Chapter 15: 15

When I opened the bedroom door, I didn't see Scarlet. My heart skipped a beat and I dropped my backpack to the floor. The first place I looked was under the bed, but she wasn't there. I checked on top of the bed, next. The top sheet was missing. Normally if I kicked it off it ended up half on and half off but I couldn't find it.

My heart beat faster. Where was she?

Then I heard the quiet creak from my closet and whirled around. Her pale skin barely poked out of the doorway. The sunlight gleamed white off of it and she pulled the black sheet over it defensively before shutting the door again.

It clicked in my head and I got up and hastily moved my succulents and cacti away from the window before drawing the shade and then throwing an unused blanket over it. The blanket glowed red but there was so little light in the room.

The door creaked again.

"Is this dark enough?" I asked quietly.

She nodded and slowly stepped out of the closet.

My black sheet was wrapped around her shoulders.

"Sorry," I said. "I didn't realize you needed the darkness."

"The sun burns," she lamented. She stared at the red glow of the blanket. I felt like she might wish she could tear it away and bask in the sunlight.

"Sorry," I offered.

She looked back at me with another of those characteristic long gazes.

"How are you feeling?" I asked.

She shrugged and climbed onto my bed. She sniffed at the sheets, then the pillow.

I watched as she explored the soft cushion. And then she ran her finger along the flower pressings on my wall. Black rose petals and small unknown blossoms I found at a florist shop back after Dad had… well. A single wine-colored rose petal was framed between two sheets of glass and hung carefully from a screw.

She was in awe of my bedroom. It probably seemed so alien to her. And strange. When was the last time she'd seen something used as decoration?

And then she turned to my nightstand where a few of my plants had ended up. She tilted her head at one of the cacti, a cottony looking one and before I could stop her her finger was petting it.

She pulled back with a frown.

"Ah," I said. "That's a cactus," I explained.

"Cactus?" she echoed like it was a new word.

"Yeah, do they have cacti where you're from?"

She examined it carefully. "We do not have ouch cotton where I'm from," she explained.

"I see," I said. "I'm going to get us some food, will you be okay on your own?"

She nodded quietly and sat on the bed again. I tore my eyes away from hers and went to the kitchen.

Mike was there, chopping an onion and quietly humming to himself while Mom quietly stirred a pot of broth.

"Hey bunny," she said with a strained smile.

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"Hey," I said. I tried to ignore the dark circles under her eyes.

"Chicken and barley soup, tonight," Mike told me.

"Good," I said. "That'll be tasty."

I opened the fridge and started rummaging around in there and found an apple in the bottom drawer. It looked a bit old but after a good polish on my shirt, I deemed it to be acceptable.

I closed the fridge to find Mike and Mom looking at each other.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Don't spoil your dinner, " Mike told me.

"I won't," I said and slunk back into my bedroom.

Scarlet was standing on my dresser, observing something in the corner.

"I got you an apple," I said. She flinched and looked down at me. She stepped off the dresser.

I dropped the apple in shock. But she landed so lightly on her feet. It didn't sound any louder than my footsteps.

I let out a shaky breath. The apple rolled across the floor.

She crouched and grabbed it before it could escape.

She sniffed before biting it and glanced up at me.

She chewed on the fruit for a long moment.

"What are your needs?" I asked her.

She tilted her head quizzically.

"Like how the sunlight burns you," I pointed out.

She gave me a small nod. "Food, water, shelter," she said.

I waited, expecting more to follow but she went back to eating the apple, taking a noisy bite and wiping the resulting juice off with her hand.

"But, I mean. Do you need to drink blood? And sunlight bothers you, what about moonlight? And garlic and crucifixes?"

She gave me a puzzled look. "Blood is necessary," she said.

I sat on my bed, staring.

She sat next to me and huddled over her apple.

I wasn't sure if I could handle this. She was a dangerous creature. There was no way around that. But I doubted she would hurt someone I cared about. And I didn't think she'd hurt me unless I made her mad.

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