She paused in the middle of dousing her face with the cool rush from the bathroom sink and slowly raised her head. Wish awoke the next morning with a pounding headache. In the mirror, she observed the outcome of the repairs made to her room and deduced that her friend's rich boyfriend had been serious about ensuring she got proper sleep. How she managed to get home after spending the entire day in a graveyard remained a mystery in itself. Hastily, she rushed into her bathroom to inspect every inch of her body, determined to ensure that she hadn't been injured or taken advantage of by that figure who had haunted the moonlit night. A deep sigh of relief escaped her when she confirmed that she was unharmed and that no body parts were missing.
Desperate to erase the haunting memories of yesterday, Wish drenched her face with water, trying to wash away every trace of what had transpired. The recollection of his face—and the overwhelming aura that had enveloped her—continued to send shivers down her spine and weigh heavily on her heart. It was as if a vital part of her had been removed, leaving her with an aching need to reconnect, lest she never recover from the lingering void between them.
"Wish…"
Startled by the sound of her own name being called, she turned to search for the speaker in her own bathroom. The eerie silence she encountered, even as she stepped out into her newly renovated room and found no one present, filled her with an inexplicable unease.
Could it be that one might be addressed by a dark, otherworldly voice while trying desperately to forget an encounter with what might have been a potential serial killer in a graveyard?
Her eyes roamed the expansive room, and she chided herself for giving in to wild imaginings.
It was all just a dream.
She nodded slowly to herself.
It had to be.
There was no conceivable way that anyone could look or speak in such a manner—even if dressed impeccably by the world's finest designers or costume artists. Perhaps the stress and the overwhelming longing for genuine touch had driven her to drift into daydreams amid the eerie surroundings of a graveyard.
After successfully convincing herself, Wish allowed herself to relax. She stripped off her clothes and stepped into the shower, intent on washing away the remnants of last night's ethereal nightmare, even though its ghostly presence lingered. Standing before the bathroom mirror, she suddenly noticed a red, unsightly bruise on the left side of her neck—two deep, puncture-like marks that marred her skin. She was close to collapsing if not for her steady grip on the cool marble countertop.
It was inconceivable that she had received a snake bite without even feeling pain or succumbing in her sleep. She reached out to touch the marks, only to jerk back in alarm as the bathroom door burst open and her furious best friend stormed in, clad in a gleaming golden bathrobe. She looked as though she were ready to rip Wish apart and devour her whole.
"Where were you all day yesterday, Wish?" Haley demanded, arms crossed over her chest as she assumed an interrogative stance that sent a jolt of adrenaline through Wish—Haley's protectiveness sometimes spiked her blood pressure.
So, I really did vanish yesterday?
'Breathe…'
A familiar voice echoed in her mind before she could lose control and collapse in tears once more in front of her best friend. Haley's eyes, filled with concern and exasperation, followed her every movement as she scanned the room for any clues.
Did it just speak again in my head?
"Answer me, Wish, and don't try to dodge the subject of your mysterious twelve‐hour disappearance yesterday. Ash went to check your room around ten at night—after we nearly involved the police—and found you neatly tucked into your bed in a way that sent shivers down his spine. What on earth is going on, Wish?"
Wish stared at Haley for what felt like an eternity, trying to fathom how she could explain everything without sounding completely deranged.
"Oh my god…" Haley murmured, rushing to her side. Her touch, when it brushed against those strange puncture marks on Wish's neck, ignited an intense burning pain that made her flinch violently and forced tears to well up, even though the burning sensation only lasted seconds; it felt like an eternity.
"Jesus Christ, Wish, who in the world did this to you?!"
Haley seized both of her arms and spun her around to face her directly, intensifying the nervous fluttering in Wish's heart as her mind began to spiral out of control.
"I…I don't know," Wish whispered, barely audible.
"What do you mean you don't know? Try to remember—were you attacked by an animal last night?!" Haley pressed, her tone rising in panic.
Wish fought hard to keep her composure. She wished it were just an animal bite, as that would be far more sensible than admitting that she had been bitten by a creepy, vampiric serial killer lurking in an abandoned graveyard.
Suddenly, panic gripped her as Haley swept away her towel and began examining her body for any additional bite marks. When she found none, she allowed Haley to finish before slipping her towel back on.
"Get dressed now—we're going to have that mark checked at the hospital," Haley ordered before storming out. Overwhelmed by confusion, Wish sank to her knees, trying desperately to wrap her mind around the bizarre events.
☆
The ride to the nearest clinic was charged with intensity, as if news of a tragic death had spread and everyone was mourning together. Their loyal dog, Rufus, kept Wish company in the backseat as Haley drove them out of their private estate along a quieter road. Following directions on Google Maps, they eventually reached a modest clinic. It wasn't as grand or modern as they had hoped, but Haley feared that any building promising healing would suffice, given that Wish might collapse or worsen from the mysterious bite on her neck.
Stepping out of the car, Wish sighed at the fresh scent of wet grass and trees—a reminder of the rain that had just fallen, with the sky rumbling ominously with thunder.
Haley quickly adjusted the scarf she had insisted Wish wear all the way, concealing the hideous red, swollen bite mark. Wish thought it unnecessary but knew it was best not to provoke another tantrum from her friend.
"Ash will take care of you while I drive Rufus to his doctor's appointment," Haley declared.
Wish's brown eyes met Ash's dark grey ones—eyes that always seemed to hold an unspoken intensity whenever he looked at her. It made her slightly uncomfortable that he wasn't the one taking Rufus to the vet while Haley oversaw her checkup. She didn't mind undergoing the examination by herself, though she doubted the physicians would easily deduce what had happened to her neck.
She nodded at her friend as Haley pulled her into a tight hug and bid farewell to her boyfriend before driving off with Rufus. Left standing outside the hospital in companionable silence, Ash continued to give her a look that bordered on "I want to eat you," though she did her best to ignore it.
"Um…shall we?" She finally asked.
He smirked and nodded in agreement.