“Jane. Come out. I’m not going to hurt you” A pause “Allow me to explain?” he said. I was having no difficulty in deciding whether to keep hiding or go meet the murderer.

“Jane. Look I know you’re in the bedroom. Sorry if that scares you but I just thought you should know that I know where you are” he said. I wondered how he could stand there and speak to me so calmly.

“Please go away” I whispered.

“Jane…” he said, I was surprised he had heard me. “Look if it helps, I did it for you” That shocked me too much, I ripped myself free of the covers and got out of the bed

“What?!” I half-yelled. I heard him step in the kitchen

“Are you going to talk to me now?” he said, the first hint of nervousness touching his voice. I clutched the knife and peeked around the door, to see him standing there, arms down, looking as helpless as I had ever seen him.

“Jane” he repeated. He sounded almost pleased. I shivered, and he grimaced.

“Yes, I thought it would be like that” he muttered.

“What do you want from me?” I asked. His eyes met mine, and I looked away from them, not wanting to feel what I felt when I looked into his eyes.

“Err…Look you can’t tell anyone okay?” he said in a rush. It would have been comical, if it wasn’t so serious a topic.

“What so you can get away?” I said, revolted.

“Well…” he looked down “How do I say this?” he whispered so low I wasn’t sure if I was meant to hear. He looked up with a sudden determination in his eyes.

“Jane. I am a vampire. There. Said, now try to tell that to anyone” he said bitterly. I gasped and froze. A vampire? No that wasn’t true. They didn’t exist. It was laughable that he should think I’d believe that. But then…the cold lips, and hands, the way his eyes seemed sometimes to flash a dangerous red, the way his lips felt at my neck, and finally the blood on the bed, and his lips at Alexis’s neck. I looked at him. How could something so beautiful be so revolting and dangerous?