Chapter Nineteen

Alice

"Evening," Someone says from behind which causes me to turn around, seeing a hidden figure merging with his own shadow.

I immediately place a hand on my chest, not expecting to find someone being awake in the middle of the night but as soon as he pushes himself away from the wall, I know he is far from human. Luther, stands a couple of feet taller than me, as if hovering as he looks down while I take a closer look at his pale skin. There is just coldness and death.

"You scared me," I mutter under my breath.

"Humans. I forgot how they can easily be scared," He scoffs, somehow making fun of my reaction.

I frown, "Excuse me?"

As soon as he steps further into the light, I can see his face clearer. The colour of his eyes as they have somehow became darker than earlier today, the paleness of his lips as if he has been dead for years . . . and years but overall, he looks mesmerising. As if he just came out of a movie or a fantasy book. It surprises me to notice all of this when he was just plain hours ago.

"You. Are. Easily. Scared." He says, firmly.

"Anyone would be scared if someone just appears out of nowhere!"

"Just humans." He smiles.

Both of his eyes are eyeing my entire features, maybe thinking of me as his meal.

It's quite different standing here in front of Luther, it feels weird. It feels unsafe. Luther seems to be hovering even when his height is almost the same as Damon's because he has this dark presence. He shows off his own power and arrogance in his own mysterious ways—while I feel comfortable around Damon. I feel safe, I feel at peace.

"Well, you used to be human before you were a vampire." I try to come out with a counter but he seems to find my response a bit of a humour. "Is it funny?"

"I was. I still do look like you but we're not the same," He replies.

"Okay, is being a vampire any better? You don't get to enjoy the sun,"

He frowns, somehow thinking as he circles around me. "You're right. I kind of miss the warmth of the sun on my skin—I miss when everything was just . . . bright but now it hurts my eyes more than I can even imagine. Even when it burns my skin, it can't defeat the burning in my eyes. I'd rather avoid the sun,"

"You don't just burn and turn into ashes?" I raise an eyebrow, confused.

"I can. If I stay out in the sun for at least an hour,"

"That's . . . longer than expected,"

"Mmm, correct. I'd just mostly be red,"

"Like you are sunburned?"

He smirks, "Precisely."

"What are you doing awake?"

Luther seems to look at me as if I've lost my mind. As if I know nothing about vampires and it seems to have offended him a little bit. However, he covers it up with a smile before turning around to look at the moon, shining brightly through the glass window. "I don't know . . . maybe, just maybe, because I'm a vampire? We don't actually sleep at night,"

I blink a few times, trying to cover up the embarrassment. "Yikes,"

"Yikes, indeed. You, humans, tend to say that a lot. What does it actually mean?"

"It's like saying, 'oh, shit.' or 'no shit.' and yeah, that's what."

"Pretty clear. Thanks," He squints his eyes. "What are you doing awake? It's three in the morning,"

"I just couldn't sleep so I thought I'd search the kitchen for something to eat." I respond.

"Understood. Late night cravings?"

"No, just feeling hungry. You want to come downstairs?"

Luther shrugs but he proceeds to follow me down the stairs, trailing behind me like a lost puppy. Once we've reached the kitchen, we quickly make our way towards the fridge and I am surprised by the amount of food there is. It is as if Sam has left a lot of leftovers before she went home just incase Damon gets hungry or wakes up early. It's pretty cool how much food I can choose.

"That's a lot of food," He mutters.

"No shit,"

I take out the frozen chicken wings before putting them out, wanting to fry them. My hands do a little dance as I feel excited for the food later. There's no way in hell I'd finish them all so I'll just fry a few. Luther seems to be eyeing my every movement but he doesn't utter a single word—letting me feel comfortable in my own space.

I raise an eyebrow, "What?"

"Nothing. You dance?"

"Who doesn't? Especially when there's food,"

He chuckles, "Okay."

As I'm frying the chicken, he keeps on staring at me but I don't feel much about it. I just let him be. Somehow, it makes me wonder if he's trying to eye my every movement just to understand more about humans. Does he not see humans very often?

"Okay, what's up? You have never seen a human before?" I cross my arms, which has grabbed his attention to my chest but I ignore his gaze—if I perky breasts, if they're beautiful then it's a blessing. He can keep his eyes wherever he wants.

"I just find you intriguing." He replies, "I'm sorry if it bothers you,"

"Intriguing?"

"How did you meet Damon?" He asks.

Meeting Damon. If I ever have to tell the story to our children or our grandchildren, it'd be one hell of a story. We met just like any other couple but it was magical and perfect. The first kiss we shared was one in a million and the moment we met again, it was such a surprise—until I was kidnapped. Then again, he saved the day and I flew right back into his arms.

"We met at a charity event,"

"That's how it all started?"

"Yup,"

"Did you know he was your mate?"

"No. It felt different when I first met him but I didn't know he was my soulmate. Then, when he started to explain about himself, I began to find out about mates—apparently, it's such a beautiful thing. I'm really glad I'm his," I answer.

"Right, that is something beautiful." He responds.

All of a sudden, his reaction changes and he starts to look a bit sad. Then, it makes me wonder if he has experienced all of that in his past but it would be a bit too awkward for me to ask. The way his eyes just stares at the empty space in front of him, he must be thinking of a special someone.

"Luther . . . ?"

"Mmmm?" He looks back at me.

"Everything okay?"

He smiles, "Yes. I just remember how it felt like,"

"When you met your mate?"

"It was the most beautiful thing."

"How did you lose her? If you don't mind me asking,"

Luther nods, "Passed away. They both passed away,"

I blink, "Oh . . . I'm so sorry,"

"It's not your fault. Our love story was just like yours," He starts to talk as he continues to smile, as if replaying all the memories in his head. "If I can turn back time, I would. Everything was just perfect, our love was endless and it was like just . . . beautiful. Then, she got pregnant and that was it,"

"What do you mean?" I raise an eyebrow, slightly confused.

"They didn't make it." He replies, firmly.

From the way he just responded, it is pretty clear how much he wants the conversation to end and I am in no place to force him. As much as I want to know more about him and his mate, it'd be disturbing his own personal space—it's better if I never find out about it. It's better if we just let things end here before it gets any worse.

Sometimes, I forget that I'm not talking to a regular human being.

He's a vampire, for god's sake. He can even rip my head if he wants to.

"I've been alone ever since. It's been awhile,"

"I hope you'll find comfort soon,"

"It's hard to find peace or comfort when you're a sinner, Alice."

I frown, "Everyone's a sinner. You don't get to judge yourself,"

"Everyone's a sinner but not everyone's a killer. I've killed since I became a vampire and up to this day, that will always be one of my biggest regrets. Sometimes, I try my best to just push it all away and forget about this—it gets harder each day," He replies.

"I understand,"

"It's pretty simple if you ask me. When you die, you might go to heaven. When I die? It's eternity in hell." He smirks, taking a sip of water—which he took earlier without me realising, that is how fast he can move around. He might've moved when I was too busy frying the chicken wings and now, I'm just sitting here, letting my chicken being left on the plate.

"How can you tell, Luther?" I ask, not believing it.

In my opinion, everyone deserves forgiveness. It doesn't matter what kind of sin he has done in the past when he was alive, anyone can be forgiven when they ask for it. When they truly seek for forgiveness, they'll be forgiven. God is not that cruel, He'll always forgive. Sometimes, people are just too broken and they make the stupid mistakes without them realising. They want to find peace. They want to find closure but they fail, which is why they turn to look for a solution—a false solution.

Luther is a vampire. Damon is werewolf. Both are not human.

Luther said that he'd be in hell for an eternity and that I'd be given a chance, a hope, that I might be going to heaven. Just because of what? Because there is a little humanity left in me? Anyone can go to heaven and anyone can go to hell. It doesn't matter if you're a monster, if you're immortal or if you're just a plain human being . . . there is always a choice.

I don't believe him. I never will, perhaps.

"How would you know?" I add.

"I don't think I've heard of heaven for vampires,"

"You can't tell, Luther. Most of the people that died, they don't get the chance to tell you whether they've been sent to heaven or hell—you just have to live on your life. You can't keep on punishing yourself," I continue to say, "Good people go to heaven. Bad people go to hell. I'm pretty sure you're not bad,"

He smiles, looking away. "It's been awhile since I've heard that,"

"She meant every word." I nod.

"Thanks, that means a lot."

I glance up at the watch on the wall, seeing that the clock has struck four. It has been an hour since I was awake and I haven't even touched my chicken wings but I already miss being in Damon's embrace. It feels nice and warm, cuddling with him as we sleep. He would always pull me closer and to his chest, letting me feel his heartbeat.

"You're missing him already?" Luther asks, breaking my trance.

"How'd you know? You can tell?"

"I can feel people's emotion. Pretty hard for them to lie how they feel,"

"Huh," I scoff.

"He's just upstairs, you know?"

I start to eat my chicken wings as we continue on our conversation. We talk about the possibilities of this world ever ending and who'd be left to watch it happen. Immortals. They'd witness it and they would want to run away from it—sometimes, I think that being an immortal is a curse but sometimes, I feel like it's a blessing. They'd be able to experience many things but they'd be experiencing the terrifying moments as well. They'd watch people grow old and die but it's something they won't be able to experience themselves.

We keep on talking until the sun rises, causing Luther to look at the sunlight peeking through the curtains but as he starts to stand up, Damon is already standing on the bottom of the stairs.