Page 51 of My Road Trip with a Vampire: Season One
It’s me. There’s no coming back from migraines like this. Meds won’t do shit at this point. All I can do is hope the darkness of sleep will take me soon.
“Stop that.” I feel his cold hand through the fabric of my leggings. “You can’t sleep yet. Marcel nearly drained you, and we might need to run again.”
A sob escapes my throat. I don’t really care what happens right now. Images of the young man in the coffin flash through my mind.Marcel. Now he’s goop on my sweater, and I can’t think about that because thinking hurts too much.
The hand on my thigh softens.
“Fine. Sleep. Do what you need to. I’ll keep you safe.”
He says the last part so quietly I think it might be part of my fever dream. I don’t need his permission, but I give in to the first wave of sleep willing to take me under.
Blaring sirens yank me from the thin comfort of restless sleep. Through my cracked eyelids, I can see Dennis gripping the wheel with one hand. His eyes are fixed on the road, and his jaw is set in a way that makes him look terrifying. The red and blue lights flash from somewhere behind us, illuminating the blood splatters across his jaw and neck.
He growls low in his throat but doesn’t take his eyes off the scenery ahead. He doesn’t realize I’m awake, and we’re going so fast I don’t want to startle him.
His free hand drifts over me, reaching out like he can stop me from hurtling forward if we get in an accident. I hold my breath, and he takes a sharp turn, the wheels screeching. I squeeze my eyes shut. I can feel my pulse pounding in every part of my body as the seat belt retracts and Dennis presses his hand against my chest.
I’m surprised when glass doesn’t rain on me, and I don’t feel the car rolling on its side. I open my eyes, gasping for breath, and the car runs smoothly on the road ahead of us. The sirens die down.
“You’re awake,” Dennis says, still looking at the road. Both of his hands are on the wheel now.
“Mmm,” I groan, blood still whooshing in my ears.
I blink a few times. My head hurts, but it’s not the searing pain of a migraine. I feel weird and groggy like I’m drunk, and my heart is beating in places it shouldn’t be.
“Am I dead?” I ask, unable to take a deep enough breath to form a coherent sentence, so the words jumble together.
“No, lovely. You’re very much alive.” There’s an edge to his voice that makes me nervous.
Oh shit.
“AmIavampire?”
“What?” He shakes his head, catching the meaning of my word soup. “No. Turning is a bit more complicated than that. You’re alive.”
His eyebrows draw together when he looks at me.
“Faith?”
He sighs.
“She’s alive. I locked her in a closet, but I’m sure she’s gotten out by now. She’ll reach out to the hunters, of course. She’ll be on my tail again.” He leans his head back. “I realized something was up when she took us to the crypt so readily. I was going to come get you once she fell asleep; I thought we could play it safe until then. Bea, I had no idea she was nesting with Marcel. All this time I thought she was toying with me, teasing me…fuck. She wanted him to turn her. When I heard you screaming, she reached for the stake. I pinned her in time, and she told me he just wanted to peek behind the veil with you. It was the only favor he needed, and then she could be his lover for the rest of their eternal lives. Your life was a small price to pay. I thought I was keeping us out of trouble with her, but I led us straight into a trap.”
I let it sink in. Questions keep bubbling up, but they burst before I can make the words to ask them.
“Fuck,” Dennis hisses. “Fuck. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s ok,” I breathe, licking my lips and regretting it when I taste the tang of blood there. “I know your big ego gets you in trouble.”
“My big ego?”
“Mhmm,” I hum. I close my eyes. Everything is hazy around me. My blood feels so cold it burns in my veins.
“That’s a first.”
“Can’t be,” I whisper. “It’s huge.”
He chokes out a laugh and then clears his throat.
