Chapter 3: When Staz was a child…
The lonely child
Staz opened his eyes and saw the black pastel ceiling and quickly recognized it as his treatment room and was not so surprised to find himself healed but the weakness was too much for him to handle. He felt so lethargic and tired like half of his life had been sucked out. It sucks to feel like a useless being. He had no energy to even put up his hand either. Why do he felt so weird like this?
"Water.."
He got up from his bed like he always do to reach the glass at the side of his side desk, but this time, it takes too much effort and he realized, this is not normal. He felt like his muscles and ligament is tearing inside and even heard the sounds of his broken bones clacking to each other. Why does it hurt so much this time? How many days was he bed ridden? He was only shot at, but why did he sustained so much injury and pain? He couldn't phantom it himself.
He gulped down his water in one go. It was not enough. He need more.
"More." He mumbled. And it was not water he desired.
His throat felt dry and thirsty.
He need something like blood.
Staz came to his sense when he realized he thirst for blood. He wasn't one who took blood though. Never in his life, he desired for blood. Their lineage of true blood vampire doesn't require only blood to survive in this hell. But why- ?
Suddenly, his hair-wired train of thought was disturbed by the sound of the front door clicking close. He squinted his eyes to see who it was, and he was relieved to see that it was his little sister, Liz T. Blood. She walked slowly to his bed giving him a blank stare. Their eyes met for few minutes in silence. This is weird, Staz thought to himself.
Before he opened his mouth, she suddenly moved forward and throw her voodoo doll at Staz's face which make him stunned.
"I hate you brotherStaz, because you're not like us!" The small Liz shouted at her brother with disgust face. Staz looked back at her indifferently. He was lost of words.
"What's wrong, Liz?"He asked again tenderly like he always did.
"Nothing!" there was a small tear accumulating in her round bright red eyes waiting to fall but she looked down to her knee and hide it.
But, Staz noticed it almost immediately. And he was stunned to see his sister crying in front of him.
His hand was going to touch her head, but she resisted by moving aside. Staz eyes grow wide and surprised at her action. She was supposed to love it when he did it before. What had he done wrong? What had brother did to him when he was unconscious? Why did she said he's not like them? Why is he different?.He couldn't understand.
Staz was going to step down from his bed ridden state to get closer to his sister who was now standing at his rear bed with tearing eyes, when suddenly Liz looked back at him with protest face as if saying 'don't try to get near me'.
"Why can't I feel anything from you Brother Staz? Are you not our family?"
"W- What do you mean, Liz...? O- Of course I am your brother." He tried to convince himself, though he already realized, he is much weaker now...like incomplete vampire...
"But you does not smelled like us. I hate you!" and with that words, Liz ran out from the room leaving the dumbfounded Staz. He kept staring at his powerless hand.
'Am I not a family now...?'
"I HATE YOU STAZ! YOU'RE DIFFERENT! JUST GO AWAY! YOU DON'T SMELL LIKE US!" and with that hurting words, she ran away slamming the door louder.
Staz looked at his face in the mirror and stare at his pale face. "How am I different?"
He slashed his hand with a knife and was enchanted to see the beautiful blood dripping from his hand flawlessly. It didn't stop and keep dripping before his wounds started closing itself again. He wonder why his body regeneration processes is slow.
It is slow like the lowly human race.
The human race…then it clique together. The puzzle is completed. The bullet made him something less than a true blood vampire. Brother …what did you do to me?
"So, I'm really a nuisance for you, brother?" and a painful smile appeared on his pale face.
Liz finally ran out to find her brother Braz after moping in her room for few hours. Her face still wet of tears, thinking of her family. 'This is not right! Why? Why!'
Little Liz suddenly stumbled upon her brother big figure. He was in his black cloak again with his spectacles shadowed with bright light. But she then realized, he was also looking sad and empty.
He didn't cry like her though, but he was obviously sad! Why?
"Brother what happened?"
He didn't look at her. "You should be happy my little sister."
"Why? Has something good happened?"
He finally looked at Liz in her eyes and kneed down to her level, patting her head. "Your hated brother Staz is not here anymore."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean what I said. He's gone." Braz stopped his words. There was no smile on his face."He has left this mansion without a trace."
"Staz was gone?" Liz seemed surprised, but anybody could see the joy in her bright eyes. She was just a small little vampire who is fast growing in her intellectual but, still is an honest child who could not hide her true feelings from the facial expression.
'Finally, my rival had gone! I doesn't need to share Braz loves with anyone anymore. He will focus only on me, me and me from now on!' Or...that was what she thought.
Braz stare was on her , but it seems penetrating straightly to the wall behind her. She looked behind to see what it was, but found it hard to believe that they were standing in front of Staz room. Did he just come back from looking for Staz in his room?
She couldn't believe it! Why is Staz is much more special than her?! WHY?!
"Brother…why are looking so sad when Staz was not around? You wanted him dead aren't you?! But why-?!" She screamed to her brother's face with tears on her face. "Would you be happy if I'm also not around!?"
Braz was surprised to hear his little sister screaming hysterically like that. He immediately held her in his arms tightly. "Don't Liz! What are talking about? I don't want you to run away from me too. I don't want both of you to leave me. Staz and I just have a miscommunication that's all…" he tried to reassure her and wiped out her tears, staring into her eyes gently.
Liz stopped crying, but still hiccups "So, do you love me brother?"
"Of course I love you." Both of you. And he lay down to kiss her forehead.
"So, don't cry again, Liz…It makes me miserable." Enough miserable as it was already.
He couldn't effort to lose anymore...
XXXXXXXX
Few years had passed and only now Liz realized that the disappearance of Staz would make her life so silent and lonely. She couldn't believe herself that she was missing Staz playing hard to kill with her. She missed the game. Usually she would ease her tension by killing Staz who would run away from her in that game. The game was created to throw her tantrum towards Staz after all. But as usual, she would missed and sometimes, Staz just black out during the aggressive play. What a weak brother he was.
She weakly smiled and sighed then resting her head on the table. She couldn't believe that she actually missed Staz. What a stupid sister am I?
She went out to find her brother in his lab, as usual. She was waiting for him in the living room far too long that the cake she made herself seemed melting by the seconds fly, and it's been 2 hours she was waiting there. She denied the thought that maybe Braz had forgotten about their promises for today.
She could not accept the word 'if' he actually didn't care for her.
She decided to find him in his lab house and finally reached the big fortress which her brother always spent his leisure time and walked inside bringing together the small messy black wrapped box to give it to Braz. It was Braz birthday today and she had dreamed of celebrating it together. She found the house neat even though it has nasty smell and dusty.
"Brother… can I come in?" But Braz seems oblivious to her calls and ignore her. She stepped in without his permission and was standing in front of his experiment table, but Braz did not turn for her at all. He did not even acknowledge her presence.
And it makes her heart sank. How could he..
"Brother…" he still does not hear her calling for him. He was still pondering himself with the shattered glass on the floor and hissed borishly. His latest nth time of experiment seems failed again and he giggle loudly that it's creepy.
"Brother!" she called his name again this time louder, but still was ignored. Liz finally lost her patience and decided to leave, dropping her small present in front of the door and walk away dragging her feet. It feels like something sharp stabbing her heart. It grew sharper when she glanced at her brother's face, it looked empty and he is not smiling at all. How many years since she last saw her brother smiled and spending his time together with her…she couldn't remember anymore. It's been so long that she almost forgot…
She forgot the fact that, her brother only smiled when Staz were there.
Was it her fault?
She ran out and cried so hard that her bigger eyes turned like a panda that haven't sleep for years.
Braz finally give up on his experiment when it reached 7am. He needed sleep now. His sleepy eyes, glance onto his watch and continue staring blankly without purpose. He feels like he had forgotten something very important and he couldn't remember what it was and decided to just leave it at that. He believed he will remember if it was significant to remember.
He step out of the room and locked the door. His feet move his body tiredly and he accidently fell on his butt as he stumbled onto something. He looked down and saw a funny wrapped black box. "what is this creepy looking box?" and without a second thought, he just throw it in a dustbin.
And obviously…he had not realized that he had incidentally thought Liz as unimportant things.
He went to their main mansion and was surprised to see Liz sleeping on the couch without any blanket on her. Her legs and arms were all cold from the morning coldness. He found it weird as she was still wearing her fancy dress which he bought for her, last months on her birthday. What occasion could it be?
He pulled out a warm blanket on her and pulled away her mask from her face to create a comfy sleeping bed but it surprised him to see she was sobbing and mumbling his name in her sleep.
"…brother…don't leave me." She whispered sadly as she grasped his cloak in her arms.
He sat down near her and pulled away the strand of her red hair to her side so that he can see her face. He wonder what makes the strong will Liz to cry. Did she miss Staz?
He looked over the table not too far from the couch and saw a cake melting away, losing its shapes.
Oh..my... Was the only thing come out from his mouth.
He felt embarrass himself as he had forgotten the promises he made with his sister. How can he justify his fault? He obviously had been working himself all night long only for the sake of Staz and deserted Liz's feelings for him. What have he done all this time? The cheerful Liz is now so pitiful and crying all alone. Where was he when Liz was struggling alone by herself? What kind of brother is he?
He had not even thought about that before.
He felt sorry as the guilt kick in deeper. He repeated it again. Then he remembered the black wrapped box which he thought hideous when he found it in front of his lab room. It wasn't possibly a gift from Liz, was it? Or..is it really her gift? What have he done?
He tried to run back to his lab room but was surprised that Liz still grabbing his cloak tightly. He kneed down and removed her hands from his cloak in order to find that black box but Liz suddenly jerk out from the touch and sit up abruptly. "Brother Braz…you came…"and was surprised to find her mask missing from her face. And what surprised her more is Braz's angry looking face.
"Brother… Did you finish your work? Why are you angry?"
He stayed silent before he stepped out from the house giving Liz his cold shoulder. He cannot look at Liz on her face. He failed her. He had forgotten their promises. Again. And it cannot be forgiven.
"I'm going back to my lab."
Liz was saddened again.
She looked at his back with tears on her face. Why is he so cold towards me? Why? He didn't even glance over his shoulder to look at me. Why?!
"This is all his fault! It was STAZ FAULT! I hate him so much!"
"I HATE YOU SO MUCH BROTHER STAZ!"
She shed her tears again running up to her room after she threw all the cake on the floor. She didn't care anymore! To hell with brother Staz!
"I won't be losing to him anymore! STUPID BRO!"
By the time Braz reached the living room, it was all too late. All the food is smashed to floor and there is no way they can eat that either. He felt so guilty and find his way back to his room, didn't bother to find Liz or pamper her.
XXXXXXX
Liz wasn't a negative person who would be fretful over small things. She now knows that she cannot change her brother's love towards Staz bu,t she still trying to find herself a room in his heart. Liz was sure that there is still some place like that in his heart.
Even if it pained her to see him acting like psycho in his room.
She still remember that day when she went into his room and saw him staring on the picture of the three of them and he only staring to the picture of Staz and even talking himself with the picture. She found it creepy and also pitied him. Braz still wouldn't ley go of Brother Staz.
She won't admit it. But she actually misses Staz as much.
Braz didn't even smiling but it was clear that he had tears on his eye bed. Braz laughed over that small picture of Staz and it reminded him of Staz's stupid face. Liz who is peeping from the front door had her palm in a fist and gritted her teeth. He had not even smiles or laughs when he saw her, when he talked to her, when she makes funny face. But he smiled at a stupid picture which was already 5 year old. Isn't that frustrating?!
And she walked away… 'Brother braz had forgotten me…and it wasn't really Bother Staz fault. Braz was just too stupid to see me who was near him all the time.'
She smiled weakly as she went to her work post. There were no more tears to shed after all these few years of getting dumped by her brothers. They are both stupid stupid brother.
"Stupid brother.."