I wake up to heat beaming onto my face from the morning sun outside my window. My eyes flutter open and I sit upright rubbing my head.
Rays of sun and random blurry circles fill my vision.

I open my eyes to the very familiar sight of my messy bedroom.

After a moment last nights memories start flooding back into my head.

I quickly run to the mirror on my closet door and examine my neck.

But there was nothing, no wound, bruise or scar.

I poked it, and it was like nothing happened.

All of a sudden flashes of me walking home, and getting into bed flash into my mind.

Memories of me going to the pier and writing like a normal flood into my mind, except the women that died was just mugged.

It's like I had two versions of the same night in my head.

All of a sudden a wave of sharp pains combined with aches comes over my head.

"Argh..!" I fall to my knees as I hold onto my pounding head, and just as quickly as it comes it goes.

I look at myself in the mirror, as I start to question my sanity.

I walk into the bathroom and brush my teeth as I try to figure out whether what I had was a dream or if it was real.

I didn't have classes until tomorrow on Monday so I had the day to myself.

I spent one last long look in the mirror looking at my neck checking for anything out of the ordinary, also scouring my room for any clue as to which version was true.

I took a quick shower and threw my thick and curly black hair into a high ponytail. I threw on my typical casual outfit and was out the door an hour later.

—-
"Naomi."

...

"Naomi!" Marce said, throwing a sugar cube into my lap.

"Sorry." I say snapping out of my daze, meeting with a pair of stern bright blue familiar eyes.

Marce and I met up to study, because despite whatever just happened, it was still the middle of the semester.

"We don't have to study, we can just talk." She says closing her book and leaning closer to me.

"But, midterms are coming up soon and I can't afford even one B this semester. I need to keep my scholarships." I say opening her book back up.

"That's true. But what's the use of studying if it isn't going to stick. Something's obviously on your mind." She says.

I shoot her a reluctant look but I quickly give in. I always told Marce everything and I knew I wouldn't be able to keep this from her that long anyway.

"Ok, but we can't talk where. Let's talk in the car." I say gathering my things.

She does the same and we head to my car.
As soon as both car doors are closed I say..

"Ok, so this is going to really crazy but Vampires are real and I saw them last night." I blurt out, half excited and half nervous for her response.

She stares blankly for a moment.

And I quickly explain to her what I think happened last night and the three guys that appeared and how I was bitten and I don't really remember coming home but I have memories of coming home.

She nods as I tell my story and patiently listens.

"First, are you okay?" She asks.

"I'm not crazy--"

"No, I mean were you hurt at all in any way?" She says eying my neck, looking for the same kind of wounds I was this morning.

"Besides possibly being bit, Yeah...You believe me?" I say, shakily.

"Well, you aren't the type to prank me with this kind of thing, I've always taken you pretty seriously. Also, it's interesting." Marce says in a thoughtful tone.

"Let's go back to that same spot, you said the concrete cracked under his hand right? If we can find the same spot maybe we might be able to find something out." She says.

I immediately start the car up and head straight for the pier.

I send a toothy grin that says 'thank you' as I speed down the street.

—-

After 15 minutes of driving and my rambling of if they did exist what this could mean, we finally arrive.

We hurriedly get out of the car and run to the fence I usually enter from, which was not the main entrance. It was more so off to the side of the pier by the docks. It was my little private spot, away from the action of the pier but still in it, right under it and by the water.

We climbed through the hole I cut some months ago and she followed me to the spot I was supposedly in last night. As I jog up to the familiar sight I see something shimmering in the distance on the ground.

As we approach, I notice it's my pocket knife.
I put it up and show it to Marce who has seen me threaten to use it a couple of times over the years (of course not on her).
I then look at the wall to see it cracked in the same spot.

Chills run down my spine at the fact that something that strong exists and If they those other guys weren't there then...
I gulp as trace my fingers over where the wound should've been.

Marce looks over at me with a look that shows me she was playing along at first, but now she believes a little more.

"Well.. what now?" She says finally after a while of examining the wall.

"Well... I don't know exactly. But we should just go, for now, I don't want to hang in this area for too long. I wanted to check on my dad anyway."

"Y-yeah.." Marce says immediately making her way back to the car.

I could tell we both felt the same chilling aura in the air.

-----------

My mom has been out of the picture for years now. They were a happily married couple who struggled to have children, so I was an only child, but they both had a lot of health problems. My mom died of heart failure when I was in middle school and it's just me and My dad. Over the recent years his health steadily declined, so much so that I was sure I'd be lucky is he could make it to my college graduation which was just shy of 2 years away.

As I turned the keys to my father's house I was greeted with stone-cold air. He loved the cold, this was the reason I moved out-- I loved the heat. But although I had left the comfort of home to escape the cold I couldn't bring myself to leave this even colder town. He had a nurse come to look after him the majority of the week, but the times she wasn't there I came to check in on him.

"Hey, Dad!" I shout from the bottom of the creaky stairway.

I hear the shower running.

Marce makes her way to the living room to sit and wait for me.

As I walk up the stairs the air becomes thicker and warmer.

"Dad?" I step into his bedroom and find his mirror fogged with the heat of the shower.

"Dad!" I run over to the bathroom bursting the door open. A couple of months ago he took a shower and fell, and laid there all night until the nurse came and found him in the morning. That's why I started coming by more often.

"Naomi!" He shreiks.

"Can a man have some privacy?" He chuckles as he continues showering.

"Sorry... You really scared me." I sigh in relief as I step out of the bathroom.

"I'm just finishing up, come help me out of the shower." He says as he turns the shower off.

As usual, I wait for him to dry off and put on the robe I bought with my allowance as a kid for him and my mom as an anniversary gift.

"You know, I got you a new one so you didn't have to wear this old thing anymore," I say softly as I guide him out of the bathroom, glancing at the newer robe I bought him a year ago.

"It doesn't feel as good as this one." He smiles, somehow sadly.

I smile back, with the same sadness.

"I'll leave you to it, then I can take you to your doctor's appointment. Let me know when you're ready." I say as I walk out of the room and close the door softly behind me.

Before I make it even halfway down the stairs I start to hear him having a small fit of coughs, this was normal, but I still..

"Dad?" I say stopping on the stairs turning around mid-step.

"I'm f-fine.. Naomi.. Ack!" He tries to spit out as I hear a loud thump.

I feel a chill creeping up my spine, and I run back up the stairs to open the bedroom door to find him having a fit of coughs on the ground.

I run to him an throw his arm around my shoulder.

He pulls his hand away from his mouth, revealing blood on his palms.