Page 5 of To Save a Vampire
Then why am I still thinking about it?
* * *
I wake the next morning alone, like always. Warm morning air sneaks in to heat my skin. Nothing more than twisted sheets accompany me in my bed. Not completely alone, Ripper reminds me, whimpering by the door. I stumble to my closet and pull out black jeans and a black top, identical to the clothes I wore yesterday. The insulated coolant that lines our clothes helps a little in the ever-rising heat.
Our community has adjusted to the weather over the centuries. Our skin is tan and hair is dark. Most have dark eyes to match. Ayden is a perfect example of survival of the fittest. While my mother has blonde hair, her skin is still tan. I inherited her eyes, and I notice strangers stare at my light eyes. An abnormality. Some find beauty in my eyes, and some find an ugliness that sets me apart from others.
It isn’t good to be different.
Not even slightly.
Ripper and I wander outside into the dry air, and the sun beats harshly down onto us. It’s Saturday, and there isn’t school today, but the camp is still hard at work.
Walking to the outskirts of the camp, I find Ayden already at cutting down trees, something he loathes, but has zero say in. Until he turns eighteen, he has to enter his various assigned hours in the community just like everyone else. Tomorrow he might be back in the office, but today he has physical labor. He’s sweating and appears to have been here completing today’s tasks for a while. After a few seconds, he glances up at me.
“Good morning, beautiful,” he yells before halting his chainsaw and placing it carefully on the ground.
He looks so out of place with the equipment and physical labor but he doesn’t complain either.
It still makes me smirk a little though.
There’s a group of guys drinking water a few feet away, and they laugh quietly among themselves. One makes a low whistling sound, but I try not to acknowledge them. Ayden tries to suppress the smile on his face, but fails, offering them a lighthearted glare instead as he pulls off his safety glasses.
“Don’t pay attention to them. They’re just bored and looking to stir up trouble.” He takes my hand lightly in his and leads me away from the other men in clearing.
Things are still tense between us. We were friends, then we were more, and now we’re friends again, and soon we will be nothing to each other. My stomach twists just thinking about it, and I try to blink away the thick feelings that bubble up my throat. It’s odd to think one day very soon I won’t see his smiling face again.
“What were you assigned to today?” he asks, dropping my hand when we stop a few yards away from everyone, just near the high stacked logs.
I groan, thinking about my schedule. “I have food duty,” I grind out through gritted teeth.
For a society that cares so much about perfect placement in life, the camp doesn’t care at all. They don’t care who you are. If it’s your turn to serve slop in the cafeteria, that’s where you’ll be found. The few days I’m assigned in the clinic are the best days of the month. Being assigned to the cafeteria ranks somewhere between janitorial duty and the hopes of an early death.
“Eww, well maybe I’ll find you at lunch, you know, where you’ll be serving me.” He tries to hold back his laughter, but, as soon as I smile, he laughs, a low and rumbling sound. The guys at the drink station are still watching us, and we both stop smiling at the sight of the audience.
“I’ll see you later,” I say awkwardly.
He nods and, as I turn to leave, nearly trip over Ripper. Ayden grabs my arm to help me, pulling me back to him. His warmth seeps through my clothes. My legs tangle with his, and when I look up at him questioningly, his eyes are soft and searching. Heavy breaths fan across my lips, and his white safety helmet shadows his dark eyes. He’s silent for just a moment, looking intently at me, but I don’t know what he’s looking for. Something I can’t give him. His eyes drift low to my lips. A fluttering uncertainty builds in my chest.
Then he kisses me.
For a few seconds, his soft lips are on mine and confusion dances through my mind, but I close my eyes and let a moment of easy simplicity pass between us.
I pull back first—a stumble really—, but only a fraction of space is left between us. His head lingers against mine, a mixture of an easy smile and tense guilt lines his face. A combination of happiness and annoyance settles within me. This kiss, though I’m not sure how I feel about it, was better than our last. Even if it means nothing to either of us. But I’m angry because he did it to impress his friends.
I hear them speaking and laughing louder now, but thankfully I can’t hear what they’re saying. My cheeks flame red anyway, and I turn my face slightly into Ayden’s chest, like a child trying to hide from strangers.
His hand is low on my back, and Ripper prances in the small spaces between our legs like he wants to join in on our uncomfortable game.
Trust me, you don’t, Rip.
My hands press lightly to the hardness of Ayden’s chest, and I slowly think through my next action. I don’t want to push him away and embarrass him, even if I am mad. Even if I want to, the way he’s looking at me, I’m not sure Icouldpull away. Because as angry as it’s made me, the kiss also lifted some of the weight I’ve been feeling in my chest. Leaving behind a lightness that allows me to breathe easier, allows my lungs to move freely.
Luckily, he decides for us. He clears his throat and pulls away, sliding his hand down to my palm and holding it a moment before walking backward, our fingers slipping away between us, like lost feelings I’ll never be able to grasp again.
Maybe there’s something wrong with me. Ayden’s handsome, smart, kind, funny, amazing. All of the male adjectives a girl dreams about, he’s them. But that’s just it, my mind only thinks of him in adjectives, and not feelings. I think pushing our relationship into this strange phase might ruin my emotions.
Maybe it’ll pass.
