Bright Lights and Dark Blood (On Hold)

Chapter 20

♪Falling slowly by Lee Dewyze & Crystal Bowersox cover♪

She somehow reached the mansion set without really being aware how she got there. Ella’s mind was still blank when she finally turned the engine off and called Dolores to let her know that she arrived. “He’s about to finish a scene, I’ll send someone to give you a pass” she thanked her and ended the call. She’s too preoccupied by her thoughts that she didn’t even bother to use hypnosis on the guards.

Ella stepped out of her car figuring the air could help her. She bit her inner cheeks and sighed heavily letting the air take her hair to one side and pulled down her oversized sunglasses to cover her blank eyes. She heard clicks of cameras nearby. Ella doesn’t have the mental strength to care right now. I don’t have the physical strength too, she thought.

The conversation with Henry stings like an open wound; it was not just what he said though, what bothered her was what sprung in her mind as he wrapped his arms around her. Why it was wrong, why she couldn’t hug him back.

She needed him but she loves Nicholas.

Love.

Too strong a word, she thought. It couldn’t be possible, its too soon. Its been five hundred years and it couldn’t be possible. It repeated in her head like a mantra since she got her keys until she drove there. She’s pretty convinced that she is incapable of loving anymore, despite her optimism that she might because truly, what is a life without love. Its somehow ridiculous that after so much time of hoping to fall that when she finally does, she’s apeshit scared. It must be because she hadn’t been feeding from humans and probably the plastic residue is screwing up her brain. yep, that’s it. Gosh! I’m hungry for fresh blood, she admitted to herself.

She heard a scruff from the pavement behind her. Instinctively, Ella grabbed his collar and slammed whoever it is to the side of her car with a loud thud. Darkness enveloped her eyes and the sunglasses did not help. The shutters of cameras nearby clicked faster as the man holding a laminated pass shook in fear. “p-p-p-please don’t h-h-hurt me!” a young man in a baseball cap crossed his wrists to protect his face. Ella dropped her hold of the quivering man.

“I’m sorry” she touched her chest in apologetic defeat “I don’t know my own strength sometimes and my karate moves get out of hand. Are you okay?” she smiled. His eyes were still wide and his back still pressed to the car. She smelled it, the fear. It made her mouth water and her stomach grumble. She felt her fangs drop as Ella caught sight of the warm, pumping artery on the man’s neck.

Ella was ready to lunge and feed and not care about the photographers around. Hell, those papz could be dessert. Then it flashed, the man’s face was replaced with someone else’s. The life in his blue eyes slipping away and they were not on the street anymore but rather in Nicholas’ house, back to the night they first met when she almost killed him. She inhaled rapidly. Her fangs retracted and she was back standing on a driveway.

Lifting her sunnies just enough to reveal her black and red eyes, “Forget that this happened and go back like nothing did. Understood?” as she grabbed the lanyard holding the pass.

“Understood.” the boy said blankly.

He started to walk back with a slight limp. Now, I have to take care of these shutterbugs, she thought. She looked at the three cars scattered from where she stood.

Nicholas snarled and lunged at Eric and misses him. He crouched down and jumped again pinning the actor high up to a trunk of a tree “Aaand CUT! Good job everybody!” the director shouted over the megaphone. Megan smiled with arms crossed seeing how things are going smoothly, all in one take.