Chapter 5

I lay in bed for several minutes after I awoke, sighing contentedly and feeling the softness of the bedsheets. I had cleaned them recently and it almost felt like sleeping on a cloud. Many people would think I was crazy for feeling this way, because they take things like this for granted. But I just couldn't sleep on an altar like a normal vampire. Something about a regular bed made me feel like I had one last piece of my mortal life; even just for a short time, it made me feel human. Feeling the softness of a human bed made me feel like I could open my eyes and my skin wouldn't be pale and shiny, my teeth wouldn't be pointed fangs, and the slight tingle of thirst at the back of my throat wouldn't exist.

As much as I loved being a vampire, if only for the incredible powers I possessed, there was always a small part of me that still wanted me to be human. It probably had to do with the fact that being a vampire, even in Bridgeport, made it difficult to get along with people. Most celebrities I knew weren't vampires, so they felt very nervous and weary of me before they got to know me. I always hated it when total strangers looked at me like I was a monster, even before they knew me.

After awhile, I decided I should go check on Chuck. I slithered out of bed and wandered into the living room, where he was still asleep on the couch. His arm hung limply over the edge and his raccoon had fallen onto the carpet. I carefully picked up the raccoon and set it on his stomach beside his other hand, which twitched on contact and slowly closed around the raccoon's leg.

I then decided to sit on the coffee table across from the couch and watch Chuck sleep. I had no idea why; there was something almost entertaining about it. I guess I was fascinated with how much more calm and peaceful he looked now than when he was dirty and shirtless. He was still worryingly thin, but at least with a shirt on I couldn't see his entire ribcage. I also planned to fatten him up with the food I got from the supermarket the night before, after having gone out to the lounge.

Sighing heavily, I stood up and made my way to the kitchen to prepare some breakfast. I knew Chuck would want something to eat when he awoke, so I picked out an apple and began preparing some pancakes. It had been awhile since I had to prepare a dish at home, but pancakes were easy to make and I knew exactly what to do. I mixed together the ingredients and poured the batter into a pan, then spent the next several minutes preparing a plate of freshly cooked pancakes. Just as I had finished and set the plate on the counter, I spotted Chuck in the doorway. One hand held his raccoon while the other rubbed sleep from his eyes.

"Hey," I greeted. "I made you some pancakes."

Chuck's face was expressionless, but I could see a trickle of drool escape his mouth. I set a plate of pancakes onto the table for him and he gratefully sat down to eat. I grabbed a can of plasma juice for myself and sat beside him.

"Eat slowly," I reminded him. "You don't want to upset your stomach."

But Chuck finished his pancakes quickly and sat there quietly, hugging his raccoon to his stomach. After a few moments, he spoke up. "I had a…a dream last night."

"Really?" I said, slightly intrigued. "What kind of dream?"

"A g-good one," he answered. "I was…I was riding Darius through a…a field."

"Who's Darius?" I asked. The name seemed familiar somehow.

"The unicorn," Chuck replied. "M-My unicorn. I c-can't find him anywhere. But in…But in my dreams, he c-comes back."

I suddenly remembered when I read Chuck's mind while he was sleeping and I saw the unicorn run down a hill. And I heard him address it as Darius. But something about what Chuck said was a bit confusing. "What do you mean you can't find him? He's in your dreams, isn't he?"

"I used to…to see him in real life," Chuck clarified. "But…But then I didn't see him anymore. I hope nothing…b-bad happened to him."

"I'm sure he's fine," I reassured. I didn't know quite what he was talking about, but he couldn't have been talking about a real unicorn. Perhaps he owned a horse at one point and pretended it was a unicorn. But if it was a real horse, I wished I could take back what I just said. I didn't know this horse and I certainly didn't know its living condition. I could have been very wrong. "Where did you see him last?"

"The waterfall," Chuck replied. "I saw him every…every night f-for so long…" He gulped. "And then my…my mother died, and my father…" He gripped his raccoon tightly, clawing at the fabric with bony hands.

"I'm sorry to hear that," I whispered, somewhat shocked by what I heard. "You don't have to talk about it if it's too painful. I was just curious about the unicorn."

Chuck said nothing, but rather tightened his grip on the raccoon and crossed his legs. "I have to pee."

"Use the toilet," I reminded him.

Chuck got up and exited the kitchen, heading for the bathroom. I cleaned up the kitchen of plates and leftovers just before I heard a knock on my door.

"Hey, Steve! Can I come in?"

I tensed up. It was Kai.

"I know you're in there, buddy. I can see your car parked out front."

Kai couldn't have picked a worse time to try and contact me. I weighed my options on how to keep him away from Chuck, but he continued to pound on the door and I didn't have much in the way of choices. After some consideration, I reluctantly went to open the door and found myself face-to-face with my friend.

"Hey," I greeted. "What are you doing here? It's kind of early, isn't it?"

"Lola's off doing celebrity stuff and I'm bored," Kai explained. "Besides, I've visited you at earlier hours. Why, am I interrupting something?"

"Well…" I hesitated.

Suddenly, Kai glanced over my shoulder and into the room. "Hey, who's that?"

I whirled around to see Chuck standing in the middle of the living room, frozen in his tracks. My breathing became uneven as I searched for an answer.

"Wait a minute…" Kai's eyes widened and a strange smile stretched across his face. He walked over to Chuck and studied his face. Chuck backed away in fear. "Is this the alley kid?"

"Uhm…" I stuttered.

Kai chuckled. "My gosh, you are the alley kid! What are you doing here?" Before Chuck could answer, Kai looked down at the raccoon doll bound tightly in Chuck's nervous grasp. "Oh, whatcha got there?" he asked, grabbing the raccoon by the head and studying it for a second. Chuck screamed and thrashed until Kai let go, then ducked behind the couch.

"Knock it off, Kai," I ordered. "You're scaring him."

"Okay," Kai complied, flopping onto the couch and turning to me. "Would you care to explain to me what the alley kid is doing in your apartment?"

"I couldn't just leave him out there," I protested, seating myself next to him. "Look, it's just temporary, okay? I'll help him get up on his feet and find him a nice place to live. Can you please keep this a secret? If the press finds out about this, I don't know what will happen."

"I'll keep it a secret," Kai promised. "But I can't guarantee the press won't find out anyway. You're taking a risk, you know."

"I know," I mumbled. "I just…I couldn't let someone as young as him starve to death in the streets."

"What do you mean, young?" he asked. "He's got to be the same age as us."

"He acts like a child," I explained.

"So maybe he's Childish," Kai suggested.

"You don't understand," I told him. "I've read his thoughts. I know what he's been through. His mother is dead and his father was abusive. For all I know, he didn't have a childhood, so he's living it now."

Kai scoffed. "That explains that little toy of his."

"Just promise me you can keep all of this a secret," I repeated. "Don't tell anyone, not even Lola."

"I told you I would," he said sincerely. "But…I've never known anyone to willingly take in some bum from the streets."

"No one…?" I echoed, extremely nervous. "But there has to be more besides Chuck. Are you seriously telling me that no one else tries to lend a helping hand?"

"Celebrities don't really work that way," Kai explained. "They don't even notice these kinds of people half the time. It's kinda hard to see much through the wall of paparazzi that surrounds them every time they set one foot out the door. On top of that, the world of glamour and the world of poverty just don't mix. Celebrities in the spotlight are much easier to see than homeless Sims in the shadows."

"What if they knew?" I asked.

Kai bit his lip. "Honestly, it would probably be the same. But then again, I wouldn't know for sure."

I sighed heavily. "I just don't know what I'm gonna do with him."

"If I were you," Kai started. "I would end this whole thing as soon as possible. I don't know what keeping some homeless nutball from the streets in your apartment is going to do to your reputation."

"He's not a nutball!" I defied. "He's tortured and needs help."

"That's not what the press is going to see," Kai said. "What they're going to see is a vampire holding a mentally retarded Sim hostage."

I heard Chuck spring up from behind the couch, whimpering and dashing for the bedroom.

"Chuck, wait!" I called. I turned to Kai. "No need to be such a jerk about it."

"I didn't mean it like that," he explained, almost gruffly. "I just said that's what the press will see. It doesn't mean any of that is true."

I sighed and got up off the couch, then wandered into my bedroom, where Chuck was curled into a tight ball on top of my bed. "Chuck?"

Chuck sat motionless, staring at the wall ahead of him, similar to how I found him in the alley.

"Kai didn't mean it," I assured. "Nothing he said about you is true."

"Yes it is," he argued.

"Chuck…" I sighed. "You're not retarded. You're just troubled. I know what you went through. I'm surprised you made it this far in spite of your childhood."

Chuck said nothing.

"You're improving, too," I continued. "You've opened up to me so much the last few days. You've shown you can learn to trust people even after what your father did to you."

"I'm stupid," Chuck mumbled.

"Cut it out!" I ordered. "You're not stupid. You've been abused and abandoned to cope with it on your own. That's not your fault. You're not the stupid one."

Suddenly, Kai came down the hall. "Steve, Lola just called. She wants me to meet her at the bistro. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Sure," I responded.

And with that, Kai strode out of the hallway and left out the front door. I turned back to Chuck, who was still frozen and staring at the wall. I closed my eyes and mentally focused on him, trying to reach his mind. When my brain made the connection to Chuck's, I tried to find an image in the darkness, but I saw nothing. There was nothing visual happening in Chuck's head, but I did hear a repeated echo of Kai's words.

Homeless nutball…mentally retarded…homeless nutball…mentally retarded…

I groaned and broke the connection, one hand clawing at my head as I left the bedroom and entered the kitchen. My head was spinning and my eyes were watering. Chuck wasn't stupid; I knew for a fact that he wasn't. But how many people thought he was? What if I was the first person he'd ever met during his life on the streets that actually cared about him in the slightest? What if his mother was the only person before me? Furthermore, why did I care about him? Most celebrities probably kicked dirt in his face and told him to get a job, or thought he was too stupid to do so. I saw him in the streets and couldn't say no, couldn't leave him there to die. But what provoked me? Even then it was a mystery, and it was almost haunting now. He fascinated me in ways that I couldn't even begin to comprehend, and in my near hundred years on the face of this planet, I had never encountered this feeling until I met Chuck.

After awhile, I was pulled out of my contemplation when I heard Chuck rummaging around in the living room. But I was slightly worried by how noisy he was being and decided to check it out. I spotted him circling the couch on all fours, apparently looking for something. But I caught sight of his expression and became even more startled by how upset he looked.

"Chuck? Is everything alright?" I asked.

Chuck stared up at me, his eyes terrified and sweat tricking down his face. "Maria. She's…she's gone."