A new day broke.
When Conor woke up, he felt a refreshing lightness he hadn't experienced in years.
His illness had dragged him down, but now he felt unusually buoyant. Tasting a sweet metallic flavor on his tongue, he froze. Blood!
Looking down, he saw Stacey sound asleep in his arms. Her pink sweater was stained with dried blood near the neckline, with bite marks on her pale neck. Did he taste her blood? Did he bite her?
He reached out to touch the wound but hesitated at the last moment and pulled back. He had bitten her and forced her to sleep on the floor with him. He decided to let her sleep on.
Carefully, Conor lifted Stacey and placed her on the bed, covering her with a blanket. After a regretful glance at the sleeping Stacey, he went to freshen up, being as quiet as poss
