Chapter 7

Sera lllay on her bed, she started to feel nauseous. Although the pain in her shoulder had started to subside, now it had turned into a pain in her head.

She couldn't forget what Leo had said this afternoon and it made her feel even more scared. She felt something bad was going to happen and it made her unable to close her eyes.

"Nathan?" Every time she closed her eyes, Nathan's face always appeared. The more she tried to get her mind off the figure, the stronger the figure entered her mind.

Dring...dring...dring...

Her phone rang, she gasped in surprise and immediately opened her eyes. Her breath hitched, the slightest trigger made her immediately panic. Sera took the phone beside her pillow, she received an incoming call from Nathan.

"Nathan?" She muttered. For some reason, she felt unable to talk to Nathan now. She was too scared, the image of what happened to her last night was still vivid in her memory. Even the pain is still very intense. However, ignoring Nathan was not an option she could take. She couldn't ignore Nathan and she certainly couldn't.

She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She thought that the excessive worry she was feeling right now was caused by Leo's words that seemed to affect her.

"No! What Leo said isn't necessarily true! I'm sure everything he said was just part of his attempt to make me forget my fears. He was just making up stories. Reincarnations, werewolf, they were all lies! Yes, just lies!" She told herself that she didn't have to put all the trust she had in Keith. It was clear that Leo had been asked by her grandma to heal her trauma.

With confidence slowly rising, Elen decided to answer Charlie's call. She didn't want to lose Charlie again.

"Hey Elen, good night?" Charlie's soft voice sounded right in her ear. Elen was mesmerized, her fears and doubts about Charlie vanished suddenly.

"Good night, Charlie!" She answer is nervous. Elen couldn't deny that she was feeling scared right now. Moreover, the pain from the bite marks was felt again.

"How are you? Are you feeling sick?" Charlie asked about the pain she was feeling. Elen didn't expect Charlie to ask that. It would be better if she pretended not to know or didn't intend to discuss it so that Elen could mentally prepare to ask about what really happened to the two of them that night.

"Y-yes, I feel a little pain in my neck. Like the pain of being stabbed with a sharp object. I-I don't really remember what happened. C-could you tell me something?" Elen stutters. Act like she's ready and okay to accept what Charlie has to say.

Charlie was silent for a moment, then chuckled as if something was funny. Elen kept swallowing her saliva until her throat hurt. Although she was waiting for an answer from Charlie, but somehow she hoped that Charlie would lie.

"Shall we meet at the city park tonight? I'll tell you what you want to know!"

"Why didn't you tell me now?"

"Do you think something like that can be explained over the phone?" Charlie asked. He knew Elen would not refuse his request.

"B-but-"

"Are you doubting me?"

"N-no, I just-" Elen couldn't answer because somehow she started to think about what Keith said.

Obviously Keith had told her that Charlie wasn't a human, but a vampire. Yes, a vampire who sucks human blood by biting her neck. Elen remembered the mysterious woman who jumped into the sea that time. The woman had bite marks on her neck and some time before, Elen saw a couple making out in the room and she was very sure that at that time she had seen the man bite the woman's neck.

Bad thoughts and prejudices begin to overwhelm her. She had suspected that the man who bit the woman was a vampire and the woman called him 'Charles'

Meanwhile, Keith says that Charlie's real name is Charles, is it possible that Charlie is the man who has terrorized many people on the ship? Could Charlie be the monster that killed her uncle as well as the dozens of passengers hanging from the ship's ceiling?

"No! Imposible! Charlie isn't that monster, I'm sure! That monster even chased me when I was with Charlie. That's why-" She thought. Elen felt increasingly frustrated. Keith was right, she wouldn't have been prepared to accept this all too horrific reality.

"Elen?" Charlie called out to her. She kept waiting for Elen to say something. But all Elen could do was hold back the sound of her breathing.

"Y-yes Charlie?" She said stuttering. She really wasn't sure if she'd meet Charlie now. She was afraid that Charlie really was the bloodthirsty monster.

"You thought of something?"

"N-no! I didn't think of anything!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes I am sure!"

"You know you can say anything to me, Elen! I know you have something on your mind, that's why I wanted us to meet so you could say it!"

Elen sighed, she wasn't sure if she could go see Charlie in this state. The pain in her neck was still there and she didn't want to leave her room to meet anyone.

"Charlie, what if-"

"I miss you, Elen! I want to see you!" Charlie's soft voice melted her heart. Elen would not be able to resist his charm.

"I missed you too, Charlie! I'll definitely be coming to you!"


***

Elen stopped her footsteps when she saw Keith standing five steps in front of her. She'd been trying to sneak out of the house after making sure everyone in her family was asleep and now, when she was a little closer to where Charlie was, the bully Keith was standing in front of her as if he knew where she was going.

Elen looked annoyed, she knew that Keith would try to influence her like before. But Keith just casually approached her.

"You really are stubborn, aren't you?" Keith said. He rubbed the back of his neck, starting to feel bored to advise Elen.

"I'm going to meet him!"

"Again? You're still not getting any better? Look at what he's done to you? Isn't that enough to make you realize how terrible he is?"

"I know! I know that!"

"If you already know, why are you still stubborn?"

"I just can't, Keith! I can't! No matter how scared I am right now, I still can't ignore him! I love him, Keith! I love him so much!" Elen's voice trembled. Her eyes were wet, she felt so weak when she was away from Charlie, when she wasn't by his side. Therefore, she prefers to endure all the pain as long as she can be by Charlie's side.

"Tch, you idiot! Love, you say? What kind of love are you really feeling right now? Do you know? Elen, you've been blinded by love and if this continues, you won't be able to control your feelings and thoughts anymore. So stop before it's too late!"

"What would happen if I was with Charlie? What trouble would happen to me if I chose to be with him?"

"You don't understand at all! He's not as good as you think he is!"

"I'm also not as good as you think? Who are you to decide like that? You don't want to explain everything to me either! You're trying to keep something from me!!"

"I didn't mean to keep anything from you! I told you that now is not the time to tell everything!"

"Then, when? When are you going to tell me everything?"

"I have something to do and until then, I want you to wait!"

"Yeah, fine! It's up to you, Keith! I came to see Charlie because I wanted to ask him something. I'm sure he's not like you, keep stalling until I forget my question!"

"You want to ask him? Do you think he'll tell you everything? Tsk, don't be stupid Elen! He won't tell you anything other than trying to get you to believe him no matter what!"

"I don't care! At least, I want to hear directly from him! I'll try to believe whatever he says!" Elen was sure of her decision to meet Charlie. Right now the only person she could trust was Charlie.

"All right, it's up to you! You can go see him and I'll be waiting for you here!"


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