Run, Little Vampire. Run!

Ch. 9: Happy F**kin Birthday, To Me.

(Mason’s POV)

I crumpled the card in my hand as I stared at the small box. This was all Carl’s fault! If he wasn’t so h*ll bent on making my life so miserable I’d have been able to make friends with her! Instead, I’ve made her hate me.

And just who does she think she is pulling a drop n’ run like that? She couldn’t even hand me the box face-to-face? What am I saying? Of course she couldn’t. If I were her, I wouldn’t want to be bothered either. Maybe it’s better this way, anyhow. For all I know, mother’s decided to throw a shindig like they did in ancient times where the guests became the main course.

That thought made me cringe, repulsive as it was. And no, I don’t really think mother would do such a thing. Now Carl? He would without a doubt.

I was still sulking in my room when Ralph knocked at my door. I opened it and he was standing there, straight and stiff as a board. “The Queen is requesting your presence, your highness.” he said in a quiet voice as he eyed me and I watched him relax, his real presonna coming through as he asked, “Not feelin it, are yah, kiddo?” “Nope, not at all. I hate this whole thing.” I said, honestly, and he chuckled softly.

“Listen, kiddo. I know it’s not my place to say so, but I’m with you on this point. Unfortunately, there isn’t anything that can be done about it except to suck it up and make the best of it all. Go downstairs, have some fun, dance with all the pretty girls, then tell your mother none of them suit your fancy. Just don’t tell her I told you to do it.” He chuckled again and I smiled.

Maybe he was right. I mean, it’s not like I’m gonna get outta this, so I might as well make the best of it, right? So I stood a bit straighter and said, “You know, Ralph? You’re right! Let's get this party started!” (Yeah, I know… another Disney reference. Sue me.)

Thirty minutes later, I was standing next to my mother who was seated on her throne with my dad seated on his throne on the other side of her. She was all smiles and gushing as she introduced me to the guests, like they didn’t already know who I was.

I had danced with a few girls but my mind just kept going back to Jessie. I wanted her in my arms, not these id**dic posers. They all reaked of bad smelling perfume and wore too much makeup. And why on earth did I have to suffer having Maureen Roberts’ skanky a** here when I could have Jessie, instead?

Also, if my mother asks me one more time if I’ve found “her”, I’m gonna scream! I mean, if I find my mate I might scream anyway but, yah know…

I just couldn’t take this anymore. So I turned to Kraig and said, “Man, I’m bailing for an hour. I need some air. All this nasty a** perfume these b*tches are wearin’ is making me nauseous.” Kraig laughed at my comment before asking, “Want me to run interference or come with yah'?” “Probably best if you run interference. The last thing I need is for my mother to send out a search party or something and I get caught smokin’. She’d throw a sh*t-fit.”

Kraig laughed, then he nodded and said, “She sure as sh*t would too. Go on, man. I got this.” I just gave him a grateful smile and snuck out.

I started to leisurely walk, no destination in mind as I let myself wallow a little in self-pity. The only thing was, my feet brought me to the one place I knew I shouldn’t be. Not tonight, anyway. No one knew this but there were plenty of nights I’d walk here and just stand here, in the forest behind their house, and watch her window in the hopes that I’d see her.

“Alright, sweety. We won’t be long. We’re just gonna go grab the food and come right back.” I heard her mom saying just before I heard the front door close at the same time, Jessie answered back, “Okay mom! Don’t forget the chop-sticks!”

Chop-sticks? Who actually uses those? I mean, other than native Asian people, that is. A minute later, the sound of a car starting up reached my ears and when it slowly faded out I knew she was home alone.

I don’t know what possessed me to do it, but I went around and knocked on her front door. When she answered, and saw me, her expression turned from joyful to confused, then angry in a split second. “Hey, Jessie. Please don’t yell. I know I’m probably the last person on earth you ever want to darken your doorway, but you're probably the only person on earth who doesn’t wanna fall all over me like I’m some sorta cute little plush toy, too.”

I watched as her expression softened a little as she asked, “Party no fun?” I just smiled as I said “Nope. Only if you're my mother. She’s having the time of her life.” She laughed. I actually made her laugh a little. This was nice. So I pressed my advantage, “Can I come in? Please? I promise I won’t stay long.”

I guess I pressed too far because she rolled her eyes at me before saying, “Look, Mason… I’m sorry your party's a bomb, I really am. But why are you here, of all places? I mean, we hate each other. I’m sure there has to be someone else who actually likes you that you could go commiserate with.” I just sighed, there really wasn’t. But I guess I’m lucky I got this much out of her. I really expected her to slam the door in my face the minute she saw me.

“I guess you’re right. I’m sorry to have bothered you. Good luck at your new school, by the way. I hope things work out for you.” I said as I began to leave. There was a bit of a silence that fell between us as I walked slowly away until she said, “Mason?” I turned to her and she smiled this beautiful smile as she said, “Happy Birthday.”

How is it that a girl who hates me can wish me a happy birthday and my heart melts, but my own mother can’t whisper a word? I got so angry that she said that, I don’t know why, but I did, and before I knew what I was doing, I was in her house and grabbing her by the shoulders then pulling her close to me. “I’ve wanted to do this for a very long time.” I said, and it was true. The words were barely out of my mouth when my lips came crashing down against hers.

I kissed her with everything I had been hiding in my heart all these years and she felt so good, too. That is until she regained her senses and bit me. I shouted in pain since I wasn’t expecting that reaction. I mean… I’ve never had a girl bite me for kissing them before. But her bite made me laugh. I mean how ironic is that? The vampire, bitten by the human.

My laughter died quickly, though, when I heard Jessie say, “Ohhhh! Ewwww! If I get an std from your skanky a** I swear to you that the castle you currently live in will be mine! I'll sue you so hard your very first ancestor will roll over in their f**kin grave just to say 'oww!' Now get outta my house!” It wasn’t her words that caught my attention, it was the scent of my blood which she was now swiping away from her mouth in utter disgust.

What the f**k have I done? If anything happens to her in the next seventy-two hours, my blood will turn her! F**kin h*ll!. Okay, Mason.. Calm down here. What could happen? We live in Dullsville and she’s not the type to go looking for trouble, or anything. She’ll be fine. I’ll just go back to the party for tonight and then I’ll find a way to keep tabs on her for the next three days.

It’ll be fine.

“Jessie, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean… That is… I donno what came over me. I’m so sorry.”, I ranted in a panic. My words were genuine but she didn’t seem to think so, she was so angry I highly doubt she’d believe anything I said at that point. So I just left before she tried to punch me or something.

I went back to the party with the intention of spending the rest of my night drinking away my troubles. Happy F**kin Birthday, To Me.

(Jessie’s POV)

Who the h*ll does he think he is, anyway? Kissing me like that! I swear, one more word from him and I was gonna deck him. He was so lucky he left when he did. I was so angry that after we ate dinner I told mom and dad I was gonna go for a walk. I just needed some air.

So I went out the back and headed off into the woods. There was a little river I liked to go sit by when I wanted to think. It relaxed me. So I headed there, my mind reeling with thoughts of Mason Cromwell.

That whole thing had happened a little over two hours ago and I was still livid over it. I mean, who does that? That boy has girls dropping their panties for him at every turn. But he has to come over to my house, uninvited, and try to f*rce his disgusting self on me? No f**kin way.

I was so absorbed in my thoughts that when I heard the twig snap behind me, I jumped out of my skin. I was on my feet in less than a second's time and had spun around to see what had made that sound. If it was a wild animal, what were my chances? I mean, a deer I might be able to scare away, right?

Unfortunately, it was a man who stepped into the moonlight. He had this sickening looking smirk on his ugly face as he asked, “that her?” and another guy stepped into the light next to him as he said, “yea, that’s her.” Him, I recognized.

Well, this didn’t bode well.

I started backing away as I said, “Nate? What’s goin on?” I’m sure they could see my fear but I didn’t really care at that point. Nate just laughed as he said, “Oh now you wanna talk?” Talk? I wanted to scream. But who’d even hear me? What was worse was that in my anger I walked out without my phone, so I couldn’t even attempt to call or text someone.

So I bolted. I’m a fast runner, I always have been. I’ve had the coach at school asking me to join the track team since I was in the tenth grade. But I ran for pleasure and that school was certainly not someplace that gave me pleasure, so I always declined. As I ran, I kept my eyes peeled for someplace to hide but there wasn’t anyplace.

I felt like I hadn’t gone very far when a pair of strong arms wrapped around me from behind and I was pulled back against a solid wall. At least that's what this a**hole felt like. “Nate please. I don’t know what I did to make you hate me so much, but please don’t do this.” I pleaded, but he just laughed before telling the guy holding me, “Come on, Carl. Let me have a little fun with her before you do her.”

All I could think was “Oh god.. They’re gonna r*pe me.” I was screaming my head off and squirming wildly, trying to break loose from this Carl dude's vice-like grip. “No Nate. I need to get back, and so do you.” With that, Carl pushed me against a tree and spun me around. I kept on screaming but it was no good. Then, to my horror, Carl leaned in close to my neck. I felt this little pinch before a white-hot pain ripped through my body.

About a second later, I felt another pinch, this one on my arm, and then more pain. I finally managed to kick Carl in the b*lls and he dropped me, doubling over in pain as he grabbed his crotch. I reeled my foot back and kicked Nate in the b*lls as well and he dropped like a rock.

I was so distraught it didn’t even dawn on me that the stuff around their mouths was my blood. I tried to run again but I was staggering a lot. Everything was beginning to spin and I felt nauseous. Of course, they recovered faster than I did and before long I was being thrown against another tree. I hit it so hard that it split my head open. So now, on top of everything spinning, it was also all blurry.

“You f**kin b*tch! Kicking me like that! Who the f**k do you think you are?!” I knew that it wasn’t Nate talking so it had to be Carl. He was now holding me by my throat and I couldn’t breathe. My hands were wrapped around his wrists, or maybe it was just one wrist. I’m not completely sure. All I know is that everything was getting dark. That is until another burst of white-hot pain went rushing through my body from my abdomen.

I screamed again and Carl threw me down like I was a ragdoll, my back hitting a boulder so hard I felt bones breaking. “By the way. Mason sends his regards.” Carl sneered just as my hands went to my stomach and I felt something slimy, soft, and tubular. I weakly lifted my head to look down at myself, only to find my intestines spilling from my body. I didn’t make another sound after that. I knew I was dying. But I wasn’t gonna give them, or Mason, the satisfaction.

I lay there for what seemed like hours, but in reality it was probably only a few minutes, just listening to the sound of water rushing by as the two morans Mason sent to kill me debated whether to stick around and wait for me to die before they went back to his party. I tilted my head to see where the sound of water was coming from and realized I was only inches from a ledge overlooking the small river that cut through this forest.

With the last bit of energy I had, I pulled myself over to that edge and simply rolled off, into the water, and let it sweep me away. I would probably drown. But at least I’d be dying on my terms, not theirs.