I stumbled out of the mini cooper with one of my grocery bags dangling precariously from my arm as I hugged myself against the fierce chilly breeze caused by a recent cold front. Even though it was usually cold tonight, I stopped briefly to admire the night sky. Strewn with brilliant stars and the moon illuminated the darkness but not very well. The breeze coupled with the night's picturesque view was almost breathtaking to take in. My grocery bag was at the point to where it was just about to burst, so I rushed to the door as I groped for my keys. I held the door handle as I searched and when I leaned on the door's surface to prop my bag on, it swung in unexpectedly. I caught the bag before it fell onto the threshold of my condo. I hadn't left the door unlocked. I vividly remember locking and securing it before I left. I know all too well what happens otherwise, but it seems that even if I lock the doors and windows—he gets in. I guess security is going to be an issue now. Maybe Id better buy a security camera or a bouncer? Peering into the doorway, I saw no lights on. Squinting to see I could distinguish my living room and farther into the room an empty doorway that leads to my dining room and kitchen. No lights were on there either. The whole house was completely dark with nothing to sway my foreboding. I cautiously stepped a few feet into the house, step-sided a couch I only just purchased last month just in time so my leg only grazed the fabric instead of colliding, and hustled, before losing my bravery, into the dining room adjoined to my newly renovated kitchen. I admit, without me, this place would be a shit hole. When I had first arrived about a month ago, I was guaranteed a serene city with gorgeous weather and enough ocean waves to last forever. What I got was a dump from the eighteenth century unattractive dump. I can't complain. It was quite stupid of me to buy a house over the internet, that is if you can call this place a house. I like to think of it as a condo now that I innovated every inch of the pigsty. I, of course, kept any original architecture that was salvageable in an attempt to preserve its unique character. So, that's where I was, in my elegant dining room supplied with an antique table and a couple of intricately craved chairs. I rarely entertain host guests, so I don't have more than two dining room chairs. An authentic chandelier suspended gracefully from the ceiling, and I fumbled around for the light switch to light up the room. My hand, twitching now, eventually struck the switch and lit the room dimly creating the effect of a shadowy atmosphere. I slowly crossed the room and revolved around the table avoiding the chairs so I didn't harm myself. I inspected it thoroughly and came to the conclusion: Nothing here is amiss. Therefore, I continued my assessment into the kitchen and placed the bag I still held onto the black and silver speckled granite counter. My kitchen had old world appeal also, but I had doused that a little with the granite counter I considered a necessity. I left the bag on the counter and swept out of the kitchen, through the dining room, and exited through the front door. However, this time, I left it open and unlocked. Imagine my surprise when I grabbed a handful of grocery bags and sauntered up to the threshold only to stopped dead in my tracks. Frozen with fear as I trembled in the wake of the realization. The door was closed, so I reached out praying it was only the chilly wind that had closed it. I knew, however, that my particular door swung inward, and therefore the speculation of blaming wind was highly improbable. I grasped the door knob and tried to turn it without success. It was locked. I plunged my hand into my pocket. My keys had to be there. I fished them out from a mess of movie ticket stubs and receipts. I fit the correct key into the hole, but I never had to turn the key. The door, again, swung morbidly open emitting an unusually creaking sound that I had never heard it do before. Looking in I saw another disconcerting sight: All the lights had gone off again. I specifically remember putting on the kitchen and dining room lights with deliberate caution. Was I going mad? Maybe mental insanity from stress had finally come? I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind. Those were the least of my worries. Something was in my condo! Being the pessimist I am, I doubt I was insane. I could still think coherently enough. I strutted pass the living into the dining room and was able to switch the light on faster this time. On the other hand, this time was different. Instead of illuminating an empty eighteenth century inspired dining room, it illuminated a body along with it. I jumped as I noticed his presence only just able to stifle a gasp.
Sitting at my expensive table was a tall, lithe, and handsome teenage guy. He exhibited an age near mine. I was eighteen; he appeared to be nineteen or twenty years of age. He had dark black hair that reached his ears in a very contemporary Goth look that suited him perfectly that complemented his pale skin tone. His eyes were piercing yet captivating because they seemed to have enlarged pupils and the irises appeared to be simmering a crimson color, but held a wild factor to it. He was lounging in my dining room chair nonchalantly with his long legs propped onto the opposite dining chair. He smiled almost maliciously as he relished my conspicuous alarm with delighted amusement.
"Hello, Desiree." He whispered as he leaned forward to pull his feet off the other chair and stand up straight. I gulped, and, visibly shaken, greeted him.
"Good evening, Aul." He had a very strange name, but it was pronounced similarly to the word 'owl'. He enjoyed the name, and never bothered to correct me even when he went by an alias-- as he always had. I knew for sure that Aul was his birth name, and he never denied the evidence I held on the matter.
"Oh," he said smugly, "you remember me, do you?" He flashed a grin that sent shivers through my body. He had exposed his incisors—that were fangs. We go back many years, before I moved out of my aunt's house to live alone, before my aunt died, and before I knew what I really desired out of my life. After almost a year, he was back. That thought halted my breathing pattern and made my pulse erratic which hadn't escaped his notice when he scowled.
"What are you thinking about that has you so excited?" he questioned before smiling mischievously, "Nothing concerning me, I hope?"
"W-what are you doing h-here?" I stammered, shock contorting my speech. He shrugged.
"What are you doing here?" he mocked her with a chilling smile. "I thought you wanted to become immortal?" I snorted at that remark. I had asked when I was a younger teenager for his bite, but he had been too hesitant and reluctant, and I soon grew bored as well as changed my mind. He really had no intention of changing me. All he wanted was someone to manipulate to entertain his lonely self, and I'm not going to humor his sadistic behavior ever again.
"I don't intend to." I snapped curtly and indignant at his subject change to the past.
"That's not what—" he started slyly, but was interrupted by my voice that was now holding a quality of shrillness.
"That was a year ago! I have changed my mind." I supplied, turning down an extraordinary offer to stay eternally eighteen.
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why did you change your mind, darling?" He asked genuinely curious now, but his pleasure at my discomfort wasn't well hidden.
"You changed my mind." I said, locking eyes with him. His eyes captivated me. The color simmered and swirled wildly into circles like a stirring cauldron of crimson. My eyes were an icy blue. The exact opposite of his, and I couldn't imagine myself with the same violent crimson eyes. He was already standing, and he came around the table standing face to face with me and leaned forward to be eye level with me.
"Doesn't that mean I can change your mind back?" he whispered against my jaw as he had leaned further almost touching the side of my face. He hovered just above my jugular vein as I remained rigidly immobile with concern that he would rouse from his pose and drain me presently. He only snickered in my ear and kissed my vein, then straightened up. I opened my mouth, stunned, with my mind racing and my heart pumping at an abnormally rapid pace. That wasn't the "kiss of death" I had expected of him. I had picture that scene more vividly in my nightmares and the sequence of them was gorier than this. I imagined blood everywhere, and my limp form shriveling in pain from the large gash in my neck as my vein sputtered like a hose expelling red liquid. That was my nightmare of our first reunion, not that I didn't like the reality, but I always dreaded his arrival and ignore the evitable prospect of this meeting. I took in his appearance again, for I was sure this was a dream or a reverie of an alternate dimension. Could he actually be here after a whole year? What had he done for the year? After he left me…
Some thoughts and remembrances of him gave me this horrible ping of illness in my chest, so I had ignored his presence in my mind and heart while also it temporarily barred my "illness" which I only know what it really is: My heart had shattered. I, too proud to admit my dependence on him, hadn't acknowledged that verbally to anyone.
"How long are you staying?" I inquired, trying not to sound impatient though it didn't work. He feigned sadness and sulked playfully but he was very convincing.
"You want me to leave already? I just got here, Darling." I scolded him, warning him to call me by name and not "Darling".
"I like calling you darling!" he argued, still pouting childishly.
"I don't." I finished that argument; I had the final word now.
He looked exhausted and exasperated with my controlling mood. What can I say? I'm still shell-shocked from his appearance!
"I'm going to sleep. Look", he said pointing to the clock visible through the doorway from the dining room to the kitchen, "it's almost six in the morning. I need to lie down before any sunlight comes out. What were you doing out so late anyway…darling?" he said, and looked expectantly at me with bright eyes.
"I was shopping for groceries. I just needed some things to cook." I told him, sounding like a pupil repeating an excuse to the teacher. He smiled irresistibly, charm pouring from his demeanor, and it made me dropped the grocery bag with a sudden weakness. I should mention, most of my flooring in the house is authentic wood flooring that was underneath the aged, filthy carpet I had ripped up. So, when the large glass jar hit the wood floor and exploded, what do you predict? The shards penetrated the plastic bag and one of the larger piece lodged into my thigh while some other bounced off me, creating an irregular line of cuts and scrapes accompanied by a large gleaming shard. To confess, I'm anemic when coupled with blood, but now, not only was there blood, there was glass mixed in the wound in my thigh. That didn't bode well with my stomach! I quickly covered my eyes with my unscathed hands to prevent fully experiencing the sight and quell my already overactive upchuck reflex. Without a sound or warning, I felt something soothing where the cuts were. First, I hear the sound of the glass piece, the one in my thigh, drop to the floor. Surprised, I opened my eyes and withdrew my palms from my face to observe. Aul was kneeling down on his knees. He had one chilling hand gripping the back of my thigh as he pulled out some other diminutive shards of glass that had eluded my attention with his unnatural incisors. I wobbled when realization struck me as to what he was doing, and he righted me by grasping my knee back and my waist. He must of noticed my alarm and terror for he cast me a swift look of concern and rolled his crimson eyes condescendingly. When he finished plucking out the remains of the glass jar from my leg, I stirred to move in hopes of finding a bandage. However, when I moved, he cupped both hands around my knee to stop me. I looked at him warily, uncertain of his intentions. He shifted forward and licked my cuts with glee. I winced, but it was merely out of stimulation. I actually found that it was soothing as the feeling had been before I'd opened my eyes. Upon closer observation, I saw that the cuts completely healed up after Aul's mouth sifted away from each individual one. By the time he was finished, the blood, glass, and cuts were gone with no flaw left behind on my own pale skin. I gasped, as I felt my skin.
"My god," I exclaimed, "Aul! How in hell—" He held his hand up to stop my rambling, and leered at me.
"Can I stay now?" he inquired, making his demonic eyes melt with as would a puppy's. I sighed, defeated and averted my eyes as he swept out of the dining room and upstairs presumably to unpack if he hadn't already done so before I came home. I grabbed the remaining groceries out of the cooper and put them in their places within the kitchen after I cleaned up the debris of the glass jar. I made my way upstairs in the aftermath of my long, hot shower to cleanse my stressful day that had been filled with long hours of work at my job. I worked at a nightclub, and not what you would think. I'm the manager and sometimes fill in as the bartender because that is way more fun. I had plucked my pajamas from the laundry room downstairs and opened the master bedroom door—my bedroom. It was dark. I had turned off the lights in there before leaving to shop, so I wasn't alarmed by this. I stumbled along the way, too lazy to switch on a light, and would wake up with bruises I'm sure. I had finally reached the four poster bed belonging to me and I crumpled onto it with a loud exhale. As I lay down in bed, I pulled the blankets around me for comfort and turned to my side while closing my eyes to sleep. I had fallen asleep, but I didn't consciously know it. Maybe that's why when I imagined that nightmare, the one with Aul ripping into my neck, I screamed and flung myself unintentionally to the edge of the mattress. I'll tell you, if I had fallen off my bed, I would have been in the hospital for days. My poster bed is almost level with my stomach, and that is enough to injure anyone. So, I panicked as I felt the bed moved out from under me because I had flung myself too far which caused me to rolled over the edge, but miraculously, I didn't fall. Just in time, two icy hands shot out from behind me and wrapped around my waist. I jolted in surprise, and from the temperature of the hands. He had to be freezing! He pulled me back onto the bed and into my side of the bed and placing me back into the spot I had slept restlessly on. He didn't remove his hands though.
"Why are you in my bed?" I demanded, trying not to sound angry only curious, but it hadn't worked correctly. I heard him stir, then when he was quiet and still, he replied.
"What? You almost fell off! You want me to get out?" He asked, indignant and irate now. Its not my fault I don't have the innate reflexes of a vampire…well, maybe it is…
He was irritated now, and that made me uneasy, so I told me he could stay as long as he stayed on his side of the bed.
"Okay." He agreed, then remembered something. "Oh, and please, I'll stay on my side of the bed, but don't open the door until after sunset, understand?" Oh. That. I almost forgot. Good thing he reminded me!
"Wait!," I whispered, " I have work in the morning! I have to open the door!"
"No, you can't," he protested, "unless you want to kill me!"
"I have work! I'll move to another bed then." I complained before upsetting my encasing of sheets to leave. Before my feet touched the floor, I felt an icy hand grasped my wrist with unnatural strength. I shifted around to his direction and insisted that he let go of me in a harsh, loud voice.
"You can't." He whispered back after I finished screaming and protesting.
"And why not?"
"Because it's already morning. Sunrise happened almost three hours ago. If you open that door, I will be…" He explained and trailed off intentionally. I knew what he meant. He would die if any natural light hit him. All I could choke out was an "oh". So, I would've been late for work anyway. I could phone them later and fabricate a situation or excuse. I withdrew from my perch at the edge of the bed and returned to my side as he gently released my wrist. I couldn't sleep. I had figured out that much after almost three hours of lying awake and staring occasionally at the digital clock beside the bed on the night stand.
"Why aren't you sleeping?" Aul asked curiously, bewildered.
"I can't." I sighed. "Sleep just won't come to me." I tossed and turned for a few minutes in a desperate attempt to get more comfortable.
"Are you done?" Aul asked impatiently though amused.
I nodded knowing that he could see very well in the dark. He mimicked my sigh and laughed.
"What's so funny?" I asked.
"You. I can't say I miss sleeping as a mortal. I had the same problem as a child. I could never sleep…" he recalled.
"How did you get to sleep then?" I questioned, hoping for some incredible technique to put me to sleep.
"How did I?" he echoed my question, then embraced me casually. "Like this. I always went to sleep in someone's arms." That, along with his vampire powers which I happened to know could induce drowsiness, did the trick. I was out like a light, and remained that way until well past sun down when I sat up. I scanned the room: No Aul. He must have gone hunting…
I went downstairs as the pangs of hunger reverberated through my tummy, but I halted on the stairs. Standing in my living room at the end of the stairs was another person I hoped I would never have the displeasure of enduring, Mina. Mina was a vampire, like Aul was. She, however, brought no comfort in me when she was present. Trouble follows her like flies on dead meat. I recoiled from the steps of the stairs as she glanced at me and I tried to escape upstairs. Too late. She had spotted me. She was upon me almost instantaneously. I hadn't even reached the top step yet! So, there I was, pinned up against the stairwell's wall, helpless because I was mortal and petrified of the look in her blood thirsty eyes.
"Desiree, how nice to see you again. You haven't seen Aul, have you?" she asked, feigning polite courtesy and formalities. I shook my head, half truthfully. I hadn't seen him…in the last few hours. "Desiree, where is he?" she demanded pushing on my sensitive skin, almost crushing me, even harder. This, to my disdain, invoked a whimper from me. As soon as it escaped my lips, I heard the most pleasing voice.
"Mina! Let her go." Aul called from the top of the stairs though how in the world he had gotten up there, I had no clue. Maybe he'd been up there all along? She smiled as she reluctantly let me down though I haphazardly unbalanced thanks to her aggression and nearly fell to my death on the stairs. However, much to her grief, I didn't because Aul catching on, caught me before I even hit the steps. I stood there awkwardly with Aul's arms wrapped around me and Mina's envious glaring locking my gaze.
"Mina!" he admonished, angrily. "Get out." She looked slightly offended, insulted even. She gaped at me, and shook her head violently.
"I am not moving, she is." She sneered.
"This is my house!" I argued back loudly. She deliberately disregarded my statement and directed her attention to Aul.
"I was only looking for you, love." She swore sweetly and pouting her lower lip faintly. He silenced for a minute, then replied in a dark tone.
"No." he said. "Leave. I don't want you here."
She raised her eyebrows at him, somewhat questioningly.
"Where would you like me to go to? Name the place, dearest." He kept a very serious, straight face while he articulated every syllable.
"Out of my life." She visibly scowled…at me. She was the one that had killed Aul! I wasn't the one that killed him, and I don't mean she was the one to change him into…well, a vampire. She left him for dead after she had…er, exterminated him. It wasn't until some rogue vampire found him. So, as I already knew, she hates me. I, under her perception, have stole Aul from her. Like I'm the home wrecker, please.
Since when was it acceptable behavior to kill you fiancé? She killed him! Doesn't that specifically mean she wants to break up? She should really let it go.
"Fine." She abided with a cold edge to her voice. She was pissed, even madder than she had been moments ago. I couldn't stop myself from mentally celebrating. Aul liked me better, ha! Mina apparently had no problem reading my ego, for before exiting out the front door, she halted in the threshold and called something out to me before she left, but it was too low and fast for me to comprehend.
"Aul?" I asked and he turned away from the door and toward me.
"Yes?"
"What did she say? Just now?" I asked curiously. He looked a little pained before answering.
"Does it really matter? I mean, she can't hurt you with me here."
"Yes, it matters, what happens when you are not by my side?"
"That," he added swiftly, making his voice seductive, "isn't ever going to happen...you will stay with me forever." I couldn't ignore that bomb of dread in my abdomen when he uttered that. It was a truly romantic thought…for a vampire, if I was a vampire. To me as a mortal, I was terrified. Perceptive as ever, he searched my face with his eyes to gauge my reaction. He must have found that I looked nauseous. He pulled on my arm and I followed physically, but not mentally. I was still at the part of forever..forever…forever. My mind repeated that until his voice had been etched into the confines of my memory.
"-you okay?" I heard him murmur after I had tuned him out for several minutes.
"Why was she here? How did she know where I live?" I asked indignation spring with every word. I sort of blamed him for her arrival.
"She…must have known you lived here. I mean, no one followed me." Before I got too skeptical on him, he added: "I'm positive. I made sure no one would track me. Would I risk your safety?" I snorted. I didn't mean to hurt his feelings, but how far from the truth could I let him stray. This was reality, so I decided to tell him my opinion of it all.
"Aul, my safety has never hindered you. Why should you care now? You never care, and that's the problem between us. You get upset because I don't trust you. Tell me, Aul, what have you given me to trust you by? Name it! My safety is always the second thought after you do what the hell you want. Don't play me because I'm not falling for it."
He looked bewildered with my expression paired by the words that poured from my mouth.
"I-" he started, but I wasn't about to stop my ranting so he could speak, no, I had to let it out.
"And Aul, don't pretend that you didn't know Mina would follow you. Or," I supplied, when he opened his mouth complete with fangs to deny it, "that she would find me of her own will. Do play stupid with me. You've been pretending to be someone else since you showed up. What are you up to?"
He stopped protesting, but smirked mischievously that let me know: I had hit the mark. He was playing with me. I was starting to get suspicious what with all the caring sensitivity. Sensitivity would never host on Aul. He was too malevolent for even the word 'goodness' to be used to describe his character. Aul never acted out of pure kindness and consideration. No, he had an agenda. A calculating one.
He mocked me. With his fake pout and knowing smirk, he countered my accusations.
" Desiree, I'm not playing," he contritely admitted, and for a second, I wanted, more than anything, to believe him. And, he did look convincing at that particular moment. But, I couldn't kick the nagging honest feeling—he was lying to me.
"You're lying." I stated what my heart condemned as the truth. He revealed his incisors in a smile that wasn't very kind looking.
"Okay" he justified, still smiling like a villain, "I'm not playing with you…much." I was satisfied with that almost straightforward reply.
"Now that we can quit the games. What is it you want?" I demanded. Right now, all I wanted was to rid myself of him. I sat impatiently, with my arms cross, and made a face. He rolled his eyes.
"You are so difficult."
"Better than being Satan's spawn—" I retorted. Wrong thing to say. He was out of the kitchen chair he had occupied seconds before and was in my personal space. I panicked mentally but tried to keep my calm. I backed up in an attempt to put some distance between us in case he got violent. He followed suit, stepping after me as I made each step.
"Satan's Spawn?" he breathed with a humorless tone when he was within a foot of my form pressed against the kitchen wall. He put both his arms up and rested his palms on the wall on either side of my shoulders almost brushing the skin on my shoulder. He leaned over my exposed neck and I had no doubt he could hear the thudding of my hyperactive pulse. "I'm not the only one who sold their soul, Desiree. You sold much more…" I tensed, feeling his words reverberate against my neck.
"W-what are you talking about?" I stammered finding hard to concentrate on my mouth and articulation. He smirked and whispered, "You gave me you heart…love is such a hazardous emotion, no?" I frowned and ducked under his arms but he grabbed my upper arm forcefully. I shrugged it off, grabbed my coat, and left my house with my car keys spinning around my index finger, and he rushed out the door after me.
"Where are you going?" he yelled irately.
"Leave me alone!"
I shot him a hurt look and he halted in the middle of the driveway with a puzzled face as I got in the driver's door and put the key in the ignition. He didn't relent, and got into the car without me noticing. I didn't see him until I was almost to my destination, and only when he voiced his opinions.
"You think I'd give up that easily? Pathetic. I'm a vampire, Desiree. I do not obey anyone though I consider your requests." He said making her jump.