After Dark

37.

A few weeks later.
I'm alone in the house, the others are all hunting. It's still very early in the morning, the sun has just risen. I start to think about everything again.
Why did this happen?
Why did Grayson do that?

That doesn't matter now.
There's no point in worrying about it. Now the sunlight is coming through the window. I look at my skin, which starts to shine like diamonds.

I don't remember when I hunted the last time. The burning is bothering me, but I try to ignore it. It's the only physical pain I can still feel. Apart from the pain you get from Jane's gift.

After a while I hear footsteps. The others are here.
"Was it fun?", I ask.
"Yeah, you should've come with us" Ren says, hugging me. I just shake my head. I suppose I look sick, that's why she's worried.

Somehow I feel that way too. I think briefly of Edward's gift and now read the thoughts of the others.
Great!!!
Alice wants to go shopping with us tomorrow.

Suddenly somebody grabs my wrist,
"It's time you go hunting again, not that you become a zombie", says Tom, pulling me after him.
Why does everyone treat me like a little kid?

After we leave the house, I run immediately. Controlled by my thirst for blood, I rush to the first best animal I find, a deer. But that's not enough. Also a cougar and two wild boars are my next victims.

Now I can think clearly again and push the cadaver away from me.
"I thought it would be more", Tom says, who has just watched the whole thing.
"Do that first", I say, wiping the blood from my face. He just laughs and shakes his head,
"Rather not".

It's dark again.
Were we really outside the whole day?
We walk back and talk, we also laugh a lot. Again I have the feeling of the last time. Grayson seems to be almost forgotten.
It's as if I've never met him.

We stop in front of the house. Suddenly I feel his lips on mine. I reply, he doesn't seem to have expected it. He then looks at me with a slight smile. We look at each other for a while and then we go in.

Unfortunately Ren and Alice are standing right in front of us, Ren's grinning.
If I could still blush, it would certainly already be the case.

Without saying anything, I go to my room. I sit on my bed and wait again until sunrise.