“So… ” Sebastian asked.
I found myself getting goose bumps again when he breathed on my neck. I glanced back at him curiously. Was he doing it on purpose now?
“This is amazing! You have to try it! I want to try everything!”
Carlyle was spitting bits of burger all over the table. His reaction was pretty much priceless and made up for the chunks of chewed up food he was spewing at us.
“Really?” Sebastian asked.
“Yes!” Carlyle assured, waving the burger in his face.
Sebastian took it, cautiously, and inspected it the same way Carlyle had. He didn’t lick it. He took the smallest bite possible and chewed it much longer. He handed it back to me while he still decided how he liked it. I knew I was going to like it so I took the biggest bite I possibly could. My stomach thanked me.
“Do you like it?” I asked covering my mouth.
“Yes, I do!” He agreed, just as enthusiastically as Carlyle had.
“Fantastic. Tomorrow maybe I can try some of your food.” I smiled. They got silent.
“What?”
I pulled out one of the chairs and finally took a seat. I was starving, I needed to sit down and eat everything I could before Carlyle engulfed it all.
“We’ll have to see.” Sebastian grinned. It was eerie almost.
“Kay…”
I took a crinkle fry and nibbled on it. I didn’t want to seem ungrateful, but condiments would have been superb at that moment.
“May I?” Carlyle leaned over.
“Of course. Help yourself.” I motioned.
Carlyle lit up. He took an onion ring and stuffed his mouth with it. His amazement at how good my food tasted was over the top. I smiled and laughed while eating for myself. Sebastian tried some more, but he said nothing compared to the burger. I wondered if they ate meat at all. If they were strictly vegan then eating meat meant they’d get sick. Well, eating anything out of the ordinary could get them sick. I hadn’t thought about that before. I hoped that none of this would upset their stomachs. Did they only have one stomach? Were they like cows?
When I'd had my fill and Carlyle enjoyed the ice cream all to himself, we all relaxed back in our seats. I was stuffed. My stomach was so happy. I sipped the last few drops of my soda, then got up to see if that connecting room was a bathroom or not. It had to be. When I peaked in I was instantly relieved. A normal bathroom was staring at me. There was a shower, a sink, a toilet…it was a miracle. This place really was a fancy hotel. I rushed in and shut the door.
Before pulling my pants back up, I examined my leg. It hurt a bit when I thought about it. There were bruises around the edges of the bandage. I wondered what it looked like under it. But I could tell the bandage wasn’t ready to come off yet. I could see stains of blood on the other side. I doubted they had anything to wrap it back up again if I even wanted to change the wrappings out. It wasn’t that serious right then. I pulled my pants up and washed my hands.
I caught myself checking the vanity mirror. I wasn’t all that bad looking. My hair was a little sloppy, my eyes were completely red, but I looked alright. What I really needed was a shower. But there weren’t any towels in the bathroom. Maybe the guys would know where to get some.
Both of them were still sitting at the table. The platter had disappeared. They were talking and laughing. I smiled and yawned. With a full belly and empty bladder, I needed sleep. A shower could wait. Yawning again, I stretched my arms out. That’s when I realized that there were only two beds in our room. Were they really going to share a bed for me? Maybe Carlyle didn’t come from the bathroom; was there another door that actually connected to another room? Would that be mine? I just wanted to curl up and doze off for a few hours.
“Okay, so, where are we all sleeping?” I asked pointing to the beds.
“You think the beds are for us?” Carlyle hiccupped, then laughed. It was much like the Minakai had laughed when he had pitied me.
“Where- how do you guys sleep?”
I sat on the closest bed to me. I desperately wanted to take my shoes off, but I was afraid of my feet smelling. I’d do it just before sleep. It could wait. My feet were numb, anyway.
Carlyle looked at Sebastian, and then they looked at each other. They whispered something that was apparently funny. Carlyle, with a huge grin on his face, stood up. He started walking towards the wall and then just kept walking. I watched him walk right up to the ceiling. There was a fixture on it I hadn’t noticed before. He wrapped his tail around it then enclosed himself in his wings.
“You’re more of a bat?” I exclaimed dropping my arms. I had never realized it before.
“If these bats sleep upside down from the ceiling, then yes.”
“Yes, they do. They also have tiny tails but big wings and ears, sort of like yours.”
“Ears?”
Carlyle twisted and fell off the ceiling. He landed gracefully without a thud.
“Yes.”
I moved some strands out of the way and tugged on mine.
“Mirabelle, these are our horns. They show age.”
Sebastian tugged on his pointed, curly ears. They didn’t look like horns.
“Where are your ears?” I asked studying his face.
“What are ears?” He asked me.
“These.” I tugged on my ears again. “You hear out of them.”
“Ears? Huh. Well we hear from the sides of our head. I don’t know that we have anything they are on.” Sebastian said touching his cheeks and head.
“Interesting.”
I wondered what else I had confused. My brain trailed off. I was exhausted. These heels needed to come off immediately. My back was hurting and I wanted to lean against the headboard. I pulled my foot up and unzipped one of the shoes. I slid my foot out and wiggled my toes, it felt great.
“What are you doing?!” Sebastian shrieked and jumped up.
“Taking off my shoes…”
I looked at him curiously. He was looking at me with disgust.
“Those...those aren’t your feet?” He asked, pointing to my shoes.
“No! They’re my shoes that protect my feet.” I said, laughing. I slipped off the other one, and wiggled those toes.
“Why do you humans cover up everything on your body? You don’t let anything be affected by nature the way it was intended to be?” Carlyle asked.
Sebastian slowly lowered himself back off the table. His eyes never left my feet.
“Humans are an interesting race.” I smiled.
I pulled off my jacket and leaned against the head board. My entire body let out a sigh. It was definitely sleep time. I just wanted to get under the covers and fall asleep.
“Tell me about it.” Carlyle said.
I grinned sliding down the headboard. I stretched out in the very comfortable, oversized bed. I wondered if there were two because one was softer than the other. Should I move? This was fine. I was fine.
“Is she going to tell me?” Carlyle whispered to Sebastian.
“Hmm?”
I opened my eyes. Sebastian was glaring at Carlyle. Maybe he was tired, too?
“I asked for you to tell me about it.” Carlyle said in a pretty outlandish way.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I thought you meant that in the way we humans use it. Like a form of sarcasm per say; agreeing, in a sense.”
“Interesting. Tell me more.”
He got up and sat on the bed next to me and leaned in. I could just barely see Sebastian behind him. He got up and sat in that chair at the foot of my bed again.
“What do you want to know?” I asked in my yawn. I really didn’t want to talk, but he was obviously excited.
“Everything!” Carlyle whispered.
“You have to be more specific than that.” I laughed.
“What’s specific mean?” Sebastian asked.
His words were short and snotty. Why was he getting upset again?
“It means you need to narrow down what you are asking.
You can’t just tell me to tell you everything because that includes an awful lot. But if you got specific, and asked about, like my toes, and my ears, then I could tell you what you wanted to hear.”
“I knew that! How big is your world?” Carlyle asked immediately.
Oh boy, this was going to be a very long night. I took a deep breath and started talking. Sebastian paid very little attention. He wasn’t dozing off, but he was just staring at us; mostly Carlyle. He obviously wanted Carlyle to stop asking so many questions. I couldn’t agree more. I had to sit up to stop myself from passing out. It wasn’t until Carlyle asked about evolution that he seemed interested.
I told them the story of Adam and Eve. Carlyle’s eyes were wide the entire time. Carlyle kept asking how an entire race could come from two people. It was a difficult story to explain. I personally didn’t believe in it, so that made it slightly more difficult. I kept making jokes that they didn’t understand. Like how Adam and Eve were always depicted with belly buttons. But everyone knows you only get a belly button if you were born from a womb.
I told them about Noah’s Ark and Sebastian finally started talking. He didn’t understand what happened to a world covered in animals. He had no idea it was that bad when he was hanging out with me. Spike and Wilson were well taken care of, he didn’t have a reason to think others were being abused and neglected to death.
“All those humans, and they can’t just take the time to care for these animals?”
He was angry, rightfully so.
“It’s not just animals. A lot of human lives are lost at the cost of our own greed. We have to pick and choose our vices.”
“Greed?” Carlyle asked.
“Yes. Humans, well I guess I’ll speak more on Americans, we crave money. We use it to define someone's status.”
“Money? You don’t judge it by anything else?” Sebastian was appalled.
I couldn’t blame him there either, but I was used to it. It was acceptable for me to grow up that way. I really didn’t want to justify it to someone else this late in the night. I wasn’t thinking right. All I knew was that we aspired to be rich so we would have no worries.
“Beauty helps.” I stretched.
“Money and beauty? So if you were rich, then you’d be at the top of your race?” Sebastian said. I smiled at the compliment.
“I wouldn’t, no. You have to be beautiful in a different way. But you have the money part correct. However, there are a few people who are poor but are still important. Of course that only ends up getting them money and thus furthering their status.”
“But why?” Carlyle asked.
“Society, the people around us, our government; they create this image that we have to have all these things to be powerful. That’s why we can take so much from others and not worry.”
“Government?” They said together.
“Yes. Imagine a Minakai in our world with his guards. That’s basically our government.”
I yawned again and rolled on my side. It was difficult to resist the common need to sleep. My body was making itself comfortable while I didn’t even realize. I was so tired.
“Oh. Well, I am glad you feel differently Mira. You care a lot more than your heart can handle, but it doesn’t seem to affect you.” Carlyle said.
“What do you mean? I am no different than the rest of us. I still wear clothes because they tell me to, I live in a house that was made out of some other animal's house because they told me I had to, and I keep animals in cages.” I said.
“But you do care. That makes you different. You love.” Sebastian smiled.
I glanced over at him. My heart was beating a bit faster. I wondered if he could hear it. Carlyle’s bed squeaked and I realized no one was talking.
“Yes, well it comes with a price.”
I closed my eyes. I wanted this conversation to end. I had endured enough today, we all had.
“Now you are sad?” Carlyle asked.
“I am not sad, I’m tired.” I said dismissing his claim; however right he was.
“We are keeping you awake?” Sebastian asked.
“No, it’s really okay. I’m happy to answer any questions.”
“How do you know you’re in love?” Carlyle blurted out before I could finish my sentence legibly.
“Um, well, okay, generally speaking, everyone is programmed to want love. You never really know when it’s there, it just is. It’s that connection with someone who isn’t family or a friend, or a pet. It’s solely based on what your heart says and the way you feel around them.”
“So, you love me?” Sebastian asked.
My face went redder than it ever had before. I was glad I was on my back and not directly facing either of the two Aegyssusians. I had to catch my breath and regain focus to be able to talk again. I wasn’t even sure of the answer myself, but it seemed that my heart did know. I did love him and I did want to be with him. That was insane. How could I not have seen it before but everyone else here had? It was looking like the Minakai had won. I wasn’t ready to admit to it, though. I had to lie even though he could tell the difference. He must’ve known all along. Was he waiting for me to figure it out?
“I love you in a different way.” I chose my words carefully.
“I do not understand. You just said that the love not between family and pets is the love that humans talk about. Surely I am no pet, and I am not family, are you saying that we are not friends?”
“We are friends, but only just. Love isn’t created in a few seconds.”
I wanted to vomit. The butterflies were attacking me from my insides. It wasn’t fair. Why was I being so hateful?
“You humans are so confusing.” Carlyle sighed, interrupting the moment. I was very thankful. He seemed to have a keen eye for that sort of thing.
“Yes, I agree.” I grinned.
“I am going to sleep now. Thank you for talking, Mirabelle. I will see you in the morning. I can’t wait for you to see our world the way it’s meant to be.”
As if he had just realized he was tired, his body carried him up the wall very sluggishly. Wrapping his tail around the post, he engulfed himself in his wings. A few moments later, I could hear tiny snores coming from his direction. It sounded staged. I didn’t care.
I looked over at Sebastian; he was watching me. I could feel his brain was about to ask me something awkward. I didn’t want anything else awkward coming out of his mouth. But he wasn't stupid, he knew I was lying and he was going to find a way to corner me.
“Do you love Joe?” He asked in a low whisper. Was he afraid of Carlyle hearing?
“No. I barely even know him.”
I answered instantly. I hadn’t even had to lie, it had just come out. It was odd. Even my face didn’t blush. Had I really forgotten that feeling Joe gave me? Aside from what my heart was saying, I wanted to like Joe. He had made me feel loved from the moment I met him. Sebastian on the other hand, well, that was a tough case. Plus, Joe was real.
My heart was pounding out of my chest. It was trying to yell at me for being so naïve. I couldn’t handle this. I jumped up and rushed into the bathroom. I needed to focus my mind. I had to get away from Sebastian, even if just for a second. This was all overwhelming.
I stood over the sink and threw water on my face again. Maybe it was just lack of sleep. My head was going crazy into dreamland. I couldn’t tell reality from fantasy. There were no monsters in reality. This was a fairytale. It was that simple. I just needed sleep and everything would be okay.
I took a sip of water in my hands then I dried off my face and carefully crept out of the bathroom. There was just one small light on right next to my bed. Sebastian was hanging from the ceiling on another hook. I hadn’t meant to hurt his feelings. I hoped he knew that. He had to have been listening in on my thoughts. It was such a disaster. One second after the next, I dug myself into a deeper hole. I was the nightmare. I ruined everything.
I tried to control my breathing. I could feel the tears pu
shing against my eyes. I took my glasses off and set them on the nightstand. Then I switched off the light and pulled the covers up.
“Good night, Mirabelle. Until the morning sun rises.” Sebastian whispered from under his wings.
“Good night, Sebastian.” I whispered back.
It was all I could handle. My tears started leaking out the corner of my eyes. Hearing his voice, hearing the pain in it…I was crazy. I needed to learn to stop hurting people that actually cared about me. Joe didn’t care; he just saw an advantage at the vulnerable new girl.
I was being stupid. Sebastian was there for me. He cared and he honestly wanted to see me happy. I felt wretched. I wanted to wake Sebastian up and tell him everything. I looked for him once my eyes adjusted. He should be lying next to me and holding on to me. I should be kissing him goodnight and letting him know what he has done to my heart.
I didn’t deserve Sebastian. Tomorrow would come and pass and then I’d be back home. They would be here living their lives the way they were supposed to. Sebastian belonged up on the ceiling, away from me. I belonged alone in the bed. Morning would be coming soon. I needed to sleep off the thoughts parading around in my head. I had to be able to enjoy my last day, as much of a conundrum that was. Because how could I possibly want to let myself enjoy the day if I have to act like I’m just a normal person who wasn't madly in love with a beast?
Fidgeting to get comfortable, I was making myself more frustrated. My jeans were too tight. Would they notice if I took them off? They were more offended by the fact I was wearing clothes. It’ll only be as awkward as I make it. Goodness, I hope I remembered to put on a pair of cute underwear. Sliding the jeans off quickly, I caught my bandage. My leg started pulsating. Why had I done that? I grabbed it and tried to focus on slowing down my heart rate. It worked, eventually.
When everything calmed down, I checked on the two bats on my ceiling. It was sort of funny how they weren’t scary to me in any way. I really was a messed up kid. I thought of my mother saying that to me. Rida had always teased me and my odd tendencies. I closed my eyes and saw her. I heard her tell me that it was just proof that I was meant for so much more than what this world had to offer.
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