REVELATION 8.3

Too traumatised to answer him, I fell silent.

Over his shoulder and the backseat, I stared out the rear window.

A streetlamp blinked.

On the main road, cars zoomed past, their lights white then red as they left my line of sight.

Our steady breath's slowly fogged the windows of the car.

Moving out of Cole's lap hadn't occurred to me for some reason. In hindsight, I suppose that even though his confession was shocking and his fangs were bare, I still couldn't find it in me to be scared of him. Afterall, I'd run to him when I was terrified that I was being stalked by some evil person whose mission it was to murder me, probably. Yet, ironically, he was likely a murderer too. I had attached myself to someone who could so easily bring me harm, yet he hadn't.

When I refocused on his face, his eyes held a dead expression. His shoulders had sunken, and his hands felt limply into the space between us, barely keeping hold of my wrists. How defeated and hurt, he seemed by my reaction made me feel bad.

"Please... Just don't get out of the car." He requested quietly. "By all means, sit as far away from me as you can but at least let me drop you off somewhere nearer your place."

Now, I wondered, how many people have run away from you because of what you are?

"Cole, were you only interested in me for my blood?" I asked, remembering one of the first things he said to me when we hooked up was how I smelled nice.

"No, of course not." Cole met my eyes, but I couldn't help staring at his fangs. "I would have taken it if that's all I'd wanted."

"Is there something wrong with me that made you not want it?"

"How is that the first thing you assume? Ana, there is nothing wrong with you at all, okay? I mean, I've thought about what you would taste like, but I don't feed from people. Not anymore. I haven't bitten anyone in a long time."

"How long is a long time?"

"Er, about twenty-six years…"

"Longer than I've been alive then." Distractedly I exclaimed when I manoeuvred myself out of his lap and back into the passenger seat. I sat with my legs curled up and my arms wrapped around my shins so my back was to the door and I could face him.

"When you put it like that, it really highlights the gap..." He looked blindsided.

"If you don't bite people, how do you eat?"

"There are companies out there that sell products that cater to... my specific diet."

"What like pre-packaged, microwavable blood?" I chuckled; apparently, my dark humour was helping me see the funnier side of things.

"Hmm yeah, kind of," Cole explained but didn't break a smile. "You're taking this really well." He looked over at me with concern.

"I've had loads of shocking shit to deal with lately... I guess I'm getting used to it. Besides, Vampires are portrayed as being savage and unable to control their diabolical thirst for blood, especially in the news. I'm old enough to know not to believe everything you hear on the telly or written in the papers." I shrugged. "You've had opportunities to hurt me, and you haven't… not yet, at least."

"I have no intention of hurting you, Ana."

"If you didn't want my blood, why did you ask me to get into your car and then make a move on me? Hooking up with students isn't something you do much of, is it?"

"Because the two creeps that were following you were the ones more likely to hurt you. I made a move on you because I wanted you to satisfy my... er, other appetite." The way Cole held his brows urged me towards his meaning.

"Isn't that also a little bit creepy, though, I mean, because you're so much older than me?"

"I don't mean for my sexual attraction to you to be creepy." There was a long pause, and I realised my reaction could've easily offended him, and I didn't intend to do that. Before I had the chance to apologise, he carried on and said, "But to give a better answer to a question you've asked before... I don't have a habit of sleeping with people that don't know my name or what I am. I usually keep my work and private life separate."

"Really? You seemed so cool about it all. I thought it must be something you've at least done before-"

"I've had spontaneous sex before, Ana, just not with someone as young as you. As I said, I thought you might've secretly been older than you look like I am." Cole explained, combing his fingers back through his hair. The situation was clearly making him uncomfortable, and it was the first time I had seen him anywhere near flustered.

"Are we going to sit here all night?" I asked, hoping to spur him into action, so I could attempt to brighten his mood, even if that no longer included the prospect of having sex with him. It wasn't that I suddenly found him unattractive. I imagined I would always find him physically appealing if I were honest. Our situation had gotten far too complicated, far too quickly, just like he had said. I had no regrets, and I was glad he had told me his secret; it explained a lot and piqued my interest. Even though I would be cautiously curious, I still wanted to know him more.

"No, sorry. I'll take you home now." Cole centred himself and took hold of the steering wheel again; before he could make a U-turn to set off towards my apartment building, I stopped him.

"Your place is closer."

"You still want to come home with me?" He glanced at me, dumbfounded.

"At the very least, we've got a lot to talk about."

Within minutes we were parked in the basement carpark of Cole's apartment building. I had to wait for him to grab a crate from the boot when I got out of the car. The size of it convinced me it must have been heavy, but the way Cole held it balanced on one hip with his arm wrapped around it as he lent into the back seat to get his jacket caught me off guard for a moment, and I found myself admiring him despite having told myself it wouldn't do me any good to keep fantasising.

"7-4-2-8," Cole said as we got to the code-locked door. I tapped in the digits and let us in. "Here, take these too." He said, handing me his keys so I could let us into his apartment's door too. Unlike the last time I'd been there, he flicked the lights on straight away and wandered past me into the kitchen. "Make yourself at home."

"What's in the box?" I asked, breaking the silence after a few moments of watching him open it up and take out four metal canisters. They looked like thermal flasks to me, but he set them into his fridge and shot me a cautious look over his shoulder. I don't think he had expected me to have followed him, but I had and stood leant against one of the glossy grey cabinets looking at him curiously.

"Uhm- Maybe that's…" He started shutting the fridge door and turning to rest his back against it. He was wary, and I could tell he was trying to gauge my thoughts by my expression, and I was trying to look as innocuous as possible. "… A conversation for another time?" Cole asked, but the way he drew out the question gave away that he knew I wasn't about to drop the topic so quickly. "Alright, fine. You asked how I eat, well what's inside the flasks is-…"

"Blood." I nodded, satisfied enough with the answer. For now, I didn't want to overthink for fear of losing my nerve and becoming creeped out. I wanted to give him a chance to remain my friend.

Turning on my heels, I abandoned Cole in the kitchen in favour of making myself at home as he had suggested.

The apartment had an exuberant, modern vibe - that much I knew from the amount of time I had spent in the entryway on my first visit. I wandered into the lounge to see that simple concave wall sconces lit the place dimly. It was decorated minimally, and the lack of clutter gave the home a tranquil feel. The monochromatic colour scheme of the walls and furniture was occasionally interrupted by stark flashes of chrome. but the room's most striking feature gained my attention. On the wall that separated two doors hung a giant lightbox that was home to a minimalistic art piece. When the image pixelated and altered into something else before my eyes, they widened in surprise.

Oh, that's quirky and cool…

"Wow, your place is a lot nicer than it looks in the dark," I said and sat myself on the luxurious-looking sofa. The adjoining chaise made it an L-shaped that framed the lounge and created a confined space within the otherwise open plan main room. "The view is amazing too." I marvelled at another light show that the night-time city put on, which I'd noticed before. The streetlights showed the maze of streets, and the neon signs from bars and shops twinkled on the concrete canvas in a display of urban beauty.

"I brought it when the market crashed, there was no way I would've been able to afford it otherwise, but that view makes it worth every penny," Cole explained distractedly; I could hear him fumbling about in the kitchen.

Now that I wasn't alone, I felt safe, regardless of what Cole had revealed to me. I trusted that he wouldn't hurt me.

The sofa I found myself sitting on was plushie, deep-seated, and cosy feeling. I was so tired. I hadn't been sleeping well since I discovered my stalker because fear had kept me awake.

I'll just rest my eyes. I thought as I waited for him to join me. With my head nestled into one of the sofa's pillow backs, I fell to sleep almost instantly.