Chapter 8: A Friend

Lucy walked alone into the night and rubbed her arms against her shoulders. The wind was blowing a bit, and it was starting to sprinkle, but she couldn’t feel the cold. She could barely feel the tiny drops of water against her now porcelain skin. She knew there was no going back. Veronika had even specified that there was no cure for vampirism. Yet Lucy found herself wishing for just that. Wishing with all she had that she could go back and be human again.

She stared up at the stars and the moon shining brightly in the sky. It was beautiful, but she missed the sun. She missed the heat, going to the beach in the summer, and being around other people. There was no one around, but she found herself instinctively wiping away the tiny tear that fell onto her cheek.

“Lucy? What are you doing here all alone?” Celeste asked, walking up behind Lucy. Lucy did her best to cover the emotion on her face before turning around.

“Nothing, I just needed a break from class. Actually, I should be headed off to my next one,” Lucy answered quickly as she tried to walk away in the other direction.

“Lucy, wait, what is wrong? You look upset,” Celeste questioned. She looked truly worried that Lucy might not be alright. Lucy paused but kept her eyes on the ground. She felt worried that if she looked up at Celeste’s face, she would burst into tears again.

“It’s fine. I just had a stressful class before.”

“Wasn’t that your class when you were learning to bite from humans? What happened?” Celeste asked, moving closer and putting a hand on Lucy’s shoulder.

“Yes, actually the class was fine. I ate well from the woman’s arm. It was relatively easy, but then I had a flashback of… of when... I turned.” Lucy held her arms tight around herself.

“Oh, Lucy, that’s terrible! Of course, if you’d like to be alone I completely understand, but if you’d like to come into my office with me and talk, I’d be more than happy to listen to you and help you. I’ll talk to your professors, explain why you missed your classes today.”

For the first time, Lucy looked up and met Celeste’s eyes. She wasn’t sure she wanted to live through the trauma again, but she desperately wanted to talk to Celeste and have an excuse to be alone with her.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t mind? I don’t want to interrupt any responsibilities that you have,” Lucy whispered quietly.

“No, no, you’re not interrupting anything. Please, this is what I’m here for. Come with me, and I’ll warm up some blood for you.”

Celeste wrapped her arm around Lucy and guided her towards the office building. The classrooms were letting out, and the halls started to become flooded with other students. Lucy turned her eyes back to the ground and tried to avoid anyone’s eyes. She suddenly felt incredibly self conscious with Celeste’s arm around her. She remembered all too clearly what Noah had told her about dating in different categories of vampires. However, Celeste seemed completely unbothered and pushed her way through the crowds with serious confidence.

Celeste moved through the stairway that led to the upper offices and kept her arm tight around Lucy. Lucy’s skin seemed to almost burn from Celeste’s touch, and she wanted so badly to hold her closer and touch her more. Lucy kept her hands down, though, and followed silently up the stairs and into Celeste’s office.

Once they were safely inside and away from prying eyes, Celeste let go and took a seat at her desk. Lucy slowly sat down in the chair across from her.

“Do you want to tell me what happened?” Celeste asked sweetly. She looked straight ahead at Lucy, giving her her full and undivided attention. Lucy felt nervous, and her fingers started to shake a little.

Slowly and quietly, Lucy started to explain the story again. She talked about her nervousness in class and how she felt when it was finally her turn. She described her experience biting her first human and the pleasurable feeling. Lucy explained then about her trying to recall what it felt like for a human and how the memories and trauma just washed over her, taking over completely. She told how Veronika just happened to be passing by, waiting for her, and was able to shake her out of the meltdown.

“I’m sure everyone going through problems and issues, but I just feel so stupid. I just feel like I’m not meant to be… this. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to adjust to being a vampire,” Lucy admitted.

Celeste looked at her, almost as if she had tears in her eyes and smiled weakly. Celeste reached a hand over in a loving gesture towards Lucy.

“You’re right. This is not an easy transition for anyone, and most everyone is prepared for it. Your feelings are completely normal given the situation. I’m just so sorry you’re going through such a struggle,” Celeste answered. She gave Lucy a curious look before standing up and moving to take the seat next to Lucy. She reached over and actually touched Lucy’s arm.

Lucy looked up, and for a moment, thought she saw the same wish in Celeste’s eyes that she felt.