Helena

chapter 7: He's dead...and im dead too.

Cold and damp...that was the first feeling I got when I woke up. Then pain, severe pain in my neck, but I couldnt move much, it felt as though my skin was tight and if I moved too much it would tear.

Shit..

What happened?

I sat up carefully and slowly took in my surroundings, it was a dark wood furnished room, I was on the gigantic double bed that had grey and white sheets that matched the curtains and the charcoal grey walls. This room was HUGE, it was split level, across to the left was a single step down to a bathroom with a free standing bath in the center and a frosted glass shower in one corner, I could see in the reflection of the floor length mirror next to the shower that just out of my sight on the other side of the room was a large dark wood counter with white and grey marble tops and a sink and a mirror above it.

I looked around to my right.

Here on this side was another step down into a small space that had a wardrobe and a chest of drawers and a large bay window in the center with the same grey and white curtains.

Where was I?

This place was stunning, so much so id think id been dreaming if it wasn't for the pain coursing through me from that strange feeling part of my neck. I needed to check that out and see what was wrong.

I crawled off of the bed and shakily, feeling a little sick, made my way to the bathroom to the left of me and around the wall to the sink with the mirror over it. I took in my sickly complexion and dead, dull eyes, then those eyes moved down to the space on my neck, it was carefully covered with what I could now see was a dressing with white tape holding it on.

That was why it felt tight then...

And blood was showing...a lot of blood. I could see that my night gown was also stained with it and so were my arm and leg, everything under the dressing and a few inches above, my jaw, a little on my ear too.

Oh hell...

Cautiously I took the white tape holding the dressing and peeled it away at one corner, I kept going until the whole of one side was peeled away then slowly moved the dressing away from my neck.

Then I ran to the toilet and threw up.

A lot.

And I wasn't just sick, I threw up blood too...this was not good.

Something told me I was not going to be okay...

I slumped next to the toilet when I was sure I was done, with tears pouring down my face.

I remembered...all of it.

I remembered what Caine had done to me.

Hearing the door creak open I looked up. Into the face of my attacker.

Caine looked drained, he still looked the same as he had when I'd found him last night, white eyed and dead looking, but now he had the addition of no sleep, and something else...but I couldn't tell what

"shame" he said as an answer reading my thoughts...he always had to fill in the blanks...

"what you see before you is a man so ashamed of his actions, that he has starved himself for the past week and gone without sleep watching you and tending your-your" he couldn't seemed to finish

"my gaping wound that made me sick to look at?" I filled in my voice a bit weaker than expected

"yes...that.." he mumbled frowning

"you attacked me last night...when you'd said you could never hurt me..." I said my voice fading towards the end, it was hard to talk without causing myself pain, I put my hand up to my wound pressing back down the dressing realising I'd left it open for the wound to be seen

"I...I couldn't help it...I had a moment of weakness..." he replied unsure of what he was saying

"we all have weakness, whether we choose to indulge it is a different matter" I told him

"please Helena...don't be this way...please forgive me" I said, his once life filled eyes were as dull as mine were, I didn't know what to do...I hated this, but he'd hurt me and lied, which did I hate more? Which one would I get rid of?

I stood up slowly and instantly Caine was in front of me for me to use as support, he took my hand as I held his arm and he walked me back to the bed so I could sit down, he went to pull away but I kept his hand in mine refusing to let him go.

Caine looked at me and knelt down so his face was level with mine

"what is it?" he asked his voice lifeless but gentle

"promise me, you'll never do any of it again, no lies, no pain" I said looking at him

"I promise you Helena, even if it kills me..." he said his eyes starting to fill up

"it won't kill you. You won't feel the need to. I don't think I'm going to survive this" I said pointing to my horrific wound which had been bleeding more under the dressing since I'd taken it off and put it back again, so much so that it was starting to run down my neck. I was starting to feel sick and cold with the loss of blood I was suffering and already had suffered "there's one option Caine, you know there is..." I told him

"Helena...I can't.." he said tears running down his cheeks, I brushed them away gently with my fingers

"you've known me human...I can't live that life anymore, and I don't have the choice anymore. I die now and youll never see me again, or I die now and I wake up. Its your call. You need me Caine, I know you do! even though you won't tell me why, what use am I human anyway?" I said my breathing was becoming hard, irregular

"I love you" Caine said raising his hand and biting into his own wrist

he loved me...he'd never told me that before

"I love you..." I replied, I took his wrist in my hands and put my mouth to the wound, his blood tasted like metal and salt...

Then I looked at him one last time...