My sense of time was completely warped. I had no idea how long I had been in that padded white room, but it felt like ages.

  I played with the metal nuts in my hand, rolling them around quietly and trying to keep my head together. I had to keep it together. I would get out of here. I just needed the right opportunity.

  The door clicked and I hid the nuts in my shorts pocket.

  Nikola was there with another tray of food and glass of water. He set them down but didn’t leave.

  “I want you to eat,” he said, leaving no room for argument in his tone.

  I shrank away from him, I couldn’t help it.

  He noticed. A comforting smile came over his features, or it would’ve been comforting if the situation had been entirely different.

  “Ms. Nelson, please, you are my guest. I apologize if my role as host has been left wanting, I have not had many true guests over the years. But please, eat. You’ll need your strength for what comes next.”

  What comes next?!

  He took a step toward me and I went behind the chair, gripping the back of it in my hands as if it could save me. He ignored my actions and continued walking forward.

  Just a little closer…

  I lifted the chair with all my might, hitting him in the chin with the seat and knocking him to the side. I lunged for the door, barreling through it. It locked behind me and I heard a roar from the other side. I ran and I kept running, down hallways and finally out a door.

  Run! Run! Run! It doesn't matter where, just away!

  My feet slapped cement. I was hardly looking until I ran right into a brick wall and bounced back.

  No, wait. That was a chest.

  My heart seized. Nikola?!

  I looked up to see Michael, his face full of shock and surprise. He wrapped me in his arms before I could say or do anything else.

  Citrus and musk surrounded me amid the chaos in my mind. I pushed at Michael's chest, making him release me.

  “We need to get out of here! There’s a vampire after me, he’s trying to become a god just like Davor.”

  Antun stepped out from behind Michael, surprising me further, making me jump in Michael’s arms.

  “Please, please!” I begged at them both, my eyes wild with fear.

  Michael looked down the alley I had come from and glared.

  “I’m going to go check it out,” Antun said. “You get Drew home.” He started at a jog, going the way I had come from, soon disappearing from sight.

  Michael looked down at me, his brows creased with worry. “Are you alright?”

  “I’ll be alright once I’m out of here! Please, Micha– whoa!”

  Michael picked me up and he flew us through the narrow alleyways until we arrived back where I had started when I first heard the voice. He set me down and grabbed my hand.

  “Come on,” he said as he started up the street toward my apartment building.

  We walked quickly, people moving out of the way at the serious face Michael was making, or maybe my haggard appearance. Before long, we were back at my building, then at my front door.

  I felt numb as I patted my pockets, “Keys. I don’t have my keys. That vampire took them, and my phone,” I added.

  “Explains why you never responded to any messages or calls.” He opened the front door, apparently unlocked.

  I was shocked at it and looked at him.

  “I hope you don’t mind, but we kinda broke in when we couldn’t get a hold of you.”

  I didn’t know how to feel about that, but a big part of me didn’t care right at that moment.

  Am I really home? Nikola’s not chasing me anymore?

  My body gave out. I sank to the floor like a rag doll, having no control of my limbs.

  Michael rushed to me, picking me up off the floor before laying me on the couch. He pulled down the throw blanket from the back of the couch to cover me, my body starting to shake.

  I couldn’t help it. My tears came out in broken sobs.

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  Michael picked me up and held me as sobs wracked me, shaking uncontrollably. It may have been five minutes or an hour, but Michael held me for the entirety of it. His hands made soothing circles on my back, and his gentle hushes in my ears were a song.

  I finally calmed down enough to pull away, my nose snotty and my eyes swollen. I very suddenly became self-conscious of that and tried to wipe at my face, just making the mess worse.

  “Here,” Michael said as he turned and grabbed a box of tissues off the coffee table.

  I gratefully grabbed a few and wiped at my nose and eyes. I still looked a mess but at least I didn’t have boogers dripping down my face now.

  “Would you like a drink of water?”

  I nodded and he went to the kitchen, pouring me a glass from my filtered pitcher.

  He brought it to me. I drank it slowly, letting the water soothe my harsh throat. Michael sat back down next to me on the couch, resuming to rub circles on my back.

  I took deep breaths, continuing to remind myself that I was safe now.

  A meow from the bedroom made me look up. Husker walked over and jumped onto my lap. He hissed at Michael, hackles raised, making him quickly retract his hand. Husker growled at him before settling on my lap, kneading biscuits into my thighs.

  “Oh, you crazy boy!” my ruined voice crackled. I stroked his fur, finding comfort in the familiar action, the soft texture. I picked him up to kiss him on the head before setting him back down.

  He immediately hopped off, apparently appeased that I had returned and now he wanted to get far away from the vampire. He went to the bedroom, sitting in the doorway like a sentinel.

  Michael looked at him. “He really doesn’t like me, does he?” He didn’t seem sad, just accepting the idea at this point.

  I looked at my cat as well. “... No, I don’t think he does,” I replied. I looked back at him, “Sorry.”

  He shrugged his shoulders, “Hm, not my cat. If he doesn’t like me I’ll just have to be okay with it.”

  I mumbled, “I guess so. Still…”

  “You just escaped a monster. I think whether or not your cat likes me isn’t quite as important.”

  I froze at the reminder, my eyes haunted.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you! Uh, uh, can I get you more water?”

  I smiled shakily at his attempt to comfort me.

  “I think I’m fine.” Besides being shaken, I didn’t think I had any injuries.

  “Oh, my feet.” In my haste to escape, I didn’t remember that I had no shoes on.

  Michael looked at them, realizing that I had run through the back streets and alleys of Seattle without footwear, then walked from the end of those alleyways to my apartment.

  “Let me check your feet, make sure they’re alright!” He went to the bathroom, checking a cupboard for towels. He muttered under his breath.

  He found a hand towel and dampened one end of it in the sink. He came back with the towel and knelt before me.

  “Let me see,” he said as he gently lifted my right foot. He began to wipe away the grime, making sure there were no injuries before he went back to the sink to rinse the towel. “I can’t believe that I made you walk on the street barefoot.”

  He came back and did the same with my left foot. By some miracle, I had no injuries on the bottoms of either of my feet. He set my foot down, but he did not get up. He stayed down, as if trying to make himself smaller, less frightening.

  As silly as that may have been, it did help. My heart rate began to even out, my breathing becoming more steady.

  “Drew.” I looked down at Michael. “When I couldn’t get a hold of you, when you wouldn’t answer your door… I think the only time I’ve been as scared was during that holiday right after I turned.” He held one of my hands while my other one held the blanket around my shoulders.

  “Thank goodness for our powers, else we’d have never found you. Oh,” he paused, looking around, “I think I dropped your flannel at some point. I was using it to try to track you. I’m sorry.”

  “You just saved me and you’re saying sorry? Wow, thanks.” He looked up in surprise. I winked at him.

  His eyes brightened and he gave a small laugh, “You know what I meant.”

  I smiled. “I do, and to be entirely honest, I don’t care about the flannel right now. I’m just happy that I’m back home.” I looked around, taking everything in as if I couldn’t get enough of the sight. I couldn’t think of a time I was more grateful to be home.

  Michael stood, walking towards the front door.

  “What’re you doing?” I asked frantically.

  Michael spun around, noting the panic in my voice. “I’m just taking off my shoes, Drew.” He gazed at me. “Did you think I was leaving?”

  I felt impossibly small. “Well…”

  He gave me a look that said really?

  He walked around the sofa to crouch in front of me again. “I would never leave you after an ordeal like what you just went through. What kind of person would I be to abandon someone who just escaped their captor?”

  I felt embarrassed that I did think that for a moment. “I’m just not ready to be alone yet.”

  I looked outside through the kitchen window. It was already turning dark, the lights of the city blinking on one at a time.

  “Would you stay here tonight? You can take the bed, I’m alright with the couch.”

  Michael looked scandalized. “You’ll do no such thing! Vampires don’t need much rest anyway, you don’t need to worry about me. But yes, Drew, I will stay, as long as you want me to.”

  I released a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. “Thank you.”

  Michael gave a gentle grin, squeezing my hands.

  I looked toward my room, the only room with a TV. “I have a TV but we’d have to sit on my bed to watch it. I have no problems with that if you don’t.”

  Michael nodded, “Whatever you’re most comfortable with.”

  I tried to stand but my legs wouldn’t hold me. I started going down and Michael caught me.

  “How about I help you?”

  He carried me over to the bed, setting me down gently so I could sit up against the headboard. He walked around the bed to sit on my other side.

  “Anything you want to watch?”

  “Something dumb that will take my mind off of today.”

  Michael nodded as if he knew just the thing. He borrowed the remote to get to Netflix, turning on something that I’d never heard of but was indeed stupid. It made me laugh with abandon.

  I turned to Michael. “I hope you don't find this too weird, but I think I need some human touch. Can I lean against you?”

  Without saying a word, he pulled me into his side, holding me close. He looked down as if to confirm this was what I meant.

  I just nodded and snuggled into his side, returning to the idiocy on the screen and smiling.

  ? ?? ?

  I woke up in my bed. At some point I somehow ended up laying down with my head on Michael’s lap.

  One of his hands was on the top of my head, the other resting on my shoulder. I looked up. The vampire was getting part of his little required sleep, lightly snoring with his head hanging down.

  I smiled.

  He stayed. Someone finally stayed.

  I kissed the hand on my shoulder before I let my head drop back down.

  I’m grateful for you, Michael Anderson.

  The hand on my shoulder lightly squeezed. I looked up to see if he was awake, but it was either a coincidence, or he heard my mind in his sleep. That was my final thought before sleep overtook me once more.

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