Vampire Holiday - Completed

20. The Night After

When Daniel was asleep, I was still so wound up. I licked his neck, which made him turn his head slightly. No, I should not bother him. He should sleep. I wrestled in bed some more. It was actually nighttime, and my emotions ran wild. I was happy, was I?

I texted Elaine.

“Hey, I want to chat. Can I drop by?”

“Of course, but hurry, we were planning to head out,” she replied.

I didn’t make them wait and was there in a few minutes. It was good to leave Daniel’s place and return to the familiar world. Elaine and Jose had a very spatial open-plan condo. The vast kitchen merged with an even vaster living room with a view of the bay. I don’t know how it looked during the day exactly, but at nighttime, it was illuminated by the city and tower lights. I was wondering how it would feel to always stay there.

I smashed myself onto the modern burgundy leather couch.

“I found him!” I exhaled.

“Who?”

“My human!” I realized Elaine knew nothing about my adventures. I didn’t want to reveal my obsession with him to her before, but I could not hide it anymore. And if I could share with someone, it would be Elaine .

I told her how I met him and even worked at the bar to find my human.

“Bloody sweet! You worked and met someone,” Elaine explained more than once. “Why did you hide it from me? I am so happy for you.” She embraced me in a hug.

“I feel better, much better. Finally, after a miserable few hundred years, I haven’t even thought about Elon the whole week, well, until now.”

“I always said that you need to get a pet! See, how good this Daniel is for you!»

“Well, there’s one problem with that.” I was worried about what I was about to share and what she would say, but also tired of keeping secrets.

“He is human, so he could only be my pet, but I feel so much for him, more than for Elon. I want to take care of and protect him. I am as obsessed with him as I get when I am….”

“It’s natural to care for our pets and protect them." Elaine interrupted me, as she didn't want to hear what I was about to say. "Jose and I don’t have time for them now, but I had one long ago. I still miss her; poor thing died from some human plague.”

Maybe Elaine was right, and it was natural to care about our pets, but even the thought that I could lose him to some disease made me feel so uncomfortable. I wanted to get back to him and hear his heart beating again.

“I think about him all the time. He loves me, I think. I want him to love me!”

“Well, he doesn’t have a choice, doesn’t he? It might be better for you to have a pet you can control. You need some order in your life after all the damage Elon did,” Elaine told me and smiled. “Should I order any snacks?”

I declined. The only snack I wanted to have was Daniel. I stayed longer to catch up on the latest Vamp news, but not too long, as Elaine was heading out.

“We are going to Silvia. It’s totally insane that she banned you, but I will talk to her.”

“No need. I could not care less,” I replied.

I popped into my place to get some fresh clothes. The familiarity, the freezer, and my mess everywhere were striking after being in a very spotless Daniel’s place. So I packed quickly and took off.

Then I stopped by VampMart on the way back to Daniel. The specialty stores like that were well hidden by rare vampires who had possessed the magic of disguise. They hid stores like that in plain sight, so humans would not notice it. I ran in quickly and got pet lotion, tonic, and other things and toys that popped into my eyesight.

When I got to the human’s home, Daniel was still asleep.

I opened the lotion and rubbed it on the bite marks on his neck. He opened his eyes for a second, but I glamoured him to make him go back to sleep. The sickening feeling hit me as I glamoured him. But I had to. I had to prove to myself that I could control him after all, that he was just my pet. A strange feeling possessed me. I felt awful because of messing with his head. I tried to dismiss it. He was sick and needed his rest. And the guilt. Where is it even coming from? I should not feel any. What was it, guilt? That was a stupid human habit. I am a vampire, after all.

It was almost morning. I got under the blanket and wrapped myself around him. His warmth was so calming that I drifted away.