Page 20 of Eternally Yours

But at least it didn’t take me long to realize we were still in New York. And where. I should’ve guessed sooner I was on the Upper East Side, given Nic’s lavish apartment. The bad news? My dad’s assisted living home was in Queens. Without my phone to call an Uber or any cash or credit for a cab or train, how the heck was I supposed to trek my ass all the way to Queens?

Then I remembered—wasn’t super-speed one of my new gifts? Nic hadn’t given me a 101 on vampirism, except for basics like food and things that could burn me, but I was sure I saw him move lightning fast. And I’d had my own experience with the footwork myself.

What if … vampires could turn into bats and I could fly myself to Queens?

I snorted, laughing at my dumb idea. But if Dracula could...

Focus, Loren.

Maybe vampires could do some type of weird phase-in, phase-out type of thing, like teleporting. I tried concentrating super hard. I even attempted spinning in place. Nothing. And anyone who saw me no doubt thought I was a crazy person.

Looked like I was gonna speed-walk to Queens.

I hurried along the streets as fast as I could, the buildings passing by in a blur of shadows. Hunger slammed through me as I flew past pedestrians. None were the wiser about my presence, as if the wind had simply blown through their hair.

But I noticedthem. The sounds of their hearts beating. Of their blood coursing. The smell of their skin. The heat of their breath. I was aware of their life more now than when I was a nurse dealing with death every day.

Now, I was the death dealer, and that sudden thought made my knees buckle. I stumbled onto the sidewalk and scurried back up, hiding behind an alley and pressing my back against the brick outer wall of a building. Shutting my eyes, I tried to block the magnified sights, sounds, and smells.

Information overload.

I needed to focus. To breathe deeply and stay on target. I was only a few blocks away from my father’s home.

I walked the rest of the way instead of running, staying tucked in the shadows, avoiding human interaction as much as possible.

When I reached Buena Vista apartments, the assisted living facility, the smell of decay, age, and blood smacked me in the face, stealing the breath from my lungs.

Prickles of fear crawled over my skin. What if Nic was right? What if the instant I saw my father, I lost all sense of myself and only saw him as food?

No. I’d made it this far. I needed to make it through one conversation with my dad to assure him I was ok and that I’d only be gone for a few days.

Piece of cake.

As I hurried inside to check-in at the front desk, I bumped into a gentleman at the door. He excused himself and smiled as he recognized me, his friendly greeting muffled by the roar of his blood pumping through his arteries. Not only could I hear his pulse, I saw all his veins roping around his body.

On instinct, my gaze zeroed in on his neck, watching with ravenous eyes as his jugular thumped to the beat of his heart. My gums throbbed. I’d never felt so thirsty in my entire life; my mouth felt like ash. He was a throbbing, bloody human-sized artery, and I wanted to suck the living fuck out of it.

“Loren?” he asked. “You ok?”

I blinked several times, shaking the murderous thoughts from my head. “I… ah…”

“You don’t look so well. Long hours at the hospital?”

My annoyance grew. Why was he asking me so many questions? Couldn’t he see I was literally fighting with myself, trying not to rip his neck open with my mouth? “Um… I’m sorry. I need to go.”

“Hope you get some rest, sweetheart. Say hi to your dad for me.”

Turning from him, I rushed to the elevator and pressed the call button a gazillion times. “Come on,” I kept repeating, as if that would make it descend faster.

As I waited, every sound in the room grew louder. I heard the voices of people who were seated across the way in the lobby as if they were standing right next to me. Breaths. Coughs. Shoes against tile as people walked. The receptionist’s phone ringing. The person on the other end of the call. The hushed whispers of people talking on their cells. But among all those sounds, the one sound that stood out the most was the sound of hearts beating.

I couldn’t take it. I tried covering my ears, but it didn’t work. Fucking hell. The elevator was taking too damn long. As soon as the door pinged open, I bolted inside and hit the close button, anxious to leave the concerto of humanity behind. But it wasn’t just the sound of people living, it was the smell of their blood. There was this sweetness perfuming the air, beckoning me to taste it.

I tried shaking off the feeling, but as much as I wanted to deny it, I couldn’t ignore the thirst gnawing at me from inside. Nic had been right. I couldn’t stop seeing people as food, and the thought repulsed me. I’d gone from being the person whose sole purpose was to ensure other’s well-being to being something they should fear.

I turned to look at my reflection on the metallic wall of the elevator. The person staring back at me was unrecognizable. It wasn’t my nature alone that had changed, but my physical appearance was altered as well. I never considered myself to be beautiful, although people had always told me I was pretty. But the woman in that reflection didn’t resemble my former self.

My red hair was fuller, richer, and more vibrant. My skin was flawless; not a single blemish marred my face. Lips were so full they looked like I’d received lip injections. And my eyes shone like flames danced in my pupils. Everything about me was designed to lure humans to me. A silent predator. It disgusted me.

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