The dorm hallway was quiet, the kind of silence that feels too heavy to breathe through.
Patricia had knocked for the fifth time. "Elise, please. Just let us in."
No sound. No movement. Only the faint hum of the corridor lights.
Anastasia leaned her head against the door, voice soft. "You don't have to talk. Just… let us stay with you. We're worried."
Inside, Elise sat on the floor, knees pulled to her chest, staring blankly at the shadows under her bed. Her heart still pounded with the echo of Davon's voice, the look in his eyes when she'd called him a monster.
She hadn't meant it — not really.
But she'd seen the hurt flash through his face before he turned away, and it replayed in her mind over and over again.
A soft knock again.
"Elise," Patricia whispered, "please."
Something broke. With a trembling sigh, Elise stood and unlocked the door. The click sounded louder than it should have.
When the door opened, Patricia and Anastasia didn't speak — they just walked in and hugged her.
Tight. Warm. Real.
Elise froze at first, then the tears came — hot and endless. "I—I called him a monster," she choked out. "I said horrible things. He looked so hurt, and I…"
Patricia gently rubbed her back. "You were scared, Elise. Anyone would be. Finding out that the person you—" She paused, glancing at Anastasia. "—the person you care about isn't even human… that's a lot to process."
Elise wiped her eyes, shaking her head. "But he trusted me. And I destroyed that."
Anastasia sat beside her on the bed. "He still cares. You should've seen his face after. He looked broken, Elise. Like losing you hurt more than anything."
Elise's lips trembled. "But how am I supposed to face him? Every time I close my eyes, I see his fangs. His eyes… the way they glowed."
Patricia sighed softly. "You're forgetting the part where he saved your life — more than once. Vampire or not, that doesn't change who Davon is."
Anastasia nodded, her voice gentle. "He didn't choose to be what he is. But he chose you. Every single time."
Elise went silent. The weight of their words sank in like slow rain. She remembered the warmth of his hand when he stopped her from falling, the teasing smile he wore just for her, the way he'd looked at her like she was his whole world.
And then the memory of his expression when she flinched away — that quiet, hollow pain — pierced straight through her heart.
She whispered, voice breaking, "I hurt him."
Patricia and Anastasia shared a look, then both reached for her hands. "Then make it right," Patricia said softly. "Talk to him. Let him see you're not afraid anymore."
Elise hesitated, eyes glistening. "What if he doesn't want to see me?"
Anastasia smiled faintly. "Then he's lying to himself."
That made Elise laugh through her tears — a small, shaky sound that filled the quiet room. They sat like that for hours, talking about everything — the vampires, the secrets, their fears. By the time the clock hit midnight, Elise's heart felt lighter.
When the girls finally left her room, Elise walked to the window and stared at the moon.
"I'm sorry, Davon," she whispered. "I didn't mean it."
Somewhere across campus, Davon sat awake under that same moon, his hand resting over his heart — as if he could feel her words echo through the night.