The Day I Died and Lived Again

Chapter 4

I wake up after what I assume to be a couple of hours later. I get out of my room and walk down the stairs. The farther I walk the more I hear soft baby cries. Once I get into the living room, I see my mom sitting beside my dad holding 2 little babies. Carly spots me and walks over.

“Hey, you ok sis?” Carly asks me.

“Yeah, fine I think.” And just like that, we see the flashing lights outside.

I walk to the door in a haze and see the ambulance. Talk about late. The paramedics walk in and quickly rush to my mom and the new set of twins. They begin asking her questions and my dad mentions how I fainted in his arms. One of the paramedics walked over to me and gave me a quick check-up.

“You seem to be ok, just a bit shocked.”

“Yeah.” I said quietly. “You could say that.”

The paramedics helped my mom into the ambulance with the twins. Their names are Kami and Kayden.

“Girls, I'm going to take my car and follow the ambulance to the hospital. Do either of you want to come?”

I look at Carly. “Can you stay here with me and talk?” I ask.

“No, I’m going with dad, so I can see my little sis and baby bro. It’s not just us any more Kaya, get used to it.”

“Why are you being like this? I only asked you to stay home and talk to me. You can see them when they all get home!”

“Boohoo! I’m going whether you like it or not!”

“Fine! I only have two things to say to you anyway.”

“And what would that be, Kaya?”

“Never speak to me again! I never want to see you or this stupid family for the rest of my life!” I start crying as I run to our room.

“Real mature!” I hear Carly yell from downstairs just before I hear the door slam shut.

I start crying harder. I can’t believe my own sister would treat me like this! My own twin, she has never treated me like this before. All I asked was for her to stay and talk with me. I'm completely overwhelmed and need her, but I'm not important enough for her. Not anymore. I guess there is only one option left. Run away and never come back. I need to start a new life. I know this might be a tad dramatic, but everything is so stressful! Carly is acting differently and school is just a bunch of fake people trying to get noticed anyway.

I start rummaging around the room grabbing my biggest bag and throwing sh*t into it. I grab a couple of shirts and pants, some sweaters, a small blanket, socks, underwear, a brush. You know all the essentials. I manage to grab my sketchbook and some pencils as well. I might as well give myself something to do. Since my room is facing the backyard, which is close to a massive forest, I’ll escape through the window and never look back. I strap my bag onto my back and climb out the window. I glance back at my room and sigh. It’ll be better for everyone this way. Mom and dad won't have to worry about money, or room for the twins. Carly will get to be the oldest. And I will be free from all responsibilities. Sounds perfect, like this was how it was meant to be all along.

I start walking through the forest and smile. I just love the cool autumn nights and the way the water sparkles and reflects the beautiful moon. I just wish the situation could be better. I walk a few more feet when suddenly someone or something startles me from behind.

“Hey, hey, hey looks like I have a new toy.” This thing says.

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“Well, you are my first victim in well 10 years.” He says with a creepy grin. “This will be good.” He whispers just loud enough for me to hear.

“Are you going to kill me?” I ask.

He flashes me another wicked grin and I see his teeth have elongated, and they look more like fangs. “Holy sh*t! Are you a vampire!?!” I scream.

“What gave that away?” he says dryly.

“Oh my god, you're actually a vampire!”

“No, I'm just pretending to be one.”

“Oh, thank god I was starting to worry. A human boy I can deal with, but not a vampire.”

“Oh come on, I was being sarcastic, of course I'm a vampire.”

“Does that mean you're actually going to kill me and suck my blood?”

“I mean yeah. I'm hungry, so I'm going to bite you. I need your blood, but I don’t want you dead, Kaya.”

“Why do you want me to live so badly? And how the hell do you know my name?”

“It is a very long story.” He sighs.

“How would that be a long story? Have you been stalking me!?”

“No, not really anyway.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I can sum it up for you if you would like.”

I don’t know what I should say. This is the most confusing interaction I have ever had. And to have this conversation with a vampire no less. God, I must be insane. I know Carly would never believe me.

“You don’t have to get so worked up about this. Jesus, I will just leave you alone. I don't need drama.”

“What? You got me all worked up for nothing? Are you serious? Like I could have walked away and skipped this whole convo? Why didn’t you just tell me that in the beginning?” I complained with an edge in my voice.

“Well, I guess you could have, but I really wanted to mess with you.” He replies.

“Why do you want to speak to me?” I ask. “I thought you wanted to suck my blood or whatever.”

“I do, and I have my reasons.”

“What reasons? What do you need to talk to me about exactly?” I ask again.

“Well, let’s just say you knew me when you were a kid. And I haven’t been stalking you in person, only with social media.”

“What the hell! What’s your name?”

“What don't you remember me?”

I pause, should I remember him? “Just tell me your name, and maybe I will remember.”

“It’s Xavier.”

“Xavier?”

“Yeah, I was your best friend.”

“Oh! I remember you! You moved away back in elementary school.”

“I didn’t actually move, I died and became a vampire.”

“What the actual f*ck?” I gasp.

“Look, I fend for myself out here, OK? I just happened to see a girl walking alone in a forest, and I was hungry. So, of course, I was going to feed from you, maybe even turn you into a vamp if I felt up to it. But I never planned on killing you permanently. But then I noticed it was you. So, I thought I would have some fun and scare you.”

“You’re an as*hole!”

“Seriously? I stopped myself from hurting you! Trust me, it’s not easy, you smell delicious, and I haven’t eaten in a while.”

“So what? You want to feed from me and turn me into one of you?”

“Well, to put it bluntly, yes.” I’ve heard enough.

“No, no way! No f*cking way!” I laugh. “I don’t want to be a vampire, OK?”

He goes to say something, but I cut him off. “I don’t want to survive on blood, it’s gross! And I want to be able to see my family again.”

“That’s why you ran away from home, right? You want to be with your family, but you ran away? That’s f*cking hilarious.”

“Whatever, I just don’t want to die k.”

“Ok sorry! I can’t think when I am hungry. I’m not usually like this. I am usually more human. Ha-ha, kind of funny since I am a vampire.”

“Yeah OK, whatever can I just go now please?” I ask rolling my eyes.

Man, he hasn’t changed a bit, still the sarcastic joker he always was. I mean he's hotter than he used to be, which is so not fair. Why does he have to be a vampire? Why couldn’t he have just moved? It would have been so much easier. And how did he die? Dad said he moved away; he would have told me if my best friend died! Did dad know he had become a vampire? No, that couldn’t be possible! If dad knew he wouldn’t let Carly or I leave the house. Is there something he’s not telling me? Is my dad involved in this somehow? No, that wouldn't make sense, dad was probably just trying to protect my feelings when he said Xavier moved. That's the most logical thing, right?