Jessica realizes her mistake

(Jessica's POV)

Jessica awakens. She looks at the clock: 8:22pm, way past sundown. Jessica rolls over in the bed, hoping for some early-evening snuggles with Linda before they face the day (night?). Her arm finds an empty mattress. Linda is out of bed already.

She must have woken up already Jessica thinks, yawning. Fuck, I'm thirsty she thinks, stretching. That is when she sees the crumpled paper note on the bed.

`

I will always love you. Always.

But I can't be with you. Not after what you did to me. I told you that I didn't want this. And you didn't care: you violated me. I need some time on my own to work things out.

I'm sorry.

The note is unsigned, but is obviously from Linda. Jessica crumples it, dropping it to the floor. Jessica struggles to hold back the tears, but she can't. Jessica is furious. Not at Linda, but at herself.

Linda was the one good thing in my life she thinks bitterly, and I destroyed it. Of course she left! No one that is good would willingly stay with a ... monster. Jessica chokes back a sob. I am no better than Elizabeth. I'm worse: Elizabeth doesn't bother pretending that she is good. Jessica hugs her knees and cries. I'm such a fool.

Jessica sees Joanna, Linda's first meal, sleeping naked on the floor. Jessica throws a pillow at the girl, who wakes up, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

"Come here!" Jessica commands, and the girl rises unsteadily to her feet, and walks over to stand beside Jessica. Jessica yanks on the girl's arm, pulling her down to the bed on her back. In the process, Jessica rolls on top of the girl, driving her fangs into the girl's throat carelessly. Blood pours into Jessica's mouth as she tears through the arteries. The human gurgles and whimpers as Jessica drains her. After thirty seconds, the girl is exsanguinated. Jessica, rolls back onto her back, and catches her breath. The emotional anesthesia of the fresh blood was only fleeting. Immediately, the despair over losing Linda returns. Hopelessness crashes over Jessica, and she cries again. She bangs her fists against the mattress, trying to turn off her emotions, but can't. Still more human than I realized Jessica thinks bitterly.

It is almost sunrise. Jessica still hasn't left her bed. She spent the night endlessly recriminating herself. She is unsure if she feels genuine remorse over what she did to Linda, or if she is just depressed about being left alone. At this point, it doesn't matter what the cause is. The desolation is real.

Calmly, wiping the tears from her cheeks, Jessica gets up from the bed. She washes, and dresses herself. Her eyes are red and puffy she notices, but even a night of crying can't erase her ethereal, vampiric beauty. A hollow beauty she thinks dejectedly. Jessica gets a pair of handcuffs from the dresser. She runs her hands over them, remembering her games with Linda. Taking the handcuffs, she exits the house that she shared with Linda, never to return.

It is still cold. The sky has lightened, but there is no direct sunlight yet. Dew covers the grass. Some scattered birds are chirping, but otherwise the town is eerily silent. In an hour or so it will be bustling with activity: men and women commuting to work, landscapers mowing lawns, children walking to school. But for now, it is silent. Frozen in time.

Jessica walks the streets as the sky gets brighter and brighter. It won't be long now she thinks. It's been so long since I saw a sunrise.

Jessica walks to a nearby park. The sun is just above the horizon now, casting long shadows. Jessica spots a flagpole. She goes and sits down, her back to the pole, her butt in the cool damp grass. She handcuffs her hands behind the flagpole and awkwardly throws the key out of her reach. Still in shadow from the trees, she see the sun's rays peeking above the foliage.

Jessica smiles, excited to finally see a sunrise.