Crave - Teresa Mummert Page 0,29
brief moment before turning his attention back to the other vampire, who was already on his feet. They thrashed through the hall, biting and clawing at each other like rabid beasts. I screamed in horror as I saw Grayson appear. He pointed his gun, steadying himself for a shot but his hands shook. Elijah leaped from the delivery man and threw himself on top of Grayson, knocking him backward into the living room. The other vampire stumbled to his feet and attacked Elijah from behind, biting into his back viciously. I screamed not knowing whose side I was on but the only one who could kill the intruder was Elijah. I’d deal with what comes next when the time came.
Blood poured from the wound as Elijah clawed behind him, thrashing as he struggled to break the boy free. I slid along the wall and grabbed the gun that had flown from Grayson’s hand during their skirmish. My hands trembled as I took aim and pulled the trigger. With a beastly scream, the unknown vampire’s body went limp onto the floor.
Elijah’s eyes locked on mine as tears flowed down my face. He opened his mouth and bent toward Grayson, ready to kill him.
“No,” I screamed, holding the gun back up, trying to see through my tears. Elijah stopped as if time itself had frozen and I wasn’t sure if it was my own fear just making the world spin slightly slower. He reluctantly let go of Grayson and began to pull back. Grayson scrambled backward until his body was pressed against the wall.
“Shoot him,” Grayson yelled. “Shoot him, Eva.”
Elijah slowly stood up, never taking his eyes off me. My thoughts raced. He could have killed Grayson and I both by now, but he didn’t. He could have killed me before I ever knew what he was. He didn’t. This time, I couldn’t pull the trigger. I let the gun lower an inch or so, just enough for Elijah to realize I was conflicted. He dropped his gaze and turned to walk out the apartment without a word.
I sank down to my knees, sobbing uncontrollably as Grayson scrambled over to me. He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed tightly, rocking me until I no longer had the strength to cry let alone keep my eyes open. I had never killed anyone before and the fact that he was already what most would consider dead didn’t make it any easier. He still bled the same.
Chapter ten
Like the Dead
I awoke around lunch time to the smell of bacon and eggs, thick and heavy in the air. I trudged out of the bedroom still half asleep and almost as if the night before was nothing more than a nightmare. Grayson was at the stove cooking, the mess of yesterday long cleaned after the police had left. He shot me a crooked smile. I smiled back and took a seat at the table, watching him work. He was an amazing cook. He used to work at my parent’s restaurant until our break up.
He slid the food onto a plate and turned around to present it to me.
“Two dippy eggs, bacon, and scrapple. Crispy on the edges, just the way you like it.”
“Thank you,” I said as he leaned over to kiss me on the forehead before sliding the syrup in front of me.
“How did you sleep?” He asked as he loaded his food onto his plate and sat down across from me.
“Like the dead,” I covered my mouth, realizing what I’d just said. Grayson broke out into wild laughter. I hadn’t heard that laugh in a long time. It felt great and I let a giggle escape me. He had winked at me before he took a large bite of his meal, falling into a comfortable silence as we pretended everything was going to be okay.
***
I was absolutely stuffed. I had nearly eaten every bite of my food. I pushed back from the table and grabbed his plate, making my way to the sink. I began scrubbing them quickly as he stepped up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.
“Come on.” He pulled me by the hand toward my bedroom. I pulled back against him, stopping in my tracks.
He looked back over his shoulder at me with a slight grin. “I want you to get ready, were getting out of this place,” he said, reassuring me.
I followed him into my bedroom and grabbed some fresh clothes to wear as he sat on my