Immortal Love Book #1. Awakening

37. "You saved me"

I went inside and the first thing I did was to take a shower. I felt different, but maybe that had something to do with the fact that I had been dead for a big part of the night. As I let the water run through my body I tried not to think about what I had seen, but I failed. The image of Dennis covered in blood and surrounded by dead bodies didn't want to leave my mind. It sent shivers down my spine, and it contradicted the image I previously had of Dennis. I thought he was different. God, how fucking naive had I been? Maybe it was on me. Maybe it was my fault for trusting a vampire, and maybe my mother and the press were right; vampires weren't to be trusted. I didn't want to believe all vampires were monsters, and I most certainly didn't want to believe Dennis was a monster, but it was getting hard not to. I tried to justify him in my head, which made me hate myself even more for making up excuses to avoid admitting he was just a blood-thirsty vampire. I knew he felt overwhelmed and hurt because he thought I was dead, but that wasn't justification enough to what he'd done. He'd killed innocent people just because he was in pain.

I brushed off the thoughts as I got into my pijamas. One would think that after being dead for a while, I wouldn't be sleepy, but that wasn't the case. I was ready to get under the covers and try to forget about the world for a while. The next day would be a tough one, and I only had a couple of hours left of sleep before I had to face it. I walked out of my bathroom and into my room with that in my mind, but everything changed once I saw him. Dennis was just standing there, next to my bed, like he was welcome.

"Stella, I just need to talk to you." he said, but I wasn't sure what to do next. I knew inside my heart he wasn't here to hurt me, but I couldn't shake the feeling I'd gotten when I saw him covered in blood, and I couldn't help feeling a little bit afraid. So, I took a step back and thought of the ways I could defend myself if he tried anything. "Alexander is outside if that makes you feel safer." he said. It was funny to think that now Dennis was the one that I was afraid of, and Alexander was the one that would protect me.

"Did it occur to you to call me or something?" I asked. Dennis half-smiled.

He looked better now, with his mouth and clothes clean and his eyes back to normal. He looked like he did before everything, and I couldn't stop the feelings he still provoked in me. I didn't let that rule me though. I was a rational woman, and I knew I couldn't be with Dennis anymore, despite the immense love I felt for him. What he had done had no justification, despite me continuously trying to find one.

"I thought you'd just hang up." he said. He was right, I probably would have.

"Well, say what you have to say." I thought there was no harm on hearing him out. He thanked me with his eyes and proceeded to talk from across the room. I noticed he was deliberately putting that much space between us so I wouldn't feel threatened.

"I'm leaving." he said, catching me by surprise. I felt my heart turn and a knot form in my throat. "I just came to say goodbye and thank you."

"Thank me for what?" I asked. Dennis looked down for a moment and then he looked back at me. He was in pain. I could feel it.

"For everything." he said. He looked like he was trying not to look vulnerable, and it just made me want to hug him. Was I crazy for feeling empathy on a cold-blooded killer? Probably. Did that make me feel less like shit about the situation? No. "You gave me everything I thought I had lost, Stella." he said, and I gave him a confused look. "The day I came here was going to be my last day on this earth. I was tired of this life that had brought me nothing but pain, and I was ready to let myself die." he made a pause. All I could do was look at him with wide eyes. "I came to see my town one last time, and that night I heard you on the side of the road being attacked I was outside because I was going to let myself burn in the sun." he confessed, and all I could do was feel sad and empathetic, despite what I had seen. "But then I found you, and suddenly I felt like life was worth living again. I felt hopeful for the first time in... practically forever." he took a step towards me and I did the same, unconsciously trying to get closer to him. "Stella, you saved my life." he said in a sad tone.