Infinite Miles

Chapter 25 - Found

"So Sydney, why don't you tell me your story."

"My-my story?" Sydney asks, feeling slightly uncomfortable under the counsellor's intense and yet gentle gaze. There's nothing between them but empty space. Perhaps if there were a desk separating them, it would be easier for Sydney to sit without squirming. But the desk remains behind the man instead.

Sydney resorts to sitting on her hands to stop herself from fidgeting. The counsellor notices. He notices everything. And it makes Sydney feel like she's under a microscope. Like she's part of an experiment. Which only makes her feel even more uncomfortable.

"I've spoken to Axel and Miles. I've heard their stories. Now I want to hear yours."

"Umm Brian" Sydney says, reading the name off his name tag "As much as I appreciate everything that you and Fraser are doing here, I really don't think this is for me." She begins to stand, thinking he got the memo, when Brian quickly grabs her wrist. He lets go just as fast when Sydney glares at him.

"Sorry" he says as he leans back into his chair "I just really think you should give this a try. But please, don't feel forced. It's perfectly fine if you want to walk out of here right now. Fraser and I can't force you to do this. But I truly think you'll benefit from it." Brian gestures his hand back towards Sydney's chair and reluctantly she takes a seat.

If the boys can do this, so can I.

"Sydney, you've gone through so much. And yes, I've already heard about what you, Miles and Axel have gone through, but I know there's more to you than that. We all have our troubles, but trust me, talking about it helps."

"Talking about it will only make me remember and all my efforts of trying to forget will be for nothing."

"Come on, we both know we'll never really forget."

"Yeah. That's what I'm afraid of."

•••••••

Sydney was 16 years old and under the illusion that she had her whole life ahead of her. A life she could finally call her own. Because when you have to do most of the grocery shopping for your family and get a job to help pay the bills, it doesn't really feel like you're living for yourself.

Her childhood was cut short. Not because she had to take on the responsibilities of an adult, but because she died at the age of 17. A reoccurring sickness that had finally gotten the better of her.

Sydney's nurse was the first to hear the flatline. And the only one before she quickly turned off the machine. The nurse felt bad for the young girl in the hospital bed, the girl who had yet to truly live. She had grown an attachment to Sydney that she knew she shouldn't have. And against her better judgment, decided to bite her.

When Sydney woke, all she saw was white. And then her eyes focused on the bright lights above her hospital bed. She promptly sat up, utterly confused. She could have sworn she died. She could have bet her life on it.

"Angela?" Sydney's voice was raspy and broken, her throat painfully dry.

"Here, drink this." The nurse handed her a glass of red liquid which she quickly chugged down. And when she realised it was blood, threw it back up. Angela was quick to grab the trash can and Sydney was incredibly thirsty all over again.

"Here's another. Try not to throw up this time."

Sydney forced herself to drink slower, she tried to imagine cranberry juice instead of blood. But the taste was too vivid, too distinct and real.

"I know you have questions, and I'll try to answer them as best as I can. But even if this all sounds absurd, I'm going to need you to trust me, okay?"

Sydney nodded her head, which began to spin with dizziness. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to clear her head, and didn't open her eyes until the next morning.

Angela tried her best in teaching Sydney everything she knew. Which wasn't very much considering the nurse was a rogue. Angela had ran away from her mansion 2 weeks in and didn't learn much. But she managed to accumulate a lot of knowledge over the years, enough to keep Sydney safe. And the safest place Angela knew was the bar.

So the second Angela thought Sydney was ready, she discharged her. Sydney's grandma and sister couldn't believe it, they had prepared themselves for the worst. They were so certain that there days with Sydney were dwindling down. Her sister said it was a miracle. Her grandma said it was a blessing. Sydney wondered if her grandma would have said the same thing had she known Sydney was a vampire.

Sydney thought for a while that Angela had been overreacting. Surely she could manage being a vampire whilst at home. But one day her sister, Jasmine, had accidentally cut herself chopping vegetables and Sydney had to run outside the house at the sight of her blood. It was the first time her canines had extracted. The first time she ever felt the urge to bite. She was so terrified that she didn't come home that night, or the night after. And that was when Sydney decided that she had to leave.

It took her a while, but she finally executed her brilliant plan. A fake scholarship to a fashion school she had talked about ever since she was little. Her grandma refused to let her go at first, too scared that the sickness would come back.

"I saw you in that bed, Sydney. Every day that passed you looked less like yourself. So forgive me for caring about you too much, but I can't let you go."

"Grandma please" Sydney practically begged. She was scared of herself. Of what she could do. "I've spent the last couple months in a hospital bed. I got my whole life taken away from me!" Those words were more real than Sydney's grandma could ever know.

"I just want to be a normal teen again." And that wish, that want, that desire, was more beyond reach than Sydney could have ever imagined. Because nothing in her life would ever be normal again.

Finally, with her grandma's permission, Sydney set off. It was a heartbreaking goodbye but she promised she would be back soon.

It took her a couple of days, but Sydney found the bar, and she knew immediately that she had found her people. And on that fateful day, she found Julian too.

•••••••
A/N

And there we have it folks, Sydney's backstory.