Right... *spits on hands* I got very snap-happy with this one, made for good practise if nothing else
At this point I'll mention I have a fairly different take on vampires, as you'll see.
*****
After having to explain to my children about my split with Luca, I felt I needed some time on my own for a while. I spent that first night soaking in the hot tub until my skin shrivelled, just laying there contemplating the events of the night before. But as I floated in the water with my eyes closed, I began to envisage Marco soaking beside me, massaging my shoulders just as Luca did.
My eyes sprang open, and once again I was alone in the tub. More worryingly, the light in the sky was changing – was it already approaching morning? I had to get inside quickly, before the sun emerged from the clouds, but once safely out of the rays’ reach I knew what I had to do the next time I got the chance.
I sat at the dinner table with the twins that night, chatting with them as they ate. Evan seemed rather quiet, so as Amy left for her room I pulled him aside for a while.
“Are you alright?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he simply replied, “I’m fine, why?”
“You’ve been withdrawn all day.”
Evan looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “What did you expect?” came the cutting reply.
“You can talk to me you know,” I told him, “I won’t bite.”
“Pity,” came the mumbled reply.
I gave him a wary look in reply. “Come on, we’ve been here before.”
“I just wish I could figure you guys out,” he complained, “No, not you so much, but Dad…”
“When you’ve been with someone as long as me and your Dad have, it gets harder to end the relationship.”
“Why’d you have to bring Marco into this though?!”
I straightened up as my arms folded. “Is that what this is about?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I don’t know,” he admitted, “It seems to be one thing after another; why’s our family so f***ed up lately?!”
I knew better than to pick him up on his use of language, since he was generally good on that level. I also knew better than to try and answer logically, because it was just impossible. All I could do was shrug.
“I only wish I knew,” was the best I could offer. Apart from a hug of course, which thankfully he accepted. Marco could wait.
“I know this much though,” I said after we broke away, “All the males we’ve raised in this family; you all share your father’s best traits. Well, before all this happened, anyway.”
Evan smiled sadly, but I wasn’t finished.
“Marco’s like that too,” I told him, “That’s how I fell for him in the first place. I’m not trying to use him as a substitute or anything like that either, they’re completely different people.”
“Marco’s a nice guy,” he agreed, “It sucks how Jeanette could treat him like that.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” I told him, at which he seemed to relax, “And I do worry about Karl – he’s family too.”
“I know.”
“I worry about you too you know,” I reminded him, “You can talk to me if you need to, okay?”
He nodded, and bade me goodnight. Satisfied that I’d managed to quell at least some of his fears, I slumped into the sofa and idly switched on the TV for a spell, letting the images wash over me as I tried to sort myself out. I didn’t get much chance before my mobile rang. Guess who it was.
“Hey,” I smiled as I greeted him, “How’re you?”
“I’m fine thanks, you?”
I paused for a moment. “Um, how long have you got?!” I eventually answered.
“That’s understandable,” he said, “Look, I know what you said about needing your own space, which I can completely understand…”
I knew what he was driving at before he finished, but I let him.
“But if you need to talk you can, you know what I mean?”
I smiled as once again I melted. “I know,” I said, “I could really do with that right now…”
“How would you like to meet me in the local park?” he offered, “It’s quiet, we can talk as long as you need to.”
“That’d be great,” I accepted, and after arranging the time I hopped onto my bike and rode off into the night.
He was the only one there when I arrived, and boy was I glad for that. We had already agreed that with everything going on, seeing us two together wasn’t what people close to us needed to see right now, so we kept our relationship secret, at least for now. With the park being devoid of humanoid life, we enjoyed a warm embrace and a tender kiss as we met, before we found a bench to sit on. Marco became my sounding board for the night, something I don’t do to people often. Maybe that’s been my problem all along; wanting so much to help others I give no time to myself, or my problems.
I didn’t want to know what time it was by the time I’d finished, but the sky was still dark, that was something. By now I was dry from all the talking, and longing for his touch more than ever. He seemed to be happy to oblige on the second as I felt a kiss on my forehead, before his eyes once again became level with mine.
Red’s a funny colour. Our eyes burn red with the blood we drain from others, and because of that they can be eerie, or cold. Yet they can also be so warm. They say the eyes are the windows of the soul, and yet the old myth of vampires is that our soul is gone when we are turned. That, I can tell you now, is only half true. It’s what marks out the bad from the good; those of us who are good people in our lives get to keep our souls after we change, whereas those who couldn’t care less lose theirs, thus making them purely evil. They are the ones who can’t stand holiness – what evil can? Theirs are the eyes who are cold and remind you of blood. In fact that’s why their eyes are cold, there’s no soul there to give them warmth.
Between the two of us on the other hand, there was enough to keep a fire burning through the night. In fact his eyes reminded me not of blood, but of fire and warmth. Our eyes closed as we kissed, this time being free to savour the moment as we embraced and fed off each other’s warmth and love.
It isn’t just blood we need, but it helps. I don’t know how long we’d spent on that bench before a woman’s scream could be heard from nearby. Instinct pulled us from each other as our acute senses came into play, both of us now in predator mode as we fell silent, keeping an ear for any further sound to hint at the location of its source.
We heard it again, but different somehow. It became clear there were more than two people involved, and I rubbed my hands together in glee as we rose in an expectant air. My throat once again reminded me that it needed hydration.
“Dinner too?” I playfully asked no one in particular, “I’m being spoiled tonight!”
It was pretty much decided after that for me, but I never forgot my duties during the day, and I knew Marco didn’t forget his either. During our nights together we’d talk not just about each other, but about our families and how they were doing. The park was a good place to begin, as we came to realise it offered us a good meal to stoke us up for the rest of the night. But over the weeks that followed we went to other places, and on this particular night that place was his home. By this time I was only too happy to agree, but as we arrived I could only stare at the manor in amazement.
“You live here?!” I breathed, “You
have done well for yourself!”
He chuckled. “Sometimes it pays to dedicate yourself to your work,” he replied, “Like yourself, right?”
I smiled knowingly. We had indeed done well; our house was also large, maybe as large as this. But there was a slight difference. “We’ve also been around a lot longer than you,” I reminded him.
“True,” he accepted as he led me to the front door. “So, here we are.”
I stepped inside, and although I wasn’t a big fan of modern décor, the way it was applied here did look very nice, and it seemed to add its own character. It suited the house, and it certainly suited Marco.
“Very nice!” I remarked, before grinning playfully at him, “Very you.”
“Why thank you!” he laughed in reply, and proceeded to give me a little tour. I had to laugh at the amount of bedrooms given there was only one of him.
“Understandably I don’t show this room to everyone,” he said at the door to one room, and on opening it he continued “But anyway; my bedroom.”
“Ah, that’s where you keep it,” I acknowledged on the sight of his coffin. I peered inside as I eyed the colour scheme, and couldn’t help but chuckle. “You don’t like blue much, do you?!”
He laughed at my ironic stance, and adopted an innocent little boy look as his true silliness came shining through. “But I’m a boy! Boys like blue, don’t they?!”
I couldn’t help but giggle, which on remembering cases like Johan was a mistake. Although this was an entirely different kind of humour to that I was used to, the nature of the beast remained the same; laugh and you only encourage them.
“Bet you dressed your boys in pink and your girls in blue, knowing you!” he insinuated as he closed the door and moved me on to the next, and last room.
I had to travel a long way down Memory Lane to remember just what I did do. Thankfully I have a good memory. “Actually, I remember yellow being used a lot,” I recalled innocently with a twinkle in my eye.
He chuckled in reply. “Ah yes, sunshine yellow, best used when you have no idea what’s on its way.”
“Or you just like the colour.”
“That’s a point,” he pondered as the door opened, revealing the master bedroom, “Why do we never use red?”
I stared ahead for a moment, not in reaction to the room before us by any means as my head slowly turned in his direction. “You know,” I started, “That’s a very good question!”
“Or purple, or green…”
I coughed in response to the last one. “Oh, green’s been used plenty of times!”
He then burst out laughing. “Of course, just right for little aliens.” We entered the room as he proudly introduced the master bedroom, before plopping down onto one side of the double bed.
“Saving the best delights for last, eh?” I teased as I approached him.
“That’s a matter of opinion isn’t it?” he grinned cheekily.
Shaking my head knowingly to myself, I fell into the other side, face down and stretched across the width of the bed. “Mm-hmm,” was all I said in reply as I started to fiddle with the buttons on his denim jacket. He watched my fingers for a spell before, just as lazily, the tips of his fingers began to trace the back of my hand. He then took hold of my hand and guided it along his chest, before tugging more forcefully, taking hold of my other arm and pulling me on top of him.
“Okay,” I tittered as I peered down at him, “No need to shout.”
But his manner changed, his playful air faded as he gazed back at me. “Oh yes there is,” he smiled softly, pulling me close.
I’d lost the will to tease as I merely smiled in reply, before kissing his lips. Blessed this time with complete privacy, the passion between us rose to new levels.
I have no idea how long we spent in that room, either during or after the heat had died down, but I could have stayed there all night. In fact I think I did. It was lucky Marco was wearing a watch, as during our talking afterwards he periodically glanced at it, and at one point showed me in a bid to reassure me he wasn’t trying to get rid of me. It really was pushing five o clock in the morning.
“Oh s***,” I groaned, pulling myself to a sitting position, “They’ll be up in an hour!”
Marco watched me dress, before moving across to the now empty space on the other side of the bed and settled for pulling on his jeans. He hooked his arms round me for the last time that night as a smile played upon his lips.
“Well,” he began, “Thank you for a wonderful night.”
“Thank you for the same,” I grinned in reply, and we shared a gentle kiss before suddenly I was right at the front door. I stared at it for a moment before looking back at him, the playfulness between us returned, at least for now. “Show-off!” I retorted teasingly at the now giggling Marco.
“And, for my next trick…!” he began, raising a hand, and the front door opened before us, the lights of dawn beckoning me back to my family. After a last goodbye kiss I answered its summons, hoping I’d be back before they rose.
I looked about myself as I crept in, keeping an ear out for any sign of movement. Aside from the cat, of course. Thankfully they were still asleep, so I went into the kitchen with the intention of giving the hard-working school students something to stoke up their fires for the day ahead. I was about a foot away from the fridge when something stopped me in my tracks, however.
It was the front door. I checked the clock on the wall – ten to six.
Who on earth was that…? Moving slowly and purposefully away, I heard the door close and the sound of a key locking it.
Not Luca, surely…?
No, didn’t sound like an adult…My heart skipped a beat as I twigged. Surely not…?
“Evan?” I called out, moving towards the hallway. The silhouetted figure I could now see confirmed it. “Evan!?”
He came into view with the expression resembling a schoolboy about to be lectured.
‘Damn, rumbled,’ was the first thought I heard from him.
“Damn right,” I agreed, “Come here.”
As he did so his full features came into view. Predictably he couldn’t look at me; that was the first thing that needed to change. How could I talk to him like that?
“Look at me Evan,” I said expectantly. Reluctantly he did so, and whatever questions I had lined up for him faded into insignificance in an instant. I had to fight to keep my mouth from falling open, but I couldn’t stop myself clutching his chin to lift his head up a little – I needed a better look at those eyes…
I had hoped I was seeing things, but no.
“Mum!” he complained, pulling my hand away, “What’re you doing?”
“What did I say about this?!” I exclaimed, “You had a life damn it, now you’ve thrown it away!? For what?!”
“What the hell are you on about?” he asked, causing me to stop in my tracks.
Doesn’t he know? “Know what?”
Oh good God. He doesn’t know! My tone softened as the task in hand changed. Finding out where he’d been could wait, this was by far more important.
I hooked an arm round his shoulders as I beckoned him into my bedroom, and positioned ourselves directly in front of the large wall mirror. I felt his eyes on me the whole time; he clearly thought I was mad or something.
Time to set you straight, my friend.My head turned to him as my hand once again clutched his jaw, more gently this time, and guided his head in the direction of the mirror.
“Take a look,” I invited, checking his reaction carefully. Frowning he did so, and my stomach did somersaults as my worst fears were confirmed.
He stared aghast at the empty mirror, his searching fingers feeling his face as though making sure he was in fact there, in front of the mirror. They then took on a probing of a different nature, having confirmed that he was there, and began to feel along the edges of his front teeth. It wasn’t long before he discovered his new fangs.
As he continued to stare at the mirror, a hand crept to his neck as he muttered to himself.
“How…?” he uttered, “When…?”
“You tell me,” I hinted, although it was clear he had no idea himself. This concerned me a great deal, and I invited him into the front room. “Come on young man,” I beckoned, “We need to talk.”
As we sat on the sofa his mind started racing, which only served to fuel my worries. Cutting through his thoughts, I decided the best place to begin was with a little vampire trivia.
“You know, I can only speak from experience, but usually if a vampire bites you, you know all about it. The flesh along your throat is thinner and more sensitive, both to pain and pleasure.”
This seemed to work, but I began to wonder if I wanted to know, or indeed confirm, how he managed to miss the sensation of being bitten. As he slumped forwards his thoughts were too poignant to miss.
‘Oh my God… I’ll bet it was then… She didn’t mean it, I know it.’
“Who’s she?”
‘S***… I’m dead.’
“Evan,” I nudged him as I spoke, prompting him to reluctantly look up at me.
“Look, I don’t want anyone in trouble,” he pleaded, “She never took advantage, she’d never buy me alcohol…”
“Who’s she?” I repeated.
He sighed as he relented. “Emily,” he mumbled.
“Who's Emily?”
“She's from the dark ages... she said her Mum knows you.”
“Oh, you mean Nadia?”
'Oh okay, so that's her name.'
“Yeah, that's her name,” I replied, “We met at this nightclub.”
He shook his head irritably. “Mum, will you stop that?!” he complained.
“Sorry,” I apologised, “It’s a little hard to miss though, it’s like you’re speaking out loud. You’ll find that out yourself very quickly.”
He could only nod as I continued. “Let’s take it from the top shall we?”
Evan sighed as he braced himself for the interrogation.
“How long have you been sneaking out when you should be asleep?”
“A few weeks,” he confessed. I could feel the sense of dread within him, and in my mind I was already prepared for the worst. Therefore I was determined to keep my cool, knowing it wouldn’t help matters if I lost it.
“Is that when you met her?”
He solemnly nodded.
“When did she bite you?”
He briefly pulled himself from his wave of fear and dread as he looked me squarely in the eye. “That was only last night, honest.”
“So you’ve been seeing her for a while?”
He nodded, but in a different fashion. “We were just friends,” he explained, “We started talking that first night, and I liked her. I just wanted to see her again, I enjoyed her company. That’s all it was.”
There was something about his use of language that I decided to pick up on. “Past tense?” I challenged.
His former air returned as he shook his head in despair. “Yeah… I started liking her more than as a friend… what I didn’t realise at the time was that she felt the same way.”
This was getting too much. I decided there and then to hit fast forward and cut to the chase.
“Evan, did you sleep with her?”
He silently nodded. I remained silent, biting not only my lip but also my tongue, waiting for him to speak again. I wasn’t to be disappointed.
“I’ll bet it was then,” he said, “I did notice something at my neck, but I was so caught up in it all, it just…”
“The ultimate love bite,” I mused dryly.
“I wondered if it was normal to feel so washed out afterwards,” he continued, before shaking his head. “Guess not.”
“You do to an extent,” I corrected.
He bit his lip anxiously, but shuddered involuntarily. A droplet of blood trickled down his bottom lip before being brushed away by his tongue.
“Welcome to vampirism,” I proclaimed sardonically. “Unless you want a cure of course. You can get your life back on track…”
For some reason I had yet to fathom, he decidedly shook his head. “No,” he told me, “I don’t want a cure.”
I frowned at him, not understanding his reasoning. “Why not?” was all I could ask.
“I can’t face school, I haven’t been able to for months,” he admitted, “I can’t concentrate. I don’t even know what I want in life; I just don’t need the pressure right now.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
“Time’s been running out,” he said, becoming tearful, “I felt as though I’d already failed… I couldn’t see how anyone could understand.”
My heart sank as the true extent of his depression came to light. In some ways he was very good at controlling his thoughts around me – I had no idea of any of this. Tears crept to my eyes as I allowed a heavy sigh to escape my being, and could only offer a hug in reply. Perhaps Emily really had done him a favour after all.
