In Love With a Vampire

Chapter Fourteen

Jim



I once read about a fabled king who had lost his entire family during a gruesome war. While he was away, fighting for his kingdom, his enemies had infiltrated his palace and killed his wife, heir, and two daughters. The wife and daughters were r***d beforehand and the son, putting up a fight to save his sisters and mother, had been burned alive. These events were horrific, so much so that the king went mad with rage and thirst for vengeance. After attaining his goal of brutally murdering the perpetrators, the king still could not quieten the screams that echoed in his mind every minute of every day. You see, he did not witness his family’s demise, a factor that allowed his imagination to wander. Each spot in the palace mocked him, everywhere he looked he either saw burning flesh or bleeding bodies. No longer able to fully function as king, he summoned his physician and went down on his knees. The physician, stunned and uncomfortable, also sunk to his knees. While in this position, the king burst into tears and when he began to speak, the physician could barely understand him. In the end, the physician granted the king’s bizarre request; he concocted a potion strong enough to wipe away his ruler’s memory. The pain had made the king an unfit leader, the pain was slowly killing him. The king believed that the only way to regain his sensibilities, to return to the man he once was, was to rid himself of all his memories. For even the good ones brought him pain.

I wanted such a remedy, something that could extract my memories. But unlike the fabled king, I was a teenage boy with less than a hundred dollars to my name and I also lived in a world where memory loss required a major concussion or well, old age. I recall reading that story and feeling a pang of jealousy. Of course, I felt sad for the king; I did not envy his poor circumstances but I could not help but feel jealous of the king’s ability to make it all go away, something I had been working on for so long. My therapist had said the pain would subside in time, he even claimed that the memories would fade. But they had not, they were still fresh, clear, painful. Every time I walked in the hallway and caught a glimpse of stark white hair, my heartbeat would accelerate. Every time I felt a hand on my shoulder followed by a boisterous laugh, my muscles would tense. I was well aware that their memories would haunt me and I was willing to live with that burden but being within the walls of this f****d up school was simply too much. It was as if everything I saw reminded me of those two.

Those two.

I shrugged at the reference. At some point during all the chaos, I had stopped saying their names as frequently. To think that a year ago I had said their names constantly. I was currently making my way to the school’s exit. My stomach had rumbled while I was in the shower. I shook my head at the thought, why had I taken the shower again? Because some girl had said I was stinking? Since when did that bother me? The hallways were mostly empty as every kid was in the cafeteria, huddled up in groups, gossiping about a new girl or a boy, enjoying each other’s company. A wave of sadness engulfed me; I was once a part of a group as well. I had belonged, I had engaged in gossip and argued about silly concepts. I missed that, I missed them.

I missed Sara.

I walked past the chem lab. I paused and as if in a trance, I began moving towards it. When I reached the door, I placed my hand on the doorknob and twisted it. The door swung open causing breath to hitch in my throat. In the middle of the lab, surrounded by breakable chemistry instruments, two teenagers intensely made out. The girl with stark white hair giggled and moaned and the boy with jet black hair mirrored the girl’s actions. They looked young, vibrant, alive. My knees buckled, the weight of the memory becoming too overwhelming. Tears brimmed in my eyes as I watched Sara whisper “I love you” to the younger, freer version of me. A tear trickled down my cheek as I watched this happy, fun version of myself echo the same words as Sara, only I did not whisper them, I shouted them causing Sara to shriek and swat me. This confident, spontaneous version of myself grabbed Sara’s legs and lifted her to one of the desks. Suddenly the giggles stopped and the air around us became thicker. Sara and I stared intently at each other, and this mad with love version of myself asked her to marry me.

A loud cackle sounded in the hallway yanking me back to reality. I furiously blinked, angry at myself for reviving this particular memory. I slowly closed the door to the chem lab which was now empty of two teenagers consumed with love, consumed by one another.

“Damn you, Sara…”

* * *

It was just as I remembered it. Loud, very loud. Somewhere between the school’s exit and the chem lab, I had convinced myself that I could do it. That I could walk into the cafeteria, sit at one of the tables and enjoy a good slice of pizza.

I had been dead wrong.

The moment I sat down, I wanted to leave. It felt eerie being there, among a sea of students without Sara and…

Say his name goddamit!

I was about to leave, my past conflicting with my present, when I saw her, roof girl. She and redhead were seated at a centrally placed table. My mouth fell open at the sight of roof girl; she was a picture of health. How had she recovered so quickly? It must have been what, forty minutes or maybe one hour since we parted ways? She had looked so frail, so pale and now there was color in her skin and her motions appeared to be strong even energetic. She could be a junkie. The friend had been very adamant about not letting me escort them all the way to the nurse’s office. Maybe roof girl had taken a hit of whatever she is using in there. But the nurse’s office? Nurse Dee had always been cool but she could not possibly allow students to use drugs in her office, right? Besides, drugs were a big deal, roof girl would have been suspended by now. Well, unless she was from some rich, affluent family. She certainly acted like she was from one. Had she not insulted me right after I saved her ass? Yes, the roof girl was definitely from money.

I settled at my table and proceeded to watch roof girl. I watched as Tony and Seth approached them. I watched Tony storm off angrily and I watched Seth take a seat next to roof girl. I gritted my teeth when I saw the roof girl shower Seth with attention. What could she possibly see in the guy? A year ago he was so weak and odd-looking. Did I mention that I was the one who got him out of lockers? The guy was also very boring, always going on and on about how amazing oceans were, we get it, Seth, water is cool. In a split second, I saw myself walking to the roof girl’s table and shoving Seth off his seat. I was so engrossed in my imagination that I did not immediately notice that roof girl was watching me. My heartbeat accelerated the moment our gazes interlocked. A few seconds passed. We both seemed invested in this strange version of a staring contest, neither one of us wanting to relent. I blinked when roof girl rose from her seat and made her way toward my table.

“Outside now.”

“No.”

“Excuse me?”

“I said no. Don’t tell me no one has ever said no to you before…”

“As a matter of fact, yes. It is not a word I frequently come by.”

I sighed. I had been right, the girl was nothing but a spoiled brat.

“Well, I have no problem saying it to you. Now get out of my way.”

“Is this how you speak to females or do I just bring the absolute worst in you?”

I smiled and tilted my head as if in deep thought.

“Let’s just say you repel me.”

A gasp escaped roof girl’s throat.

“I beg your pardon?”

I rose from my seat. The act led me to realize that we were almost the same height. I was slightly taller than her and for some reason, I felt good about that particular thought.

“I think you are a pompous, arrogant girl who will probably grow up to marry some politician probably the mayor, and that you will name your daughter something pretentious like Marigold and your son hmmm let’s see, something ridiculously pomp like Harry or Timothee-"

“What are you even talking about? And what is wrong with the name Marigold?”

“See? You cannot even let me finish my train of thought and Marigold is the worst name on the planet.”

“Because your train of thought is absolutely maddening! And Marigold happens to be a delightful name!”

I was heaving and so was she. At some point during the argument, we had closed the gap between us. We were standing in such close proximity that her breath tickled the base of my nose.

“We are being watched.”

“I know, shall we go outside now?”

I scoffed. Did she really think she was going to get her way?

“It will only take a minute, please.”

I was not entirely sure why I picked up my bag and followed her. Perhaps it was because everyone was looking at us like we were some pieces of art or maybe it was because she had actually used the word “please”. Once we were in the parking lot, roof girl stopped in her tracks and turned to look at me.

“Why do you think I am pompous?”

Her voice was different. It had lost its all-knowing edge. She actually seemed curious.

“Well, for starters, you insulted me after I helped you.”

“That is what I wanted to talk to you about but you would not shut your mouth about Marigold…I mean what level of foolishness-"

“And you ask me why I think you are pompous? You can’t even say sorry without calling me foolish and where are you even from?

Why do you talk like you are from some medieval film?”

She was struggling to remain calm, I could see it. Her nostrils were flaring and her nails were chipping away at the flesh of her palm. Her face was also very red. I bit back a laugh. When she finally spoke, it was in a quiet, monotonous voice.

“I am sorry for insulting you earlier and I am thankful that you carried me to the nurse’s office. If you would excuse me, I have a class to get to.”

I watched as she walked away, her head down, her face impassive. I did not know how to respond, the whole ordeal felt rehearsed and detached. Like a line, a child would automatically say when they spotted an angry parent coming toward them. Time and again, the girl was proving to me how self-entitled she was. As she was about to pull the door open, I finally found my voice.

“How did you know?”

She halted and shifted her body to look at me.

“Know what?”

“Outside the locker room. You said something about the boys getting pleasure from I don’t know, discussing female body parts?

After I went back, for the shower you so subtly suggested I should take, I found the boys doing just that. So, want to explain to me how you distinctively heard a discussion that was clearly out of your earshot?”