Of Fangs & Fins ✔

44. Reality for the Wicked

SR: Pilar Victoria - Wilted Flower

Forty Four.

Marina.

Eryn walked around her room, slow and methodical. The almost imperceptible reddish hue to her tattoos moved on their own against the dim yellow light of the floor lamp.

The lamp rested in the corner of the room, and all the objects surrounding it casted long, menacing shadows on the wall.

I eased onto the bed, observing as Eryn put on a fresh set of clothes. She was quiet, more subdued than usual. Whatever happened with Arlo must've bothered her.

Eryn wasn't the type to let things silence her into submission. She walked across the room and grabbed the clothes she wore before she showered. She dumped them in the hamper, lost in thought, and accidentally knocked over the hamper. Something that her vampiric reflexes would normally pick on.

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" I asked, watching as Eryn tensed slightly.

Stormy eyes met mine as bent and righted the hamper.

"Sagan and I had to kill Arlo," she said, her typical English rasp stumbling over Arlo's name, "He turned into a rabid vampire, there was no getting him back from that."

"Oh, Eryn," I got up from the bed and extended my hand out toward her. My fingers brushed against her hand and she let me take it.

I squeezed it lightly.

"I'm sure it was better than him suffering," I answered, not knowing exactly what to say to make her feel better. What could I say after someone having to kill a friend?

Eryn looked at our hands and pulled away.

"He was tweaked out on all sorts of blood. He killed people, Marina. He just walked onto a campus and murdered them all. It wasn't him."

I bit my lip in thought. I never really liked Arlo, if it wasn't for him Ally wouldn't be a vampire. As much as I didn't like him, I didn't want him dead.

"I'm sorry," I said, not knowing what to say, "he was like a brother to you, wasn't he?"

Eryn frowned. "No. He was a nuisance, but that's all he was. Arlo was never a threat, just a moody person. He didn't deserve the fate he received tonight." She laid down and let out a huff of breath, "and I was the one that did it."

"You had no choice, you were preventing him from hurting anyone else further," I tried, hoping that my words could make her feel even the least a bit better. I placed my hand on her arm reassuringly.

Eryn instantly flinched, drawing back a bit and settling into the bed.

"Ah, shit. Sorry, I didn't mean to do that. I'm just really on edge." Her gaze flew to mine, Eryn's eyes wide and full of emotion. She slid her hand over and squeezed mine softly. "I think seeing Arlo like that today... it scared me. I don't want to turn into that. Could you pass me the B-cells?"

I got up, heading over to the table. Eryn's wallet and car keys were thrown haphazardly on the table. Beside her things was the pill bottle.

"Can I be honest with you, Eryn?" I turned around and held out the bottle for her. "Whenever you take these, I think you're more inclined to lose control. Look how you've been behaving lately."

Eryn lifted a brow and glanced down at the pill bottle as I handed it to her slowly. "Why would Dr. Brixton give me something that would make my bloodlust worse?"