Frustrated, Maya slammed her fist into the tile wall. It instantly cracked. Stunned, she pulled her fist back. With horror, she stared at the tile, then back at her fist. She felt no pain when clearly the impact should have hurt a little. She was too strong. She could easily hurt somebody without even wanting to, without knowing what she was doing. No, she could never see her parents again – what if she crushed her mother just by hugging her?
She pushed the tears back, not wanting to fall apart again. Somehow she had to deal with this, come to terms with her new life. Gabriel and his friends seemed to have themselves under control. So, somehow they must have managed to deal with their lot. There was no reason why she couldn’t. She expected full well that it would hurt, that her transition wouldn’t be easy, but she was a strong woman. Somehow she had to try.
Maya swallowed hard. She had to forget what her old life was like.
The more she cried over it, the harder it would be to settle into this new one. She tried to cheer herself up by reminding herself that the attack –
which she had no recollection of – could have killed her.
As hard as she tried, however, she couldn’t remember what had happened. All she recalled was the sound of her heels on the pavement, the thick fog that night, the darkness. Even thinking back now, a cold shiver ran down her spine despite the hot water of the shower. Why couldn’t she remember? Had she been so traumatized by the attack that her mind blocked out all recollection of it?
She’d heard of patients who’d temporarily lost their memory of a traumatic event. Was that what had happened to her? She closed her eyes and forced her mind back to that night. She’d parked the car, then she’d walked to her apartment building. And then, nothing. Only fog, darkness – a burned out light. Maya concentrated and tried again until her shoulder tensed and she spun around and opened her eyes. The white of the tiles was all she saw.
She reached for the faucet and turned the water off. It was useless to try too hard. Things would come back to her when she was ready, she was certain. She would take it one day at a time. Or maybe that was one night at a time: days were probably off limits to her from now on.
She had questions, hundreds of them, and somebody better be answering them very soon.
As she dried off, she heard the bedroom door open and light footsteps echo in the room. A scent drifted into her nostrils: it wasn’t Gabriel. She would have recognized his scent anywhere. It was strange and fascinating how her sense of smell as well as her sense of hearing was so much stronger now.
Maya wrapped the towel around her torso and walked into the bedroom.
Yvette stood next to the bed and laid a few pieces of clothing onto it.
Without turning, she spoke. “You’re about the same size as Delilah. I’m sure she won’t mind if you wear some of her stuff.”
“Thanks. Yvette?”
The woman turned and Maya had another chance of admiring her beauty. Her model looks were only diminished by the slightly sour look on her face. “Yes?”
Maya shifted from one foot to another. “I’m thirsty.” She felt as if she’d just confessed that she needed a shot of heroine. And in her own eyes it was just that: forbidden and dark.
Instead of giving her a disgusted look, Yvette actually smiled. Maya could easily imagine how men flocked to her when she turned on the charm. “That’s to be expected. I brought you a couple of bottles.”
Bottles of what? “I mean, at least I think … I want some blood.”
“I know. Over there.” Yvette pointed at the bedside table. On it were two bottles with unrecognizable contents.
Maya approached. As she inched forward, she read the labels. All they said was O Pos. Was this what she thought it was? “Is that -”
Yvette responded before she had a chance to finalize her thoughts.
“Human blood. Not all of us actually go out and bite humans. We have evolved.”
They drank blood out of bottles? No biting? For the first time since she’d awoken, a sense of relief spread inside her. She wouldn’t turn into an animal that attacked humans.
“You don’t bite people?”
“No, not for food anyway.”
Maya decided not to have Yvette explain her comment. Thinking back to her kiss with Gabriel, her instinct told her that biting wasn’t reserved for the purpose of food intake. And right now she didn’t want to think any further about what had happened with Gabriel.
She picked up one of the bottles and unscrewed the top. She sniffed and inhaled the metallic scent. Her stomach recoiled. It smelled nothing like Gabriel’s blood. This wasn’t what her body wanted.
“It smells awful,” she commented.
“Awful?” Yvette’s incredulous tone gave her pause. “I thought you were thirsty.”
Maya nodded. “I’m famished. But this is not what I want.” Gabriel’s blood had smelled delicious, and the enticing package it had come in –
well, she didn’t even want to think of it or she would charge downstairs and try to find him to get what she wanted.
Yvette shook her head. “We all drink this. It’s first quality. Samson only buys the best. Drink.”
Maya set the bottle to her lips. The moment the blood touched her lips, she virtually gagged. She tried to swallow, but couldn’t get the repulsive liquid down her throat. She spat.
“It’s God-awful.”
A shocked look passed over Yvette’s features.
