" When can I go home? ", Lilly asked, making Alex freeze.
" Home? ", Emma asked, choking on her food, coughing badly.
Lilly handed her a glass of water to help her and then looked at Alex.
" Can I not go back now? ", she asked, holding back her tears.
" Of course you can. ", Emma said encouragingly.
" I can? "
" Yes you can return home and go back to your life too but, I will suggest you to wait for at least some days. ", Alex said.
Lilly's world already collapsed the moment she heard the word 'but'. Still, she found a ray of hope in Alex's words.
" Why should I wait for some days? ", she asked pulling herself together as she felt that she could lose her mind any second.
" Uh.... That is because.... ", Alex hesitated answering her
Then she look at Emma who was also trying to avoid eye contact with her. This made her suspicious.
" Why? What is it? ", she asked. " Are you both lying to me? "
" No but it is a little... "
Seeing Alex hesitating again, she said, " Is it something you think will be hard to accept? "
Hearing such a direct question, surprised Alex to the extent that he froze as if he was paralysed.
Emma was also surprised but she nudged Alex under the table to make him answer and thus, Alex nodded in agreement.
" It's fine, tell me. I have already made up my mind to accept everything that will come at me. ", Lilly said, trying her best to smile.
" It is just that we think that it will be a little difficult to stay with humans for now. ", Alex said hesitantly.
" Why? Is it because I am a vampire now and I can not reveal that? "
" No. I will not stop you from telling your family but I would suggest you not to as they might find it hard to believe and there are chances that you might get hurt. ", Alex explained patiently.
" WHAT? You mean to say that you are worried that my parents and my own family might hurt me. That will never happen. "
" I know that you trust your family very much but I have seen many newly turned vampires turn against their loved ones after their families made an attempt on their lives. Don't be so confident or you will surely get hurt. "
Alex's blunt remark surprised Lilly and Emma and for some reason it felt as if there was some emotion on his face which only lasted for a second.
" My family is not like that and it is my concern whether to tell them or not. I don't think that anyone has any say in that. Don't cross the line. ", Lilly replied adamantly.
" Lilly, Alex didn't mean it like that and he is not crossing any line. Of course, it is your life and you can do whatever you want, he is just telling you to be cautious. ", Emma said, trying to cool down the heat in the atmosphere.
" Is this the only reason you don't want me to return home? "
" No, there is something else. ", Alex replied.
" What? Tell me clearly why you don't want me to go home instead of suggesting and caring about my personal matters. "
Lilly's anger was understandable but her words were still very harsh which showed that it would be tough to handle her.
" Do you remember the feeling you had when you drank the blood? ", Alex asked, inspite of getting offended.
" Now where is this coming from? "
" Just answer me. ", he said.
Though he sounded as calm as possible but this type, there was a cold feeling in his voice which didn't go unnoticed by Lilly as she felt shivers down her spine. She could feel the strong aura from him which for some reason, shook her up.
" I think except pleasure and satisfaction, I did not feel anything. "
She replied plainly, trying to sound as normal as possible while her legs, under the table kept on shaking.
" Were you feeling any kind of pain or restlessness before that? ", he asked, not sounding normal suddenly.
" Thinking about that, I did, but that also disappeared after I drank that. "
" What about your thirst? Did it quench with water? Or did it quench with blood? ", he asked, with crooked eyebrows.
Lilly paused, understanding where Alex was taking her to and the reason for his explanation. One thing she was not able to understand was how does any of that relate to her wish to return home.
" It did not quench till I drank the second bowl. ", she replied, trying to find his reason.
" This is what I am talking about. ", be said hitting his hands on the table, excitedly. " Do you know how much you drank just now? "
" No but isn't it rude to ask such a thing just after I have finished? ", she asked, feeling a little uncomfortable with the question.
" Don't worry, I will pay you for the food if you are worried about that. ", she said, not understanding what he was saying.
" It's not about the cost Lilly and I bet I have more money than you have. It is about health. The amount you drank just now was the amount that a normal vampire can use for three days. ", he said, trying his best to explain her.
" WHAT? REALLY? ", she screamed, surprised. " It didn't look that much to me? "
" I know because you have just turned. That is the reason you will need to drink more blood than normal vampires to make your body get used to it and you will not want to imagine what will happen if you don't get to feed on time, before or after your thirst. ", he explained.
" What will happen? "
" Don't think about that. It is horrible. ", he said, avoiding the question.
" Tell me. I want to know all the risks and consequences of everything. We already know that there is no turning back so better deal with it. Tell me, what can happen. "
" You can lose control over yourself as your bloodlust might take over you and then you, unknowingly can attack anyone which you will see as a blood source and the worst part is, you will not remember anything. You can kill someone and will not have any memory of doing it. This is what bloodlust does to any vampire and newly turned vampires are mostly the victims of this. "
" So you mean that if I don't get to drink blood on time, I can even hurt my loved ones? ", she asked, putting it the most sugarcoated way possible.
" Yes and that is why it is suggested not to meet humans for at least a week after turning or till the vampire gains control over themselves. "
Lilly kept on listening attentively to Alex's explanation with an unreadable expression on her face and after he completed, a tear ran down her expressionless face which made Alex falter.
" So does that mean that I can never go out and meet humans again? Will I never be able to meet my family and go to college? ", she asked as tears kept rolling down her eyes which was making Alex feel restless.
He was subconsciously about to reach to her until he stopped himself.
" You don't have to think so negatively Lilly. As I told you, you will be able to live normal life as you have been living till now. You just need to stay with me for only a week, until we are able to control your bloodlust and then, you can do whatever you want. We just have to make sure that you do not hurt anyone, at any chance. ", he explained, talking as if he was talking to a lost child.
" And if I am able to control my bloodlust, will I be able to go out? "
" Of course. Then there will not be any risk of exposure or anything else. You also don't want to hurt your family and friends, right? ", he asked, trying to encourage her.
" That's true. "
" And rest of the things, we can work on them slowly without letting you miss out anything important in your life. ", he said with a warm smile which encouraged Lilly.