Free Elizabeth and the Vampire's Cabin by Leilani Allmon Page B

half vampire, and he loved the way his
body moved as a chimp. He had finally learned to love exercise. Elizabeth
jogged while Arthur leaped ahead. Occasionally, he ran back to her and followed
at a slower trot, or he waited for her up ahead as he rolled in the sand or
splashed in the water. Though night would soon be falling on the island, and
that did not bode well for Elizabeth, she took delight in the fun Arthur was
having. She pushed herself farther to get her heart rate up even more.
Endorphins flooded her brain, edging out the trauma of the last month. Vigorous
exercise was the only way she could stay sane, but even the benefits of
exercise were not always sustaining her. She had always had a strong heart as
well as a strong mind. But under the strain of being a captive on the island,
her mind and heart were breaking. Something needed to change soon. Because if
things continued on the way they were going for much longer she was going to
have a nervous breakdown.
    The
sky was darkening fast and soon it would be night. Arthur morphed back into
human form and insisted it was time to go back. She agreed. Neither of them
liked being out too late. That was for two reasons. Elizabeth couldn't see as
well (Arthur had natural night vision now that he was half vampire) and there
were vampires coming out at night. Vampires that Elizabeth couldn't see very
well and Arthur was afraid to fight on her behalf. Though Aaron had assured
them both that the other vampires would not come onto his side of the island,
neither of them felt secure enough to be out at night. Elizabeth said she was
done jogging and would walk back to the cabin. Arthur walked with her and
stayed by her side. Arthur could easily outrun her now, because he was a half
vampire, but he always stayed by her when they headed back home for the day.
Elizabeth was winded when she got back to the cabin and her face was red, but
Arthur looked like he had just gone for a brisk stroll.
    About
a half hour later, Aaron showed up. Because dinner was always light, it was
ready by the time he showed up. Arthur had made two baked potatoes and a salad.
After he served them dinner, he left the cabin with a troubled look on his
face. It was now routine for him to serve dinner and then promptly leave. But
no matter how routine things became he still looked mournful. Without a doubt,
Elizabeth was certain that Arthur had always known what was happening to her in
the cabin once he left. She had wanted to believe that it was still a secret
that no one needed to confront (especially her). But tonight, with her own
feelings clawing at her insides, and Arthur's darkening his face, she knew it
was no secret.
    She
had stopped fighting Aaron. Somewhere around week two on the island her
fighting had been more reflexive. She cried a little and weakly tried to push
him away.   There was no earnest attempt
to stop him from grabbing her. By week three, instead of making him force her
into the bedroom and roughly remove her clothing, she had begun to walk
silently to the bed and take her clothes off when asked. This made the whole
experience less physically painful. But she was always cold as ice, and she
hoped this would make him tire of her. Eventually, she reasoned with herself,
he would want to share a bed with a willing woman. Happily for her, he didn't
always ask to spend the night with her. Sometimes, to her relief, he simply
spoke to her over dinner and then said goodnight.
    "Did
Marnie and Lyle stop by today?" Aaron asked.
    Marnie
and Lyle were a married couple who worked for another vampire on the island.
Elizabeth had no clue who the vampire was. All she knew was that there was
another cabin on the island and it had a vampire, Marnie, and Lyle all under
the same roof. Marnie and Lyle were servants to their vampire master, like
Arthur, but they had different skill sets. Lyle was a handyman, and any time
something needed fixing in the cabin Aaron had him sent over. Marnie could sew
and clean