Chapter 17: Side Effects

Mia's POV Sol offered me another one after that. This time, it was a bag of O positive. The taste wasn't as rich and good as the Rh-negative, but it was still good. He then offered me another one and another one. Each time he ripped open the bag to give it to me, I could feel myself growing hungrier and hungrier. I was ravenous for it like I had never eaten a day in my life. I could feel my stomach tightening each time the blood ran down my throat. My throat was dry and wet at the same time, and I could barely see or hear anything other than the blood in front of me. It was on the third bag that I dissolved into a coughing fit and held my hand in front of my mouth. My eyes shot to Sol. The expression in his eyes affirmed what I was thinking. There was confusion laced there, along with a concern of sorts. I knew he was able to read my emotions very clearly at that moment. It was sort of a comforting thing. If I didn't know how I was feeling at that exact moment, I could just look at the horror in his eyes and know. He called out to me as he walked forward, but I was already taking a step back. I saw hurt flash in his eyes, but he only raised his hand and stayed in his place. When I pulled my hand away, I felt my entire body go rigid. There, in the palm of my hand, was vampire blood. It probably shouldn't have been such a shock considering the amount I had ingested within the past hour. Something snapped in me when I saw the sight on my hand. I wrenched the bag from my other hand that still clutched it and shoved it back into Sol's chest. I was gagging and coughing as I clawed at my throat. "Mia?" I heard Sol ask in surprise. There was concern laced there too. "Mia, are you all right? What's wrong?" I didn't stay long to listen to his words of concern. I pushed him and ran back into the kitchen. I followed the long hallway towards the stair, went through the twists, and turned in the passages until I got into the bathroom in my bedroom. I heard Sol following behind me quickly, his feet light as air as he moved. I realized how quickly I had gotten to my room. The blood in my system was already working so well that it had enhanced my physical abilities. I wrenched at the thought and watched as the blood I had ingested came up again and into the toilet. It burned as it came up, hot and searing. I could smell my blood coming up with it. Everything on my body suddenly felt heavy, from the clothes to my hair. I decided to get rid of the former, opting to rid myself of the blood-stained shirt and jeans. I felt lighter after, however minutely, but it was progressing. There was nothing I could do about my hair, so I only pushed it out of my face and prayed that no blood had gotten into it. "You shouldn't have drunk that," I whispered as my head rested on the edge of bath crock. I knew he would be able to hear me no matter how loud I spoke. "Why did you invite me to drink that?" "Mia," His voice was equally quiet. I hated the way I could hear it now. "Please let me in, Mia. I'm sorry." I ignored him and turned my nose into my arms. The smell of the human blood and my own was beginning to make my head dizzy. I felt an ache in my stomach, like hunger pains, at losing the blood I had previously consumed. I was overcome with an urge to drink more blood and feed. I hated how my body couldn't realize the difference between human food and blood anymore. I tried to take deep breaths, tried to calm down and compose myself, but it didn't work. I threw up again. This time, I heard a thump from outside the door. When I looked toward it, I noticed a shadow beneath the doorframe and realized Sol was sitting down outside the bathroom door. "You should go away," I told him, "Please, go away." I heard him shuffle, but he didn't leave. "Sol!" I yelled, which caused my head to throb even more. "Go away!" "I'm not leaving," he said calmly. I gritted my teeth at his answer. "Stay inside as long as you need. I'll be waiting here. You don't have to let me in, but don't ask me to leave here. Please." I could feel my body burning up from the lack of blood now. My entire system was going into shock, and I felt my eyes widen. It felt like the room was closing in on me. Despite the current need to not inhale oxygen, I still felt its absence in the air. I clawed at my throat again as I gasped for air and looked around the bathroom for something that might help. My eyes landed on the shower. I quickly shed my bra and underwear before turning on the cold water. My human skin could still feel the coldness of the water, and it provided that small bit of distraction to me. I gradually felt my breathing come back to me, and the heat of my body died down. I stayed in the shower for as long as my legs could hold me up, which wasn't too long. I watched Sol's shadow the entire time. It was strange how only his shadow provided such comfort to me. Knowing he was outside waiting for me, knowing he wanted to make sure I was all right, gave me some comfort. I closed my eyes and relished in the thought of being cared for this way. "Are you all right?" I heard his voice float through the air. He would ask me that same question every ten minutes just to make sure I was fine. My humming reply seemed to be enough for him until the next ten minutes passed when he would repeat the question. Sighing as I got out of the shower, I grabbed a large towel and wrapped it around my body. It was decent enough that it covered me until mid-thigh, and I was grateful for that. There was no way I was going to put my clothes back on. I cast a distasteful look at the blood-soaked clothes and turned my head away from them. The sound of the tap running echoed through the bathroom as I brushed my teeth. When I finally looked into the mirror, I scoffed at myself. My eyes were red, almost bloodshot, and blue bags rested beneath my eyes. It was almost comical to see a vampire sleep-deprived, but that's what happened when half-bloods like me decided to binge on bags of blood after abstaining for so many years. I ran my hand through my wet hair and turned from the mirror. I walked toward the door and unlocked it. Sol was sitting on the floor. His eyes widened as he looked at me. ###