She’d done it. She’d gone too far. 

The realization spread through Mila like dowse of icy water, sobering up any last vestiges of pleasure from the bite. Her dark eyes were wide and unblinking as she stared down at the bloody wounds, the disheveled hair, the weak rise and fall of Charlie’s chest. Mila took it all in and felt the shock of what she had done. She’d made a mess of this beautiful girl. The vampire had a sudden, desperate urge to stroke Charlie’s hair again, but she could only manage to hover over her, as if not daring to touch her fragile frame and risk doing any more harm. 

“I-.. but I didn’t want-…” Her voice caught. There was an ache in her throat that made it difficult for her to say anything. She tried to swallow the unfamiliar sensation away. She’d finally allowed her fingertips to stroke the sides of Charlie’s face and neck, as if trying to coax the life back into her. It was no use. Charlie wasn’t responding at all. For all she knew, she watching the girl’s body fail, right in front of her and there’s was nothing she could do…

[i]’Take her to a hospital. Expose yourself,’[/i] came a small voice from the back of her mind, one that Mila thought she had quieted a long time ago. She could do it. There might still be time to save her. The healthcare in this day and age was unbelievable, they could do incredible things now, they could..

“Oh!” Mila let out a quiet gasp as Charlie’s eyes fluttered open. She was awake! She was looking at her! [i]Thank god.[/i] The relief was immediate and powerful. She was never so pleased as she was now to see those blue orbs staring up at her. She could also see now from those large expressive eyes just how much pain her roommate was in. It brought another hollow ache to her chest. 

“Charlie…,” she began gently, unsure of what she could possibly say. [i]’Sorry I manipulated you into thinking I was a good person. Sorry I weaseled my way into your life just to seduce you. Sorry I almost killed you just now…’ [/i] She swallowed again and tried to peer into the girl’s dazed, blue eyes, her own gaze hesitant. But Charlie wasn’t looking into her eyes…she was staring at Mila’s lips, a horrified look on her face. They were still stained red with blood and glistening in dim moonlight from the window. Mila immediately drew her hands away from Charlie and wiped her mouth and chin with the back of her hand. All of a sudden, she was painfully aware of how monstrous she must have appeared.

“W-Wait! Don’t try to move,” she said beseechingly as she watched Charlie try to scramble backwards. The girl was way too exhausted to manage much more than a weak squirm. “You need to be still.” Mila felt disgusted with herself as soon as she said it, as she recalled making a very similar demand, under very different circumstances, earlier that night. She watched as Charlie lifted a frail hand to her neck to feel the ghastly bite marks and she could have let out a soft sob at the way the girl’s face broke into horrified realization. 

[i]"W-what are you?"[/i]

Mila winced at the fear and revulsion in Charlie’s tone and looked away without answering. What was she… Devil, demon, monster. [i]Vampire.[/i] Forced to walk the earth for all eternity, praying on hapless victims to keep herself sane. If she was supposed to have no soul, then why did she feel so much agony at the way Charlie’s cheeks had become wet with tears or at the disgust that was directed at her. She looked down at her hands in her lap. She felt repulsed at how bloody they were and tried to hide them in some way. By this point she had moved away from Charlie, still sitting on the couch but no longer straddling her waist. She stood up suddenly and went into the kitchen.

“Here…do you want-..?” She had a glass of water in her hands and she knelt beside Charlie to offer to help her drink it. How stupid and cruel she felt for doing it, as if it somehow did anything to make the situation any less sickening. “Please, just be still for a moment,” she repeated quietly. The last thing she wanted was for Charlie to overexert herself by trying to sit up, or worse, by trying to run away. Mila dared not to touch the girl, but she kept close enough to be ready to restrain her should she try anything. Though she hated herself for thinking it, there was no way she could let the girl escape the apartment any time soon to contact the authorities. She glanced at the coffee table, suddenly looking for something. 

“…Where’s your cell phone?” she asked softly, feeling a pang of guilt for having to ask the question.