章 302: I'm never leaving you again

As the room began to empty, Isabel, Lydia, the doctor, and my grandfather silently filed out one by one, leaving me alone with Elena.

The soft click of the door closing felt almost final, sealing me in the quiet stillness of the apartment with the weight of my thoughts. 

I knelt by the couch, my eyes fixed on her pale face. Guilt twisted deep inside me, threatening to consume any moment of peace I could have felt now that the chaos had passed.

My fingers trembled as I gently brushed a stray lock of hair from her forehead, the softness of it grounding me for a fleeting second.

She looked so peaceful in her sleep, but I knew better. I knew what nightmares might be hiding behind those closed eyelids, and I hated that I was the one who caused them.

The memory of her blood, the warmth of it, the way it tasted it made me sick now, knowing I had taken it without her permission, in a moment of complete weakness.