The Mirrored Souls

6.

A game of hide and seek happens as I'm in the woods with blood stains on my lips and teeth, holding the bottom of my dress as I run, Darce picks me up kissing my neck ferociously. I hum with excitement and feel his hands roam down to my waist turning me so that my body is pressed against his, "Why can't I ever be the predator?" My crimson nails that matched with my crimson red eyes glistened as I ran them down his face playfully. "Who said you aren't?" Kissing my lips devouring the last of the blood stained on them he picks me up again, planting me against a wooden oak tree.

"Oriana!" I hear my mom's voice call out to me, but knowing that's impossible I don't move wanting to see if the voice calls out again.

I waited for a few more minutes then heard ticking in the far right corner of my room.

Removing my blanket off me, I step down onto the ground. There's a faint voice of a little boy whispering the word hide repeatedly. Reaching my hand out to him he looks up from hiding his face in his knees, his eyes pinched shut and sewed with thread. Rushing to get my notepad he grabs hold of my hand and brings me close to his face as he says, "Please save me..." his touch makes my body go into an overdrive of shock and causes tremors once he lets go.

Dropping to the floor and making a loud thudding noise, Neriah rushes in, seeing my eyes roll back and my skin start to produce black veins as the bad energy from the boy transfers to me.

"Oriana!" He props my head up and finds something for me to bite down on as I seize for a few more seconds until I completely fall unconscious.

Being shaken from the sight of me convulsing he stays with me the rest of the night.

Hourly he wipes the night sweat away, fixes my blanket and checks for fevers.

Getting hungry he steps out for a few minutes, while he does Darce shows up seeing me in the condition I am and quickly listens for a heartbeat. When he hears it beating slowly but beating he sighs in relief. Moving a curl to the side of my face he smells a familiar scent around me, feeling the coldness he's lived in for so long pollute my room, he leaves having the warmth come back in.

When Darce returns to Moribund, Marv hands him a bloody cocktail while pointing to the female vampire who's been asking for him.

"She says you guys know each other inside and out," chuckling low knowing what she meant Darce downs the drink and calls her over.

"Have a room ready."

Marv nods, giving the two privacy working the other end of the bar.

"I was wondering when we'll have fun again," she feels his arm up and he doesn't flinch or even seem interested but the thought of his brother knowing me was driving him up the wall.

"Want to have fun?" She asks, starting to kiss his neck.

Picking her up and already making it to the room he reserved, he takes her inside ready to forget the old emotions that's haunted him but once they start to get to the bed he stops.

"What?" The girl heaves out from all the kissing they were doing, surprised he didn't go all the way.

"Lost my appetite," he scoffs, fixing his shirt that was now opened.

The girl tries to leave slow kisses on his neck from behind but gets up having her fall forward onto the edge of the bed.

"Marv will take care of you," while opening the door Marv is standing there ready to escort her out.

The girl adjusts her dress walking out annoyed following Marv back out to the bar.

Darce sits while holding his head and his hands then stands trashing and breaking everything in the room. Glass is hanging off the wall from the mirror he smashed and his hands bleed but then heal itself. Anger emerges more as he recalls a small memory of Odette then storms out disappearing for hours.

Meanwhile, I wake up with Neriah beside me with a glass of water. I sit up slowly taking the cup and chugging the cold liquid feeling better. "How long was I out?" I fix the blanket until he says, "Almost seven hours." Forming an o with my mouth he takes the cup and gives me a bowl of soup. "Try and eat, then we can get you fresh air by taking a walk in the garden." Smelling the contents inside the porcelain bowl I nod. While eating he goes and changes giving me time to clean up myself since I was drenched in my own sweat. Throwing on a black fitted halter top and a hemmend floral skirt with a small split on both sides, I meet Neriah towards the garden and see him actually looking carefree.

"It's actually nice since the rain made it cooler," he says, holding a lily in his hand.

Actually giving him a smile, he smiles back making his features undeniably angelic.

"Thanks for taking care of me," I walk closer to him and he shrugs. "That's what I'm here for," he pauses, taking in my appearance. Thinking there's something wrong I go to ask him but he just shakes his head getting ready to touch my waist to pull me close to him but remembers, I'm not her, I'm not the girl he truly loves. "Did the roses bloom yet?" I say redirecting the conversation going over to the rose bush. "They'll be fully grown in a few days," he looks to them then me watching as I go to touch one but prick my finger on one of their thorns, "Ouch-" a small drop of blood forms where I was pricked and Neriah takes hold of my wrist telling me to sit while he gets me a bandaid.

As he goes and finds it the hairs on my arm stood up getting a weird feeling of deja vu.