by Tara Brown
He was no where to be found in the basement so I climbed the stairs hoping his parents were still in the city or at the very least on a vacation somewhere. I didn’t think I could face his chipper and perky mom, not after everything the past month had entailed.
Blake’s house was completely empty. I searched every room, starting to really panic I sat on the peach leather couch in the front room and watched out the front window for him to come home with either my sister, dad, Shane or worse. I assumed he had panicked when he woke and ran from the house thinking me either crazed or drugged out.
I sat there for a long time not moving; I noticed my lack of need to move. I wasn’t restless or fidgeting, I wasn’t feeling the need to change positions, I barely needed to breath. I held my breath just to see how long I could go for and started to feel weird about not breathing but not desperate for some air. When I breathed I felt better but it wasn’t as if I couldn’t have made it another twenty minutes without the breath. I decided to test it out and walked to the backyard. I stripped down to my underwear and tank top. I jumped into the cool crisp pool and let out all of the air in my lungs. I sank like a stone to the bottom of the deep end of the pool and waited for desperation and panic to set in. Nothing happened so I waited some more.
I saw a dark figure at the edge of the pool and felt my stomach fill with nerves. I pushed myself up to see Blake’s frowning face.
“You were down there for seven minutes Aimee.” He didn’t flinch.
I frowned at him, “I thought you were Dorian, not cool. I could have gone longer, were you spying on me?”
He nodded, “I wanted to see what you would do when you were alone. I watched you hold your breath on the couch, this is crazy.”
I shrugged, “I know but what can I do Blake?”
He sat at the edge of the pool and hiked up his pants. He dipped his feet into the pool and cringed at the cold, “My dad hasn’t turned the heat on yet, this weekend he said. Its fifty degrees Aims, fifty. The chemicals were just balanced yesterday in preparation for summer.” He pulled his legs out after a couple seconds.
I shook my head, “It doesn’t feel cold to me.”
He looked worried, “What if this is a nervous disorder and you’re hurting your self but you just can’t feel it, like an after effect from the drugs.”
I swam to the edge nervously, what if I injured my body and was stuck for all eternity with a deformed body. I climbed out of the pool using almost no effort to lift myself up and out.
Blake raised his eyebrows at that, “Not so feeble huh?”
I smiled, “One benefit so far is I’m stronger.”
“Want something to eat?” He asked handing me one of the lush pool towels. I had always laughed at how his pool towels were nicer than most peoples “Good” towels that you weren’t even allowed to use. I wrapped the towel around me and followed him into the house.
“How long was I sleeping?” I asked as I sat at the bar like always and waited for him to feed me.
He looked puzzled, “Twelve and half hours. You slept like the dead too because I tried to wake you up and it didn’t work.”
“Did I breath?” I asked feeling pretty worried at this point.
He shook his head, “Nope not really and none of the usual snoring either. Waffles or grilled cheese?”
I frowned at him and crossed my arms, he shrugged and made me grilled cheese.
I had slept at Blake’s house for five nights and hung in his basement playing World Of Warcraft and watching TV as he went to school and hung out with my sister.
In his free time he spent every minute trying to solve my issues.
Drug induced brain tumor was in the lead for things that could be wrong with me. I let him believe I had imagined it all but my heart knew Aleks was real. I wondered where he could be everyday. I never left the safety of the basement even for food, Blake brought it to me on a regular schedule believing I would end up hurting myself by only eating when I really needed to. The food filled me up but something inside me felt a need. I felt a thirst or a hunger I couldn’t explain. It grew whenever Blake was around but I had been able to hide it.
I lay on Blake’s bed not sure of what to do with all of my free time when suddenly I felt it.
Someone was watching me.
Scared it was Dorian but hopeful it was Aleks I looked around the room.
I didn’t know what to do beyond sit there and wait for whomever it was to show them self to me.
Suddenly Shane stood in the entrance to the room looking at me with a burning but also an intense pain. He looked weak and sick almost. I sprang off the bed and grabbed him, hugging him. Suddenly as if he needed to touch me I was off the ground and dragged up into his arms. He wrapped me around him and held me like a child. I wrapped my legs around him and buried my face into his shoulder. I didn’t know what to say, I owed him an apology I honestly didn’t think I would do justice.
I made the attempt anyway, “I’m so sorry Shane, I didn’t mean to leave. I just didn’t have any choice. I didn’t mean to hurt you like that.”
He carried me to Blake’s bed, which felt really wrong.
“No there is a guest room down the hall, lets lay there. This just feels wrong.” He obeyed still not speaking and carried me down the hall.
He sat me on the bed and knelt on the floor in front of me, “Aimee I can’t understand why you left, why you trusted Blake and not me with your problem?”
“I don’t want to hurt you?”
I cuddled into him trying desperately to lug him on to the bed with me.
He stood and closed the door. He walked toward me picking me up and laying me down on the bed back where the pillows were. His mouth crushed mine with a kiss that was so forceful I could barely keep up with him moving my tongue like he did. His hands went up my fleece tearing the shirt right from my body. I shivered slightly, mostly from anticipation. He sat up for a second looking down on me as I tried to cover myself. He smiled the most dangerous smile I had ever seen cross his lips and he ripped his shirt off revealing his soft firm body. I ran my hands along his ribs and chest as he came down upon me again. His skin felt just as I imagined it would, warm and strong under soft skin. His mouth caressing mine while his hands roamed my arms down to my stomach. He rolled on his back pulling me on top of him. I loved the feeling of his soft skin against mine with his huge hands roaming my back, pulling me into him. I felt his needs and answered with my own. I felt him undo my pants and as my stomach flopped in fear I knew it was what I wanted. The hunger to be with him seemed to be out weighing the hunger I couldn’t quite describe. Something about all his naked skin against mine was filling the void.
Chapter Fourteen - THAT WAS AMAZING, UHHHGGGG
The perma grin that plastered my face was ridiculous I looked like the joker. I felt my red hot cheeks that flashed, “Hey I just lost my V-Card” to anyone who would see them. I hope the hot water in the shower would rinse off at least that if not a few other things. I was glad I had done what I had done but I felt weird, it had distracted me from everything but now in the wake of it all I was still doomed in someway.
I soaped up as the shower door opened. I covered myself as he entered my shower taking all of the room and hot water with him. I sighed looking at him, obviously only from the belly button up. I may have had sex with him but I was still the innocent naïve girl I had been only hours before. I looked up at his face blushing harder and smiling even goofier. He frowned at me as he kissed me softly, “What?”
I shook my head, “Oh nothing. Just feels weird you being in my shower, seeing me naked with the lights on, you know that sort of stuff.”
He laughed, “We just had s-“
“STOP!” I put a hand up to his mouth, “I don’t want to talk about it. Lets talk about other stuff.”
I had stopped soaping and was rinsing with what little water I got off of him. He laughed taking my hand away and kissing me slowly, sensually.
Realizing he was taking
all of the water he moved around me fluidly pushing me into the water. It splashed down onto my face before I realized what was happening. I sputtered slightly as I backed up into him.
This was not my idea of a shower. I wanted to wash my nether regions, which I couldn’t do with him in the shower.
I gave up on trying to get clean and hoped to do a quick mini scrub of the area after he got out.
“Aimee where have you been?” He asked softly I gulped knowing this was going to have to be talked about at some point? His eyes filled with fear.
“I had to get away before Dorian hurt you or me or all of us.”
He stepped close to me again sucking up all of the hot water and pinning me against the cool tiled wall, “You’re the only thing that makes me feel like the person I want to be. I need you Aimee. Without you I have a hole in my chest.”
I could see the truth in his eyes, he needed me. I felt the same.
“I need you too. I had to run away from Dorian, he…well, he was mean to me.”
I didn’t want to tell him about Dorian assaulting me in the elevator, that was a fight he would never win.
His face stormed over into a dark and sinister expression, “Who the hell is this Dorian? Did he try to hurt you?”
I gulped, “Oh sorry I thought Blake told you the whole story. He's a demon, which I know sounds crazy but he is. You just have to believe me. Well he just tried to scare me I think. It worked and I ran away.”
His face looked a bit scary as he spoke softly, “Blake told me what you believed happened. He seems pretty sure it’s a brain tumor?”
I shook my head, “Blake is crazy, brain tumor. No Dorian made me swap blood with him, it was gross. It healed me, I went from deathbed to fully healed in like half an hour. He said I would change and be dangerous to you and my dad and everyone. Nothings really happened since though. I’ve had some really bad stomach aches but that’s about it.”
Shane looked confused, “You honestly believe this?
I shook my head, ‘I don’t know what I believe. I don’t want to hurt you though.”
He smiled but something about his eyes worried me, “Get out of this shower, meet me in the guest room.”
He bent kissing me softly almost tracing his lips over mine and left the shower.
I quickly washed the things I hadn’t been able to and jumped out as he left the bathroom thankfully as I was certain toweling off in front of him was going to happen either. I wrapped myself in a towel and made my way slinking through the basement into the guest room.
Blake was apparently not home yet, no doubt keeping my sister occupied and convincing her not to come to his house.
Shane was putting his clothes on when I got to the room wrapped in a towel, “You’re leaving?”
He nodded, “Yeah I’m pretty sure we can hang at my place Aims. This feels weird.”
I laughed, “Okay. Meet you there when I’m done cleaning up?”
He nodded and walked to me in his jeans without a shirt. He rubbed his hands up my arms, “I love you Aimee James. I love you so much. Please don’t leave me again.”
He bent and kissed me softly.
I lay on the bed in my towel waiting to change until he was gone.
“Be fast.” He kissed my forehead and walked from the room. My face was on fire thinking about we had done and I rolled myself in the blankets like a cocoon.
As I lay there the room started to spin. My stomach ache which I hadn’t noticed since Shane had come over was finding it way up into my chest.
I slipped out of the sheets trying desperately to ignore the pain in my chest to start the laundry. I would need to clean the sheets if I was going to leave and stay with Shane.
“Uh why are you washing the guest room sheets?” Blake’s voice made me jump.
I turned to look at him blushing and smirked, “I’m heading to Shane’s house.”
He laughed looking at my red face and raised an eyebrow inquisitively, “Wanna tell me something Aimes? Did Shane come over?”
I frowned, “No. What?” My tone raised an octave.
He cocked his head, “Why are you blushing like that? You look super guilty, did you break something?”
He looked panicked making me laugh.
I shook my head and closed the washing machine on my sheets and walked out of the laundry room.
“Your sister is getting really suspicious as to why I can’t have her over right now while my parents are away and you’re washing the sheets to the guest room you haven’t even slept in.”
He closed the laundry room door and slumped onto the couch with one leg up on the back of it. He was sprawled out looking up at the ceiling. “I want her to come over, there is something I really want to do Aimes and it’s not going to happen if I don’t get the house to myself.”
I laughed sitting on the couch across from him, “You want me to take off tonight so you can have some quality time with my sister?”
He smirked still looking at the ceiling, “Yeah after you tell me who you had sex with in my guest room.”
I frowned at him, “I never had any sex, I was seriously just cleaning the sheets cause I want them fresh you know. I like the smell of fresh sheets.”
He laughed, “I found this though and I’m pretty sure it isn’t mine or my dads.” He pulled a white under shirt out of the couch cushions. I frowned at him puzzled as to how it got in the couch. It was Shane’s under shirt. I wanted to grab it and smell it but I resisted knowing my eyes had already revealed more than enough with my surprised look.
“I stashed it when I heard you in the laundry room. I saw the bed all rumpled and ripped apart. Now spill the beans or I’m phoning Shane and asking why you couldn’t just do it at his house.” He joked but I knew he was enough of a pest he would actually do it.
I dropped my face into my hands ashamed, “I lost my virginity in your guest bed, I’m so sorry.”
He grimaced, “Throw the sheets out Aimee damn we aren’t hard up for sheets around here. My mom has a whole closet with just sheets in it. Where is Shane anyway?”
I felt even worse as I groaned still in my hands, “The sheets are fine, I’m washing them to be polite. Shane went home.”
He sat up, “Is he okay?”
I shivered, “Yeah he’s fine? Why?”
“What about the guardian angel and the death prophecy?” He seemed more sarcastic than usual but of course Blake didn’t believe Aleksander was real. He was part of my drug induced brain tumor.
I looked up meeting his worried face, “The magical guardian angel and I are done.”
His eyes flashed with recognition as he recalled that part of the story, “But the demon with molasses blood did say you were a danger to other people?”
I nodded.
He grimaced again, “Why did Shane leave, is he hurt?”
I threw the couch cushion at him, “He was weirded out by what happened in your guest room Hamtard.”
Blake shook his head disgusted with me, “I’m not going to say I don’t blame him, really could have happened at his house dude.”
Sheepishly I nodded, “I know man I’m so sorry.”
“Hope you don’t mind that I told him what you told me or that you were here?”
I shook my head putting all my clothes in my bag.
“I think you need medical help Aimee. I am sickened Shane actually had sex with you. He agrees with me that you need a shrink or something.”
My eyes shot up at him, “What?” That had come up out of no where.
“We just think that there is seriously something wrong with you, medically and this brain tumor or whatever is wrong with you needs to be checked out. You’re delusional. One-minute you’re soooo in love with some guardian angel and then the next it’s Shane but then suddenly some demon makes you drink his black blood and you’re all better. Come on Aimee. Listen to yourself for one minute.”
I was lost, he was my best friend in the entire world and he wanted to lock me up.
Shane had agreed with him.
I was alone.
Blake’s face hardened, I had never seen his face grow so cold.
He sighed rubbing his hands over his face, “Aimee I think you need to leave. I’m sorry but I can’t help you anymore. I’ll keep your secret but that’s it. If you’re sick I cant have you here hiding out. I can’t keep this from your dad and Alise anymore. I’m apart of the family now.”
I was in agony as I pressed my lips together and stood from his couch. I picked my fleece off of the back of the computer chair and walked up the stairs to sneak out of his house the way I had come in. I was ashamed of everyone I knew and disgusted with my best friend.