"So, Min…you want to do something special tonight?"
Mindy suddenly snapped out of her daze. She had been falling in and out of full consciousness ever since her apparent fainting spell the previous night. Her boyfriend, Raymond, noticed this aloofness as soon as he picked her up from Josef's apartment and he'd decided to spend the night with her, and take her to church the next morning. He even took her out to lunch with the hope of her returning to her usual, lively self.
But he failed miserably. Mindy remained distant, detached, and downright tired looking. Raymond wondered vaguely if her strange behavior had anything to do with those sketchy guys, Mick and Josef.
Okay…maybe they weren't that sketchy since they helped Mindy out…but they were both handsome and smooth. Enough so to make any good boyfriend considerably jealous.
"Ray…" Mindy moved over and habitually kissed his cheek. "I'm not feeling that great, honestly."
Raymond's cerulean blue eyes shimmered with concern as he put the back of his hand on Mindy's forehead. "It doesn't feel like there's a fever. Tell me what hurts."
"You worry too much," Mindy chuckled weakly. "I just didn't get much sleep last night. I was having…" Mindy trailed off.
"You were having what, honey?" Raymond enfolded her in his golden-tanned arms and sat her gently down on the couch with him.
"Just silly nightmares,"
"Were they really silly if they kept you up all night?" Raymond brushed back a lock of Mindy's light brown hair that was getting into her eyes. "Tell me all about it."
Mindy sighed. "They were just about vampires…one vampire in particular. I couldn't see his face, though I could feel him biting into my arm and sucking out my blood…"
"Eww…" Raymond made a face.
"It felt so real," Mindy shuddered. "I could even feel the pain. Super creepy."
"No wonder it kept you up all night," Raymond nodded in agreement. "So is that all?"
"What do you mean?"
"You just…" Raymond sucked in some air. "…haven't been yourself."
"Well…"
"Was it something I did?"
"No!" Mindy kissed him reassuringly. "Why in the world would you think that?"
A silence pursued. A stiff, tense one that wasn't broken until Raymond spoke again,
"We…agreed that we'd always tell each other the truth, right?" Raymond nervously ran a hand through his silky, chocolate brown hair.
"Yes," Mindy nodded. "We did."
"Well…may I tell you the truth now?" Raymond bit his lip.
"Please,"
"I'm jealous as hell,"
"What?!" Mindy let out a laugh, the most genuine laugh she'd let out all day. "Jealous of what?"
"That Josef guy and that Mick guy," Raymond muttered, slightly annoyed that Mindy had been laughing at him. "They're both so…"
"Look, Ray," Mindy gazed up at her fairly handsome boyfriend. "Mick is the only one you'd even have to slightly worry about since he's decent…"
"Pardon?!" Raymond was very taken aback
"I'll tell you now that I have absolutely no romantic feelings towards anyone else but you," Mindy told him. "That includes Mick St. John and Orlando Bloom."
Though Mindy hoped Raymond would laugh, he didn't. Instead, he stared at her with sincere, slightly hurt eyes. "What about Josef?"
Much to Raymond's astonishment, Mindy began cackling loudly. She was almost rolling on the floor with laughter.
"What's so funny?" Raymond stood up from the couch, offended.
"You…said…" Mindy tried to speak between laughs. "You said…that…Josef…" Mindy was having hysterics and could no longer talk.
After a few minutes of her guffawing, Raymond said,
"Are you quite finished now?"
"Yeah…" Mindy panted, wiping tears from her eyes.
"Care to let me in on the joke?" Raymond asked sternly.
"It's just…" Mindy had a wide grin on her face. "…the thought of me ever falling for anyone else but you…"
"Stop sugar-coating it," Raymond rolled his eyes.
"Okay…" Mindy took a deep breath. "Let's get one thing straight. Josef Kostan is an arrogant, affected jerk. Now, seriously, Ray…would I fall for someone like that?"
"Maybe," Raymond looked at his feet. "When I picked you up there, he looked really loaded…"
"You think money is what matters to me?" Mindy crossed her arms at looked at him pointedly. "I thought you knew me better than that."
"I thought I did too," Raymond said softly. "But I guess last night and today showed me how you are when you get "tired". It's unbearable how distant and cold you've been. I mean, I always thought you were a vivacious girl who was always the life of the party…"
"Everyone has bad days, Raymond," Mindy snapped. She was ashamed as soon as it slipped from her mouth, though. She hadn't meant for it to come out so nastily.
"Every boyfriend has a right to be jealous," Raymond retorted.
"What the hell do you have to be jealous about?" Mindy had reached the point of exasperation.
"Why do you have to get so defensive when I say I'm jealous?" Raymond flung an inquiry right back at her. "Huh? Are you going to tell me?"
"Look…" Mindy tried to control her temper. "If you don't think I'm devoted to you…that means you don't trust me…"
"I don't," Raymond said defiantly. "Not anymore."
"Well…" Mindy replied matter-of-factly. "Maybe you should just leave, then. I don't want a boyfriend who accuses me of infidelity."
"Well, I don't want a girlfriend who lies!" Raymond spat.
"I never lied about anything." Mindy snarled, temper flaring again.
"How did this turn so nasty?" Mindy thought to herself.
"Maybe you did, maybe you didn't," Raymond huffed. "But your defensiveness is very suspicious."
"Fine then!" Mindy shouted. "Just leave!"
"My pleasure!" Raymond yelled back, storming out of Mindy's apartment.
…
The cold midnight air nipped at Raymond's flesh as he trudged through the streets of L.A, trying to flag down a taxi. But this proved to be difficult since there were very few cars coming by in the dead of night...least of all taxis.
"Hey!" Raymond shouted, waving his arms as a scarce, green taxi whizzed by. "Taxi!" The taxi went straight by him. "JERK!"
Raymond was angry as hell. He'd lost his girlfriend, it was cold, he was tired, and he couldn't get a taxi.
"DAMN IT!" Raymond kicked a stray beer bottle lying on the ground.
"Aren't we in a good mood today?" a voice came from behind him.
"What?!" Raymond whipped around to see a man in a long, black cloak. His face was concealed from view. "Who are you?"
"No one in particular," the man walked up closer to him. "Just like you will be…but only for a little while."
"What…do you mean?" Raymond backed up slowly.
"Do you want to be immortal?" the man hissed.
"Er…if it were possible…I guess," Raymond shrugged, thoroughly creeped out. "But…I don't really believe in that stuff."
"Better start now," the man chuckled wickedly, grabbing Raymond roughly by the collar of his shirt and throwing him down. The man reared his head back and opened his jaws wide, revealing pointed, yellowish fangs.
Raymond let out a terrified shout, but was immediately silenced by sharp teeth burying themselves into his neck. He lost all consciousness and went numb…numb from the pain.