Fallen Blood by Martin C. Sharlow

had seen bigger closets than this before. He couldn't believe he had fallen asleep. He couldn't remember the last time he had done that. It wasn't too much later than puberty that he had stopped sleeping. Once his vampiric tendencies had begun to manifest, a lot of what people called normal disappeared from his life. Not that he missed any of them. After all, he could still do most of them if he wanted to. Sleep, eat, love. All those things were still possible once his heritage manifested, it was just that most of that he really had no interest in any longer.

    The fact that he had fallen asleep without meaning to showed how far gone he was at the moment. Now that he really gave it some thought, he didn't feel as hungry as well. That was definitely not a good sign. He bent down and splashed some more water into his face. The cool sensation felt good as it ran down his face. Well, it was time to go. Actually, it'd been time to go when they got there. He had only meant to watch over Heather until she fell asleep, before traveling back to his home. He had given it some thought, and he had decided before his unexpected nap, to keep his blood supply at his house. He didn't want to risk freaking Heather out. He knew eventually he was going to have to share with her what he was, and he hoped, just like in the books he had read, that she would still accept him. Yeah, he knew that was most likely wishful thinking. No one in their right mind would want to be with a blood sucker. Yet, he did hold some hope in his heart.

    There must be some primal instinct inside a woman's heart that would attract her to his sort, otherwise, why would there be so many stories about it? Somewhere deep inside of them, they must have a secret yearning. Her, too.

    The door creaked in protest as he slowly opened it to look upon her as she slept. Once again, he was going to miss the opportunity to spend time with her as she slept. He couldn't help but chuckle at that. Here he was, spending all his free time with her, and what was he worried about? Missing out on her dream time as well. He shook his head at himself, as he crossed the room and sat in the small brown chair that came with the room. It was stiff and without a doubt, the most uncomfortable thing he had ever sat in. Thankfully, he wasn't paying to sit in it. Otherwise he might have more than just words for the clerk before they left tomorrow. Heather stretched, then turned in his direction. He half expected to see her look at him and smile, until he saw that her eyes were still closed. Wishful thinking. Especially the smiling part. He felt a bit responsible for the trouble she was in, until he remembered that it was Chuck who had started the whole thing. Him and his stupid friends. In a way, he did owe that lumbering idiot his thanks. If it hadn't been for him, he wouldn't be sitting in this motel room in the middle of nowhere with the woman of his dreams. He'd have to thank him if he ever got the chance.

    Pain shot through his head, ending at the back of his eyes. It was starting again, and if he didn't get going he was in for even worse. Normal human things could only do so much. The sleep had restored a bit of his power, but it never could do very much for him, and in the end it would actually do nothing. Brian reached over to the curtains hanging from the window and peeled them back just far enough for him to see out the window from his chair. The sky looked a little overcast tonight, and that was a good thing, because based on there current look, dawn wasn't too far away. Great, he had slept the greater part of the night away. He couldn't believe he could be that irresponsible. He looked over at the sleeping form of Heather. Well, he was just going to have to go, there was nothing else he could do. If he didn't, he would be absolutely no help to anyone. Not to mention the mother of all headaches he'd be sporting. No, there wasn't anything to think about. He had to do it. He should be back