by Night, Ash
It hadn’t been this bad in a long time. It reminded me of the first day at school five years ago. Since then, I’d gotten pretty good at judging how much blood I would need to get through the day. I’d only had a few slip ups, but they were manageable until I could sneak away during lunch. I had always given Erin some excuse about how I had to pick up an assignment or a textbook. I was glad I wouldn’t have to lie to her anymore.
“Aubrey, where’d you go? We didn’t even see you leave the store.” Lauren popped open her trunk and she and Erin put their bags inside. “Dude, you look pale, even for you.”
I fought to keep my composure. My veins were screaming for blood and it felt like my nerves were on fire. “Will you ladies excuse me for an hour or two? I…need to hunt.”
“I thought you said you were okay.” Erin reached out to touch my arm. I flinched away.
“I was. I swear I was. I guess all the people in the bookstore just got to me, that’s all.” I confessed, ready to bolt. “Where would you like to meet up?”
“Up for a movie?” Lauren asked Erin. Erin nodded. “Enjoy your hunting, lost boy.”
I grinned at her movie reference. “See you two ladies later.”
“You better hunt well! Erin and I are not sharing!” Lauren called after me with a laugh.
I walked into the dark movie theater, following Erin’s scent. Her scent was wonderful and I found her right away. “Hello. Sorry I’m late. I wanted to take my time.”
She hugged me gently. “Full?”
“Are you offering dessert?” I teased, resting my chin on her head. She lifted up the arm rest and rested her head on my chest.
“It’s yours if you want it, you know.”
“Too full,” I admitted. “But I appreciate the offer, my dear. Now, what’d I miss?”
Erin whispered a full breakdown of the movie so far. It appeared to be somewhere in the middle. Erin teasingly offered me popcorn and a sip of her soda. I growled playfully and kissed her cheek.
Tears were in both of the girls’ eyes when the movie ended. I had been too focused on Erin to really bother watching the movie. I had a feeling that even if I had been paying attention, I would still fail to understand why they were crying. Girls were strange creatures.
“Why the tears?” I asked, carrying out their nearly-empty popcorn bucket.
“If you were a girl, we wouldn’t need to explain this,” Lauren said.
Erin laughed lightly and hugged me tight. “It was just a really happy ending.”
“Oh,” I replied, still confused. Walking out to the car, I opened the door for Erin. She slid inside, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her blue long-sleeved shirt. I smiled. Happy tears made her look so fragile.
“Anyone for dinner?” Lauren asked.
“My treat,” I said, smiling.
“Who can say no to that?” Erin smiled. As Lauren and Erin debated on which place to eat at, I decided to take over driving. Driving always steadied my nerves and helped take my mind off things. I couldn’t shake the feeling of not knowing where Alex was and that loss of control at the bookstore had troubled me. I sighed.
For the first time in centuries, I allowed myself to wish my mother was here to make everything better.
Chapter Six
Erin
After finally deciding on a place to eat, a little out of the way family-owned restaurant, we sat down in a booth. The whole place smelled of smoke and, from the look of the ceiling tiles, it was obvious people used to sit in here and chain-smoke. A sign on the wall claimed they had the best pie in the county since 1930. I wondered if Aubrey had ever had their pie before.
Once our food arrived, I filled Lauren in on my little trip with Topaz. She insisted I take her next time. I agreed to, but assured her I wasn’t going to ditch again for a while. School was almost over anyway, which reminded me of something very important.
“Aubrey, what would you like for your birthday? You never let me get you anything since I met you, but this year I insist.”
He smiled, swallowing a bite of his spicy chicken sandwich. “What more could I want?”
“No fair,” I said. “Give me an answer, pretty please.” I tried to make my eyes have the same effect on him as his did on me.
Blinking, he tried to think of something to say. I guess it worked. “Now, that was not playing fair.”
“What?” I asked innocently.
“That look, it’s not fair game,” he replied.
I chuckled. “Well, then you’ll have to get an eye transplant or something. Your eyes are so not fair, either.”
“Stop it, you two love birds.” Lauren said, throwing a French fry at Aubrey. He grinned as he caught it and ate it. “I’d like to eat my free food in peace. By the way, how are you eating real food, lost boy?”
“I don’t need food, but I enjoy the taste. As long as I keep blood flowing through my system, sort of like a normal human, my body functions in much the same way. Speaking of which, would you ladies excuse me?” He got up, heading toward the bathroom. He came back a few minutes later.
“Do you use the bathroom every day?” Lauren asked, unabashed by the crude subject matter.
“No, only when I eat or drink like a human.” He said, writing his signature swiftly on the receipt. The waitress smiled warmly at him. He smiled back as he handed the leather folder back. “Thank you. Have a good day, miss.”
The waitress blushed, murmured a small thank you, and walked away quickly. I grabbed Aubrey’s hand under the table. “Thank you for dinner.”
“Yeah, thanks, lost boy. Free food tastes amazing!” Lauren said.
“You both are very welcome,” He replied, sticking a generous tip under the salt shaker. I leaned into him as we walked out to Lauren’s car.
“You never answered my question. What do you want for your birthday?” I asked as I sat down.
He frowned. “I don’t want anything.”
“And I said I was getting you something. Now, ideas please!” I chuckled.
He sighed dramatically and grinned. “All right, if you insist.”
“Very much,” I replied.
He thought for a while. Lauren stopped at several stop lights before he spoke again. “I want you to meet my mother. If you don’t mind me driving you there, of course. I don’t do well on airplanes.”
“I would love that! Would I get to see the house you grew up in?” I asked excitedly.
His brow knitted together for a moment and then relaxed. “Sure, I’ll just need to do some cleaning up first.”
I nodded, confused by his tense expression. “Okay,”
“I cannot wait for senior year!” Lauren exclaimed, breaking the awkward silence that had consumed the car.
I smiled. “Me either,”
Lauren looked at Aubrey in the rear-view mirror. “How many times have you been a senior?”
“Seventy times,” Aubrey replied. “There were a few decades where I didn’t attend school at all. It was my rebellious period.”
“What was your mother like?” Lauren asked. “Did she ever drink…”
“No, she never drank human blood, except once. There was young boy in a Native American tribe dying from a rattlesnake bite. My family had just moved to the area and my brother Alex had just been born. Being a new mother herself, she couldn’t help but feel for the boy’s distraught parents. When she heard nothing could be done for the boy, she crept into the village late at night and drank a bit of his blood where the infection had started.”
“It must have been hard,” Lauren said.
“It was extremely difficult to stop, but she managed. She ultimately saved that boy’s life.” Aubrey’s face lit up with pride. “My mother had said she never wanted to know the pain of losing a son so that single thought was what helped her regain control of her thirst.”
I smiled. “She sounds like she was quite a lady,”
Aubrey smiled back. “I am honored to be her son,”
Lauren pulled into m
y driveway. The moon was barely a sliver, but it was still an unnerving shade of red. “Be safe, kiddos,” she teased as we got out. I blushed as I remembered my make-out session before she arrived. If she hadn’t shown up, could it have gone further?
Aubrey hugged me around the shoulders as I opened the front door. Lauren honked as she drove away. Aubrey set down my bag on the kitchen table. “Today was nice,”
“I enjoyed today very much,” he said, pulling me onto his lap as he sat on the couch. “I love you,”
I kissed his cheek. “I love you too,”
“Do you want me to read to you?”
Suppressing a yawn, I nodded. “Please?”
“My pleasure,” he replied as he got up to get a new book from my bag. Settling back into the couch, he brought the words to life with his voice. I stayed awake as long as I could. I didn’t want this wonderful day to ever end.
“Erin, sweetie,” Aubrey said, shaking my shoulder lightly.
“Keep reading. I’m awake.” I mumbled, rolling over.
“No,” I could hear him stifle a laugh. “It’s time to get up for school. I fell asleep as well. You’re still on the couch. Please hurry. We’re going to be late.”
I sat straight up, nearly falling off the couch. Aubrey caught and steadied me. “What day is it?”
He stifled another laugh. “It’s Wednesday, honey. I already packed your backpack and I have a doughnut for you in the kitchen. All you have to do is get dressed.”
My ears perked up at the mention of doughnuts. “Chocolate cream?”
He smiled. “Of course,”
I hugged him tight and ran though my morning ritual of dressing and brushing my hair. He was waiting for me, backpack in hand, at the front door as I grabbed a napkin and my doughnut. He chivalrously drove as I enjoyed every delicious bite of fried dough.
“Thank you so much for the doughnut,” I exclaimed, kissing his cheek. “You’re the best boyfriend ever,”
Not taking his eyes off the road, he grinned. “Thank you,”
“Is Alex…”
“I haven’t heard from him.”
Oh,” I said. A long silence followed us into the school parking lot and continued as he walked me to class. He set my things down at my desk.
“I love you, Erin.” He pecked my cheek, his eyes tight. He began to pull away.
“I love you too,” I said, turning his head to face me. An icy shiver went up my spine as I looked into his eyes. He looked tired. “Have you fed?”
“I didn’t have time. I slept more than I usually do. I’ll go at lunch, maybe skip third period if I have to.”
“Compel your teacher and go now,” I pleaded. “Aubrey, please.”
The tardy bell rang. He smiled calmly. “Erin, I’ll be fine. Don’t worry. I have to go. I’ll meet you at your locker before lunch.”
I watched Aubrey walk out of the room. By the end of class, I had myself nearly convinced I imagined his stagger.
“I swear he almost tripped on his way out of the classroom.” I told Lauren in English Lit.
“And you’re sure he’s not just tired?” She asked, pretending to read her book when Ms. Dawn passed her desk.
“He said he overslept and didn’t have time to hunt. I don’t think that’s ever happened before.”
“I just hope no one gets a paper cut or anything.” Lauren joked. I frowned, seized with worry. “Hey, I was kidding. Aubrey will be fine. I doubt he could have kept a secret like that from you for five years if he went around sucking blood from someone just because they got a paper cut.”
I nodded, feeling the doughnut sit like a rock in the pit of my stomach. Trying to concentrate on my book, I noticed my knuckles turning white. I uncurled and flexed my aching fingers. This was going to be a long day.
He wasn’t there. My heart went into hyper drive when I noticed he wasn’t at my locker after class. He’d said he’d meet me there before lunch. I dropped my stuff in my locker, trying to think rationally. Maybe he’d been too overwhelmed and had to skip out beforehand.
Aubrey, where are you? I was nervous. I’d never tried calling out to him using my mind before. Would he be listening? I usually only talked to him this way when I was next to him in class.
Hey, hon. I’m so sorry. I left right in the middle of first period. Shanna Michaels accidentally cut her finger in Biology when she was dissecting a frog. I’m having trouble finding much to hunt so I’ll see you soon. Aubrey sounded a little frantic, but I sighed in relief.
Okay. Are you sure you’re okay?
Yes, I promise I’m okay. Have a good day at school.
You too. I walked to the lunch room alone. Ben and Topaz were arguing about cars. I didn’t understand much of what they were saying, but they were both very steadfast on their side of the issue. Amber was talking with Gretchen about makeup. Peter and Jake were comparing homework answers before their next class. I stopped in my tracks as Lauren looked expectantly at me.
“He better have had an asteroid hit him.” She growled as I sat down.
“He had to hunt.” I whispered. “He’ll be back at the end of the day to take me home.”
She frowned. “I think I should start collecting kindling. What do you think would be the best wood for a bonfire?”
I shook my head. “You won’t need to find out.” I promised. She sipped her soda angrily. “Let’s talk dresses.”
“I can’t wait for the dance next week.” Amber replied.
“We should go as a group,” Gretchen suggested. “It’ll be fun,”
Amber nodded. “Girl’s night!”
I smiled and debated on dress colors with my friends. Lauren was quickly caught up in the excitement and forgot her anger at Aubrey. The lunch bell rang all too quickly.
Chapter Seven
Aubrey
I couldn’t believe I’d been out here for two hours and all I’d come across was a chipmunk. My veins were on fire. I growled as I ran faster, desperate for a deer or even a rabbit to cross my path.
The event in first period played out in my mind like a broken record. I didn’t want to risk going back until I had my hunger under complete control. I’d nearly jumped on Shanna the second I smelled her blood. If she’d hit the floor when she’d passed out…
Shaking my head in disgust, I snarled in frustration. I had no idea what was wrong with me. I usually woke up with plenty of time to hunt before school and the forest was usually teeming with wildlife. It was like they were afraid of something.
Finally, I caught the white flash of a deer tail. It was a small one, just barely entering adulthood. I didn’t prolong the chase like I usually would have. I ran it down and went straight for the kill.
My thirst assuaged, I headed back to school. Judging from the position of the sun, it was about one in the afternoon. Erin was in Art. I should have been in French.
Topaz met me outside, his arms crossed across his chest as leaned against the building. He smiled and opened his golden eyes as I walked up to him. “Hey, Aubrey. Nice of you to show up.”
I narrowed my eyes and smirked. “Skipping out again?
“I have a pass.” He jingled a hallway pass at me. It was Ms. Carly’s, the Biology teacher. I recognized the block of wood connected to the orange keychain.
“You’ll be getting back before the allotted three minutes, right?” I chuckled. Ms. Carly was famous for her three minute rule. She would watch that clock like a hawk all while moving forward with the lesson and, if the student was even ten seconds late, she would already have a detention slip on her desk, waiting to be filled out.
“Add about forty five minutes to that,” Topaz said. I rolled my eyes and pushed him playfully.
“Carly is probably having an aneurysm about now.”
Topaz walked into school with me. “Give me some credit. I’m not a total idiot. I compelled her first.”
I marched ahead. “I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear that.”
“Does Erin know you’re in the
building?” Topaz asked, ignoring me.
“I wanted to surprise her,”
“She’ll love it,” Topaz said, stopping at the door to Ms. Carly’s room. He turned to me and fist-bumped me. “See ya later,” He opened the door and I tensed, not daring to breathe until the door closed behind him.
The scent of Shanna’s blood still hung in the air.
“Keep it up, lost boy. I’m stocking up on wood for that bonfire.” Lauren threatened. We were walking out to the parking lot.
I grimaced. “Okay,”
Erin hugged me. “Don’t worry. He’s sorry.”
“Very sorry,” I replied, smiling at Erin. I pulled out my keys and opened the door for her. She climbed inside my truck. Lauren sped away in her car angrily. I felt really bad for making her so angry.
“She’ll cool off by the time she gets home. Are you doing anything Friday night?” Erin asked as I drove out of the lot and onto the road.
I smiled easily. “That depends on you,”
“Dinner date?” she asked hopefully.
I nodded. “Of course,”
She smirked. “Just tell me when you’re getting sick of doing human things. Maybe for our six-month anniversary we can do a vampire thing.”
I chuckled. “I don’t think the human could handle a vampire thing.”
“Like what?” she challenged.
“I doubt you’d have much fun trying to chase down a rabbit.”
“I’d certainly be willing to try,”
I laughed. “There are plenty of better ways to spend your time.”
“What about that nightclub you and Alex go to? Can we go there?”
I tensed. “No, it isn’t exactly safe.”
“But Alex told me they can’t kill humans there,”
“That doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen from time to time,”
“I trust you to protect me.”
“Next,” I said. She pouted. I was tempted to kiss her. I hadn’t kissed her on the lips since yesterday afternoon. I’d been too afraid to this morning. I hadn’t wanted to risk losing control.