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Kathleen knocked softly on Kevin's door and waited for him to answer. When he hadn't shown for their date, she had gotten worried. It was almost 7pm, and she was really worried now. Kevin was never late. She knocked again, and she heard a shuffling noise on the other side of the door. Kevin cracked the door and looked out at her. He looked terrible.

"What's wrong? You sick?" Kathleen asked, reaching out to feel his forehead. He shyed away from her touch and shook his head.

"Kevin, what's wrong? Let me in," she said, pushing her way into the room. He was too weak to resist. When he turned to walk back to the bed, Kathleen gasped.

"Good lord, what happened to you?" she asked, examining his back. There was a deep burgundy-red slash across his back with blisters festering. Kevin was sweating. From pain, most likely. She wondered how he was even walking around. The burn looked so horrible.

"I don't wanna talk about it," Kevin said, his brain not working properly. He was cloudy from the pain and lack of sleep.

"Kevin Richardson, you tell me what happened to your back right now. You've got to get to an emergency room. That looks really, really bad."

"I can't tell you," Kevin whimpered, his bottom lip trembling. He squeezed his eyes shut, as tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Of course you can tell me, baby," Kathleen said, sitting beside him. "You an tell me anything. I promise."

"Not this. I can't tell you," Kevin whispered.

"Kevin..."

"Kathleen, if I tell you, everything will change. You'll leave, and you'll never come back. I know you will."

"No I won't. I promise. Tell me, baby. I swear I won't leave you." She put her arm around him and he placed his his head on her shoulder. She kissed his forehead and stroked his hair. He continued to cry in pain and fear.

"I don't know how to say this," he started. "I just... I mean... how I do I tell you this? Kathleen, I'm not like you. I'm... not like most people. I'm... a... um... God I can't do this."

"Yes you can. Tell me, Kevin," she whispered. She really wasn't sure if she wanted to hear this or not, but she had to get him help if she could. The wound on his back was so terrible, she was afraid he might die from shock or infection if they didn't get medical attention immediately.

Kevin took another deep breath and tried again. He decided to approach this from another angle, to see if maybe she could use deductive reasoning and figure it out for herself. "I got this burn from the sun. If I get in the sun, I get burned."

Kathleen looked into his face and narrowed her eyes. "The sun did this?"

Kevin nodded and closed his eyes. He prayed he wouldn't have to say the words. He dreaded it. Kathleen stared at him for a moment, then a look of realization came over her face. She looked away and opened her mouth to speak. She was unable to breathe for a few seconds. When she finally spoke, her words came out in a gasp.

"You sleep all day. You don't eat. You get burned in the sun. Oh shit... what are you? A vampire or something?" she asked, swallowing hard.

Kevin looked into her eyes. She could see the pain in them, as the tears continued to roll down his cheeks. Slowly, he nodded. Her eyes grew to the size of saucers and her mouth dropped open.

"Kevin, you've got to be joking."

Kevin shook his head and looked down. He couldn't watch the expression on her face as he began to talk. "I've been this way for about a year now. Please don't leave me, Kathleen. I swear, I would never hurt you. I swear."

Kathleen stood up and walked to the other side of the room, resting her back against the door. She watched him for a few minutes, contemplating her next action. If she stayed, he could kill her. But something told her he was telling the truth when he said he wouldn't hurt her. She looked into his face, and she immediately felt her heart aching. She did care for him so much, and seeing in such terrible pain was killing her. She walked back to him and knelt in front of him. She took his beautiful face in her hands and brought it up to hers. She smiled gently.

"Kevin, I won't leave you," she said. "Just tell me what I can do to help."

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