Alex woke up. It might not seem like a lot, but to her it was. Every day it seemed she had to claw her way to consciousness, had to fight to open her eyes. And every morning she found herself staring at the same dingy ceiling in the same tiny one room apartment with it’s rough plaster ceiling and the ceiling fan that hung down far enough to almost be a danger to anyone near it was wobbling away as it spun.

Alex sat up, the gray sheet covering her slid off of her body and pooled around her hips as she looked about. The walls hadn’t gotten any whiter while she was unconscious, and the old TV was still sitting on it’s dinged wooden stand. The dirty dishes were still piled in the sink. All was right in the world, as right as it ever got, anyhow.

She stood and staggered her way over to the small bathroom, one of the only real amenities in the apartment, and stared at herself in the mirror as if remembering who she was and what she looked like. She had blonde hair that hung down to just past her shoulders. They framed a pretty, if thin, face that was marred by her bloodshot brown eyes and a nose that had obviously been broken once. Her body was distorted by the oversized t-shirt she wore as pajamas, but it was good enough to get by, if she remembered correctly.

She performed all of her morning rituals and got ready to face the day. Dressed in a cheap but serviceable suit and pants, her green contacts in, she headed out.

-----

The night would find Alex at her usual haunt, an old hole in the wall bar frequented by a dozen or so regulars. They all new each other, and most of them rarely talked to each other. Occasionally a couple of them might go home together, but for the most part it was quiet and impersonal. The new folks who filtered in on occasion often never came back after one night. If someone did keep coming back though, they were given the same quiet respect the older folks got.

It was a nice enough bar, however. The thirteen booths around the outside were filled tonight, most of the occupants wearing suits of similar or lesser quality than Alex’s, while most of the tables and the bar itself were empty. Evan the bartender, Alex had never learned his last name for all that she kept meaning to, was wiping down the wood facing when she pulled up to a stool. He was looking delectable as usual, his black hair tousled artfully and his lithely muscular form covered by a black shirt that seemed almost painted on in a few places.

“Alex. Late tonight, eh?” he asked in the soothing baritone that was known to make women’s cares and inhibitions melt away.

“Long day,” Alex disliked her voice. She thought it was squeaky. People told her it wasn’t, but it sounded squeaky to her.

“Ah, that’s no good. That means you’re gonna want a double of the usual, doesn’t it?” he asked as he pulled out a glass.

“You know me too well.”

“Not as well as I’d like to. My offer still stands.” He poured a double shot of whiskey.

“Sorry Evan. I think I’ll have to stay the one that got away,” she said as she took the glass.

He managed a convincing hurt look; she had to grant him that. Still, Alex knew that he’d be hitting on all of the other women that came in. If that didn’t work out, which was rare, he’d just have to find something else to occupy him.

She swished her drink about a bit then drank the double shot down in one quick gulp. It was good, old whiskey, and it burned like hell going down. Just the way she liked it.

“Another?” Evan asked.

Alex shook her head, “Just a single shot. Stuff’s too expensive.”

“You and your Middleton’s,” he chuckled.

“You think I should drink any of the other crap?”

“Can’t go wrong with good old fashioned Jameson’s. Cheaper too.”

“Bleh. No thanks.” She took the glass Evan offered to her, and made her way over to a table off to the side of the bar. He went back to wiping down the bar.

She sat down and set her purse on the table.

And she waited.

----

Alex must have fallen asleep, because she woke up when she felt rain falling on her forehead. She was being carried by someone, but she couldn’t see who.

“Who?” she asked, both tired and drunk.

“Shhh, don’t worry, you fell asleep. I didn’t want to wake you.” Baritone. Black shirt. Muscles. Must be Evan, she thought. Damn.

“Did Jacob ever show up?”

“Nope. Sorry, babe.”

“Shit.”

“Want me to put you down?”

“Yeah. I can walk the rest of the way.”

----

Another day, another long struggle towards wakefulness for Alex. Yet another drudge through the morning, and a trip off to an unfulfilling job. After all was said and done though, she did the same thing and headed toward the old hole in the wall.

She didn’t make it there that night though. About a block away, a figure stepped out from the shadows. He was tall, closer to seven feet than six, with a long shaggy mop of sandy blonde hair framing an unshaven face. He was thin, almost skeletal, and was dressed in jeans and a button down black and red shirt. He looked at her, his eyes oddly clouded. For a second, he didn’t seem to recognize her and started staggering toward her. Then his eyes cleared and recognition showed in them. “Alex?” he said in a weak voice.

“Jacob?” She gasped. Alex rushed forward and caught him as he started to fall. It was only when she was holding him that she realized that his clothes weren’t supposed to be black and red. That the red was blood. “Oh god, Jacob, what happened?”

“Ambushed. Hit from behind. Don’t remember who did it. Look, Alex, you have to get out of here.”

“What? No, Jacob, I can’t just leave you like this. Come on, we have to get you to a doctor.”

“No. No doctors.”

“Okay, at least to my apartment.”

He hesitated, but after a moment said “Fine, but… leave me there. Don’t stay with me. Stay with a friend.”

She shook her head, “No.”

“You have to, i-“

“We’ll argue about it when we get you laid out. For now you have to walk, I can’t carry you by myself.”

“Fine, let’s just hurry…” he said.

----

It was a grueling drag to get Jacob to Alex’s apartment, but they made it. Alex lowered him onto the bed and he rolled sideways to stay off of his wounds.

“Alex, you have to go, you can’t stay here,” he said again.

“No, I’m not leaving you like this,” she replied as she started to take off his shirt. She gasped when she saw his wounds. He had four great, bloody slashes across his chest. He should be dead, she thought. “God Jacob, how much blood did you lose? How did this happen?”

“You should see the other guy,” he said weakly.

“He’s worse?”

“No, he’s fine. He was just huge.”

“You shouldn’t be joking at a time like this! Christ… we have to get you to a hospital Jacob! You should be dead! You can’t keep losing blood like that and live through it!”

“No, I can’t go to hospital.”

“You have to! I ca-“

“Alex-“

“-n’t believe you’re say-“

“ALEX!”

Alex jerked and looked at him. “What?”

“I’ll be all right. I just… I just need a couple of nights. Look, leave me here and stay at a friend’s apartment. I’ll be out of your way by the weekend.” He tried to sound reassuring. He wasn’t doing a very good job.

She stared at him for a moment, then said “No.”

“Why?” he asked, frustrated.

“I can’t… can’t leave you like this.”

“But you have to!”

“Why? You’re hurt! You could be dying! I can’t just leave you like this!”

“Alex, y-“ He was interrupted as she planted her mouth on his.

She pulled away and said in a wavering voice, “I can’t. I love you too much to just leave you alone like this.”

“But, you might die.”

“I don’t care. You might die too.”

“I’m telling you, I’ll be fine, but you have to leave.”

“No.”

“You have to.”

“No. I’m not leaving. This is my apartment, and there’s no way in hell I’m leaving you here to die in it without me with you. And if you don’t like it, I’ll get an ambulance here to drag your ass to the hospital.”

He sighed. He was silent for a moment, and when he spoke again he sounded defeated. “Fine… just don’t… don’t stay near me. Please?”

“Okay,” She said.

----

Alex finally got Jacob covered and comfortable, and after about half an hour, he seemed to fall asleep. What had happened, she wondered, knowing she probably wouldn’t ever know the answer. Jacob was secretive sometimes, and she knew this was going to be another of those times.

So, with a pillow and sleeping bag, she bedded down in the bathroom, and went to sleep.

----

Jacob snapped back to wakefulness. He smelled something. Food. He was covered in it. Why?

No.

No not that.

He looked down.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

It wasn’t supposed to end like this.

Jacob just cried, his tears washing away Alex’s blood. A vampire can live forever, he thought.

But when they lose someone… It hurts just as much each time.

“Never again,” he said as he cradled Alex’s lifeless body. “Never again.”

----

A new town, a new start, Jacob thought. This time, he wouldn’t make the same mistake. Not again. This time, he’d stay solitary. No more messy entanglements. Just me, myself, and I. That’s how I can get through this.

And then he saw a woman across the street. She was coming out of a bar with a couple of friends, all of them obviously a little drunk and more than a little happy. She was cute, too.

Maybe a little fun wouldn’t be too bad… it wouldn’t happen again, after all…

----

As always, feel free to send any feedback to my e-mail adress. I love to hear from anyone.