Page 18 of Pick Your Poison

“That brings me back to Grace. You see, I felt this bond with her that I couldn’t shake. It was so strong that I asked her to join me at the party because I couldn’t get enough of her presence or conversation. The night progressed as you’d imagine and when it came time to erase myself from her memory… I couldn’t do it. I didn’t want to live in a world where she wouldn’t remember me anymore, but there were rules. I couldn’t risk not complying. Now, Lilith, the rest of this is going to sound crazy, but I need you to just listen to me, all right?”

“You’ve confirmed with me that you’re a vampire that owns a sex club that fronts as an all you can eat buffet for other vampires. I think I’m okay with crazy.”

“When a human ingests our blood, a bond is created, not just with them but with their entire bloodline. It’s chemical, like a sire. Lilith, you could be Grace’s twin. I don’t know how you’re related to her, but you are… and that bond, that sire, is why we are so connected. After I influenced her mind, I swiped some of my blood along her lips, creating the bond. I just… had to know that somehow, maybe, I’d have a connection to her again.”

The room feels like it’s buzzing as confusion takes over every other emotion I was feeling thirty seconds ago. I have to get up and put a bit of space between us.

“So, you’re telling me that what I’m feeling, this intensity I feel for you… is because you were in love with a distant relative that I don’t even know? It’s not even real?”

He’s on me in an instant, using his speed to have me backed into a wall within a split second.

“Just because it’s something you don’t understand doesn’t mean it’s not real.”

“Do I even have free will in all of this?”

“Of course, you do. The connection is only apparent if we are in each other’s orbit. If you could fight it long enough to stay away from me… it would disappear completely… until and unless you came into contact with me again.”

My head is spinning. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Let me ask you this. Are you frightened of me? Do you want to leave?”

“I’m not scared, I’m just scared of how I feel.”

“Tell me how you feel.”

“I feel like I want to dive head first into you and it scares the shit out of me. I’m a loner. I live alone, I work and go home. That’s my life. It’s average and unextraordinary. That’s how I’m comfortable. This is anything but average. I should be freaked out by the fact that this is happening because you were into my aunt or something.”

“But…”

“But I’m not. I’ve lived my whole life one day at a time, waiting for something to come my way to shake me off my axis. I always thought that when it did, I’d hate it and run the other way, but now that you’re here, I want to hold on tight and see where this takes me.”

---