If I Had A Heart

Chapter 18

Fighting back the urge to follow after David had proved more difficult than Regine had anticipated.

He had left her, again, to feel each and every clashing emotion warping her mind, every single electric impulse she felt whizzing through her body, without even a glance over his shoulder. Regine tried to resist the invisible yet magnetic force that continued to pull her to where he was, to follow him wherever he went, to be glued to his side. Thankfully, the sheer embarrassment she would feel if she did chase after him was enough to restrain the impulse inside her for the time being.

So, turning on her heal she began to walk down the boardwalk, creating even more space between David and her, Regine's teeth grinding with every step as she could physically feel the distance growing. She shoved her hands in the deep pockets of David's coat in an effort to conceal her clenched knuckles.

There really was no turning back now, she thought as the soft wood of the pier gently creaked beneath her feet.

They were bonded.

Even though she didn't quite know what that meant, she knew it had to be true. She couldn't deny it even if she wanted to. The proof was tangible; she could feel it within her, the taste of David's blood still lingering deliciously on her tongue. The ecstasy she had felt when drinking from him still lingered as well, and that feeling was doing wonders for Regine's denial at the moment. She simply felt too satisfied to think about the reality of what had just happened between them and the sudden shift she felt inside herself.

She was changing. Except there was no point in thinking about what she was transforming into if the effects were this amazing.

As Regine continued to briskly make her way to the street corner beyond the pier, the world swirled around her in technicolor. Everything seemed so vibrant to her now. The neon signs of the shops lining the boardwalk appeared to her as glowing works of art, the ringing laughter of children surrounding her was like a symphony to her ears, and there was nothing she could recall in her entire life that smelled quite as good as the warm, glistening churros rotating behind the thin glass of the snack wagon directly to her right.

Every bit of it was intoxicating. But there was more.

She had never felt so sure of her surroundings, so in control of her own environment, like she could overpower anyone who got in her way, an outrageously novel feeling for such a puny little human like herself. That murderous haze she had been put under at Doll House was subdued for the moment but that didn't stop a sort of dull darkness from settling over her, a wickedness obscuring her light smile into a vague but all-knowing smirk as she paced forward. She didn't feel like herself, but for reasons unbeknownst to her, she welcomed it. Reveled in it almost. Everything was shining and new; her body was stronger, thoughts more agile, and all the while, she was shivering with pleasure.

As long as this mind-numbing, utterly fantastic feeling lasted, Regine didn't care what she was becoming. All she knew was that she needed more.

More David, more mystery, more kisses in the dark, more exhilaration.

More blood.

The lust for blood was not uncontrollable yet, but it was there, a dull ache in the back of her throat that burned every time she breathed. Was this what David felt like all the time? Did she finally see the world as he saw it, as he'd always wanted her to?

Were they finally equals?

No matter how good she felt in that moment, Regine knew she wasn't quite there yet, but there was something in the back of her mind telling her that she was getting closer. And for now, that would have to be enough.