The silence in the room was loud and the intensity was palpable as his words registered. The flames from the fireplace cast shadows along the room, but all I could think about was that this had to be a joke. I blinked and turned my head to the side so I could get a better look at him. Beautiful brown eyes turned and stared back, an unyielding truth in them. I shook my head and chuckled. This was absurd.
There was no way Levi was a vampire. It was impossible. If anyone should have known that he was hiding something this big, I would know. No, he couldn’t be a vampire. He couldn’t be anything but what I’ve always known him as. Because if this was true, Levi had been lying to me his entire life. Levi was the one person I had who had never lied to me. He was the one solid thing in my life. He was the one person I could always depend on.
Even during the time we weren’t talking, I knew without a doubt that if I needed to, I could talk to him. What stopped me was the insecure thoughts I had. I thought I had done something to deserve losing him as a friend. This revelation felt like a slap in the face, it felt as if it put Levi in the space category as the others. That’s why this couldn’t be true. There hadn’t been any signs that he wasn’t human. How could I have missed that my best friend was a vampire?
Even as I denied it, my mind raced through the last few days with Levi, sweeping over all of the moments we’d shared. There had been small things, inconsistencies, and red flags that I had ignored. Just this morning, he pinned me up against the wall in the hallway. I hadn’t fought back, but I had ignored the way he moved so quickly. I hadn’t tracked his movements. The moment before I was up against the wall, I’d seen him at the bottom of the stairway.
My breathing sped up as I failed to remember him carrying me over to his bed. I hadn’t questioned how one second I was up against the wall and in the next I was spread out on his bed. Tears pricked the corners of my eyes and burred his warm chocolate orbs. Have I always been this bad at detecting when those close to me hid things? Was I so oblivious to the lies that came from the lips of the men I loved? How could I trust myself to see reality and fabricated hopes when I dated an abusive man and believed a liar?
I had blind faith in this man, so much so that I ignored any seed of doubt that sprouted. The day in the dark classroom, where he had me against the desk, when it had just been the two of us. I remembered swearing I’d seen his eyes glow red, I’d sworn I heard him growl, when that wasn’t something humans did, but still I refused to believe what I had seen and heard. I didn’t believe in myself or my judgment. What was I supposed to do now that I knew he was my mortal enemy? Werewolves and vampires were on the opposite sides of the friendship spectrum. Did this change anything? Yes. Did it also change nothing? Yes, and that scared me beyond reasoning.
“You’re… really one of them?” I asked. Levi nodded his head, confirming my fears. “Do you not understand that we’re committing a crime right now? We,” I said motioning between the two of us, “this, is forbidden,” I whispered. His jaw clenched and his eyes didn’t falter as he stared at me.
“I’m aware,” he murmured.
“And you did it anyway?” I hissed.
“I know what I want. Am—”
“Don’t, Levi! You knew… and still kept it from me? Did you not think I should have a say in this? Does my opinion not matter?” I asked. His eyes flashed and I felt my self getting irritated. “Is your real eye color brown, or is it red?” I spat.
“Yes to both. It’s like when a wolf pushes forward, their human counterparts eyes glow yellow. When I’m having a hard time staying in control or reigning in my… urges, the brown turns to red because I’m not trying hard to keep it back,” Levi answered.
His knowledge on my kind shouldn’t have shocked me, but it did. I’ve always wanted to tell him about what I was, but I feared he wouldn’t see me the same way. My chest shook and I laughed. He’d known the whole time and I spent years worrying about something that wouldn’t happen.
“Show me,” I breathed.
“Show you what?” He asked.
“Your eyes, Levi. Show me your eyes,” I demanded.
“Ami…” he trailed off.
He searched my features, but when he didn’t find what he was looking for, he sighed. He blinked and they were red. There was no denying it now as the boy, no, the man I’ve known since we were kids stared down at me with blood red eyes. Everyone knew that vampires had red eyes, at a certain age they need to feed on blood and that’s when the change happens. Never have I heard of them being able to change their eye color at will though. Maybe it was because they had no need to change it, or will. So why did Levi?
“Why are you able to change it? That’s not normal for your kind,” I whispered.
“Let’s just say that I’m different from my kind. There are hundreds of thousands of them… yet not a single one of them is like me. If anything… I’m one of a kind.”
I glared at Levi and his poor attempt at a joke. This was not the time, but that’s just who he is. He wouldn’t be Levi if he didn’t try to lighten the mood with his cockiness.