Free Bitter Sweet by Lennell Davis

dripped into my opened mouth. The usual metallic taste of blood you get when sucking on a cut finger wasn’t there. It was a warm, wonderful taste that I couldn’t describe; it ran all across my tongue, firing off all my taste buds. Sweet, sour, tangy, spicy, and bitter filled my mouth all at once. The smooth, warm texture and cool soothing spread through my body as the pain slowly faded, firing off pleasure receptors everywhere and I gave a soft moan and passed out.

 
    Vanessa Stanton
    Chapter 06.0
     
                  Fainting- it was a curious experience. It reminded me of being put to sleep by a doctor once when I had my wisdom teeth pulled out. It could have been stress, pain, or any combination of things, but considering the night I had up until this point, I think it’s understandable. I don’t know how long I was out, but I woke up in the passenger seat of a car. My fingers felt the soft, smooth leather before my eyes ever opened. My eyes were sore and even the low light stung as I opened them; I rubbed them and as the scene before me came into focus, I saw a full moon reflected on a still body of water. City lights blinked and flashed in a rear-view mirror behind me. I felt for the door handle and stepped out of the car. The cool breeze on my skin sent a chill through me. The wind carried with it the sound of cars in the distance, with the occasional foghorn of a ship off in the night cutting in. I looked around but didn’t see anyone, but I heard a clopping sound that would start loud and then fade away. I walked toward the sound and again. Alik appeared out of the dark on a beach skipping stones. The car was parked slightly above the beach and there was a thin sandy path that led down to where Alik stood. As I made my way down, my shoe caught a rock and I stumbled, Alik caught and steadied me, despite having been clearly fifty feet away.
                 
                  “You shouldn’t walk yet, you’re still weak. Sit down over here,” he said in his soft, deep tone as he walked me over to a large rock. “Just take a moment and rest.”
     
                  “Where are we?” My voice came out in a sickly wisp.
     
                  “A beach; Long Island is over there,” he pointed off in the distance.
     
                  “Why?”
     
                  “I hoped the salt air would wake you…” I shivered as the breeze crossed my legs. “I’m sorry, I forget that the cold affects you so much, maybe somewhere warmer would have been better?”
     
                  “What happened? I can’t remember the last hour or two.”
     
                  “It was....” he started, then he stopped and looked away.
     
                  “What?”
     
                  “I wanted to catch up to them, away from a populated area, I didn’t expect anyone to be in that part of town at this time. I was trying to make them act carelessly by thinking they had an advantage and then when I saw you in Jessica's arms... I had to be careful, it would have been so easy for her to kill you. She almost did, your injuries were so severe; a hospital would have asked questions, which I could have answered with lies, but… I don’t think you would have lived long enough to get there. Better safe than sorry, right?” It sounded as if he had been trying to justify something he had done, more for himself than me. He spoke very fast and I only caught bits and pieces.
     
                  “Slow down, what injuries? I feel fine.”
     
                  "Unbutton the jacket," he said softly.
     
                  “What jacket…” I hadn’t noticed I was in his jacket, and as I undid the first button, I glimpsed the inside of my palm and noticed the blood on my hands. Was this my blood? I started to shiver and it wasn’t from the cold. Under the jacket, my shirt was