I awoke to the feeling of soft blankets wrapped around me with my face buried in a down filled pillow. I felt safe and content until the memories of earlier came flooding back. My heart hammered in my chest as I sat up in the bed to look at my surroundings. When I moved however the pain that shot through my body forced me to lie back in the bed.
I took a deep breath bracing myself for the pain and tried, slowly this time to sit up in the bed. The pain was still there but it was manageable.
The room I was in was over twice the size of the one that I had stayed in at Cate's apartment. It was painted in rich warm tones with dark wood furniture.
The bed I was in was the biggest bed I had ever seen and had four posts with red and black fabric draped over it.
As I continued to take in my surroundings I heard a small click and looked over just in time to see the door open and a small figure slip through before closing it behind her.
She smiled and me and walked over to the bed with the grace of a large cat.
"I'm glad you're finally awake." Her voice was warm and friendly and sounded very familiar.
"You… You're the one that brought me here." It came out as more of a statement rather than a question but the woman nodded in answer as she stood by the nightstand.
"I was informed that you might have gotten yourself into trouble after Cate was taken to the hospital so I was sent to find you." I felt a stab of pain when the woman mentioned Cate and looked down at my hands as they clenched the blankets covering my lap.
"Though to be honest I was surprised to see you injured the way you were in an ally three blocks from Cate's apartment." The woman continued until she noticed the expression on my face.
"Like I said earlier you don't need to worry. Cate is doing fine and she will be coming here to see you later tonight."
I looked up at my rescuer with a tear streaked face.
"How can I even face her after what I've done." I choked out with a sob.
"None of this is your fault." The woman replied in a firm tone.
"Not my fault?!" I snapped. "I am a monster. I bit her and drank her blood…"
The woman was on top of me on the bed before I even had time to blink. I tried to push her away but she had a firm grip on my wrists as she looked at me with determination in her eyes. It was only then that I saw what was beneath that innocent exterior. I watched as her dark brown eyes bled to a blue so brilliant it could not be human.
"You aren't the only one who has a monster inside them." She whispered as she rested her forehead against mine. "The difference is I have come to terms with mine, and you are only discovering yours." She closed her eyes and took at deep shuddering breath. "You smell like him."
I pulled back a little, all of the sudden uncomfortable with the lack of personal space.
The woman frowned and climbed off the bed. I clutched the blankets closer to my body feeling a little intimidated by the woman's presence and a strong yearning to bolt from the room.
"You don't need to be afraid of me. I'm sorry I acted that way but you deserved to know in what kind of company you are with."
"You could have just told me." I grumbled even though my heart was still hammering in my chest.
The woman let out a humourless laugh. "I doubt you would have believed me." She turned to leave and paused at the door. "The bathroom is behind the closed door on the other side of the bed. There are clean towels on the counter and clothes that should fit you in the dresser. If you need anything else just ask." The woman pointed to the door that I had thought was a closet as she spoke. She then opened the door to leave.
"Wait." I called softly. "I don't even know your name."
She smiled. "It's Eve." She slipped out of the room and closed the door with a quiet click.
I waited for a few heartbeats before slowly crawling out of the giant bed.
My body still ached and my muscled protested as I hobbled over to the closed door to open it and peek inside.
It's true it was a bathroom, the biggest one I had ever seen.
There was a long counter with a mirror that ran the length of it and two sinks with elegant faucets.
The light in the bathroom was soft and inviting instead of the harsh brightness of most bathrooms.
There was a separate tub that was inlaid in marble and had stairs going up to it and in a separate area a shower that would accommodate more than one person at a time. I didn't really know what to think of it all but I knew I wanted to scrub away more than just the dirt, grime, and blood that still matted my hair and caked my body but the memories and feelings as well.
I stepped up to the giant tub and started to fill it with wonderfully warm water before removing my clothes to assess the damage from earlier today, or was it yesterday? I hadn't asked how much time had passed since I had escaped Peter by jumping out the window.
I took a deep breath as I stepped up to the mirror to examine my reflection. As expected my hair was dyed a dark black and rust colour and crunched under my fingers, but what startled me was the fact that my clothes had been removed and replaced with a soft white night shirt. There were clean bandages on my right arm and when I removed the nightshirt there were also bandages around my ribs.
I looked better than I thought I was going to I mused as my fingers brushed a large purple bruise on my right hip.
I decided not to dwell on my injuries as I quickly but carefully removed the bandages from the worst of them and slipped into the waiting bath water and turned off the faucet.
The warm water stung and soothed at the same time as I sat down in the tub and looked around at the various bottles that were lined in a neat row against the tiled wall in search of shampoo and soap.
I finally found the shampoo and tackled my head grumbling at the fact that it was going to take forever to get all the grime out of so much hair.
Once I declared myself sufficiently clean I wrapped myself in a soft white towel and shuffled back into the room I had woken in. There were clothes set out on the bed that looked like they would fit.
I quickly dressed into the black jeans and t-shirt before I opened the door and slipped out into the dim light of the hallway.