Vampire Hunter D: Stolen Sunlight

Chapter 21

After Leigh had been attacked she lost track of how long she sat in the floor before coming back to her senses. Once she did, the first thing she did was hurry out of her nightgown and into the shower. She felt so violated that her efforts to wash the feeling of his fangs and tongue off her skin had it raw.

After her shower she went back into the room to try and rest. Seeing the abandoned nightgown on the floor, she picked it up, only to freeze at the sight of crimson marring the white of the cloth. There was a small spot of blood drying on the right shoulder of her gown. The instant reminder had her back in the bathroom, trying to wash the evidence off what had once been her favorite nightgown. She was able to get all visible traces of blood out of the cloth, but she wasn't sure she would ever look at it the same again. It was certainly no longer her favorite. One too many tragedies had befallen her in it.

Once the gown was clean she found herself back in the shower for the second time. Her washing wasn't as aggressive as her skin was already tender to the touch, but she couldn't stop running her hand over the site where two perfect little holes marred her neck. Each time her fingers touched the wounds on her neck or the lurid bruises that had formed on her arms, she found herself scrubbing again. She finally gave up when she noticed a tinge of blood on the rag she was using and decided it was past time for her to stop.

When she dried off that time, she tossed the rumpled nightgown onto the table and fell straight into the bed, not bothering to dress. She still made sure her gun was nearby. She curled up under the blanket with it clutched close to her chest. She did try to fall asleep, but it was in vain. She jerked with every little noise, and that fact made sure she would get no rest. Her mind had not slowed, keeping her body on high alert for another intrusion. Finally, after the vision of recent events played through her mind for the dozenth time, she found herself back in the shower. It was easier to deal with her tears when she could try to delude herself into believing it was mostly water.

That became the pattern for the rest of the night and into the next day. She could see the daylight outside at one point but hadn't moved from her cocoon of covers. She realized it must have been at least midmorning when a knock sounded at the door. She jumped up with a strangled scream, her gun pointing at the door. She faltered when she heard the worried voice on the other side. It was the man she had spoken to the day before. It felt like that had been ages ago. When he knocked again she finally managed to speak up. "I'm fine but feeling under the weather. Please let me rest." She wanted to make sure she wasn't disturbed again. She finally heard him mutter his understanding and walk away. She wasn't sure how convincing she had been, but at least he hadn't pushed.

Once he was gone she stood there, lost, for a few moments before letting her pistol fall onto the table. She found herself headed for the shower once again. She knew it was fruitless, but she wasn't ready to face the rest of the world and it helped keep her from breaking down completely. She had lost count of how many times she had been in there since the previous night, but she thought it might have been the fifth.

She was drawn out of her morbid thoughts suddenly when she heard a crash in the outer room. She looked around frantically for anything she could use as a weapon, palming the soap to use as a projectile if she had to. All the tension left her body when she heard D's voice call out. "Leigh!"

She dropped the soap and almost fell over at the relief she felt. The only thing keeping her upright was the wall she was leaning on. "D! I'm in the bathroom."

She had moved to grab a towel when she called out to her companion but wasn't even able to get it wrapped all the way around herself when the door of the bathroom busted open. When she saw the look on the hunter's face, a look that hinted of fear and concern, a look she was sure she never expected to see on his face, she couldn't help but throw herself at him. His arms came up automatically to wrap around her shoulders and cradle her head to his chest while she cried.