The Beautiful Monster

Alyssa turned toward him and nodded.

"I went to work this morning and was told I had a new patient. I walked into the room, and a vampire attacked me.

I managed to stab him in the eye with a pen and escape, but he managed to escape too before security could get to him," she told him.

She wished that there was a better outcome, but she was just grateful to be alive.

Elias stared at her with wide eyes.

"Did he look familiar?" he asked her.

Alyssa shook her head when she thought back to the vampire.

He could've been the one that attacked her in the parking lot, but she hadn't gotten a good look then. She just knew that he wasn't Scott.

"No. I thought I saw Scott last night, but I think I just imagined it," she told him.

Elias nodded, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I don't think Scott is the one attacking you," he admitted.

Alyssa gave him a confused look, wondering how he came to that conclusion.

"Why do you think that?" she asked him. Maybe he found out something.

Elias stretched his arm out across the back of the bench.

"I feel like I would've found him by now. I look for him every day, and I haven't even found a trace of him. If he is doing this, then he's just staying behind the curtain and sending vampires your way," he explained to her.

"Why would he do this? I'm just a human. I'm not going to be able to do anything," Alyssa sighed as she shook her head.

She would stay out of the way if that was what Scott wanted. She didn't want any part of this. She wanted to be left alone to live her life.

"It's just because you're associated with me. I'm sorry," Elias told her sincerely.

Alyssa frowned as she gazed at him. She could tell that he was really sorry.

It made her feel bad about trying to shut him out of her life when he was so kind to her. However, it looked like she was going to have to let him back in so that he could watch her back.

"I need help figuring out for sure who is doing this to me. I have to get them to stop," she told him, hoping that he would be able to help her out. She needed to figure this out before it was too late.

"Of course, I'll help you," Elias told her.

Alyssa smiled faintly and nodded, feeling relieved to hear that. She didn't know how he was going to protect her.

She supposed that they would have to spend a lot of time together, which she wasn't sure how she felt about that. It would be good for her safety, though.

"Thanks. Do you have any guesses if it's not Scott?" Alyssa asked him. She was open to all suggestions at that point.

Elias thought for a second before sighing and shaking his head.

"I'm really not sure. He's the one that I have the most problems with because he's so damn stubborn and set in his ways," he muttered. "I don't think he'd kill you, though."

Alyssa gave him an unsure look.

"That vampire seemed like he wanted to kill me. He wasn't gentle at all," she told him. If he just wanted to scare her off, he sure was handsy. She had a feeling that the vampire was sent there to kill her.

Elias looked off with a perplexed look on his face. He really looked stumped, which worried Alyssa.

They had no idea what they were dealing with right now, which made the situation all that more dangerous. How could they even begin to prepare?

"I think we should start by ruling Scott out," he told her.

"How can we do that? You can't even find him," Alyssa pointed out. She didn't even know where to start.

Elias' eyes narrowed in thought for a few seconds before his shoulders hung slightly.

"I have an idea. I don't know if it's the best one, but it could be our next move," he told her.

Alyssa straightened up a little, feeling glad that he at least had an idea. That was a start, which was all they needed.

"What is it?" she asked him, leaning closer slightly.

"Come with me to visit my parents," Elias told her.

Alyssa gave him a surprised look. She would've never expected him to ask her to do that. Ever. He had been so adamant on her not meeting them before. Then, they were a big reason why they split up. It would be weird to meet them now.

"Why?" she asked, wondering what they could get out of visiting his parents.

"They might've heard something about Scott and where he might be," Elias told her with a small shrug. "It's a long shot, but we won't know if we don't try."

Alyssa figured that he had a point. They needed to try anything to get any kind of answers that they possibly could.

Even if they were reaching around in the dark, they still might find something that could help them.

"Is it okay that I go?" she asked him, feeling nervous about going.

Elias gave her a small smile and nodded.

"Yeah, they actually want to meet you. They never hated you or anything. They were just worried that I'd… you know… kill you," he said with a sheepish look.

Alyssa couldn't help but laugh lightly at that. It did make her feel a little better knowing that they didn't hate her or anything.

Things would probably still be awkward, but meeting anyone's parents was awkward.

Besides, it wasn't like they were dating or anything. They just needed information that his parents could hopefully give them.

"Alright, we can do that and give it a try," she told him with a nod.

"When are you free from work? I don't want to uproot your life too much," Elias asked her.

Alyssa almost wanted to reach out and take his hand.

She could tell that he felt bad about everything going on. It was easy to be mad at him when she wasn't with him.

However, when she was with him, she was reminded of how nice he was, how he never wanted anything bad to happen to her.