HARRY

It didn’t matter where I looked, it had made headlines everywhere in the upper east side of the country.

Romie Harris has gone missing.

It’s funny, hysterical even, that everyone is in such a panic that Romie is gone. As far as I’ve been informed, she has been miserable for a while. I stood by and watched as she got involved with the wrong crowds. People who didn’t care about her, only what she was willing to do. They wanted her body and she wanted acceptance. I watched for years as she struggled with her addictions, first alcohol, then drugs and self-harm. When she was at her lowest points, she would use all of them at one time to cope with whatever she was dealing with at the point in time. It was terrifying to witness, but I kept my distance, as I was instructed. I was noticing a change, she was becoming less and less interested in her hobbies, her relationships, her life in general. I had already anticipated her attempt at suicide, but I never imagined it’d be so soon. My ally in the northeast was willing to stay close to her when I couldn’t, for a price of course. I gave him whatever he requested as long as he kept Romie safe. He has done well in the past, but he failed me this time and has disappeared since. I will have him eventually, but he is not my concern at the moment.

I knew that something was wrong days before it happened, I could feel it in my bones. I tried to brush it off, but instead of disappearing, it only worsened. My family thought I was overreacting and being dramatic, so there was no way I could tell them my plan. I told my closest confidant, my twin sister, that I had to go to Romie, and I begged her to keep that information to herself. She didn’t. I had to see for myself that nothing was wrong, and I left immediately before anyone could stop me.

I had to drive about seven hours to where she was staying with her roommate, and I took every speeding ticket with ease. They were no problem to pay and I would take care of them at a later date. The closer I got to Romie, the more intense the feeling got. It became painful, unbearable even. When I arrived at the apartment she was staying in, I listened for a sign of anyone around her, and I wasn’t surprised to find that she was alone. I didn’t know how I was going to get into the apartment, but I knew I had to act fast. There was one heartbeat coming from the house and it was already faint, but continuing to slow down. I found that getting into a second story window was a little more challenging as I was running off of little rest and hadn’t fed in days. As the slow beating of her heart became weaker, I kicked down the door to her apartment, not caring if anyone around me saw. They weren’t my concern, Romie was. I rushed to the almost silent heartbeat to find Romie lying naked in a bathtub full of water and blood. Her left wrist was slit and the deep gash was still bleeding. I panicked and was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to control myself, but I needed to try. Romie was already unconscious and I didn’t know how long she had been lying there, but the water she laid in was still slightly warm. I listened as her heart slowed to a stop and I knew I was almost out of time. I had a very short window of time left, and I knew what I had to do.

I was nervously pacing the foyer, my old leather boots scuffing the marble flooring. Some of my family members surrounded me, each of them failing in their attempts to comfort me. “Harry, calm down,” my twin sister, Elisabeth, spoke softly. It’s been five days since I found Romie; since I bit her. I didn’t want to turn her, I wanted time to know her as she was. Time to show her that not everyone is a monster. However, time was not on my side, and I had no other option. The change is only supposed to take three days, we’re now nearing the sixth day since. For the first time in my life, I was genuinely afraid.

Romie has shown almost no signs of progress in the past five days. Her skin was sunken in around her bones and was pale, almost translucent. It was strange to see her colorless, where she usually holds a slight tan. Even the freckles that dusted her face were gone. Her hair was stick-straight and dull. It had lost its natural wave and what used to be such a dark black that it almost looked blue, now falls around her in a dark shade of gray. The gash on her arm had closed not too long after the bite, the only real sign that the venom had spread. It was hard to check on her every hour of the day and see no change. It concerned me.

“What if I was too late?” I questioned, running my hands through my hair. Elisabeth put her hand on my shoulder, but said nothing, as there were no words. I sighed, sitting down on the bottom step of the left staircase, resting my forehead against the palms of my hands. My hair spilled around my shoulders, almost covering my eyes. The wait was excruciating.

Another hour passed and we were all on edge waiting for Romie to awaken, as we had been for two and a half days. The house was silent, the atmosphere thick with the looming question of if she would wake or not. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if she didn’t survive. I’ve waited years for her, I’ve fought so hard for her and she doesn’t even know it. The thought of losing her before I can show her that there is good in the world is soul shattering.

That apprehensive feeling that’s been buried in the pit of my stomach was slowly beginning to ease up, then all at once, it was gone. I stood immediately and quickly made my way through the house to the room that Romie has been in, and I flung the door open. Much to my disappointment, she still wasn’t awake. I sighed heavily, but I couldn’t leave her. I walked over to the bed where she laid perfectly still, so hauntingly beautiful. Something seemed a bit different this time, but I wasn’t able to identify it at first glance. I studied her closely, finally able to take notice of what change had occurred. Her freckles had reappeared.

I reached out slowly to touch her face, gently caressing her cheek. The skin beneath my hand filled out her hollowed cheeks, and I watched in amazement as the rest of her body filled out to its original state. The next thing to appear was her complexion, just slightly. She still looked ghostly, but it was becoming more and more opaque until she looked like she was actually alive. Her sweet freckles even darkened. Her hair was gaining back it’s color, changing from its current shade to its previous black. The blueish tint came next, then it seemed like time stopped. I could feel the presence of some of my family members at the door behind me, watching just as anxiously as I was. No one dared to move, we simply waited for the change to be complete. I removed my hand from Romie’s cheek and stepped back some. We all know the dangers of a newly transformed vampire, but I was willing to take the risks if she were to lash out in fear. I would take any risk if she would just open her eyes.

“Harry, step away,” Elisabeth demanded. I held my hand up to silence her, but I didn’t turn around. I wanted to be the first thing Romie saw when she awoke, so I stayed in place. I carefully took Romie’s hand, which was resting lifelessly at her side. I watched intensely, waiting for her to wake up. Everything had taken place, finally, but I wouldn’t be able to move, to breathe, until she took her first breath as a vampire and looked at me with her new eyes. The silence was insufferable.

“Romie, please, come back to me,” I pleaded, hoping that somewhere in her current state, she would hear me. The ones at the door turned away, leaving me to be with the woman in front of me, who was no longer showing signs of life. I waited for another few minutes, but I knew that I couldn’t keep my hopes high. Her heart was extremely weak when I found her, it even stopped for a few seconds before I sunk my fangs into her neck. There was a very good possibility that my venom didn’t have a chance to affect her. I closed my eyes and lowered my head, letting out an exasperated sigh. There was no point in waiting for something that most likely was not going to happen, and I was beginning to let myself accept that I was just too late.

I gripped her hand a little tighter, raising it to my lips where I placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles. “I’m sorry, my love,” I whispered. Wherever she was, in whatever realm, she would hopefully hear me. “I should’ve come to you sooner. Please forgive me,” I cried silently. I lowered her hand from my lips and turned to walk away when her hand tightened around mine. I turned and went to place her hand back at her side, but I couldn’t release it. Her slim fingers were wrapped so tightly around my own, and I tried one more time.

“Open your eyes, my love,” I begged, so desperately, and she did.

Notes

Not too sure when I'll update this again because I've got a lot going on at the moment. But hey, update!