9. The Journal

A lot of people came rushing into my room but I couldn't hear all the questions I was being asked. There was a ringing in my ear as I struggled to breathe. I knew I was having a panic attack. When Athena lifted the box, I saw blood covering the bed.

Every time I looked at the head in the box I felt the overwhelming urge to vomit. A few moments later, I rushed to the bathroom. I was unable to hold it anymore. I emptied the contents of my stomach into the bowl. When I closed my eyes, I saw the head of my guard in the box.

I clutched the note in my hand. I knew I should have handed it to Athena but I couldn't. It felt personal. It was his message to me and I didn't want to share that with anyone. When I was done, I put the note in a cupboard among the skin care products to hide it.

The door to the bathroom opened and Athena came in.

" Was the box there when you left the room? " She asked.

I shook my head in answer. My throat was still sore from the vomiting.

" Leave the room. Go to the library or take a walk around the property. " She said and left the room.

I decided to go to the library and indulge in some books. While there, I knew I would find a book that would tell me more about vampires and their history. My hands were still shaking because I was afraid. I had seen my stalker and he didn't look harmful. How had he even willed himself to cut someone's head off?

I shook my head and entered the library. What I needed was to get my mind off things. I looked through the shelves to see if I could find a historical book but the ones that were there were about the world wars or political history.

There was no record of supernatural beings. Other than that genre, there was romance, historical fiction, and memoirs from public figures. As I was sorting through the books, I was one with a black binder. It looked old and tattered.

There were no writings on the side so I removed it from the rack to see what it was about. To my surprise, it had no name or title. Something compelled me to open it and I did but not before wiping the dust on it.

The fact that it had dust was also suspicious because the other books on the rack were clean. When I opened the first page, I saw a name sprawled on the surface. When I continued perusing, I realized that it was a journal.

It belonged to someone named Alexander Griffith the Third. The first entry was dated January the third in the year 1505. It was too old. I closed it and looked at the cover. The pages were held together using a string and then they were put in the leather binder.

I opened it again and started reading the contents. The first entry read:

Verily, I beheld the most comely damsel I have ever laid eyes upon. She possessed long locks of caramel hair and the most enchanting green orbs I have ever seen. It is wrong, for I am wed to my wife, Mary, yet it felt so right. I could not avert my gaze from her. Methinks she also noticed, as she blushed repeatedly.

It was apparent that she was a newcomer to the village, and so I offered to escort her around, to which she assented. Never have I conversed with someone so learned. Her intelligence put other men to shame.

I arrived home tardily as I had to accompany her to her abode. I could not bear the thought of any harm befalling her. Upon bidding her farewell, I watched her as she entered her domicile.

Mary is vexed, but I am undeterred, for if fortune smiles upon me, I may chance upon her again.

~ Alexander

The first thing I noticed was a little resemblance between me and Alexander's love interest. Although he didn't expound more, I couldn't help but think it was more than a coincidence that we had the same color of hair and eyes.

His language was a bit funny and I found myself laughing but I had to read more. I wasn't sure if anyone would mind that I carried the journal so I took another book and carried them together. I couldn't handle it being taken before I read more.

It was calling out to me like a beacon. I needed to heed to the call. There were so many pages in the diary. I tried to peruse and see how many they were but no matter how much I perused, there was no end. I tried to turn it over so I could peruse from the back but the back pages had no words on them.

Before I left the room, I looked around to see if there was anybody in the hallway but there was no one. It felt like I was stealing and I couldn't explain it. When I was right in front of my bedroom door, the events of what had taken place before I left for the library came crashing back.

I willed myself to open the door and enter but I couldn't. Before I could muster enough courage, Athena came out and gave me a look.

" We're not done here. Go somewhere else and kill time. " She said to me.

She must have heard me coming using her vamp hearing. I tried to look behind her to see the progress but she shut the door behind her and stared at me. I knew she wouldn't go back until I left so I nodded my head. Her eyes stalked to my hands and I clutched the books tighter to my chest.

" What is that in your hands? " She asked.

More than anything, I wished I had listened to her and left in the first place.

" A book, " I answered vaguely.

I knew lying to a vampire was stupid but I didn't want her to see the journal. Due to the way I had placed the books, I was fairly confident that she couldn't see the journal. It was completely covered by the other book.

" Which book? " She asked and I internally groaned.

Before I could answer, she pulled the book from my grasp and looked at the cover. It was a historical romance. She smiled when she read the heading. It felt as if she couldn't see the journal I was holding.

" I have read this book more times than I can count. I was friends with the author back in the eighteenth century. You have impeccable taste. " She said and handed me back my book.

I took it from her hands and stared at her to see if she would notice that I had another book in my hands but she didn't. In fact, she didn't spare it a single glance.

" Go! " She said and turned to enter my room.

I scrambled away and headed outside with the journal. I stared at it with a lot of skepticism. A book that no one but me could see? First I had a secret admirer then I had a journal that had a woman who looked a bit like me. I wanted to think it was all a coincidence but I had a feeling it wasn't.

Was I living in The Vampire Diaries?

I dreaded reading the book again for I knew that the secrets it held were far beyond my imagination. When I sat down in the garden, I put the other book next to me and started reading the confessions of Alexander. With every page that I perused, I felt a feeling of dread overtake me.

Even my secret admirer had no spot in my thoughts. Alexander took over everything.