Never Leave

5

She winced as the light hit her eyes. She felt faint. Her memory was cloudy as she let her eyes remain closed, not wanting to lose the darkness. For once in her life, she preferred to be trapped in the dark. The light was too much trouble to let in.

Ugh. What the hell happened?

She remembered getting into the shower. She remembered getting out. Walking into her room. And seeing-.

"Laura!" She gasped, sitting up too fast for her head to handle.

"Please don't pass out again." Carmilla's eyes whipped back to the same corner she'd heard the voice the first time. Laura was watching her skeptically.

"You-you're not," Carmilla's mind was all over the place. How could Laura be standing here? In her apartment? In her room? How could Laura be standing at all? She'd watched her body descend. She was at the funeral. She watched her die, "You're not...real."

Laura frowned, saddened at what Carmilla's become. Unsure of what she was seeing in front of her. Unsure if this truly was her reality. If Laura was reality.

"But, I am."

"You're not." Carmilla didn't know what to believe. Her heart wanted Laura there so badly. She craved her. Like a drug. Like she was an addict. But her brain wasted no time telling her that any hope towards the situation was a mistake.

"I'm here," Bravely crossing the space to where Carmilla was, Laura took in a deep breath, preparing to do something she'd craved to do from the second she'd been told she'd never see Carmilla again. Quickly, grabbing her hand before she could pull back in fear, she placed it on her heart, "See? Heartbeat and everything."

There it was. Contact. Physical touch. Laura's touch. Warmth. Soft skin. So distinctly Laura that it's impossible to describe. And the unique erratic thumping of her heart. Even without her vampire senses, she could feel it. Like it was outside instead of in. Carmilla's breath hitched in her throat. Her fingers twitched against the soft skin, verifying everything she'd hoped in her heart to be true. Laura was there. Laura is here. Laura is real.

"But how can you be?" She dared to look into those honey brown eyes, needing to understand just what the frilly hell was going on.

Laura sighed, happy that Carm had no longer thought her a dream, "You can thank your sister for that...twice I guess."

"I don't understand."

Just as quickly as the warmth had come, the cold replaced it again. Laura removed herself from Carmilla, letting her hand fall against the bed. Laura was still angry with Mattie for lying to her. For keeping her hidden and letting all this pain build up. But she couldn't not be grateful for her sacrifices.

"Well, after I decided to take a page out of your book with the self-sacrifice, I'm guessing Mattie figured out a way to get her death God to save my life. Although, it didn't happen as quickly as one would hope. I woke up in a coffin," Laura's body began to shake involuntarily at the memory, "I was 6 feet underground and running out of air when Mattie found me. Dug me out and saved my life."

"Mattie? H-how? I thought she was-"

"Dead? Nailed down, coffin deep, dizzy villain dead? Well, she was. It's-"

"How can both of you be alive?" Carmilla hurled herself out of bed and began to pace the floor.

"Complicated." Laura sighed, turning her body to face Carmilla.

"You died! Both of you! Other than Enana's friggin' resurrection or the ever-popular vampire bite the both of you should be serving the Undergod right now! This doesn't add up!"