Ashes, Ashes

by M. A. Bronson

Chapter 2

  Don't Tell Me

  April 22, Tuesday - 5:45 p. m.

  I stepped out of the bathroom and closed the door behind me. My long bleached hair was dripping water down my back and onto the black towel I was wearing. I walked down the hall to my room, the old floorboards creaking under my feet. I stopped and opened my bedroom door.

  Upon entering, I noticed two things. The first thing was that my thick, black curtains were drawn over my single window. The second was a form lying on my bed (which was really just a mattress on the floor). My heart racing, I reached for the light but a cold hand caught me. An arm slipped around my waist as William Carrington pulled me close and kissed my neck.

  “Let go of me,” I said, just barely catching myself from yelling.

  He didn't. Instead his tongue licked up the side of my neck, following a vein. I brought my leg up, planning to kick him if necessary, but he let me go. The surprise made me stumble to the hard, wood floor. I glared at Will.

  “Hey babydoll, miss me?” he asked, his tone arrogant as usual. He was amused and smiling as always. Few things seemed to phase his eternal good mood. Whether it was a facet of being a vampyre, a teenager or just male, I wasn't sure.

  “Like a virus,” I muttered, moving to get up.

  “You know, you're in the perfect position for....”

  “Will!” I had a pretty good idea of what he was going to say. Me being on my knees. Typical Will. Over the past few months, he had made more than a few bold passes at me.

  “What are you doing here?” I said, walking to my mirror and yanking a brush through my hair.

  “I just can't stay away from you,” he replied, lying back on my bed with his hands behind his head.

  “Can't stay away from me, huh? What about that girl the other night? You two seemed pretty close.” I looked at him in the mirror. There was no emotion in my voice. I was used to Will's womanizing ways. Ten years of him and I didn't care either. I had a boyfriend, a human boyfriend. Well, ex-boyfriend.

  I didn't care what Will did or who he did it with. Really.

  “Listen, about that girl I was with, she... I....” He looked around the room, avoiding my eyes. It seemed a long time before he spoke. Then he looked me in the eye through the mirror. “I was lonely,” he said. It was a shocking revelation from Mr. Macho. The brush paused in my hand, and I turned to look at him.

  “Really?” I asked, skepticism clear in my voice.

  “I have you, but we both know it's not the same. You've been so distant lately. You used to love it when I came to see you. Until him.”

  “Drew has nothing to do with us!” I snapped at the mention of my ex-boyfriend.

  “So, there's an us?”

  “Will,” I pleaded, exhausted.

  “Alright, I haven't been around a lot lately, I don't want to fight.” He patted the bed beside him. I walked over and plopped down beside him on my mattress. He wrapped his arm around me and I leaned back against him. It was nice but felt a little weird, which was unusual.

  “Where have you been? I mean, I... I know where you were last night but...?” I said.

  “Just taking care of some things,” he said evasively.

  I wrapped my arms around his neck, running my fingers through his pale white hair. “Care to elaborate?”

  “No, not really,” he said, and I knew he was smirking.

  “Will....”

  “It's vampyre business, Jay, you wouldn't be interested anyways.”

  “Shouldn't I be the judge of that? And why do you have to be such a smart ass?”

  “Everyone has their gift,” he said with a wink. “What did you do today, anyway? What's dear old Drew up to?” His fingers were playing with my hair.

  “He broke up with me,” I said simply. Will's fingers paused before continuing their path down my long bleached strands.

  “Interesting.” That was all he said.

  We didn't talk for a long while after that. I turned on the old T.V. that he had gotten for me a few years ago. The show was something about supernatural creatures but we didn't pay it much attention. “Did you finish your English paper?” he randomly asked.

  “What?” I couldn't believe he would want to talk about my schoolwork.

  “What?” he said, repeating me.

  “Sorry, I just can't believe you're asking me that.” Now I was smiling.

  “Hey, school is very important.”

  “Yeah, you're so concerned about my education.” I giggled. “What were you like in school?”

  “I don't remember,” he said sadly. The conversation had gotten uncomfortable. An incredibly awkward silence ensued. I felt bad reminding Will of his human life. That was something he never spoke of. But I figured this was a one and only chance.

  “What were you like, you know... then?”

  “Pretty much the same. A little less...confident.” I rolled my eyes at that. “Being a vampyre doesn't change who you are. It may magnify certain certain personality traits. But besides that, and the hunger, you're still you.”

  “So if someone with bi-polar was turned into a vampyre, they'd still be that way?”

  He smiled. “Why are you so curious all of a sudden? Do you want to be a vampyre?”

  “No! And don't even think that. Being a vampyre is your thing, not mine.” He leaned back with his hands behind his head and seemed to think for a long while.

  “Are you afraid of me, Jay?” he asked.

  “No...maybe...sometimes,” I answered frantically.

  “Why? Is it just me...or because of what I am?” It didn't escape my notice that Will couldn't say what he was out loud. “I'd never bite you unless you wanted me to,” he continued with a mischievous smile. He pulled us both down to lie on my bed, my head snuggled against his chest.

  “Why do you come here?” I asked. I had never met any other vampires and Will had never spoken of others of his kind. But he ran off every once in awhile so he had to have friends. He didn't spend all of his time with me.

  “What do you mean?” he sounded honestly puzzled.

  “Why me? I mean, wow, that sounded a lot less lame in my head....”

  “I want you, need you. I've given you time. Do you ever think about us? What we could be?” In that moment, he looked so young and vulnerable, it was a different side of Will that I didn't think I had ever seen before.

  I sat up. “I've thought about it but it wouldn't work, Will.”

  “Why? You've been so sweet lately and close. You want me, too.”

  “No!” I answered quickly without thinking.

  “Why do you do that?”

  “What? Look, I didn't mean it to come out so harsh-”

  “No. Why do you lie? To yourself? To me?”

  “I don't know,” I murmured. I left my mattress and sank to the ground, with my head in my hands. “I'm sorry, Will, I hate it when we fight. Can't we just be friends? You can live with that, right?”

  “No,” he whispered and I could hear the pain in his voice. He was suddenly right in front of me. “I can't.”

  He leaned in and kissed me. And that was it. I lost myself. My hands went to his shoulders, as if hanging on for dear life. Will's hands were roaming my back, from my hips to my neck and everything in between. He picked me up, encouraging me to wrap my legs around his waist. It was an interesting position. I was still wearing the towel, of course, but nothing underneath.

  He walked us over to my dresser and set me on top if it, never moving his lips from mine. He leaned into me, his hands roaming my sides.

  Drew had never kissed my like this. There was something about it. About this feeling. It was passion and I was certain I'd never felt anything like it before.

  In the back of my mind, I heard my bedroom door creak open. I broke away from Will, my pulse racing. My heart sank in my chest. Somewhere in the universe somebody was having a good laugh at my expense.

  Standing in the doorway was my recently e
x-boyfriend, Drew.

  “It's not what it looks like!” I nearly smacked myself at how cliche that line was. I moved away from Will and stood up, awkwardly holding my towel together. Drew hovered in the doorway. I couldn't read his expression. Will sat up and casually leaned back on my bed. At least, I think he was trying to look casual. To me, he looked like a panther waiting to strike.

  “So this is your new boyfriend?” Drew asked, clearly unimpressed.

  “Yeah, this is Will.”

  Will said nothing, just stared at Drew like he was a bug beneath his shoe. I nudged Will's arm and noticed that his nails had grown longer.

  “What are you doing here?” Will asked. His voice was about as warm as ice.

  “I came to see Jacinda. I didn't know she would have... company.”

  “You should have, we are together after all.”

  “Will!” I wasn't sure I could deny what he said. That was what I had told Drew, after all, but I had a feeling he was gloating. We just came pretty close to being together, I thought. “I'm sorry, Drew.”

  “It's fine.” He didn't bother with a fake smile, not that I would have believed it anyway. I knew it wasn't fine.

  “How did you get in here?” Will asked abruptly. I did think Will was being kind of rude but I was wondering the same thing myself.

  “Brittany almost never locks the door,” Drew explained. And I hadn't locked it. I wondered if maybe I had done it on purpose.

  “Um, I have to...well, get dressed. You two wanna...okay, never mind, I'll be right back.” Holding my towel, I snatched some clothes from my dresser and went into the bathroom. I had a feeling I was playing with fire, leaving those two in my room alone. But with the whole naked-with-just-a-towel-on thing, I didn't really have a lot of options.

  I dressed quickly in my underthings, jean skirt, rainbow thigh highs and a Black Veil Brides tank top. I hurried back to my bedroom to find Will and Drew whispering in hushed, angry voices.

  “Well, you guys haven't killed each other. That's good.” I have a way with words, don't I? I thought. Both boys stopped talking and looked at me. It felt strange to call Will a boy.

  I walked over to my mattress and flopped down. “You can sit down, Drew.” I pretended not to notice Will scowl. Drew came over and sat beside me. Will leaned back against my dresser. An awkward silence ensued.

  “So, when did you guys meet?” Drew asked. The question made me pause. When had I met Will? Will had been a part of my life for as long as I could remember but I didn't remember meeting him. Will was staring at me, he seemed to be waiting for something. Evidently it didn't show up because he quickly turned away.

  “I've known Jay since she was a little girl, we've always been friends,” Will said effortlessly.

  “Yeah,” I said. And that was my intelligent contribution.

  “I have to admit, I thought you were lying about him, Jacinda,” Drew said, his voice surprisingly blank.

  “No, all true...sorry.”

  “This would be easy if it were a lie,” Drew muttered under his breath.

  “What is that supposed to mean?” Will and I questioned at the same time.

  “I came here to deliver a warning. Don't stay with him, Jacinda. It's dangerous, for you and your vampyre.” My eyes bugged. Nobody besides myself knew that Will was a vampyre. I couldn't even remember Will and Drew ever meeting.

  I was confused. “How did you...?”

  Drew turned towards Will. “I knew you were in Crosswood and near Jacinda. I doubt you hardly leave her side. You haven't yet.” Will didn't respond and looked as shocked as I was. He also looked angry, like giant green guy in purple shorts angry.

  Drew turned away from Will and caught my stare. He had never looked at me like he did then. Almost like I was something to fear. Gone was my sweet, odd boyfriend. “Choices will have to be made Jacinda, be sure you choose rightly.”

  Suddenly, Will had Drew's arm in a crushing grip, his sharp talons were nearly drawing blood. “I don't appreciate threats aimed at myself or my lover,” Will said, darkly. “I think you should leave.” His voice held no room for argument. He kept hold of Drew's arm as he led him to the door and practically pushed him down the stairs. Drew didn't look happy, but he also didn't seem to resist very hard.

  It took Will longer than I expected to return to my bedroom. By the time he came back, I was lying on my bed, doodling on my homework and trying to make sense of what had just happened.

  Will looked at me and said, “We have a problem.” Well...duh!

  “I have never told anyone about you, Will. I don't know how he could know. It's...strange.”

  “Are you sure? You didn't brag to your boyfriend?”

  “Brag about what? The arrogant vampyre who persists in annoying me and popping in every night.”

  “At least I didn't leave like everyone else did. I've tried the best I can. It's not my fault. I did what I had to do...what she wanted.” He trailed off, a wild look in his eyes.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Sometimes you just have to trust me, Jay. I'll do the right thing, I promise.” What is he talking about?

  “Why do you stay? Why do you get jealous anyway?”

  “You're my gir-” He stopped and paused for a moment. “You're my Jay.”

  He smiled.

  That was a successful end to the conversation. I didn't really have an answer for that. There was nothing to be done about Drew, at least not right now so for the time being I let it go. I checked my cellphone a few times, put it looked like Brittany wasn't coming home from the bar anytime soon. Sadly, that was normal. I figured I would give the conversation another try.

  “Will-” I started.

  He pulled me close, silencing me, and whispered against my hair. “I swear I'll never break your heart.” Such sweet words. He picked me up all knight-like and placed me in my bed. He pulled the covers back and laid down on his side with his arms around me.

  I wondered what the morning light would bring.

  Chapter 3

  Boys And Girls