Beautiful Monster(88)

              Her body flopped around, her red hair flying across her face. She was so thin, and so clearly so sick, it must have been torture for her to last as long as she did. She had waited it out, given me that, and now, I had nothing to give her.
              “Porsche,” my voice came out broken, and I felt Amy kneel down next to me, taking my hand.
              “Liam. Liam,” she tried to pull me back. “She’s gone, Liam.”
              “No!” I ripped away from Amy, biting into the ravaged throat once again. But it was no use, as I knew it wouldn’t be. Her body was lifeless and she wasn’t coming back.              
              I sank back onto my heels, my sobs coming in gasps. I didn’t realize I could feel this way, fully transformed. I had never cried as a vampire, and it was worse than being human. Everything felt more intense, more unmanageable. I felt like that pain would never stop, never let up. It was only Amy’s arms around me, warm and beating with life, that let me even think straight.
              Amy was crying too, her face buried in my neck, but she was silent about it - the cry of one who had accepted fate.
              And I guess she had to; this beautiful girl whom I loved more than anything. Amy had lost her mother and long since accepted that her own death would come sooner than others. She was in touch with both life and death; something I, in my three years as a vampire, had never been able to accept. There was a wisdom about her that was far superior to her years. Her eyes were full of understanding that I could never hope to gain.
              “There’s another life, you know,” Amy said, through her tears. “It’s not just…human or vampire. There’s a whole other existence out there, a whole other place where there’s happiness and no pain. And that’s where she is now, Liam.”
              “This is my fault,” I managed, unable to look at the body that lay just beyond us.
              “It’s not,” Amy said, sitting up to meet my eyes. Her eyes were clear, despite the tears. “This is not your fault. You did not make the choice to do this, Liam. Your choice was to save her, and hers was to save you. It was Selene who interfered with all that, and the death is on her hands.” She was inches from my face, and this time, there was no recoiling or flinching at my appearance. I knew I must be in full vampire mode, but Amy didn’t seem to care. She was gazing upon me as if I was fully human.              
              “Selene,” I looked up, suddenly, remembering.
              “She ran,” Amy said. “Transformed as well. As soon as Porsche…” She reached up to wipe tears from her face.
              “She’ll be back,” I said, shakily. “She always is. And she’ll pay, for what she did. For taking more than one life that was not hers to take. “
              I wanted to get up, run, anywhere, do something. But I knew it was no use. Selene would be long gone by now. She was centuries old, and I had no hope of finding her if she did not want to be found.  The smartest thing to do was wait, wait until she came back, which I knew she would.
              I crawled forward a few paces. Even in death, Porsche was beautiful. I closed her eyes and it had the effect that she was sleeping. As if my redheaded beauty would wake at any moment. But she would not; not from her eternal slumber.
              The grief struck me hard, and had it not been for Amy’s steadying grip, I would have joined her.
              “I love you,” I turned to Amy, whose eyes widened in shock. It wasn’t the best moment, but I had to say it. “I love you, and I have pretty much since the first day I met you. And I don’t think I can live without you, Amy, so please say you’re not going anywhere.”