Diary of a Vampeen (12 page)

I couldn’t even eat at lunch amidst my
disheartening run through of facts. I sipped water while quietly
declining Mike’s continual insistence upon me eating, which, for
some reason, brought to my attention that Kellan never ate lunch.
He went missing for the forty-five minutes we got mid-day. I
couldn’t believe I’d missed that detail before considering how
aware of his presence, or lack thereof, I seemed to be
now.

History flew by as usual. Mike stared
at me the entire time we were supposed to be watching a civil war
documentary. It made me feel self-conscious and awkward yet adored
and happy at the same time. Each time I looked beside me, he was
goofily grinning at.

Mike walked me and Mel to English. We
were hand in hand until the door when he released me with a kiss on
the cheek.

“Talk to you later,” I said as Mel and
I began to stroll towards our seats.

“Call you!” Mike said rushing to his
last class.

It’s so hard to distance myself from
Mike or decline his advancements. He’s always so happy and carried
this charm that was hard to resist when he laid it on thick. The
lure he had was opposite of Kellan’s. Mike was open, outgoing and
charismatic; he didn’t give me the option to say ‘no’. Kellan was
quiet, mysterious and charming in a dark way. They’re both
good-looking, carrying perfect physiques, though I found Kellan
more attractive.

Mel was still carrying on about party
planning – she was insistent upon this for my birthday – and had
been all day long. Most of the day, sadly, I’d been a bad friend
tuning her out to mull over other topics. Plus, after the tid-bit
Kellan had revealed, I could not even be up for a party.

Mrs. Henderson gave us
another free period today, this time to begin reading our next
assignment –
Pride and Prejudice
- so from Romeo & Juliet to Mr. Darcy &
Elizabeth. I couldn’t concentrate on the book before me
though.

My mind was still racing
uncontrollably. Mid-Mike speculation, a folded piece of paper was
set in front of me. I looked up at Mel, but her back was still to
me. I turned back, but Chris was reading motionless. I then
directed my attention to Kellan whose eyes, though his head was
down towards the book in his hands, locked with mine. It was a
powerful moment when our eyes connected. He again controlled me
entirely in that moment; I couldn’t breathe or think for myself.
Alas, he returned to his book and I collected myself.

I opened the paper in
front of me quietly. It revealed the unimaginable from
Kellan.
I like you too.
Shock and surprise set in quickly. Did I really
have a chance with mysterious perfection? It seemed impossible. The
words were in front of me, but I still didn’t believe
them.

Suddenly frustrated, I crumpled the
paper and threw it in my bag. It couldn’t be true, and I didn’t
want to play games with my heart this way. I would be fine with
Mike; he made me happy. Granted I would choose Kellan if he was an
option, but he wasn’t, so Mike would do. I could grow to adore Mike
in the same manifestations I did with Kellan. I could suppress my
attraction to Kellan, forget my mindless wonder over him with Mike
consistently at my side to entice me the way he did Sunday.
Couldn’t I? Either way I had to try. Kellan would never happen, but
Mike was. And I liked Mike enough to stick with him for
now.

Giving up on my mental rationalization
of my love life, I began reading once again. I must have slipped
off because moments later I was daydreaming. I was in a large open
field in an ancient dress with a cinched waist held tightly by a
corset and a flared puff of fabric from my hips down. I was holding
hands with a gentleman I didn’t recognize. He appeared to be
Kellan, but his skin wore a darker hue and his eyes were brown, not
the vibrant green I adored. My trance was disturbed by a tap on my
left shoulder.

I shook my head, returning to reality.
I turned around. Chris was still seated though he was doodling
aimlessly rather than reading. I immediately looked beyond him, but
Kellan wasn’t in his seat. His desk was empty and his bag vanished
with him. Where could he have disappeared to?

I glanced up at the clock;
we still had fifty minutes left. I shrugged, dismissing
responsibility over his whereabouts, and turned back to the front.
A torn piece of paper now lay on top of the page I was reading in
my book. I recognized the handwriting as Kellan’s.
Meet me outside in 5 minutes.

Outside? Outside where? The hall, the
parking lot, the bus station? I sighed heavily debating the ploy.
Did I leave and wander or stay and miss it? I was curious as to
what he wanted, but frightened by it simultaneously.

A minute of consideration flew by. I
walked to Mrs. Henderson’s desk and told her I needed a potty
break. She nodded once in approval and I gathered my belongings to
slip out the door. I gave a note to Mel saying I would call her
later and explain.

As soon as I entered the hall, I
spotted him a few feet down leaning against the lockers. I couldn’t
read his expression so I approached with caution. He read my
face.

“Follow me,” he spoke
calmly.

I obeyed, falling into step silently
to his car in the parking lot. He held the passenger door open; I
hesitated but eventually climbed in. I had my cell and could call
someone if necessary, I rationalized.

Though mentally I was a bit frazzled,
my heart didn’t react with a sprint. He slid in the driver’s seat
and started the car.

He looked over at me. “You may want to
call your mom and let her know you’ll be late. I’ll leave it up to
you whether or not you tell her who you’re with,” he smirked
sending off a devilish vibe. Kellan always appeared dark and
mysterious despite his beauty, but he seemed different today. I was
actually frightened by him. Nonetheless I complied with his terms.
I did tell my mother I was with him, more as a safety precaution on
my part. She didn’t seem to mind though.

“Where are you taking me?”

“You’ll see,” he replied as he drifted
onto the interstate towards downtown Charleston.

I watched out the window as he drove.
Given the feeling in the air and my mental anguish, I should have
been a mess by now, but oddly I still trusted him. The time passed
quickly on the drive, but then again, Kellan had a lead foot, which
helped when I wasn’t holding on for dear life.

He slowed down as we crossed the
short, low bridge which acted as the official entrance to Folly
Beach’s quaint village of shops, surf cafes, and gorgeous homes
ranging from shacks on stilts to mansions that put Santa Monica to
shame. He drove about a mile parallel to the beach before he found
a parking spot along the road. He parallel parked perfectly in one
shot.

Thank God I wore my hoodie since the
ocean breeze was chilling against my skin. We crossed a small
wooden pier connecting the road to the sand along the ocean’s
shore. It was high tide when we arrived, so we stayed close to the
top end of the beach. We walked aimlessly along in silence for a
solid ten minutes before I cracked. I couldn’t wait anymore – the
suspense was killing me.

“So you brought me out here why?” I
prompted.

“I wanted to talk to you,” he answered
solemnly but didn’t look in my direction. He focused straight ahead
on the scenery, his brows giving away his intensity.

“And you couldn’t do that a little
closer to home?”

“I could have, but didn’t want to.
When I lived in Seattle, if I wanted to think about something or
escape life, I would go to the beach or ride the ferry for a few
hours,” he explained. “I brought you here because I wanted to talk
to you about me and you, but I need to get my thoughts together
first.”

“Okay?” My mind shuffled through
thousands of possibilities but I shut it down quickly. I didn’t
need to set myself up and undoubtedly I would since I was usually
wrong…

“I have a secret that I want to share
with you because you share this secret too,” he riddled.

“I’m completely lost.” That matched
exactly zero of the scenarios I had pondered previously.

“I want you to guess what I am because
I can’t tell you until after your birthday.” His tone was mellow,
but he was intrigued and it sounded like he was a bit amused by the
prospect.

“Guess what you are?” I repeated
wrinkling my forehead in confusion. “I don’t get it.”

“What have you noticed about me that
is different compared to Mike?” he pressed.

“Umm,” I thought, still
not understanding his request. Why did he want me to guess what he
was? No one asked that unless…
no. It can’t
be. He can’t be.
That only happens in
movies and fairytales!
I gasped. “Are you
trying to say you’re not… human?” I whispered feeling foolish in
asking. I would be so embarrassed if I was wrong.

“Guess what I am,” he reiterated, his
lips lifting up at the corners confirming my amusement theory. Why
was I not totally freaked out right now? I was confused but not
afraid like before.

“Well, you’re not a werewolf,” I
stated confidently. “You don’t have enough hair.”

He laughed. “Good
observation.”

“And you’re not a leprechaun; you’re
too tall for that occupation,” I explained figuring I would go
along with the game.

“You are charming at times,” he said
with a low chuckle.

“And you’re not a vampire because
well, you wouldn’t live where the sun shines a lot and Charleston
definitely has that in spring and summer,” I
rationalized.

“And you’re sure about that?” he
asked.

“Well, every book and movie I’ve read
or seen has them avoiding the sun…”

“What if they’re all wrong?” he
challenged.

We kept walking along the
sand in silence as I pondered this. Why was he persistent on this
subject? I froze mid-step. The only reason he would press my
rational was if I was wrong.
Is he… could
he… how?
I stumbled to wrap my head around
it.

“Are… are you a…” I couldn’t say the
word. “Are… you… an Edward?” I choked.

“Who’s Edward?” he asked, turning to
face me.

“He’s from a book, but are you… a… you
know?” I pushed exaggerating a biting movement with my ‘fangs.’ He
was utterly entertained by this.

“Am I a vampire? Yes,” he confirmed
with a snicker.

We started walking again a little
closer to the water this time. A million questions swirled at once.
I tried to zone in on the most important, but it was impossible. I
started with the obvious. “How are you able to live here with the
sun?”

“It’s a myth, but I’m twenty-five
percent human which would protect me from the general associations
attached. Vampires still tend to avoid the sun though.”

“So your parents are?” I
prompted.

“My mother is half human, half
vampire, and my dad is a full vampire.” He offered this as if it
was the score for a sports game; no big deal.

“Are they your real parents?” I
asked.

“Yes,” he chuckled. “My mother is half
human and was still able to conceive.”

“How were you born?” I
inquired.

“Like any regular baby,” he
replied.

“Oh, of course.” It made sense I
suppose. “What… do you eat?” I retracted to my earlier observation
of his lunchroom absence.

“I can eat anything I choose, but I
prefer to drink blood.”

“What kind?” I swallowed hard as I
pressed for clarification.

He looked at me studying my expression
for a minute before simplifying his preference. “Human.”

I recalled his earlier statement
claiming he wanted to talk about me and him. “How does this involve
me?”

“Because you are like me, well, you’re
going to be anyways.”

“Are you going to bite me?” I abruptly
stopped careful of my every move and his. His riddles confused me,
but it was like he enjoyed having the upper hand despite how open
he was to sharing. He burst into laughter.

“What?” I insisted, irritated by his
response.

“I’m sorry; it’s just that you’re not
appealing to me in that way.”

“You mean I don’t smell good to you?”
I was a bit saddened by the thought. - What was wrong with me?! I
was sad that I didn’t smell appetizing to a vampire?! I was losing
it. Forget it… I was over the edge already.

“I’m not saying you stink, just that I
don’t want to drink you,” he smiled wide calming my
hysteria.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I must sound
completely crazy.”

“No, you sound like a human who has
just been told she’s standing next to a vampire whom, in theory,
should desire her blood,” he outlined for me.

“So why were you not supposed to tell
me until after my birthday? I don’t see where my age would matter
here.”

“Well…” he hesitated. “Let’s just say
you will be one of us in some form by then.”