Page 10 of Pity the Living, Not the Dead

“I’m Elijah Walker, you know that. Now ask the question you really want to. The one sitting on the edge of your tongue, churning your stomach bile,” Elijah pushed.

I was terrified. Something wasn’t right, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. Was he a serial killer? A rapist? No, he had plenty of times to break that proverbial seal, and he hadn’t tried to off or fuck me.

Swallowing the aforementioned bile that steadily rose, I asked, “Are you a killer?” I hadn’t wanted to say those words aloud before, but backed into a corner as I was now left me with no choice.

“Yes,” he coldly replied. Adrenaline shot through me like a bullet from a gun. My heart pounded so hard I could hear it. I was on the verge of passing out. Fear was doing its best to control me, but my feet were firmly glued in place, fighting the urge to run. “But not the kind you are thinking of.”

“Why me? What did I do to you?” I stupidly asked, feeling heartbreak for the first time. No wonder so many swore off falling in love.

“I’m not going to kill you, Liam. If I wanted to do that, I would have already. No, my dear Liam, it seems I cannot get you off my mind. I am drawn to you, in ways I never thought possible. In twohundredyears I have never felt this way for another. Your scent…” Elijah buried his nose in my hair, drawing in a deep breath. “Everything about you calls to me. I am not sure how much longer I can hold off before the need to taste you overwhelms my sense of right and wrong. You’ve woven yourself into my soul.”

What the fuck?“Taste me?” I repeated, trying to pull away from him, but his grip didn’t falter, his fingers like vices around my wrist. I knew there’d be marks later, bruises to contend with, if I survived the night.

“Yes, Liam,” he said as I watched his eyeteeth elongate. The blood rushed from my face, and the need to vomit was inevitable.

“Liam, love, you need to sit down. I assure you, I mean you no harm. I’d never hurt you.” Elijah guided me to his bed, even as his words provided no comfort.

My voice was gone. All I could do was point at his mouth and stare.

“Liam.” Elijah knelt before me, taking my hands in his. “These,” he said as his fangs reappeared, “these are the nature of the beast I am.”

“Vampire,” I whispered.

“Yes.”

“I need to go. I’ve got to go. Home. Yes, I need to go home.” Frantically, I scrambled to my feet. My thoughts scattered, clouding my judgment and obscuring the path for what my next move should be. The only thing I knew for sure was that I needed to get away from Elijah. I didn’t so much as reach the bedroom door before he appeared in front of me, his body filling the opening.

“Stop doing that! You’re freaking me the fuck out!”

Much to my surprise, he flinched at my words and backed away. I ran past him and down the stairs, then out the front door to the end of the driveway before doubling over and bursting into tears as I spewed the lovely dinner he made all over the driveway.

“Liam!” I heard Elijah’s distant voice call from behind me.

Wiping my face on my shirt sleeve, I turned toward him. “What do you want from me?” I demanded, hands fisted at my sides. The anger over his trickery erased any rational thought I may have had about escaping. I was no match for this man, yet I was furious enough to fight a battle I knew I’d never win. He’d conned me, fooled me into falling for someone who wasn’t real. Something that wasn’t real. Always seeking what wasn’t there, the story of my life. Elijah dangled the carrot and led me to believe someone actually could care for me. I should’ve known that wasn’t true. Too fast, too much, too hard I fell, and now I had nothing. I was nothing.

“I can’t explain it. These feelings I have for you, I’ve never had for another.”

“Yeah, you mentioned that, along with some other shit about being two hundred years old, yet you look to be in your twenties. Now I’ll ask you again. Who are you, Elijah Walker, and what do you want from me?” Was he looking to kidnap me? Hold me for ransom to extort money from my family? Little did he know, they’d probably not pay him a dime.

“Please, can we go back inside and talk? I’ll keep my distance, and I promise to tell you everything. You’re shivering, let’s go back inside. Please?” he pleaded. I felt no remorse, I was far too angry.

Once again, that little voice in my head reassured me that Elijah was speaking the truth and he wouldn’t hurt me. My stomach was in knots, and I wasn’t feeling well, but considering he was my ride home and I had no earthly idea where in the hell I was, I was left with no other choice than to hear him out. Reluctantly, I followed him back inside. “Can I have a glass of water, please?” I asked, taking a seat on the oversized black leather couch.

“Yes, of course. Are you all right, Liam?” Elijah asked, concerned creases lining his forehead.

“This is a lot to take in.” He nodded and left, returning moments later to hand me a glass of ice water. Elijah paced in front of the fireplace a few times before finally coming to a stop. He turned, faced me, and broke into his story.

My eyes never left him as I listened to Elijah recount tales of his broken childhood, being outed to the town by the man he loved and thought had loved him back. Being beaten and left for dead over that unrequited love, a forbidden love from a time long ago when a man loving another man was a death sentence— one that was almost carried out in Elijah’s case. Then he told me how he was found after the crowd disbanded and subsequently changed into the creature he was. I don’t recall taking a single breath the entire time he spoke, his memories so vividly described that I pictured myself right there beside him, seeing everything firsthand through his own personal hell.

“Liam, please say something,” Elijah pleaded when I’d paused for too long, his dark eyes begging me for…forgiveness? Understanding?The vulnerability in their depths was more than I could handle. This was too confusing.

“I don’t know what to say, Elijah.” I buried my face in my hands. I didn’t know what to think, let alone how to feel. Was it possible that creatures of lore and horror movies truly existed and walked among us? I supposed anything was possible, butfuck, I just didn’t know. This rush of emotions was more than I was equipped to take in.

When I said no more, Elijah knew the conversation was over. At least, for now. He acquiesced, albeit reluctantly. “I’ll take you home.”

That wasn’t what I wanted, but I didn’t have it in me to put up a fight. I was tired, still feeling unwell and emotionally drained, and wanted to go home. Elijah had given me so much to consider, and I needed to do so without the added distraction of having him nearby.

The car ride home was spent in silence as Elijah drove at an alarming rate of speed. My bloodless knuckles were white from the death grip they had on the seat belt. Cars were nothing more than blurs as we passed them. The urge to vomit rose again, but for a different reason. Before I had a chance to protest, we’d reached our destination. I jumped out as the car slowed, and dropped to the ground, regrouping and filling my lungs with the oxygen I’d deprived them of while holding my breath.

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