Vampires Rule // Colby Brock

~| 49 |~

There is little anyone can do when touching you will make everything worse. All I know is that Eliza came to my apartment shortly after the flashes hit, and she laid me down on the floor while using her powers to attempt to heal me. I'd uttered just the word "flash" to her, so she figured out that this wasn't something that simply healed. Since, we've been lying here waiting for the feeling to subside.

The flashes are gone by now, but my mind is still racing. I do not know the correlation between thinking of a guitar and my flashes—it's just another mystery tied to my new life that's going to haunt me until the end of time.

Eliza is watching me hate myself with no clue that I genuinely do hate myself right now. This new life is nothing compared to the one I remember when I was nine. I had parents, powers that fascinated me and I'm pretty sure I had friends, too. But here I am, lying on the floor of my apartment with one of my only friends after suffering from an unknown condition. It is pathetic, almost.

I notice Eliza starting to open her mouth, so I barely turn my head toward her. She is lying on the floor with me to show her support, knowing there's little else she can do. "So," she says, "you had flashes?"

"Yeah."

"But didn't touch anyone?"

"No."

"Damn," she breathes and shakes her head. "I think we should go back to Mama about all of this, she might be able to help."

"She didn't know anything then and she won't know anything now," I reply bluntly, turning to glare at the ceiling. "Why are you here?"

"I had a bad feeling." She's lying to me, I know it, but I choose to confront her about it when I'm feeling better. Right now, I just want to go to sleep without the boy who could set me off again.

Gulping, I say, "Does Tyler know you're here or about this?"

"No, no one does. I was alone," she promises and I nod, severely relieved.

"I'm going to sleep. I think I need to give my mind a rest for a while. If you... If the coven need me, call. I'll come."

Eliza scoffs. "Like we'd do that to you when you're so obviously suffering. I can promise I won't even consider it, sorry not sorry. Do you need help getting up?"

"I'll be fine," I say through gritted teeth. In an attempt to prove my point, I begin to sit up, only to discover that I pretty much feel fine. It is a pleasant surprise, so I bring myself to my feet and look down at Eliza. She silently draws to her full height, too. "Sorry if I worried you."

"Don't even go there, Lydia. We're a coven, that means we're there for each other. That'll never change—you know that, right? You're with us for the long run."

"I know," I whisper more to myself. It's hard to convince yourself that you're wanted in a group that's been together for much longer before bringing you in. I feel out of place with the coven, nothing like the communal feeling Lilly says she has whenever we're all in the same room. There's definitely something that's missing in my life and Colby's clan appear to be the key to it, even if that makes no sense whatsoever.

Eliza leaves and as soon as the door shuts, I curse myself out. I'm frustrated in so many ways, unable to get it through my head that there could be a solution to my problem. I'm determined to feel better but I don't want to go to someone like Mama, because I know she won't be able to help me.

All I'm left with is the ability to think through everything that has happened, but that doesn't get me very far. When there are so many pieces to the puzzle missing, there's no chance I could possibly solve it. As annoying as that is.