Crimson, Clover & Honey

{ 35 }

I sat in Kallum's cellar, crouched in the corner. I had been here before, I had my blood cleansed here. But the chains were gone, the table gone. All that surrounded was concrete & blood puddle stains. The far back wall was still lined with numerous bags of blood, but not as many as I had seen before.

I never returned here after the transfer was complete, I never got to see the aftermath or even get a glimpse of my mother laying down here.

Being here was triggering. Fear was crushing me. The vampires had turned violent on each other, the full moon was here, and the people I cared for were nowhere to be seen. We were hexed, cornered, and taken.

My eyes fall on a resting Naomi, her head leaning against the wall, eyes staring at the blood bags.

"Hey," I call to her. She turns her head extremely slow. I can see bruising all up the side of her neck that spread up her face.

"Are you alright?" She eyes me protectively.

I give my lower half a once over, not feeling any pain in particular at the moment.

"Just a little stiff," I shrug, "what happened to you?"

Naomi cringes at my question, "there are a few people in particular who are more than disappointed in my choices. I knew it would catch up to me some day and that's alright."

The idea strikes me and I grimace. This was life catching up with me. I made the choice to entertain this reality and I was going to pay the price.

I could have stayed with my father, if I was smart. I could've ran from Xavier's apartment the moment the brothers let me. I could've told them to leave me alone.

But instead, I embraced them.

Xavier's bond gave me a sense of belonging I had never felt before in my life. I felt needed, protected, important to someone.

My whole life in Florida I was coming up short handed, no one looked at me or cared for me the way any of the vampire brothers did. It was how I became so easily devoted.

"Your choices, as in Theo?" I question.

"Yeah. From the moment I knew what he was, I should've stayed away." Naomi looks down at her hands, tugging intensly on the hem of her sleeves.

"You can't regret loving him," I tell her.

"I could never," she shakes her head, "but in the end what did love bring us? Death and more death. Love is supposed to blossom and bring gifts, not plagues.."

I knew all too well how she felt. It was how I felt now.

If I could have just said no, had some sense of control or responsibility for what I was really getting myself into... Maybe then I could have spared all this pooling blood at my feet.

"But I can't change it now. I can't stop loving him, I've willingly chosen my damnation for him. I have for months now."

Naomi pauses once more, letting her shoulders droop lower.

"Do you know what is going to happen, then?"

"All I can tell is Kallum has lost his goddamn mind," her answer is a whisper.

A loud creaking echoes through the cellar, someone was opening the door.

Coming down to join us was Julie and a boy I did not know. He looked awfully similar to Naomi and I questioned if they were related.

"We are going to move you," Julie tells us both. "You will cooperate, yes?"

I give a begrudging nod as I struggle to my feet. Julie approaches me as the male approaches Naomi.