Chapter 11

    JULIAN WATCHED HER FACE CLOSELY. She was still in a state of shock, unmoving, as she stared at him. Her face hardly betrayed any emotion, but Julian knew she was still shocked by the discovery.

   She knew what he was. She knew he was a vampire. A bloodsucker.

  "Erin... I know this might be a lot to take in, but.."

  "Have you always wanted to.. Suck my blood?" Erin interrupted him. Her voice was only a whisper.

   "The first time I met you, yes. Even now. I won't lie and say that I don't feel the raging thirst in my throat for your.. Blood, but I've had so many years of practicing self control when it came to blood thirst."

  She looked startled at his mention of blood. It was as if she still couldn't believe everything he was saying.

"So.. You truly are a Vampire.." It wasn't a question. It was a realization. Her eyes refused to meet mine.

    "How do you feel about that?" Julian asked in a whisper.

  "I... Just.." Stammering, she slowly pulled the covers away. "I just need to go home. Now."

Erin rose up from the bed and looked around, looking for her bag and stuff. Julian instantly rose with her and stood in front of her.

   "Erin, I can't let you leave just now. You're still in a bad shape and..."

   "You don't understand. I don't want my brother be home alone! And Suriya, she's going to be asking for me at this moment. Do you know what it means? I could lose my job!" Erin exclaimed.

   "No you won't. I called the company to notify your boss that I ordered you to be excused for the rest of the day and throughout the weekend." Julian stated, a firm look on his face.

Erin stopped and glared at him. He had interfered in her work?? What the hell would Suriya think now? And her colleagues! She wanted to get angry at him, but a tiny voice in her head advised her against it. She was scared of Julian Ferrari. She was scared because she knew that he could end her life within a second. She needed to thread carefully.

   "Well.." She muttered. "Thank you, but.. I just have to go. My brother...."

  "Is safe. I asked my men to go check on him a while ago and he's reported to be safe and even napping by now." Julian answered. He stared at her as he waited for her reaction.

  "Now you're spying on Jake? Why is all this happening! Who even am I to you!"

  Julian's eyes narrowed at her and he started to raise his hands towards her. Unexpectedly, Erin let out a wail and ducked as if he wanted to strike her.

Julian stared at her in shock, his hands dropping the instant he saw the fear in her reaction. She was afraid of him. She was afraid of who he was.

    "I was just going to help you sit on the bed. Did you think I was going to..." He trailed off, his voice filling with disgust at the thought of even raising his hand on a woman. Even when he fought with bad guys who were women, he always made sure he didn't beat them or deliver a blow, certainly not someone he cared about. He was completely against the idea of beating a woman under any circumstances. It hurt him to think that Erin must have seen him that way.

   Erin peeled her teary eyes open slowly and caught the look on Julian's face. He looked.. Hurt. She dropped her hands down immediately and stood up to him.

   "I'm sorry but.. I.. I'm just terrified of you right now. I know you won't hurt me, but.. I just found out that you're a vampire! A freaking vampire, Julian! Everything about you is a danger to me and I can't put my self in the way of danger. Please... Just let me go." Her voice broke at the last part.

  Julian's face turned blank. "Is that really what you want?"

   "Y.. Yes." She stuttered.

Without another word, Julian turned and left the room. Erin sat back on the bed and let out a shaky breath. She didn't realize the tears had dropped out of her eyes until she felt moisture on her palm. She quickly dabbed at it. She heard footsteps before someone walked in. It was Sebastian.

     "Mr Ferrari has asked me to see you home." He stated, his face devoid of any emotion.

The first question that popped into Erin's brain. "Are you also a..."

  He stared quietly at her for a moment. "I'll be waiting outside once you're ready." Then he walked out.

       ERIN STEPPED INTO HER APARTMENT and looked around. Jake was no where to be seen. She trusted Julian so she wasn't worried. He had confirmed that her brother was safe. Maybe he was somewhere in the kitchen, trying to prepare some horrible pancakes for her.

    "Jake?" She called out. Her voice was loud, but not too loud. Just enough for him to hear if he truly was in the apartment. She stood in the living room, glancing around in fear.

  "Jake!" She yelled this time.

There was no answer. Jake wasn't at home. He wasn't safe. Erin sank into the chair next to her. "Jake.." She moaned, willing the tears to come out any moment now.

    Then there was a knock on the door. At first, it was soft, then it became loud and desperate. Erin rose up and faced the door, startled. Was it a demon?

Then the person started dragging the handle hard, making the whole door tremble. Erin turned and picked up a table lamp as a weapon. Whoever was on the other side wanted to attack her. Slowly, she placed her hand on the door handle and then she clicked on it with her left hand, her right hand holding the lamp firmly.

   She opened the door and saw Jake. He was covered in blood and looked horrible.

  "Erin!" He exclaimed. A relieved smile on his face.

  "Jake! What.. What happened to you? Why are you covered in blood??" Erin asked, touching her brother's face.

   "I'm not injured. I promise." He said immediately and grabbed Erin's hands in his. "Erin... It's Feesh. Something.. Something bad has happened to her." He whispered.

   Erin stared at Jake in shock. The blood was Feesh's blood. Somehow, Erin already knew what had happened. Without another word, they both hurried out of their apartment and made their way to the next one, which was Feesh's place.

   Erin heard the choking noise before she saw her. There, she was lying on the floor. Blood gushing out of her neck and she looked like she was going to die any minute from now.

   "Erin, what she said.. It was unbelievable." Jake said.

  Erin crouched to her position and put her hand on the side that was streaming out blood.

   "Feesh, you're going to be fine. We'll get you to the hospital now. Just... Hold your breath. Hang on." She pulled her phone out of her pocket, preparing to dial 911, but Jake stopped her.

   "Erin, Feesh said she was... Bitten." He said. He sounded confused.

That stopped Erin. "Bitten? Did she say who did it?"

   Jake nodded and Erin just began to notice the look of fear and shock on his face. "She kept mentioning... Vampire."

    "Oh my God..."

If she had seen Feesh like this one day ago, she wouldn't have believed that she had been attacked by a vampire. But now, she knew.

  "She doesn't have much time left, Erin. What can we do? Her parents are not around." Jake complained.

  "Did you see who did this?" Erin asked. Maybe they could somehow find the person and he could suck out the venom that was already destroying her system.

  "No! She called my cellphone not too long ago. She sounded like she was in trouble so I came to check on her and met her in this situation." He told Erin. He had tears on his face too. She nodded and turned back to look at Feesh. She was in a pretty bad shape. There was only one person she knew that could help.

    She opened her phone and searched for his number. Hopefully, he had stored it when she was asleep.

  "Who are you planning to call? I don't think doctors can handle this." Jake warned.

  "Don't worry. I'm not calling a doctor. I'm calling Julian."

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