The world was flashes of pain and darkness. All I could see was a dim faded light of candles. Everything was dimmer than it should have been. It was terrifyingly dim. It was painful and hot and my head started to spin.

I dimly felt the vampire release me and I heard a scream. Then there were arms around me. It was all so blurry and fuzzy. I could taste blood. Was it mine?

“Stay with me, Vesper.” Someone said.

Who? Who was I with again? Why did everything hurt? What did I even know about vampires? Didn’t they take blood? Is that why I tasted blood?

I was moving, but I wasn’t walking. I could see a lot of things around me. Darkness. Small, fuzzy lights. Damian’s blurry face. I saw that a lot.

There was a flash of pain, so hot, so intense, that I let out a pained whimper. I felt it in my wrist and then in my bloodstream. I could feel it everywhere all at once.

“Shhh.”

The world was fading faster now. Every few minutes, I would feel another flash of pain. I couldn’t scream. I couldn’t even open my mouth. I just groaned and let a few wet tears fall down my face.

I was dimly aware of passing people. “Vesper!” “Oh my holy suns!” “What happened?” “Vesper!”

Then the world went black.

~Three hours later~

The world came into focus, slightly. I was in a place with a lot of light. Candles burned around me. I felt something soft underneath me. Blankets and pillows.

Everything hurt. I was sore in places I didn’t even know I could be sore in. I could feel something wet on my cheeks. Tears? Blood? Sweat? All three?

My senses were quite back yet.

“She’s waking up.” Someone said.

I let my eyes flutter open. I groaned. The light was brighter than I expected. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to move. I couldn’t. I was paralyzed. What the actual hell?

“Shhh. You’re okay, baby.” Someone said. My mother. I could hear her.

I opens my eyes again. I saw her face smiling down at me. I tried to smile back, but couldn’t.

“Hi, Vesper.” She said.

I wanted to reply. I wanted to cry. I wanted to move, but I couldn’t.

“You’re so brave, baby. So brave.”

Am I dying? What the heck was going on?

The door opened and my father and sisters walked in. Instantly, Charity and Prudence ran over to me. “Vesper!” They screamed.

“We heard you got attacked by a vampire.” Charity said.

So that’s what happened. Why was a paralyzed then? Why wasn’t I just bleeding?

“Charity! I hadn’t told her that!” My mother scolded her.

I wanted to laugh, but again, I couldn’t.

My mother turned back to me. “You were bitten, honey. You were lucky that that Damian boy saved you. You could have died. The vampire took some of your blood and also released a poison into your system. It’s why you can’t move. You’re going to be ok though.”

Damian saved me. No wonder I kept seeing his face. I thought I was just dreaming of him. That wouldn’t be such a far off theory. He was pretty easy to dream about. I mean, have you seen his face? It’s very dreamy.

My father spoke up next. “We have to go to a meeting, but Damian is going to sit with you while you heal.” He said.

What? My father wanted me to die. That stupid brat.

I wanted to protest. Charity and Prudence ran up and hugged me. “Bye, Vesper.” They said. “Get better.”

Where are they going? Why are they leaving me here with him? Where is he anyway? I didn’t see him. My family was leaving me.

The door closed and I was alone. Everything still hurt. I hated it. I wanted to cry. So that’s what I did. A few tears streamed down my face.

The door opened again and Damian was at my side in a second. “Hey. Hey. Shhh. You’re ok, sunshine. You’re gonna be ok.” He comforted me.

Eventually I stopped crying. By then, I could turn my head. I looked at him. I moved my mouth slightly. “Why?” I mumbled.

He smiled at me. “Why what?”

“S-aa-vvvee m-e.”

He shook his head. “I told your father that I would I protect you. I meant it. You’re just gonna have to get used to me being around, sunshine.” He said.

I groaned. He sat on the edge of my bed and began to stoke my hair. It felt nice. It was calming. I liked it. He was good at calming down people.

“Are you comfortable? Do you want me to sing you to sleep? What if I serenade you with original Damian Vampire songs?” He teased me.

“Sh-ut up.” I mumbled and glared at him.

“There’s the sunshine I know.” He smiled at me. I decided that I like his smile.

I looked into Damian’s onyx eyes. They were full of emotions. They were full of worry and concern and other emotions I couldn’t quite make out. It was cute.

What was I thinking? I was delusional. “Pr-etty e-yes.” I mumbled.

He smirked at me. “I know. You should get some sleep. It’ll help.”

“We-re you b-it?”

He shook his head. “Good night, sunshine.”

“N-ight.” Then I closed my eyes and let my body get some sleep.