Faustine's Eve (A Vampire Story)

Losing a parent is indeed one of life's difficult and inevitable experiences that is even more difficult when it leads to the change of the other parent. It had been a year since Eve had lost her mother, who had been a nurse, and the toll it had taken on her father kept the pain fresh and alive in her heart and mind. After her mother died, her father had taken to drinking to numb the pain and drown the sorrow. Although Eve understood what drove her father into this misery, there was still a feeling of resentment toward him for disgracing her mother's memory by associating and tainting it with booze.

Her father was not always like this but, in fact, he was the complete opposite. He had such a pure heart that he would graciously care for others the way that her mother had. Perhaps her mother was the one who taught her father to be that way. Eve's heart went out to her father when she realized that he was too caring of a person to bear his wife's premature death. Within the passing weeks of her mother's death he became cold, cynical, and more fragile. The night when Eve found him unbearably intoxicated was the last night she spent at home. She was nineteen then and on her own for the first time.

The city was large and Eve was a lonely girl who may have gone unnoticed in such a buzzing metropolis if it wasn't for pure coincidence. Luckily she was fortunate enough to find a job at a nearby Japanese Teppanyaki restaurant that was only four blocks away from her modest apartment. The job wasn't bad and the tips definitely helped. Nothing seemed especially out of the ordinary about the job other than watching the chefs put on extravagant flame fueled shows that resulted in the applause and the eager consumption of such dangerously prepared dishes. The job in itself was interesting but what caught her eye even more was the cold beauty that would come in every so often.

The stranger's face was cold yet masculine even though he had some feminine features such as fair skin, clear cobalt eyes, and long lashes. He wore his ash blond hair choppy and down to his well sculpted chin. This man could have easily been a model with his looks and stature but his demeanor proved otherwise. He always emitted a calm aura and seemed to ooze confidence and serenity as one of Eve's co-workers had put it. His taste in suits made him more masculine yet neatly kept. When thinking of him, Eve always felt as if she could smell the faint scent of cedar and white musk that lightly grazed his skin and would linger in the air as he passed. Although she couldn't remember his name she could always vividly remember this image of him.

The next day had come and gone as quickly as the last and it was already closing time. This type of existence felt empty. Eve felt like a machine that was repeating menial tasks for a set amount of time before shutting down once finished. Eve had little contact with anyone outside work, and all of her friends from school had already began their own lives and moved elsewhere. Her days were quite repetitive really and she hoped this daily routine was only temporary and wouldn't last. To add to the void she felt, even though she had few friends, no one really tried to get in contact with her once she began to withdraw socially as a reaction to her father's sudden change in personality. Friends would add some spontaneity to her days but it didn't matter to her because at least she was out of the emotionally draining situation back home.

Focusing her thoughts again, she was closing again tonight even though she didn't like doing it by herself. She accepted that she was the new girl and knew her place on the bottom of the workplace ladder. Quickly she set the alarm and locked the door before eagerly stepping out into the alley where the steaming streets resonated with the past sounds and activities of the day. Turning to walk down the alley toward the street there was a figure slightly taller than her making its way toward her. She could hear the grating sound of shoes scuffing the gravel and getting louder. The nagging, but all too true, thought of being a girl alone at night was dangerous but she tried to shake off the feeling. Not everyone out late at night was a questionable person after all because she was out this late too wasn't she?

She kept her pace until she remembered that the alley was only one way and the other end only housed a large trash bin against a high fence. Not wanting to stand still too long, she sped up till her steps matched the pounding pace of her heart. When she noticed the sound of her blood rushing in her ears she devised a plan to run toward the street once she got closer to the figure. Right as she was about to pass him, now being able to confirm that it was a man, he stopped and the next thing she remembered was her body making an almost hollow thud against the brick wall that stole the breath out of her chest as she slid down to the cold ground. Now panicking and disoriented she couldn't believe what was happening.

With her heart now racing and her adrenaline tearing though her body like a bullet train she used all her strength to stand up and make a desperate and mad sprint toward the street. Almost immediately she came crashing down to the ground again when he grabbed her coat which caused her to slip backwards and strike her head against the brick wall. The sharp pain that shot through her head was enough to impair her from trying to run again and even caused her vision to blur. A hot stream of blood made its way down the side of her head and soaked into her coat. Looking disoriented toward the street she watched the blurring lights of cars going by that were oblivious to what was going on only a few yards away. She only hoped that someone would see this small girl slumped against the wall with fear glazing over her eyes and that is when she blacked out.

Opening her eyes for a second the man was nowhere in sight and she heard the crash of something against the wall. Fading in and out of consciousness a figure loomed over her and seemed so much larger than before. Eve's eyes could barely stay open and small clouds of steam escaped from her lips as the heat from her mouth dissipated into the frigid night air. She couldn't feel any pain at this point and wondered if this numbness was some sort of divine mercy for a girl in the wrong place at the wrong time. Before blacking out again, she smelled a familiar scent and wondered if she was psychologically trying to comfort herself with such a familiar fragrance.

Even though a few minutes passed, Eve couldn't tell how much time she lost. There wasn't much she could remember after losing consciousness. Everything was dark, hazy, and the faint sensation of vibration hummed throughout her body like electricity. The vibration felt soothing and it felt as if her brain would feel the pain she hadn't felt earlier if it stopped. She wasn't quite sure what was going on and the scent of leather invaded her nose and swirled around in her head like cigar smoke in a glass. She wondered if she was moving while she passed through bouts of semi-consciousness and after that, the blackness in her mind swallowed her again.

A few days had passed since that evening but again there was no telling how much time was lost. Eve's face felt warm and her body radiated the same type of pleasant heat that one would feel after slipping out of a hot shower on a cold day. Her body felt as if it glowed and she was somehow safe. The bed sheets and blanket felt smooth and soothed her skin. Opening her eyes slightly she could tell that she was in a room and it was pleasantly warm. This must be the hospital she thought. Someone must have come a long just at the right time and rescued her from such a horrendous fate. Never thinking that a hospital bed and atmosphere could ever feel this comforting and luxurious, she let herself sink into a sense of security before losing herself to sleep.