"Connor, why do you do this to yourself?" Cynthia asked sadly as she placed a hand on her son's clammy forehead just for him to weakly swat it away with a grunt. Connor hadn't fed in days. His whole body ached as he turned to face away from his mother and he had to bite down on his bottom lip to keep from groaning.

"Cynthia let our son kill himself for all I care. He's never going to survive if he keeps this shit up. Thank God at least Zoe has some sense in her." Growled Larry, as he strode over to the window and pulled open the curtains in Connors dimly lit room. Connor peered through his unkempt hair at the dust that now danced around through the golden light that entered his room. His father's words became background noise as he remained fixated on the effect of the warm light on his skin. His self-induced starvation had caused his porcelain skin to become almost translucent as his blue veins were now clearly visible. His eyes trailed up his arm and for a second Connor felt an itch when his eyes met his wrist. Stop, he thought, trying to pay attention to his already chipping plum colored nail polish instead. He hadn't fed on anyone in over a month and it was taking its toll on him. His lungs felt stale and as if they were filled with ash and he barely made it through the day without feeling faint. Each day, his limbs grew heavier and he had now succumbed to the idea of the near death that awaited him. To stay alive, Connor had begun taking part in the most despicable act a vampire could possibly do. He had started feeding off of himself to satisfy his insatiable cravings.

"Connor!" Larry barked, snapping him out of his thoughts as he gave his father a lazy glance. As his eyes circled back to his previous fixation in the room, he noticed his sister Zoe had at some moment sneaked into his room and was watching him from an old armchair. His father suddenly barged over and grabbed his arm before harshly hauling him onto the cold floor. Zoe remained silent but shuffled in her seat and looked away shamefully.

"Get your shit together! Every day I have to see your pathetic self moping around. You're a disgrace to our name!" Larry spat through gritted teeth before kicking Connor in his ribs. Tears rose to Connor's eyes but he clenched his nails into the palms of his hands to stop the tears from falling. Another kick landed on his back. Pain seared throughout his body as he lay there, barely registering Larry's loud footsteps on the creaky wooden floor as he left. Too weak to force himself up, Connor just laid there waiting for the pain to lessen. After a long, silent moment, Zoe crept over and helped Connor up into the armchair she had previously been sitting in. She held him, careful as to not put too much pressure on his hurt body.

"Connor...Why are you doing this to yourself?" Zoe finally asked, reaching up to remove the hair from his face. Connor stiffened at her touch.

"Stop pretending to care and go back to keeping up the perfect daughter act you've got going on." He hissed at her, pushing her hand away. He knew she didn't care about him. Zoe had chosen to remain silent throughout all of Larry's abuse, never once standing up for Connor.

"Connor, please... I do care. It's-It's just I don't know what to do. Tell me how to help you," Zoe whispered with a pitiful look in her eyes before adding a quick "please". Connor forced his eyes away from her, even as she handed him an old bronze flask.

"At least take this." She urged him before she scuttled out of his room, shutting the door behind herself. Connor turned the flask in his hands over and over again while trailing his index finger over the engraving that decorated the front. Engraved into the metal was a Starling, wings spread out as intricate thistles emerged from behind. The flask had been gifted to Connor from Zoe years ago back when the world was still full of sunshine and sweetness before the bloodlust had started. Zoe had it engraved especially for his 8th birthday and confidently presented it to him with a giant smile and indigo hair. What happened to us, Zoe? We were so bright and full of life. Connor finally twisted the cap off with trembling hands and was immediately intoxicated by the thick metallic scent of blood that entered his nose. His heart immediately began beating furiously, shooting bursts of pain through his chest and he felt the aching pain in his gums around his canine teeth. He stared up at the ceiling to try and center himself before giving up and bringing his dry lips to the flask. He tipped it upwards, letting the blood fall into his mouth, onto his tongue, and down his throat. Just tasting the salty blood already made him feel better but he lost himself in the taste and desperately began gulping down all of the everything in the flask, tongue then licking any last drops he could reach.

Connor slumped against the armchair, flask hanging loosely from his hand that was draped over the chair, staring at the ceiling once again. The blood was in him but the cravings remained as a constant noise in the back of his mind. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on the feeling of the blood on his body. He felt the warm rush travel from his stomach to the ends of his fingers and up to his head causing the drunk feeling that swept over his mind. This violent delight was almost indescribable. It would be euphoric were it not stained with the return of his self-loathing. Connor, with his brittle form painted in golden light, gave in to the exhaustion and throbbing pain in his ribs and started to fall asleep on the armchair as the darkness of his mind drowned him.