I can smell the sweet aroma of fresh pancakes before my brain even registers that I’m awake. I roll over in the oversized bed, a warm comforter still wrapped around me. My brain struggles to come into consciousness as the softness of the sheets keeps me comfortable in my dozing.

Then all of a sudden, everything hits me: Eileen, the bed, the blood sucking, the date, her hands…

My eyes flutter open, adjusting to the light bleeding in through the curtains of her ...