The Revelation #11

He waited for her to sit before he did. He took a whiff of the food then stared at her inquisitively.
“What?” she said, feeling a bit self-conscious.
“What’s with your new appetite for raw meat?”
“It’s not raw, and any way it’s tasty. Try a bite.” She encouraged him, putting a piece in her mouth. The taste was sensational. He cut a piece and put it in his mouth. His face lit up with pleasure and she smiled.“Told you so.”
Ash controlled himself from shoving the meat in his mouth. He hadn’t fed in a while and the taste of blood made his senses go crazy and his hunger grow. He was suddenly aware of Lee and how appetizing the scent of her blood was. He could feel his teeth itch and his throat burn as the thoughts of feeding on her grew as he watched her eat. He could feel his animal side take over him and he didn’t like it.
*Control yourself!* He closed his eyes and clenched his fists at his sides. He took several deep breaths trying to dispel her scent from his nostrils and reel his hunger down. He felt disgusted, angry with himself for entertaining the thought of feeding on the woman he loved. But he had to feed, soon if he was to keep from ripping her throat out.
After they were done, he offered to clean up as she cleared out her books. It was late and she was exhausted. She sat on the couch and waited till he was done, she didn’t want to go to sleep without him.
Ash came toward her, without a word he picked her up and headed to her room. He pulled the covers, placed her in bed, and then he climbed in and pulled the covers up, tucking her into his side and holding her tight in his arms.
“Goodnight, my lovely Lee,” he whispered in her ear, and then she fell asleep, not so worried about the nightmares anymore. She knew he would wake her up the moment she looked distressed.

****

The finals were finally over. They weren’t that bad but she wished she had more time to prepare, and then maybe she would have done better on them. She was sure she’d done well in history because Ash turned out to be a better teacher than Mr. Scott. Ash kept telling her not to fret, that he was sure she’d done well. Easy for him to say, he wasn’t in the hot room, but she never contradicted him.
His moods seemed to be connected to hers, whenever she was sad or worried or depressed, he made it his job to cheer her up and if she were still in that rotten mood, he would get depressed too. She found it silly, but at the same time, it showed her how much he loved her. So she made it a point to try and stay positive and happy when she was around him.
Ann and Maria were moving back into the apartment now that exams were over and so were Lee’s nightmares. She was happy to have her sisters back, but she knew she would miss the alone moments Ash and she had. Having the house full would change everything. But she was mostly scared that the nightmares would be back if Ash had to move back to his house. Having him around had made her nights more restful and she was awake and energetic during the day.
Each morning she woke up feeling strange, the nights before were nightmare free, and instead a weird recurring dream had replaced it. It started as usual, with her dad and a lot of red, but before she drowned in the red, it changed. All the memories she had with Ash came flooding in, the first night they spent together, the lovey-dovey moments they had, laughter, them dancing, his embrace, his touch, his kisses. The images, the voices replayed in her mind like a romantic movie. She’s never had a nightmare turn into something so...beautiful.
She told him about the dreams, expecting him to find it as strange as she did, but all he did was smile, kiss her then say, “I’m glad your dreams are peaceful. I’ll make sure they remain as they are.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You will be happy and safe for the rest of my existence, that’s what I mean.”
His answers cryptic and weird as usual, but they always reminded her of his promise. It seemed to be weighing heavy on him, and it worried her how his promise would have him in a bad mood. Now that all the obstructions were clear, he knew it was time to tell her the truth, but she didn’t want to know anymore, she was regretting forcing him into it. His fear of losing her was starting to affect her too, scaring her even more.
They lay on the couch; she was tucked into his side, between him and the couch, part of her body on top of him. They had spent the night talking, about everything and anything, but never about him and the promise. They watched the sunrise before she nodded off to sleep, embraced by the new dreams that had taken over her sleep.