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little girl, I’d been plagued with very involved and detailed dreams.   Then again, I thought as I considered my erratic sleep pattern as of late, the idea of me sleeping at all was something to be grateful for.
    When I woke, my neck was stiff and pained.   My mouth felt dry and cottony, as if I hadn’t had anything to drink in days.   Then it dawned on me:   Maybe I hadn’t.   For all I knew, I could have been asleep for a mere few hours or perhaps a few days.   Struggling to become more alert, I realized I had no sense at all regarding how long I’d been asleep.   
    With less effort than the last time, I opened my eyes and glanced around the dark room, taking a few long moments to get adjusted.   I blinked several times, then noticed the heavy black curtains covering the window, darkening the room so much that I could barely make out a thing.  
    I sighed, lifting the blankets and stepping out of the bed.   My legs were shaky, as if they hadn’t been used before.   My body felt weak ;   my head swam.   I clumsily made my way over to the curtains and pulled them open, peering out into the fading sun-lit sky.   I saw a faint reflection of myself in the glass, moving my fingers toward my cracked lips.
    Without warning, I heard the door open and saw Darren walk in—and then gasp in pain as he jerked back out.   I stopped myself from gasping as my gaze darted toward the bedroom door.   I saw the splash of sunlight that had been in his path and I quickly dropped the curtain.   It only took a moment for him to step back in.   “I’m sorry, ”   I said, my breathing short and quick, as if afraid. “I…I—”
    “It’s not your fault, ”   his voice was strained and I could tell he was in pain.   Not knowing what to do with the situation—or myself—I stood there, fidgeting with my hands.
    “Are you alright?”   I asked after a moment.   He kept his head down while he nodded.   “I…I just woke up and…”   I began to explain, but as I realized it was probably unnecessary, I stopped and cleared my throat, looking at the floor for a moment.  
    Finally, I decided to change the subject, attempting to defuse the awkwardness before finding his eyes.   “I…do you have a shower?”   I heard him laugh softly and I realized how stupid that must have sounded.   What kind of home would come without some sort of shower?   Surely vampires took them, too.
    The word vampire stuck in my mind and I expected to feel some kind of wave of fear—or at the very least a shiver—but nothing happened.   I felt my cheeks redden and I turned my gaze back to the floor.
    “Yes, I have a shower—there’s one right through that door, and another out here.” I heard him clear his throat.   “I don’t have much…but there’s a towel and everything in the bathroom already.   Something you can change into, if you’d like.”   I nodded, trying to keep my mind away from the oddity of the situation.
    “I…”   I stopped.   I didn’t know what to say in a situation like this.   Had this been a normal circumstance—perhaps with a boy instead of a vampire, I decided I would have been just as awkward.   Phe was always so much better with boys—
    Thinking her name sent a fresh wave of pain through my system and I again had to struggle not to cry out.   I clenched my teeth and blinked back the tears that had immediately formed in my eyes, trying my hardest to contain myself.  
    After several moments, I felt the pain, worse than any sense of physical pain I’d ever experienced, begin to ebb, and the breath I’d been holding in my lungs screamed for escape.   I exhaled slowly, suddenly aware that Darren was watching me, and I carefully avoided his gaze.   I couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking, denying myself the urge to ask.
    Sighing, I walked over to the door he had gestured to and opened it, pausing briefly before turning around.  
    “Thank you, ”   I told him.
    It was