A/N: Hey Guys! So I decided to finally post this story for real, although I only have about four chapters written, but I'm on vacation and I have some form of strep throat, so I have nothing better to do than write, thus, more should be coming soon! I hope everyone likes the next chapter! By the way, a lot of inspiration came from Fever Pitch and P.S. I Love You (Which was the main inspiration for the whole story). Also, I'm going to be posting a playlist for this story soon ('cause that's how I roll... lol).
Chapter 2: I'm Wide Awake
Lisa found me in a pathetic state. I was curled up in a comforter on my couch, stuffing my face with chocolate covered popcorn, and watching the movie When Harry Met Sally, which Tessa had leant to me. I tended to yell things at the screen when I got to upset, occasionally tossing popcorn as well.
This routine continued until about 2 AM, when Lisa walked in the door, looking gorgeous as always, but also slightly apprehensive.
I know I said I was tired of vampires running in and out of my life, but at this point, seeing anyone familiar was a breath of fresh air, and if anyone could knock some sense back into me, it would be Lisa.
"Okay, what is this mess?" She said with untainted disgust, glancing at the pile of chocolate popcorn that was smeared across my TV screen and amassing on the floor beneath it. Then she seemed to take in my appearance, which wasn't anywhere near attractive, and let out a long sigh that was mingled with its fair share of tsking.
"Carly, I usually reserve words like this for people more deserving, but you have got to pull yourself together. He left you only three hours ago, there's a grand chance that you'll get back together. I doubt this is really anything to worry about-"
"You don't understand, Lisa," I moaned, rolling over in my comforter to reach for the remote, putting the movie on pause. "Mike and I never fight. Never. And then suddenly, today he just started acting weird, and he blamed it all on Tessa and Jacob."
Lisa nodded. "Tessa told me yesterday that she was going to break the news to her parents. How did everyone take it?"
"Everyone was wonderful about it! Except Mike." I rolled my eyes. "He's suddenly so concerned about Tessa, he kept saying she's making a huge mistake, jumping into marriage so soon-"
"Well, he obviously doesn't understand their relationship," Lisa replied smartly.
"Try telling him that! Next thing I know, he's storming out of here, and I couldn't say anything to stop him!"
Lisa looked pensive. "Hmm… I don't suppose he has feelings for Tessa, do you?"
I stared at her, horrified. "WHAT? Why would you say that?" I burst into another set of tears.
Lisa edge away from me slightly, gently and carefully patting me on the back. "I'm sorry! That was a horrible thing to say, I'm not really good at being subtle, am I?"
"No," I mumbled, wiping my damp cheeks with the sleeve of my sweatshirt. "It's not your fault, I'm a mess, I really am."
Lisa was silently nodded. A few seconds passed.
"Why didn't he come back? He was supposed to do the sexy dance…"
A few more seconds.
"It's not like I told him to propose or anything, putting words in my mouth…"
A few more seconds.
"He wouldn't know what envy looked like if it were doing a strip dance in front of him!"
A few more seconds.
"Who doesn't believe in love at first sight? I mean, people used to get married without even meeting their future spouse! Why should that bother him?"
Lisa cleared her throat. "If you're trying to prove to me that you're in any way mentally stable, you are failing epically."
"I'm sorry!" I exclaimed. "I really am! God, Lisa! Haven't you ever had to deal with losing love?"
As soon as the words were out of my mouth I bit my tongue. Lisa lost the love of her life several years before, and as a vampire, that wasn't something she would get over anytime soon.
Lisa stared at me pointedly with ice in her eyes. "I don't think I need to answer that," she said coldly.
"Oh, Lisa," I said quietly. "I'm so sorry-"
"Don't," she said harshly, raising one single hand. "You need to get away from the chocolate TV, get some sleep, and tomorrow we're getting out of this apartment. Now go to bed. Now." She pushed me along like a mother ushering a child to bed. I was issued several bennedryl, and within minutes I was out cold, reaching for the warm body of my boyfriend who wasn't there.
The next morning I woke up to the smell of coffee coming from the kitchen. Hmm, Mike must be up already. I pulled myself out of the bed and waddled to the bathroom. My eyes blurrily took in my own reflection in the mirror above the sink. I was still wearing my party shirt from the night before. My cheeks were streaked and smudged with lines of mascara that had dripped down my face. A crease formed between my eyebrows as I stared at myself in confusion, trying to remember why my appearance was so odd. I looked down and noticed the bottle of bennedryl sitting on the edge of the sink, and it all came back to me.
"Oh NO!" I wailed, sinking down to the fluffy bath mat on the floor, curling into a ball that I had no intention of coming out of. I was vaguely aware of the shadow that stood in my doorway, holding a mug of coffee.
"Come on, Drama Queen," Lisa said unsympathetically. "Drink this-"
She force-fed me coffee and a cinnamon roll where I sat on the bathroom floor, and when I still refused to move, she picked me up and carried my effortlessly into the kitchen.
"Ahhhh! Lisa! Put me down! Do you have any idea how cold you are?" Being tossed over the shoulder by a vampire was about the equivalent of being dunked in a bucket of ice water. Thankfully, Lisa set me down in one of the chairs at my small, round kitchen table, and provided me with another mug of steaming hot coffee.
"So," Lisa said brightly, as if absolutely nothing was odd about the morning's proceedings thus far, "I was think we'd go out today. A nice day on the town, just the two of us."
I laughed. "Hah! Good luck finding anything to do in this small town. Recall that I live in New Hampshire college town? I'm pretty sure our only options are the thrift shop down the street and seniors hour at the bowling alley."
"I didn't mean this town, you goof, I meant New York." Coming from Lisa, it almost sounded believable. I stared at her for a minute while she continued cooking eggs over my hot plate. I waited to see some shift in her expression, but she looked absolutely unfaltering.
"Umm, Lisa? Did I hear you correctly? Did you say New York? As in the Big Apple? The City That Never Sleeps? NYC?"
"Yes, of course that's what I meant! Did you hear me stutter? Call it whatever you like, it's where we're going this afternoon."
"But that's like a seven hour drive!" I exclaimed. "And that's on a good day!"
"You forget who you're talking to," Lisa grinned devilishly. I did recall a rather speedy journey to Providence once, a long time ago, when I was just learning about the intricacies of vampires in real life… and Tessa had mentioned something about making it from Quebec to Dartmouth in six hours…
"But what if… What if I don't want to go?" I asked timidly.
"You don't have a choice," Lisa said firmly, "But out of curiosity, what else would you have planned for the day? Giving your television a bath in nacho cheese? I cleaned the chocolate off from last night by the way, and you're welcome."
The living room did look a lot cleaner than I had left it the night before, but then again, Lisa didn't sleep.
"Thank you."
Lisa stood still staring at me, tapping her foot impatiently. "You didn't answer my question."
I felt my cheeks redden. "Well, I did think, if Mike came back-"
"Oh no you don't!" Lisa squealed, standing directly in front of me in a blink of an eye, shaking her finger at me. "Don't you dare start acting like those sobbing girlfriends who wait around all day for their man to come around and make them feel better. You are a strong, independent woman, and we are going out today to have a good time, without worrying about whether or not you'll have a message waiting for you when you get home."
"Newsflash, Leece, I'm pretty sure I've already defined myself as a sobbing girlfriend, have you seen my face this morning?" I pointed toward the mascara stains for added effect.
Lisa grunted in disapproval. "Shut up and eat your breakfast. We'll fix that momentarily."
Twenty minutes later, as promised, I was fed, washed up, and dressed in an outfit far flashier than I would have picked for myself. I was ready to spend the day in sweats and Mike's old, beach-stained football jersey, but instead Lisa made me wear a bright red tank top, under a stylish denim jacket, accompanied by black skinny jeans and brown leather boots. In her eyes, I was ready for a day "on the town."
The cold hearted vampire wouldn't even let me record a new message on my answering machine to inform Mike, should he happen to call, that I would be out of town for the day. Instead, I was whisked away in Lisa's sleek black car, going at speeds that would make NASCAR blush. We did make it to New York City in less than three hours though, a miracle by any standard.
It wasn't exactly the beautiful, sunny day I was anticipating. It was drizzling a little bit, in fact, and most people in the city were ducking under the eaves and archways of buildings to stay dry. I didn't mind the rain so much, having lost all care for my outward appearance in no more than twenty-four hours, but Lisa took this excuse to drag me into every high-end fashion store we passed. However, as my enthusiasm didn't improve and she found herself sighing more and more with disapproval at my general misery, we worked our way out of the shops and towards rural New York, aka Central Park.
By midday it had stopped raining but it was still under a pretty thick cloud cover, good for vampires. Lisa forced me to eat a corndog she bought off a vendor, and I sabotaged my four months of dieting with one sinful bite.
Maybe it was the smog filled air of the city, or the toxins in the corndog, but I began to think less about Mike, becoming more numb to my sadness, instead reverting to my old habits that never really left me. The paranoia. The suspicion.
It didn't help that I was with a vampire who had no intention of harming me (unless I made another attempt at calling Mike, that is). The pale faces of passersby stood out to me, etched on my irises seconds after we already moved on. People who hung in the shadows more than others were threats in my mind. And above all, I didn't want to look into their eyes, afraid to see the empty black of hunger.
I guess this whole routine may have made me a little jumpier than usual. Very suddenly, Lisa pushed me onto a bench, standing directly in front of me, her eyes accusing.
"What is wrong, Carly? Something's bothering you, and I know it's not Mike, not this time. I've never seen you so skittish, you're practically hopping out of your boots."
My cheeks were burning red with embarrassment, so much so that all I could do was stare at her feet. She groaned loudly and sat down beside me. "Honestly, just say it, you'll feel better when you do."
"No way. You'll either laugh, or get mad at me, and I'm not too inclined towards either."
"I'm appalled that this is how you think of me," Lisa said very sternly, reminding me a of a reprimanding school teacher. She took my hand in her icy pale one. "Please, Carly, just tell me what it is. I'm trying to help you."
"But that's just it!" I exclaimed, tearing m hand away and standing up. "You can't help me! You made this whole mess to begin with! If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be in this situation right now! I would be back home, cuddled up with Mike, watching episodes of The Office. But no! My boyfriend left me, and I'm wandering around in New York, freaking out, all because of vampires!"
Lisa stared at me blankly. "I'm sorry, but how is this my fault?"
"If I never found out about vampires, or werewolves, or any of this supernatural crap, I wouldn't have any problems at all! I would be home with my boyfriend, sipping hot chocolate, my biggest worry being what class I had the next day, not whether some freaky vampire was going to swoop down and eat me!"
Lisa continued to sound incredulous. "You're blaming your relationship problems on the existence of vampires? Alright, this is a little more out of control than I thought."
"You're telling me! I can't go anywhere anymore without being paranoid!"
"Paranoid that Mike would leave you?" She asked, confused.
"No! Paranoid of the vampires! I see them everywhere!" My voice was growing more hysteric while I paced in front of the bench where Lisa was still sitting, calm, cool, and collected.
"How did we get from Mike to Vampires again?"
"You're the reason he left me, keep up with the program Lisa!" I yelled in annoyance, still pacing. "And now they're following me-"
"Who?" She asked, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Me? I thought I was doing the leading."
"No, not you! Them! The other vampires!" I whispered frantically, my eyes shifting to various people in the park. A middle-aged woman sitting on a bench, reading a novel; A young couple walking, holding hands; An old man sweeping up trash in the shade; A boy in a college sweatshirt tossing a Frisbee.
I pointed each of my suspects out to Lisa who nodded with consideration. However, when she spoke, it was with a patronizing tone. "Carly, just because you see vampires around doesn't mean that they're going to hurt you, or even less, follow you. They are out here enjoying themselves, just like we are. Or just like we're supposed to be, anyhow."
My eyes grew wide. "You meant I was right? They're all vampires?"
"No, not all of them," Lisa admitted, shrugging.
"Oh, I was wrong about the young couple, wasn't I?"
"No, the college boy. He's not a vampire, just particularly good-looking."
I watched him catch another Frisbee and nodded in agreement.
Suddenly, Lisa perked up. "Okay, now that we've addressed your paranoia, can we do something fun?"
"Like what?" I asked, raising one eyebrow. "I'll remind you, I haven't quite forgiven your species yet, I'm still upset about Mike."
"Oh get over it! Mike's a baby with commitment issues, you two needed a separation anyway, I would know. You'll get back together when the time's right."
Lisa was one of the "talented" vampires, gifted with the ability to see things in the future, but only the good things that were supposed to make you happier. For example, if she were buying lottery tickets, she would see which numbers would win. Or if she needed to get somewhere, she would see the shortest route. I thought of it as a permanent state of good luck. She tried to ignore it as much as possible, being more inclined to be miserable and bitter since the loss of her husband. However, when it was needed, her ability proved to be very useful.
"How do you know we'll get back together?" I asked. "I mean, he left me! He's never done that before. I don't even know where he's staying…"
"Look, do you want me to get Alice Cullen on the phone?" Lisa asked with irritation. "She could tell you almost exactly when you two will get back together."
"No," I mumbled. "That's okay, I trust you."
"And so you should. Now let's get out of here!"
And that's how I found myself standing outside the Yankee Stadium in a crowd of blue and white, hating life more than ever.
"Umm, Lisa? You know I'm a Red Sox fan, right?" I asked timidly, hoping no one in the crowd would hear me. They said that if you wore a Yankees hat in Boston, you very likely to be shot before the night was out. I was hoping the same didn't apply to New Yorkers.
"No, Carly, I completely forgot that you grew up in Boston and that you have a signed poster of the Red Sox hanging up in your apartment, along with the Red Sox pajamas, the Red Sox coffee mug that you drank out of this morning, and the DVD of the 2004 World Series. It really didn't occur to me that you're a Red Sox fan." Her sarcasm didn't lighten my mood. When Lisa saw this she sighed and nudged me lightly in the shoulder. "Come on, humor me. I grew up in New York. This is my hometown, and this is my favorite team. And since I'm buying the tickets anyway, I think you should be pretty grateful."
"You grew up in New York?" I asked, surprised. "When?"
"1906. My parents were German immigrants. We came in through Ellis Island and stayed here ever since. I lived here all my life, for the living part anyway," she added, smiling a crooked smile. "I am a total Yankees fan, which is probably why Sean and I never got along so well, him being a native Bostonian and all. But this… this feels like homecoming. I always come back to New York when I'm feeling down…"
I was touched that Lisa would share something like that with me, seeing as she was usually the stubbornly reserved one. I put on my best forced smile and was determined to enjoy myself.
The game was alright, even if I wasn't cheering for the home team. In the end though, someone heard me jeering at the Yankee pitcher too loudly and dumped a water bottle over my head. It certainly wasn't pleasant in cool October, but it was better than getting a plate of nachos in my hair. Or ketchup. Or beer-
"What a jerk!" Lisa exclaimed as she helped me wring some of the water out of my hair. "Do you want me to follow him and key his car? 'Cause I totally will."
"Uh, not necessary! But thanks Lisa," I said hurriedly. I had already suffered enough paranoia, thinking vampires were following me, I wasn't going to curse someone else with that fate, even if he was a jerk.
The night was over, and Lisa drove me home to my lonely apartment while I kept my eyes closed, refusing to try and calculate how fast we were going. She offered to stay with me but I assured her that I was fine, and she left to catch up to Alice and Jasper who were already on their way home to the Cullen Estate.
I walked slowly up the three flights of stairs, trying not to think about how I had done the same the night before, only not alone. I unlocked my door, hitting the lights immediately so I could take in the quiet, empty space all at once. Like pulling off a band-aid.
It did hurt at first, but not as much as I thought it would. It was temporary, I kept telling myself that.
As if by some kind of divine intervention, the phone rang as soon as I dropped my bag. I froze, my thoughts immediately straying to Mike, wishing, pleading for it to be him.
My conscience told me to be reasonable; it was probably Lisa, checking to make sure I was alright after all. Or maybe it was Tessa, back at Dartmouth by now, probably ready to gush over wedding plans.
I deliberated in my head until I finally had to run to pick up the phone before it went to voicemail.
"Hello?" I said lightly, struggling to control my beating heart that what trying to jump out of my chest while I counted the milliseconds before the person on the other line spoke.
"Carly! I'm so glad you picked up! I've been calling all day-"
Oh my God. It was Mike. As his warm, luscious voice filled my ear my stomach did flip flops of joy. This was it. He missed me already, and had been calling all day to beg forgiveness.
"-I figured you were still mad at me and didn't want to talk to me-"
"Oh! I wasn't ignoring your calls!" I said quickly, my voice chirpy enough to give the impression that I hadn't spent the whole day moping, even if I had. "I wasn't home! I went out with a friend."
"You did?" He asked, clearly surprised. "For the whole day? You didn't even leave a message-"
"Yeah, I know. It was kind of a last minute thing. We decided to go to New York City, and we saw a baseball game-" No need to mention it was a Yankees game…
"You went to New York?" He said, the disbelief in his voice growing. "On a whim?"
Well, when you say it like that… "Uh, yeah. Pretty much."
"Right… Uh-" he sounded severely confused, I could almost see him rubbing his head as he tried to make sense of it all. "I was, uh, just calling 'cause-"
"You're coming back? Thanks goodness! I've missed you so much, Mike-"
He cut me off. "Uh, Carly, I'm not coming back."
Just like that, every bubble of hope I had left popped, and I was alone, miserable, and heartbroken for the first time.
"I was just calling to see if I could come get the rest of my stuff?" He continued. "I'm staying with a friend from school- I can't get it all this week, but do you think I can come by on Saturday?"
My throat had gone totally dry and my hands were shaking violently, but somehow I managed to speak. "Y-yeah! Yeah, um, Saturday's fine. You, you know, have a key…"
There was a long silence, until finally he said, "I'm really sorry Carly. I love you, I do. But I think this is really for the best."
Yeah, so I've heard.
Questions, Comments, Love it of Hate it, REVIEW! Otherwise you're just sitting there with all those un-asked questions that arise from your constantly boiling pot of curiosity and you'll never know the answers! How awful is THAT? So do yourself (not me) the favor, and go ahead, ask those questions, leave that review... the least you could do is leave a review to tell me how lame that analogy about a boiling pot of curiosity was!