I crawl into my bed and try to get some sleep, but all of the creepy noises of the wind making the branches shudder on the far wall, and the trees swinging in the window creating shadows on the walls. Maybe it's the memory of the creepy little Gothic room that eve suspects is haunted. Eve said vampires couldn't get in, but what if they could? What if they were already inside? What if Michael...?
I hear a soft, silvery note, and know it's Michael playing downstairs. Something about that pushed the shadows back and turn the sounds into something normal and soothing. I must have fell asleep, but it didn't feel like it. The sky isn't light outside, but it isn't totally dark either. Michael's guitar is still going very quietly. Doesn't he ever sleep? I slide out of bed, put on a robe over the Pj's I wore to bed , and step into the hallway. I creep quietly downstairs and listen to Michael play.
His head was down and deep into the music. I watched his fingers move light and quick on the strings. His body rocks slowly with the rhythm, and I feel a deep sense of safety. Nothing bad can happen around Michael, I just know it. Next to him an alarm clock beeps an alarm. He looked up, startled, and slaps it off, then put his guitar away. I watch, puzzled.... Did he have someplace to be? Or did he set the alarm to go to bed?
Michael stood, watching the clock as it was a personal enemy, and then turned and walked over to the window. The sky was the color of turquoise now, all but the strongest stars faded. Michael gasped and hunched over, pressing on his stomach. I lunge to my feet, startled and afraid for the look of sheer agony on his face. The movement caught his attention, as he jerks his head toward me, blue eyes wide.
"No!" He moaned, and pitches forward to his knees, gasping. "Don't!" I ignored that and run to get to his side, but once I'm there, I don't have a clue on what to do. I don't know how I can help him.
Michael is breathing in deep, aching gasps, in terrible pain. I put my hand on his back, feel his fever-hot skin burning through the thin cloth. I open my mouth to scream for Shane, Even, anybody.
Suddenly my hand slips right through him. The scream, for whatever reason, locks tight in my throat, as Michael - transparent Micheal looks up at me with despair and desperation in his eyes.
"Oh God, don't tell them!" His voice comes from a long way off, a whisper that fades on the shaft of morning, and so did he. I wave my hand through the thin air where Michael had been standing. The air feels cold around me, like I'm standing in a blast from an air conditioner, and the chill slowly fades, like Michael. "Oh my God," I whisper, and clap my hands over my mouth. He's a ghost. How can he be a ghost if he sat here, right here at the table and ate dinner? Hamburgers! What kind of ghost ate hamburgers? My hand went right through him, but he's real. I touched him! There's some explanation....
I curl up on the sofa and feel cold air brush over me, ice cold and I sit up. "Michael?" I blurted, and sat very still. The chill went away, then brushes over me again. "I think I can feel you. Are you still here?" Another second or two without the icey draft, then it drifts across my skin. "So you can us?" Yes I figure, since the warm - cold cycle repeats. "You don't go away during the day? Oh um, stay where you are if the answer is no OK?" The chill stayed away. "You don't want me to tell Shane or Eve?" Clearly a no. "Michael, will you come back?" Yes. "Tonight?" Yes again. "We are going to talk. "The chill withdraws completely. Yes. I curl back up on the sofa, then wrap myself up in a blanket and let myself drift off to sleep.
I wake up long enough to get dressed, argue with Eve about going to class, and head to campus. I spot Monica on campus twice. Monica surrounded by admirers, both male and female, and doesn't have time for grudges. It's an early afternoon for me since I don't have lab today. As I walk in the general direction, I spot the small coffee shop where Eve works, Common Grounds. So I stop in since I had promised Eve that I would after class.
The bell rings with a silvery tinkle as I open the door. The whole place smells like coffee, a constant simmering warmth. Eve is standing behind the counter making drinks. There were two people behind the counter, one of them being Eve of course. The other was an older man. "Hey, it's Claire!" Eve said as she hurried to where I'm standing to give me a friendly hug.
"Claire, this is Oliver, my Boss," Eve said. "Hello Sir," I tell him nervously. "Sir? Claire, you've got a lot to learn about me. I'm not a sir, believe me," he tells me. "That's true. He's a dude. You'll like him. Hey, want a coffee? My treat?" Eve asks me. "Sure," I answer. Eve went behind the counter and did some stuff, and before I knew it she had my coffee ready.
"I heard you had some trouble with girls in the dorm," Oliver said. "Yeah, everything's OK though," I assure him. "I'm sure it is. Listen, though, if you ever have trouble like that, you come here and tell me about it. I'll make sure it stops. I'm without influence around here. Eve tells me that you're very gifted. We can't have bad apples driving you off," he says. "Thank, and I will." I say.
Oliver goes back to his work dissecting the coffeemaker, and I find a seat not far away. Eve slips out from behind the counter and pulls a chair next to me, leaning forward, all restless energy, "Isn't he great?" She asks. "He means it, you know. He's got some kind of pipeline to the vamps," she whispers. "They listen to him. He's good to have on your side," she tells me. "Stay here and study. It's really a good place for that. I'll drive you home, OK?" Eve says. I nod and Eve gets back behind the counter to serve more customers.
Eve;s shift ends at nine, just as the nightlife at Common Grounds picks up. I'm not used to the babble, chatter, and music, can't keep my mind on my books anyway. I was glad of an excuse to go when Eve's replacement takes Eve's place behind the counter, and Eve went to the back to get her stuff. I stand up, step back to push in my chair, and back into a table in the shadowy corner.
"Hey," a voice said softly. I turn around and see a young man sitting there, who'd claimed the table when I wasn't looking. "Sorry," I say as he's smiling at me. I feel something streak hot down my backbone, and shiver, which makes him smile wider. "Sit," he says. "I'm Brandon, You?" he asks. "I'm Claire," I hear myself say. Even though I don't intend to, I sit, backpack thumping on the floor beside me.
"Um, hi," I somehow manage to say. "Hello," he replies. His eyes aren't just light, they're a pale shade of blue so faint that they're almost silver. Scary-cool. "Are you alone Claire?" he asks, sounding almost hopeful. "I'm here with a friend," I reply. "A friend," he says and reaches across the table to take my hand. I want to pull it back, which I do, but somehow I can't get control of myself. All I can do is watch as he turns my hand palm down, and bring it to his mouth to kiss.
The warmth, damp pressure of his lips on my fingers make me shiver all over. Then he brushes his thumb across my wrist. "Where is your bracelet little Claire?" Good girls wear their bracelets. Don't you have one?" he asks as he glares at me. There is something sick and terrible happening in my head, something that makes me tell him the truth. "No. I don't have one," I tell him. Because I know what Brandon is, and I'm sorry I'd ever laughed and doubted Eve. You'll get yours, Monica had promised. Well here it is.
"I see," Brandon says. Brandon's eyes seem to get even paler, until they are now pure white with tiny black dots for pupils. I can't breathe or scream. "The only question is, who will have you then? Since I'm here first....." he says as he looks over my shoulder. He lets go of me, both my hand and my mind, and I fall backward with a breathless little gasp.
Somebody is standing behind my chair, a solid warmth, and Brandon is frowning and staring past me. "You offend my hospitality," Oliver said. "You ever bother my friend Claire in here again, Brandon, and I'll have to revoke the privileges for everyone, understand?" I don't think you want to be explaining that," scold Oliver. Brandon looks furious. His eyes are blue again, but as I watch, he snarls at Oliver, and reveals his fangs. "None of that," Oliver says calmly. "I'm not impressed, off with you. Don't make me have conversation with Amelie about you," Oliver warns.
Brandon slides out of his chair and slouches away through the crowd, towards the exit. It's dark outside now I notice. He went out into the night and disappeared from sight. "That was unfortunate. You need to be careful Claire. Stay with Eve. Watch out for each other. I'd hate to see anything happen to you," Oliver says. Eve comes hurrying out of the back, and her smile dies at the sight of my face.
"What happened?" she asks. "Brandon came in, trolling, Claire happened to bump into him," Oliver explains. "Oh, are you OK?" she asks. "She's fine. I spotted him before any permanent damage was done. Eve, take her home, and keep a sharp eye out for that one, he doesn't take being ordered off very well," Oliver says.
Eve nods and helps me to my feet, and gets me outside. Eve's black car is parked on the curb. Eve gets unlocks it and thoroughly checks it over, backseat and trunk, before putting me inside. As I'm fastening my seat belt, I notice two things, first Oliver is standing in the doorway of Common Grounds, watching us, second, Brandon is standing at the corner of the Common Ground coffee shop, and he is watching us as well.
Eve saw, too. "Son of a bitch!" she says furiously, and shot him the finger. Eve cranks the engine and squeals out of her parking space, driving like she's breaking the record at a NASCAR race, and she screeched to a halt in front of the house just a couple of minutes later. "OK, you go first, run for the door, bang on it while you're opening it. Go Claire!" she tells me.
I bail out breathlessly and slam the gate back, pound up the paved walk and up the stairs as I'm digging my key out of my pocket. My hands are shaking, and I miss the keyhole on the first try. I kick the door and yell, "Shane! Michael!" As I try again. Behind me, I hear the door slam, and Eve's boots clatter on the sidewalk and stop. "Now, Lets not be rude Eve," says Brandon's low, cold voice.
I whirl, and see Eve standing absolutely still ten steps from the porch, her back to the house. Brandon is facing her, his eyes completely white in the pale starlight. "Who's your sweet friend?" he asks Eve. "Leave her alone! She's just a kid!" Eve says with a faint, shaking voice. "You're all just kids. Nobody asks the age of the cow that gave you the hamburger," he shrugs.
I turn my concentration back to the door, and ram the key into the lock... just as Shane whips it open. "Eve!" I gasp, and Shane pushes me out of the way, and jumps down the steps, and gets between Eve and Brandon. "Inside," Michael says. I hadn't heard him, hadn't seen him coming, but he is in the doorway, gesturing me in. As soon as I'm over the threshold, he grabs my arm and pushes me out of sight behind him.
I peek around him to see what's happening, Shane is talking, but whatever he's saying, I can't hear it. Eve is backing up slowly, and when the back of her heel touches the porch steps, she whirls and runs up, diving into the doorway and Michael's arms. "Shane!" Michael shouts.
Brandon lunges at Shane, but he dodges, yells, and kicks the vampire with all his weight. Brandon flys backward into the street. Shane falls to the ground, scrambles up, and runs for the door. It's impossible for Brandon to move that fast, but the vampire seems to flash from lying in the street to reaching Shane's back....and grabs hold of Shane's T-shirt, yanking him to a sudden stop, but Shane's reaching too, for Michael's hand, and Michael pulls him forward.
The shirt rips, Shane stumbles in over the threshold, and Brandon tries to follow. He bounces off an invisible barrier, and for the second time I see his fangs snap down, deadly sharp. Michael didn't even flinch. "Try it again, and we'll come stake you in your sleep. Count on it. Tell your friends," Michael says as he slams the door. Eve collapses against the wall. panting and trembling, and I can't stop shaking either. Shane looks flushed and more worried about the damage to his T-shirt than anything else.
Michael grabs Eve by the shoulders, "You OK?" he asks Eve. "Yeah. Yeah, he never - wow. That was close," Eve replies. "No kidding, Claire?" Michael asks. I wave, unable to summon up a word. "Where the hell did he come from?" Shane asks. "He picked up Claire's scent at the coffee shop. I couldn't shake him. Sorry," Eve says. "Damn that's not good," Shane says. "I know," Eve replies.
Michael clicks the locks on the front door. "Check the back, make sure we're secure, Shane, upstairs too," Michael tells him. "Check," Shane moves off. "Dammit, this was my last killers T-shirt. Somebody's paying for this..." Shane says. "Sorry Michael. I tried, I really did," Eve says. "I know. Had to happen sooner or later, with four of us here. You did OK. Don't worry about it," Michael assures Eve. "I'm glad you and Shane were here," Eve tells Michael as he comforts her with a hug.
Michael starts to say something, then stops, looking at me. Eve didn't seen to notice. Eve clumps off in the direction of the living room to try to watch some t.v. "We were just attacked," I finally manage to say. "By a vampire." "Yeah I saw," Michael said. "No you don't understand. We were attacked , by a vampire. Do you know how impossible that is?" I say. Michael sighs. "Truthfully? No. I grew up here, and so did Eve and Shane. We're just kind of used to it," he tells me.
It hits me then that there is another impossible thing I'd nearly forgotten about in the press of panic, and start to blurt it out, then look around to be sure that Shane and Eve are nowhere in sight. "What about, you know?" I point at him. "Me? Right. Upstairs," he says. He takes me to his room, the big one on the corner. Once in Michael's room, he settles in one of his chairs, and I take the other. "Right," he says as he leans forward with his elbows on his knees.
"Lets talk about this morning," he says. But having said that, he didn't know how to start. "You died. You vanished," I say. "Not exactly, but yeah. Close enough. You know how I used to be a musician?" he asks. "You still are," I say. "Musicians play someplace besides their own houses. You heard Shane at dinner. He's pushing to fins out why I'm not playing gigs. Truth is, I can't. I can't go outside of this house," he says. "What happened?" I ask softly. "Vampire. Mostly they just feed, and the eventually kill you if they feed hard enough. Some of them like that kind of thing, not all of them. But this one was different. He followed me back from a gig and tried and tried to make me...." I feel my face burn, and drop my gaze. "Oh God. Oh God," I say. "Not that. Not exactly. He tried to make me a vampire, but he couldn't. I guess he... killed me. Or nearly anyway. But he couldn'y make me into what he was, and he was trying. It nearly killed us both. When I woke up later, it was daylight, he was gone, and I was a ghost. Wasn't until night came that I realized I could make myself real again. But only at night. I think the house keeps me alive." he explains. "The house?" I ask. "It's old, and it has a kind of power. I don't know what it is exactly. When my parents traded up to this house, they only lived here for a couple of months, then moved to New York. Didn't like the vibes . I liked it fine, but anyway, I can't leave it. I've tried." he says. "Even during the day?" When you're not, you know, here?" I ask. "Doesn't matter. Can't go out any door, window, or crack. I'm trapped here," he explains. "You said the vampire, did he... drink your blood?" I ask. Michael nods. He didn't meet my eyes. "And you died?" I ask. Another silent nod. "What happened to your body?" I ask him. "I'm still kind of using it. I don't know how it works Claire, I really don't. Except I think it's the house, not me," he tells me. "Do you drink blood?" I ask. "No. Of course I don't, I told you, he couldn't make me what he was," he replies. "You;re sure?" I ask. "I eat Shane's garlic chilli. Does that sound like a vampire to you?" he asks. "Until today, I thought I knew what a vampire was, all capes and fake Romanian accents and stuff. What about crosses? Do crosses work?" I ask. "Sometimes, don't rely on them though. The older ones aren't stopped by things like that," he explains. "How about Brandon?" Since he's my main concern right now. "Brandon's a punk. You could melt him with a super soaker full of tap water, so long as you told him it was blessed. He's dangerous, but as far as vampires go, he's at the bottom of the food chain. It's the ones who don't go around flashing fangs and trying to grab you off the street you need to worry about. And yeah, wear a cross, but keep it under your clothes. You'll keep them on hand, but the vampires in this town closed down most of the churches fifty years ago. There's still a few operating underground. Be careful though. Don't believe everything you hear, and never, ever go by yourself," he tells me. "Why did you just let us move in? After what happened to you?" I ask. "I got lonely, and since I can't leave the house, there's too much I can't do. I needed somebody to help with the groceries and stuff. And... being a ghost doesn't exactly pay the bills. Shane was looking for a place to stay, and he said he's pitch in for rent. It was perfect. Then Eve.... We were friends back in high school. I couldn't just let her wander around out there after her parents threw her out," he says. "Why did they do that?" I ask. "She wouldn't take protection from their patron when she turned eighteen. Plus, she started dressing Goth when she was about your age. Said she was never going to kiss any vampire ass, no matter what. At eighteen, they threw her out. Had to, or it would have cost the whole family their protection. So she's on her own. She's done Ok, she's safe here, and she's safe at the coffee shop. It's only the rest of the time she has to be careful. Brandon's too young to be out before dark, so you're safe in the daytime, but don't stay out after dark. Got it?" he asks. I nod. "About the other thing... I won't tell. Not if you don't want me to," I assure him. "Thanks, I know it sounds stupid, but I don't want them to know yet. I need to figure out how to tell them," he says. "It's your business. And Michael? If you start, you know, getting this craving for red stuff......? I say. "You'll be the first to know, and I expect you to do whatever you have to do to stop me," he says. I shiver and say OK, I'd stake him if I had to, but I didn't mean it.
