Chapter Eleven: Eavesdropping on the Thoughts of a Darkened Heart.

~I watched from my perch in the trees outside the man's ramshackle of a house as he drank more alcohol than I had ever seen in one place. If it’s going to be someone, he’s the best candidate for it.
A drunk.
Abuses his children.
Leaves the toilet seat up.
I won’t feel bad about this… Probably.

I could barely suppress the yearning. The anticipation had come to a head.
Finally, he threw open his door, and stumbled outside. In an instant I was on top of him. He looked at me, horrified. Before he could beg for his miserable life my teeth pierced his neck and sweet nectar flowed between my lips, quenching the burning hunger within me. Within moments I was satiated, but not satisfied. I drank, and drank, and drank. I wanted more, and I took it. He struggled hopelessly at first, but the more I drank the less he flailed.

Finally, I released him. His cold, lifeless body lie limp in the yard. His empty eyes gazing outward. His face frozen in time during his last horrifying moments. The sight of it began to make me sick to my stomach.
“Daddy?” The voice of a little boy echoed through my whole body.
I looked up to find his child staring in disbelief. His eyes were locked on his deceased father. He ran to him and clutched his head in his tiny arms. He wailed over the death of the man who had only an hour ago pushed him into a wall while on his way to the kitchen.
Scars of his father's abuse were all over the boy’s body and yet here he was. He looked at me, and with hate in his eyes he called me-
Murderer.

In a cloud of darkness I let my body slip into etherium. I took shelter in the realm locked within the light of the moon. In this realm I cannot be viewed by those not blessed by the Prince of the Moon. With tears cascading down my face I ran. Rooftop to rooftop. I bounded over entire fields in a single leap. I moved so quickly were I not in this form I would have shattered the pavement beneath my feet.
And yet, I cannot outrun the guilt of my first kill.

My house came to view. I took a deep breath as my body returned from Etherium, clasped hold of the door, and walked inside.
My father turned to me with a knowing look in his eyes. I could tell he was disappointed, but he hugged me all the same. I bawled as I clung to him.
“It’s going to be ok.” He said.
“I never, ever want to do that again,” I said.
“I know, you don’t have to. Just don’t run away again,” he said.
“ I won’t. I swear I won’t. I love you, dad.” I said.
“ I love you too, Riley.”~


                            ***

    I woke up with a gasp.
    My window was rattling violently, and I could hear a desperate hissing coming from outside it.
    I rolled out of bed and reservedly made my way to the window.
    I wasn’t ready for what I saw on the other side.
    There was Riley, a desperate look of panic in her eyes as she clutched the window frame edges in her hands as if she were trying to rip it out, wholesale.
    Her fingers were burning and she was clearly in horrible pain.
    Vampires can’t come inside without being invited. Is this what happens when they try?
    I unhooked the latch, but as I started to push it open it was flung open by Riley and she dove into my arms.
    She wrapped herself around me and together we fell to the ground.
    “Isaac!” She cried. “I thought you were dead.”
    Tears were streaming down her face.
    “Care to explain?” I asked.
    “Ever since that day, I’ve felt your presence.” She was struggling to speak. But she continued.
    “I hear your thoughts as if you’re there speaking with me, and I feel your heartbeat and.. And it just stopped. What was I supposed to think!?” She wailed.
    “Wait you mean you can’t hear my thoughts?” I asked.
    “No.” She said, gently wiping the tears from her eyes.
    Is that a good sign or a bad one?
    She looked down at her lap.
    ~This sucks~
    “What?” I said.
    “What.” She replied, confused.
    ~Is he still asleep?~
    …
    No. Surely not…
    “Nevermind,” I said. “But, thanks for checking on me. That was kind of cool.” I said, patting her head.
    ~He’s patting my head oh my gosh he’s patting my head~
    I freaking knew it. I can hear her thoughts.
    For a moment I just sat there on the floor thinking of how this is about to go.
    On the one hand, I could just tell her and watch her freak the hell out and try to not think of anything embarrassing.
    On the other hand not telling her might slow down the plot development, which is what I need right now. I need to stall until I can figure out how to undo this.
    Especially if those dreams become a regular thing…
    With a sigh, I got up, and got Riley some bandages.


                        ***
~Dear Diary,
    Big surprise, today Isaac did something that made me smile.
He acts so indifferent, but I know better. You don’t have to be a mind reader to see through it.
    When he looks at me I feel like the sky isn’t so far away after all.
    What I’m saying is he’s actually a huge softy. Come on diary, get with it.
    Is it weird that I write to my diary like it’s an old friend?
    I’m not weird. I am limited edition. ~

                        ***

    “Isaac??” My mom’s voice broke me from my daze.
    “Hm? What.” I said.
    “Are you listening to us?” She asked.
    “Not exactly…” I said. Riley’s thoughts are getting annoying. Did she have to put up with mine like this?
    “I asked if you were feeling ok,” she said. “You look like you saw a ghost.”
    “I mean…” Quin chirped.
    “Be quiet, you… And eat your peas,” dad said to Quin. They’ve been hearing her more often than not lately.
    “Ugh!... Vegetables are the things that my food eats. I want no part of it,” she groaned.
    “Anyway, Isaac. Are you feeling ok?” Dad asked.
    “I’m just dealing with some stuff right now,” I said. I sounded a bit more tired than I meant.
    “Main character stuff?” He asked.
    “Main character stuff.” I said.

    “Want to have a pivotal father-son moment?” he asked.
    “I’m pretty sure that would have the opposite effect,” I said.
    “Can you blame me for trying?” He asked.
    “I can and I will,” I replied.

                    ***

    ~”Hey Riley,” Drake called out to me on my way out.
    “Hm?” I turned to him.
    “Do you think we could do that moonlight shoot tonight?” He asked.
    “Well…”
    “I don’t want to pressure you,” he quickly said.
    “No I… I’ve been putting it off for a while.” I said.
“Does that mean you’ll come?” He asked.  
… I need to get over this sooner or later.
“Sure… Yea I’ll be here. Nine-ish?”
“Sounds great.” He said.
We waved goodbye to one another before parting.
Drake had been my photographer for three years, but we never really got past the awkward stage. I think I’m to blame. ~


The thought of Riley having her photo taken by him all alone at night made my stomach turn.
I’ve got to get out of her head, ASAP.
What’s worse, I’m starting to get her thoughts and my own mixed up. If I close my eyes I can almost see what she sees.
I pushed open the sliding door leading from our kitchen to our little patio out back.
I leaned back onto our swinging patio chair and just… took a breath.
All these years… I’ve done so well. At least I thought I was.
Was it all destined to culminate to this point, or has being a jerk to everyone I meet just gotten tiring…?
Not surprisingly, my dad came outside and took a seat across from me.

“Try not to overthink it,” he said. “Every teenager goes through what you are right now.”
“You know that’s not true,” I said.
“You’re a young guy trying to find yourself. Who you are, and what you want to become is a direct result of the actions you take,” he said. “And you can fight it all you want, run as fast as you can, but who you are now is who you were always meant to be.”
“And what if I’m not happy about that?”
“What’s not to be happy about?” He asked.
“A lot of things! Everything!” I said. “I gave my blood to a freaking vampire! I helped save Tessa’s family! There’s a ghost living in our guest room! Dad, everything I’ve done is everything I swore I never would…”
“Which one of those things do you regret doing?” He asked.
“I…” The idea of Riley being dead, or Tessa’s parents… Quin being all alone in that house.
“I just wish there was another way,” I said.
“You can’t change the past, but I have a feeling that if you could, you wouldn’t. If you don’t regret what you did, then it wasn’t the wrong choice.” He said.
“But dad, last time I-”
“-Last time was my fault.” he said. “And I’ll never forgive myself.”
“But-”
“Isaac, please. For my sake. Do not blame yourself. And don’t let that stop you from following your heart. If you live your life being afraid of what happened ‘last time’ there will never be a ‘next time!’” He pleaded.
I quickly wiped my eyes.
And so did he.
I looked through the window of our house, and there in the kitchen were Quin and my mom washing the dishes. My heart ached.
“Dad.” I said.
“Yea?” He looked up intently at me.
“Thanks.”
                    ***

~I can’t stop staring at my phone screen.
    [To: Isaac Grey]
[Hey Isaac, I can’t really tell if you’re asleep or not any more, but I’m sorry if you were. I just felt really uneasy today. Normally, at night I listen to your thoughts, and it helps me not feel so alone. Sorry. I know that’s creepy. I mean, what kind of vampire is afraid of the dark, right? Haha… ]
[Anyway, I’ve been trying to say this for a while, and I know this is sudden, but I-]

    ~Cmon, tell him. Just type it. I can do this. Just type I love you…
    Ahhh…. But what will he say??
    I grabbed my pillow and cuddled it with my entire body.
    I sighed.
    He’ll say “You only feel that way because of my blood,” and that’s not true!
    “Ugh!” I shouted into my pillow.
    
When I opened my eyes, I could see a red 9:05 on my alarm clock.
“I’m late. Screw it I’m not going,” I said as I got out of bed and got dressed anyway.

Once I was all set, I let myself sink into Etherium.
I love the feeling of weightlessness that comes with this realm. I feel so free here. I could almost forget the tears streaming down my face as I gently fell through the sky.

I landed outside of the studio, and quietly opened the door. As I slipped out of Etherium, I found Drake slumped over in front of me, a man was crouched behind him, his fangs buried in the nape of his neck.
In an instant his eyes locked to me, and his mouth opened with a bloody hiss.
“No... “ I said.
“This one’s mine,” the vampire said.
“No...No! No! No! Get away from him!” I screamed.
He crouched and bared his fangs.
“I’ll not be robbed of this kill, vulture. Find your own-”
In a flash I was on him. I went for his eyes but he caught my wrist and snapped it.
I spun my whole body through the air, wrenching myself from his grip.
Before I could come down he kicked me in the ribs. The impact crushed my sternum and flung me through the air. I collided with a wall and crashed through it.
I jumped to my feet in time to parry his first claw, but the second caught my chest, tearing a gash through me.
He grabbed me by my head and reared back, but I caught him with my legs and twisted his arm clean off.
He howled in pain as his right arm punched a hole in my belly.
I collided with a support beam, bringing part of the building crashing down on top of me. Blood was all around me. Some his, some mine, some Isaacs....
Oh Isaac… I’m sorry... I didn’t want to die...
The vampire collected his arm and reattached it to his body. He flexed his fingers and looked to me.
“Are you afraid to die?” he asked as he leaned down to me.
“...Yes…” I said.
“Perfect,” he said with a grin as he grabbed my throat.

My vision was fading to black.
I wish I could see Isaac one last time.
I wish we could have helds hands on halloween.
I don’t want to die.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” came a voice from across the room.
My assailant turned around, and stood up.
From where I was lying I could just make out someone’s figure standing there in the hole where I had come crashing through.
Please God don’t let that be who I think it is.

“That’s twice now I’ve been rudely interrupted this evening,” He said.
“Pardon me if I don’t care,” said the figure. “I’ll be taking her with me, now.”
“And who is she to you that you would challenge a Child of the Moon?”
“That’s someone’s daughter, you know.” He said as he walked past the vampire.
“Isaac!” I screamed as my father came crashing through the wall and pounced on top of my assailant. Though he was powerful, he was no match for my father. The building was being torn to pieces around us as Isaac walked to me. Debris, blood, and limbs were cast all around, but to him there was only me.

He leaned down and took me in his arms.
“Isaac, I-” I gagged on the blood pooling in my lungs.
Desperately I tried to tell him… to tell him I loved him so much!
“That’s twice now,” he said. “Not that you needed to tell me,” he said.
He clasped my neck in his hand and brought my face to his neck.

“Isaac,”

“Do it,” he gently whispered in my ear.

I opened my mouth and began drinking his blood.
It was like nothing I had ever tasted before.
A world I had lost came back as the life blood in him flowed through me.
I cried when his thoughts, his feelings, it all returned to me.
I withdrew my fangs, gently kissed his neck, and cradled his weakened body in my arms.
“You saved me,” I said.
“No,” he said. His voice was ragged from the blood loss. “I-”
“Like it or not, you did,” my dad said, brushing dust from his sleeves. There was barely a scratch on him as he walked away from the other man's mutilated corpse.
    “I still hope you die a terrible death, but thank you, Isaac.” he said. ~


    Riley’s consciousness faded from my own. My mind was quiet once again. I was too weak to argue with him. Despite my best efforts, I let myself collapse into Riley’s embrace.
    And still, as disappointed as I am, dad was right.
    I do not regret this. ​