his right hand on my bare skin. "Choose your words wisely, my dear." He whispered next to my ear.
'Something doesn't feel right. He's going to do something to provoke Vincent. I just know it.' I tried to keep my voice calm, but even I could hear the trembling. "I will."
Damian called out. "Bring them in." As the door open, I started to move toward the door, but he gripped my shoulder tight enough to make me groan in pain. "Wait."
"Okay." I groaned, trying to hide the pain. Charlotte came through the door first, and I blurted in happiness and relief "Charlotte." Then I saw Vincent being dragged in. "Vincent? What did you do to him?!" I jerked away from Damian and rushed over to Vincent. "Get your hands off him." I blurted as I grabbed him, and Charlotte carefully sank down beside me.
"It's okay, Lex. He'll be fine."
"He's just unconscious. I couldn't have him at full strength. He might decide to fight his way out or fight for you, and I really didn’t want to end up killing him in front of you." Damian said from a few feet behind me.
"I'm fine, Alexis. Are you?" Vincent asked in a weak voice.
"I'm fine. He's going to let you go." I glanced at Charlotte, pleading with my eyes for her to help me convince him to leave. "I need you to take Myron and Garret home for Melanie sake. Please."
"What about you?" Vincent asked, and I discreetly started to heal him.
"I'll be fine. I promise. I need you two to do this." I glanced at Charlotte and nodded, hoping she would listen and help me convince him. "Please. Go home. Stay there. I need to know you are all safe."
"I won't leave you."
"You have to. Please. I need you to do this. Please, Vincent." I was fighting back tears and hoping he could see that I was begging him to listen with my eyes.
"It's easy, Vincent. You go, and you all live. You stay, and you all die. Either way, Alexis is mine."
"She'll never be yours, Damian." Vincent growled.
Damian snarled "We'll see about that." All in the same moment, Damian jerked me up and backwards by my elbows. Charlotte was jerked to the side by her hair, and Vincent was restrained, hitting the wall near the door with a deafening thud.
As Charlotte moaned in pain, Vincent screamed "Don't touch her!"
As my back slammed against Damian's chest, I screamed "Stop it! Don't hurt them!"
"Get them out of here!" Damian ordered and pointed to the door.
As Vincent and Charlotte were drug out, Vincent screamed "I'll kill you!"
Before they were out the door, Damian laughed a sickening sound and wrapped his arm around my stomach. "She's mine, now!" With his hand around my neck, he lifted my chin with his thumb and sank his teeth in.
As I gasped, Damian tightened his grip. I tried to struggle away from Damian as I groaned through the pain "Just go home! Please!" As the door slowly closed under its own weight, I kept my eyes locked on Vincent's. "It'll be okay. Go home." I begged in defeat. When the door shut with a dramatic, resonating sound of finality, I thought 'I'll never see them, again.' As the tears slowly slid down my cheeks, Damian's arms tightened even more, and I realized he was drinking more eagerly than he had ever done. I was fading fast, and I wanted to say one more thing. "Please, let them go." I barely heard my own voice as I let myself pass out.
