The Gift

         Early morning light filtered through my lids.  I opened my eyes.  My room was dark except for the single strip of light slipping through the curtains.  I sat up, stretched, and sucked in a breath when a cramp appeared in my lower back.  I stood and limped into the bathroom.  I was incredibly sore.  I don’t know what I’d expected—when those vamps attacked me the night before, the intent had been to kill me.  Considering I’d almost passed out from blood loss, it could have been a lot worse. 
         I looked in the mirror.  The cuts on my face had almost completely healed.  There was dried blood in my auburn hair, but it was almost unnoticeable.  My nose, which had been broken the night before, wasn’t even crooked.  I hated Micah, but I guess, in a way, I was glad he had come to my rescue.  Wishing that the vamps had killed me had been weak.  I was tougher than that.  Serving Micah was a prison sentence that I was going to get through, one way or another. 
         I walked back into my room to change out of my dirty clothes.  A spot of red caught my eye.  I was expecting it to be blood, my blood, on the white sheets, but it was a ribbon wrapped around a small black-wrapped gift.  Beside it was a note.
It said: I’m sorry, for everything.  I can never apologize enough. Micah.
Surprised, I opened the box.  Inside was a gold locket, but not just any locket—my mother’s locket, looking better than I’d ever seen it.  I’d thought I’d lost it.  I lifted it delicately out of the box and held it close to my heart.  Through my tears, I smiled.