chapter 6

 

“Cassidy, do you want to talk about it?” I was sitting on the couch in Clare’s office.  I shook my head and tried to take a sip of the water she gave me, but I was still shaking so much I couldn’t get the glass to my mouth.  “It’s okay Cassidy, things like this happen all the time.” Part of me wanted to believe it, but I could not get over the fact that I had killed someone; me, sweet, innocent Cassidy Lamont, had killed someone, and it wasn’t an accident either.  Now was when I wished I had someone besides Clare to confine in.  I had Tristan, but who knows how he will act, and he was the last person I wanted to see right now.

They had brought people in to clean up Keagen’s blood and body.  After I had killed him almost all the vampires came to see what was going on.  Where were they when I needed them before? If they had come out, all of this could’ve been prevented.  Fortunately Tristan was not among those who gathered, it was mostly other newbies.  I didn’t even know if Tristan was here or not, he could still have been hunting. 

“Come on, sweetie,” Clare said, “I’ll take you back up to your room; we can talk about it tomorrow.”  Clare helped me up and walked with me out the door and to the stairs I was fighting on not so long ago.  We walked slowly up to my bedroom so I could stay close to Clare.  There was only one other person upstairs when we reached the top of the stairs; Tristan.  As much as I didn’t want to see him, I was happy to see him too.  His face looked a lot fuller than it did when we last saw each other, and his eyes weren’t bagged with circles.

“I can’t leave you alone for a few hours can I?” Tristan joked.  I was glad to see he was back to (hopefully) normal.  He obviously knew about what happened.  Clare handed me over to him and Tristan rested a comforting hand on my back.  Tristan led me into my room as Clare disappeared down the stairs.

“Cassidy, I heard about what happened, but I want to hear the story from you,” Tristan didn’t sound upset, he just sounded curious.  I didn’t want to talk about it, but I didn’t want Tristan to leave, I didn’t want to be alone.  Even if somewhere deep down I still didn’t want to see him.

“Well, I was just exploring, and Keagen,” I chocked on a sob.  Tristan moved closer to me and put his arm around me.  “He said he hated you for changing him and killing his sister, and he didn’t want another one of you.  He said eventually I would become just like you, and he tried to kill me by biting me.”

“He told you about that?” Tristan asked,

“Yes, is it true Tristan? Can a vampire really die by being bitten by another?” I looked up at him and he nodded his head.

“Yes, it can happen.  I’ve seen it be done,” What hasn’t he seen happen at the home? “It’s a very painful death, but fortunately they have figured a way to help the vampire.  If they are taken to the medical wing on the first floor immediately, they can be saved.”  Visions of Keagen biting me flooded my mind.  His teeth digging into my neck, injecting his venom into me, me dying on the floor as he laughed at me.  I shuddered and wrapped the blanket from my bed around me.

“Tristan, what are they going to do to me?” There had to be some punishment for killing someone, it would be crazy if they didn’t.

“Well, Clare might put you in Solitary Confinement, just until the shock of you killing Keagen wears off.” I didn’t want to be alone, especially not now.

“How long would that be?” I rested my head onto his collarbone, he didn’t seem to mind.

“Good God you ask a lot of questions!  I’m not sure, probably a few days at most.  It doesn’t take long for vampires to forget something like this.”  I did ask a lot of questions.  I probably wouldn’t be so bad if I had known about vampires before I became one.  Tristan took his arm off me and stood up.  He held his hand out for me to grab.  I gingerly grabbed it to follow him out of the room, taking the blanket with me.  When Tristan opened the door there was a swarm of newbies standing outside.  All shouting questions at me and trying to grab me to individually talk to them. 

‘Leave her alone!” Tristan shouted at them, but they didn’t back off.  A woman who only looked to be in her mid 30’s grabbed my arm, but in a second Tristan was ripping it off and threw her on the ground.  She hissed at him as Tristan ran me down the stairs.  Some of the vampires followed us down the stairs, but backed off when Tristan bared his fangs at them.  Tristan didn’t even bother knocking on Clare’s door; he just barged right in. 

“Tristan, what are you doing here? I was just about to go home.” Clare had her coat on and her purse strapped on her shoulder.

“The newbies are going kind of crazy about Cassidy killing Keagen,” I shuddered every time someone mentioned Keagen, or the fact that I killed him. “I was wondering if you wanted to put her in Solitary for a day or two just until they calm down.  I just want her to stay away from them for a while; it is her first day here.” Clare nodded and took her coat back off.  She took me over to a large bookcase filled with many books on every shelf.  Clare pulled a blue book out from the shelf and the bookcase made a tink noise.  The side of the bookcase opposite of the book Clare pulled disappeared into the other side of the shelves.  It opened up to a small bedroom with a bed, couch, T.V, and a mini fridge. 

“This is Solitary Confinement, Cassidy.  You’re going to stay in here for a few days.  You have a refrigerator that has food and blood in it, your own bathroom like the one in your dorm, and a television to entertain you.” Clare led me into the room, but stayed pressed against the bookcase.  “The bookcase only opens from the side in my office, so if the door closes and you’re inside you can’t get out until someone pulls the right book from outside.”

“What do I do about my stuff in my room?” I walked over to the bed and sat down.

“Everything that you would need from there is in here, besides a cell phone or anything.  We can still go shopping tomorrow; you just won’t be able to go to counseling though.”  I hadn’t noticed that Tristan had slipped away when Clare put me in the room.  Why does he always slip away after I’ve done something bad?  Clare disappeared behind the bookshelf as it started closing again.  

I sat down on the bed and let the tears fall.  It was only my first day here, and I’ve already killed somebody, developed a crush, and I probably have more enemies now.  These next few days are going to be well earned; no fellow newbies to bug me about Keagen, no Tristan for me to stare at, and no human killing for me to mess up. 

I pulled back the blanket of the blanket and tried to continue whatever sleep I could get tonight.  I tried not to think about Keagen as I curled up under the blankets.  The image of the axe going through his neck replayed in my mind; like someone had stuck it on repeat.  It seemed like forever until I finally could stop thinking about it, only the thought to be replaced by Tristan.  These dreams however were not horrible ones, no they were fantastic.  Tristan sweeping me off my feet and carrying me away; Tristan shirtless and carrying me away. 

My dreams of pure bliss were interrupted by the sound of metal clinging together.  I lifted my head and stared at the clock; it was two in the morning, only three hours after I went to bed.  I jumped as the bookcase door slide open, light pouring in from Clare’s office.  I sat up and stared at who had opened the door; Tristan.