I stayed awake the entire night. I couldn't sleep because of this damn Rose!! I glanced at the calendar hanging on my bedroom door.
'The day is coming. I need to get back to the mansion as soon as possible. The full moon is approaching, and I'm too vulnerable if I stay here.'
I simply closed my eyes at the thought.
.
.
.
.
.
.
'Footsteps! I hear footsteps!!'
I frowned when I confirmed that the footsteps I could hear were getting closer to my room. Hearing my door open, I simply let whoever this nuisance had come inside. If it was Jane, I was sure she'd be scared. Of all people, she knew best that I hated being woken up, especially on weekends.
I kept my eyes closed even though I wasn't actually asleep. I heard her giggle as she walked toward me. She was probably about to wake me up, but before she could get any closer, I opened my eyes and looked straight at her.
She was clearly startled it's obvious by her reactions. It was as if all the blood had drained from her face.
"Hehe! Sorry, peace! I'm leaving!" she said while slowly backing away before quickly rushing out of my room.
I couldn't help but laugh at her reaction. Shaking my head, I got up to start my day. Once again, I looked at my calendar, counting the days I had left before the full moon. I sighed at the sight of the days passing by.
'This is my third full moon. I'm in big trouble.'
I winced at my own thought. Trouble, indeed!! I shook my head, trying to push the thought out of my mind. I started getting myself ready after remembering that I had some guest's downstairs who probably hadn't eaten yet. After getting myself ready, I went downstairs.
"Morning."
I noticed the three of them looking at me as I came downstairs. There they were, just sitting there like little kids who had done something naughty and were now afraid of getting scolded.
"Morning, Ray."
"What do you guys want for breakfast?"
"Anything is fine."
The other two didn't object to Jane's answer. Once I reached the bottom of the stairs, I headed straight to the kitchen to cook.
A few hours later, I called them over to eat.
"Time to eat."
It didn't even take a few seconds before they were already at the table, starting to eat. We were eating quietly when I received a call. At first, I didn't think it was for me. I only realized it when I saw my phone lighting up on top of the kitchen counter. I had forgotten that I even had a phone. I didn't really use it anyway.
I stood up to answer whoever was calling me. I stared carefully at the caller ID.
Mansion!!!
"Tsk! Hello? What is it?" I answered the call.
Maybe they were calling to ask if I was coming home for the semester break.
"Young Lady? Good morning! I just wanted to ask if you'll be coming home during your semester break?"
"Yes, Lola Ester. I'll be coming home. Please prepare that room. I'll be needing it."
Aside from Lol0 Brent, the household staff at the mansion—especially Lola Ester—also knew my true identity.
Lolo never kept anything from them, and I knew I was safe with them. The people who worked at our mansion were either complete orphans or people who had left their own homes and had nowhere else to go.
It's better that Lola Ester knows what will happen to me because during the full moon, I need to return to my vampire self.
Yes, I'm a vampire.
And the full moon isn't exactly a good time for me. I need to stay away from people because, whether I like it or not, my body will start craving blood. That's why I prefer going back to the mansion during times like this. I've never drunk human blood before. I usually drink animal blood, but there are only certain animals whose blood I can drink.
Like dogs! I don't know why, but it's dogs. There's something about their blood that's similar to human blood. I don't know… maybe it's the taste. But according to Lolo Brent, the day will come when I'll start craving the taste of blood from my own kind.
"Yes, Young Lady. It will be done."
"Lola, just call me Hija. You know I don't like it when you call me that. Please let the others know that I'll be coming home too."
"Okay! As you wish, Hija. Take care."
"Yes. I'd also like Lolo's grave to be cleaned."
"Of course. I'll ask Berto to take care of it."
"Thank you, Lola."
After the call ended, I went back to the table to continue my interrupted meal. If you're wondering why I can eat the same food humans eat, it's because I'm not like the vampires you see in movies.
I can live just like a normal human. I'm not afraid of sunlight like typical vampires. I don't burn when exposed to sunlight either.
I don't know anything about a vampire's abilities because I grew up among humans. I don't have any other powers—well, at least that's what I think, since I haven't noticed any other abilities, I might have.
Except that all my senses become enhanced whenever there's a full moon. It's something I know nothing about because Lolo Brent never got the chance to teach me about it either. Sometimes I really think Lolo might be a vampire too. Haha!
"Who was that, Ray?" Jane asked me when I sat back down in my seat.
I looked at her first before answering. Sometimes I really think she's going to become a reporter someday. She's way too nosy.
"It was Lola Ester. She was asking if I'm going home for the semester break," I answered.
I really had no choice. She wouldn't stop asking me about it anyway.
"You're going home?"
"Yes."
"I'm coming with you."
"What? Why do you have to come with me? Your mom is still here, right?" I asked her.
Damn it. I'm trying to get away from people, and now you're coming with me! -_-
"Mom already went home. Come on, please let us come with you."
"Why did it suddenly become 'us'? You said earlier that you were coming alone."
"They're coming too. That way, we can also see where you grew up."
I ended up facepalming. I know Jane. Once she decides on something, she'll keep pushing until she gets her way. And now, that something was going home with me to the mansion. It's not that I didn't want them to come, it's just… Arghhh!!
"Jane, you guys are just going to get bored there. Don't come."
"Come on, please. Pretty please." She looked at me like a puppy.
She knows me too well. She knows I can never say no to her.
"There's no internet there," I added, hoping she'd change her mind.
"What? Even more exciting! Provincial-style!" she said excitedly.
Nope. This girl really wasn't going to back down!
"But—" I hadn't even finished my sentence when she cut me off.
"Come on, please! I've known you for so long, but I still don't know where you grew up or what your childhood was like. I've already told you everything about myself, and then there's you…"
She was guilt-tripping me now. I stared at her. By this point, she was already pouting because her puppy eyes hadn't worked on me.
The more I want to tell you, the more afraid I am that you might not accept me. You're the only one I have in this world, Jane.
I let out a quiet sigh at my own thoughts. I wouldn't be able to handle it if those puppy eyes she always gave me were replaced by a look of fear.
This time, I knew I had no way out. Even without asking, I could already tell that the other two idiots agreed with Jane's suggestion earlier. What? They want to know about my childhood too? Tsk. -_-
"Okay, okay. Enough with the pouting. You guys can come with me. Happy?" I said, or rather, asked her. Her face immediately lit up at my answer.
"Yes! Very happy! Haha!"
We finished breakfast with nothing but laughter and stories. Now, I was alone in my apartment. The other three had already gone home, though Jane was just next door. I found myself thinking about our conversation earlier.
I was starting to worry about what would happen with them coming with me to the mansion. This was the first time I had ever brought friends there. Why the hell did I agree?! Shit!!
I started packing the things I would be taking back to the mansion when I suddenly remembered that I hadn't told Lola Ester that I'd be bringing guests with me.
Shit!!!
I grabbed my cellphone, which I had once again left on the kitchen counter. I really had no love for that thing.
I dialed Lola Ester's number, and boom—no load. Haysssttt.
I decided to go to Jane's apartment and ask to use her phone, knowing she always had load.
After I finally managed to tell Lola Ester about it, she scolded me! Of course, what I was doing was too dangerous. But there was nothing she could do except sigh in resignation.
According to Lola, I needed to be extra careful. She also decided to go to the market in town to stock the refrigerator with food. I told her to just pick us up from my apartment on the day we were leaving so it wouldn't be too much of a hassle.
Hours passed, and while the whole world was already fast asleep, here I was, wide awake.
I hadn't been sleeping properly for several days now, but I was letting it be. There was nothing I could gain from forcing myself to sleep anyway. I might just end up having another bad dream.
THE NEXT DAY
I'm here in the classroom right now, waiting for the time to pass. We still needed to submit our requirements before the semester break, and of all days, the deadline had to fall on a Monday. -_-
Today was our last day, and it was also the day we were finally going home to the mansion. I had already told them that the driver would pick us up at my apartment.
"Ray, come on. Let's go home. I already submitted our last project requirement to Ma'am Silva," Jane said as she approached me.
I raised an eyebrow at what she said.
That's it? I thought we still had to present it. -_- I didn't bother answering. I was too lazy to talk anyway, so I simply nodded in response.
We went to the cafeteria first so we could grab something to eat while waiting for the other two. They said it would take them a little longer because their teacher had given them something else to do. It didn't take long before the two of them finally arrived. They ate as well before we headed home.
"Where are your things?" Jane asked Ashter and Wilbert.
I noticed it too. Neither of them was carrying anything.
"Ah, those? We left them with the guard at the gate. It would be such a hassle to carry them around all day, right? Our semester break is almost three weeks long, so they're pretty heavy, babe," Wilbert answered Jane.
Did I mention that these two are dating? That's also why that big-breasted girl picked a fight with Jane. I can't remember her name anymore. You can just look back and check.
A few minutes later, we were back at my apartment. We were traveling back to the mansion at night because I didn't want them to see the road clearly on the way there. At least if it was dark, they wouldn't remember the route, right?
I just didn't want to give them a reason to come back because I had no plans of doing this again. Even now, I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out.
A few hours later, we finally arrived at the mansion.
The three of them were completely amazed by the design and sheer size of the house.
"Young Lady! It's good that you're finally home. The rooms for your guests have already been prepared."
I looked at the housemaid who had spoken. If I remembered correctly, this was Cherry, Lola Ester's only granddaughter.
"Cherry, stop calling me Young Lady!" I told her gently so I wouldn't scare her. One of the last things I wanted was for the household staff in this mansion to be afraid of me. "I've been telling you guys that for so long."
The mansion was huge, so there were quite a lot of household staff here as well. I don't think you'd want me to introduce every single one of them to you.
"Yes, Yo—Rayla."
I preferred it when they called me by my name, especially since she was older than me. But the respect was still there, which was a clear sign that I was the owner of the house. Hehe.
"Oh, right! This is Jane. I've told you about her before, Nana."
I pointed at Jane, who immediately waved and then took Nana Ester's hand to her forehead in a respectful mano. I then pointed at Wilbert and Ashter.
"And these are my new friends. They're Wilbert and Ashter."
Just like Jane, the two of them also greeted Nana Ester with a respectful mano.
"Hmm! Welcome to the mansion. I hope you enjoy your short stay here."
Nana glanced at me when she said that. Even without her saying anything else, I already knew exactly what she meant.
"Please follow me so I can show you the rooms you'll be staying in. We'll just call you when it's time to eat."
The three of them followed Cherry, leaving me alone in the living room. I sat down on the sofa for support. I had already been feeling the effects of the approaching full moon for a while now. I was already struggling. My entire body was starting to feel unbearably hot.
"Hija, are you okay?" Lola Ester asked worriedly. I looked at her and saw her eyes widen in shock.
"Nana? Why?" I asked in confusion. I hadn't even answered her question yet, but from her reaction, it looked like she had suddenly lost her train of thought.
"Hija, the color of your eyes has changed! That's strange. Your eyes don't usually do this whenever there's a full moon, do they?"
I quickly stood up at Nana Ester's words and walked over to the mirror in the living room. I stared at my reflection. She was right. The color of my eyes had changed. They were gold now, almost like the eyes of a wolf. But why? I tried closing my eyes, hoping that maybe they would return to normal.
I was afraid Jane might see me. No! Shit! It was a huge mistake agreeing to let them come with me. If something new like this kept happening to my body, then they were in even more danger—and so was I.
When I opened my eyes again, they had returned to their normal appearance. I let out a sigh of relief for now because, at least tonight, I could still hide my true identity. But what about tomorrow?
"Rayla, Hija? You should get some rest for now. The room you asked for has already been prepared. You can rest there, and I'll just call you when it's time for dinner later. Your drink is already there as well."
"Thank you, Nana."
I gave Nana Ester a hug before finally heading upstairs. I ran into Cherry, who was coming back downstairs. She had probably already shown the three of them to their respective rooms. I smiled at her and motioned for her to come closer.
"Po?" she asked, looking confused.
It was the first time I had ever called her over just to give her a hug. This was a side of me that only they knew about—not even Jane knew about it.
"Thank you for staying despite what you found out about me."
I was genuinely grateful that all of them had stayed. I had always thought they would leave me and abandon me after Lolo died. That was one of the things I feared the most—losing the people I considered family. I remember saying that my world revolved around only two people: Lolo Brent and Jane. But after they showed me how much they cared about me and worried about me, I learned to trust them too.
"I want to stay by your side, Rayla, not because we promised Don Brent that we would, but because we can see the goodness in you behind your true identity," she answered with a smile, gently cupping both of my cheeks with her hands.
This was how close I had become to them. Even though I couldn't shake the feeling that the closer I became to them, the more their lives would be put in danger.
"Get some rest for now, Miss. We'll take care of things in the dining area."
With that, she turned her back to me and headed downstairs.
I continued walking toward the room Nana Ester had mentioned earlier.
When I reached it, I stared at the door for a moment before finally stepping inside.
This room was soundproof.
Why? Because on the day of the full moon, I became unbearably loud. I couldn't explain it, but the pain throughout my body became so intense that I would end up making a lot of noise.
They also made sure that I couldn't leave this room to look for people. That's why, whenever the full moon came, they would make sure there was a live animal inside the room with me. For now, I was still okay because what I was feeling was only mild. Although… there was something different about the way I was feeling this time.
My body was getting unbearably hot. I could feel myself becoming thirsty, but it wasn't as intense as it had been before. It felt like my body was craving something else—something I couldn't explain.
Is this it, Lo?
The only thing I remembered Lolo telling me about the third full moon was that it wouldn't be good. I didn't really understand what he meant. All he said was that it would be an unpleasant experience.
I glanced at the calendar. Three more days. Three more days before the actual full moon, and I was already feeling this terrible. I grabbed a glass of blood from the bedside table and drank it.
To be honest, I didn't even feel like I needed blood right now. I don't know. I just couldn't explain how my body was working at the moment.
Oooppppppsie! Another chapter! Sorry for the long wait! Author has been a little busy these past few days. I'll make it up to you, okay?!!! Anywaysss, I hope you liked this chapter! ❤️