Helina looked down when she felt his thumb run small circles across her inner wrists. She caught herself continuously looking at their joined hands and then at his face. She don’t know why she’d even let it get this far. For all she knew he was leading her to her very death. Helina looked back in front of her and watched the brown trunks of the trees pass them. The colorful flowers brushed by their feet and she heard the sound of the trickling water as they neared a stream. He stopped by a large boulder and let go of her hand.
“So, sweet Helina, what brings you to living in a cave?”
She took a couple of steps back and watched him stare at her. She didn’t know how much she should tell him, didn’t know if revealing that she had watched one of his kind kill her sister was the smartest of moves.
Opting to tell him part of the truth and see if he would leave it at that, she spoke softly. Although she should keep what she knew to herself, she couldn’t help the feeling inside of her. It was a feeling that made her feel warm and safe, protected in a world gone crazy. She couldn’t explain the strange feeling, for she had never felt it before. It was as if he were her protector, a feeling that he wouldn’t let anyone or anything hurt her. It was ridiculous to have these feelings about someone she even didn’t know—a vampire nonetheless.
“What are you thinking right now?”
His words brought her back to the present and she looked into his face. His skin was a golden color, as if the sun had come down and kissed it intimately. His eyes were a bright blue, a startling contrast with his pale blond hair. The locks touched his forehead, short and neat in its appearance. She let her eyes travel down his muscular body and took note that every tendon and sinew was defined to perfection.
Dropping her eyes to the ground, she stared at her running shoes that had little pieces of dirt and leaves stuck on them. “I was just thinking about your question,” she lied. “My family used to come here with me when I was little. After my sister died, well, I guess I just felt like this was the place I needed to be.” Helina was not about to tell him that she’d moved into a cold, dark cave because she feared the monster that had killed her sister would come after her. A sad look crossed his face, a look that made her think that he really did feel sympathy for her.
“That must have been very devastating for you. I am truly sorry for the loss of your sibling.”
Helina started to kick around the rocks at her feet, willing herself to stay strong. “Why didn’t you kill me? I mean, didn’t you want to suck my blood or something?” She didn’t know what possessed her to ask him, but the words just spilled out. Her head downcast, she didn’t dare look at him after she asked the question. When he didn’t answer right away, Helina glanced up. He was staring at her with what appeared to be utter shock.
“I can’t believe you just asked me that.” He chuckled softly and she knitted her eyebrows in confusion.
“Why was that funny?”
“I’m sorry. The question itself is not funny, but the fact that you actually asked me was. No one has ever spoken to me the way you have just done. It’s quite refreshing actually.”
“I should be frightened of you.”
“Why do you say that, Helina?”
She picked up a dead leaf and started crushing it up in her fingers. “Well, I know how fast you are, and I’m sure you’re just as strong. It’s clear those sharp teeth of yours aren’t just for looks, and well, you just seem scary is all.”
“I would never hurt you.”
“I know that. How I know that I’m not quite sure, but I feel in my heart that you wouldn’t intentionally hurt me.”
“I wouldn’t unintentionally hurt you either.”
She crushed the rest of the leaf in her hand, the sound like the Rice Krispies that used to sit in her cereal bowl and crackle in the milk.
“Tell me about yourself, Helina.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean, why?”
“Why do you want to know about me?”
He chuckled again and the sound speared through her in an intimate way. “You are stubborn, aren’t you?”
It was her turn to laugh. The sound escaped her and she glanced up at him, seeing a strange look cross his face. Helina instantly sobered and looked down at the ground.
“No, please, I enjoyed the sound. It was very beautiful.”
Her cheeks heated with embarrassment.
“I’m sorry. I’ve embarrassed you, haven’t I?”
“No. Well, yes, but that’s all right. I laughed because my sister used to say the same thing. About me being stubborn and all.”