Brynne, Non-Vampire (The Non-Vampire Series) Page 4

  “Wow.” She backed away from me and sat on the side of the tub. She’s getting it now, getting how dangerous I am to her. I should never have told her, I should have just gone away. But I couldn't bring myself to. I don't know if I could get by without her now. Not feeling the way I do.

  “I wouldn’t ever let that happen.” I told her.

  “What? Oh, I know.”

  “Look, do you want me to leave?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous.” she said. “Mom and Dad would be upset

  if you didn’t stick around for dessert. Although we could tell her you wanted to go home so your Mom could check your cut.” “No, Jess, I mean... I mean do you want me to leave? Leave forever. So you don’t have to deal with all this.”

  “No way. Un-uh. You’re not bailing on me. Not now.” She got up and came over to me. “I’m sorry if I’m not handling this well, but it’s not every day you find out your best friend and favorite person in the world is a vam... sort of like a vampire.”

  “So you’re not freaked?”

  “Of course I am. But come on, you’re still my Brynne. Still my best friend. I’ll deal.”

  “Thanks Jess.”

  “Come on, stop that.”

  “Stop what?”

  “Crying. You’re not a big crier, kind of freaks me out when you do it.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Yeah, so let’s see what we can do with your cut.”

  We wrapped it in a bandage, which I guess I’ll have to wear for a few days now. If I don’t then they’re going to see that the cut isn’t there anymore. Or won’t be in a few hours, anyway.

  “They’re taking an awful long time.” Mrs. Sloan complained to her husband. I could hear Barney grunt.

  “Well tell me one thing,” Mr. Sloan said. “How is it Jessica has a boyfriend, and Brynne doesn’t?”

  “That’s your daughter.” She reminded him.

  “Well, yes, but her friend...”

  “Is hot.” Barney said.

  “That's not what I was going to say.” he told Barney. “I’m just curious what it is about her we don’t know. Why is it she doesn’t have a boyfriend also. Is there something wrong with her that we don’t know about? Is she into drugs, or in a gang, or something that would keep her away from boys?”

  “That’s just stupid. Brynne’s a nice girl, Dad.” Barney said. “Maybe she’s gay.”

  “Maybe she really doesn’t like boys. You're right.” Mr. Sloan said. I could imagine him nodding.

  “You two stop it!” Mrs. Sloan said. “A girl doesn't need a boyfriend to be happy. And besides, some girls are just a bit shy. And we should not be having this conversation.”

  Okay, so I was listening again. And Jess was staring at me, wondering what it was I was doing. And now I feel horrible, because she caught me snooping. Great. And I have to tell her.

  “I was listening, okay?” I said. “To your parents.” “Do that often?”

  “Look, have you ever been in a room where someone was

  talking, and you couldn’t stop listening, even if you didn’t want to hear it? That’s what it’s like for me a lot of times. That’s also why my house has been insulated against sound, so I can get some peace.”

  “Okay. So what were they saying?” “You want me to snitch on your parents? Jess, I am so shocked.” I said mockingly.

  “Fine, whatever.”

  “Your dad was wondering why I don’t like boys. Barney was speculating that I’m gay. Your mother was telling them to shut up.”

  “He thinks you don’t like boys. Wow. Shocking that anyone would come to that conclusion.” she said, rolling her eyes. “Anyway, we should go back out. This time I’ll cut the watermelon.”

  “Make sure you wash the knife.” I told her. “I forgot to grab it.”

  “Got it. And then after dessert, let’s go check out your house.”

  “You still want to go?”

  “Sure. Why wouldn't I?”

  We went back out and everyone was staring at me, waiting for me to tell them how bad the cut was. I held my bandaged finger up and wiggled it and smiled, which calmed them down. You’d be surprised how much a smile calms people.

  Jess took the knife inside and washed it, and she brought a different knife out with her to cut into the second watermelon. She managed to slice it without damaging herself. While we ate, I kept looking around trying to find the newspaper that Mr. Sloan was reading. I had to misread that, this can't be happening. I’m supposed to be the only one left.

  “So, um, is it okay if Jess comes to spend the night at my house tonight?” I asked Mrs. Sloan.

  “Did your parents okay it?”

  “They’re not in town this weekend.”

  “They left you alone?” Mr. Sloan asked.

  “She’s seventeen, Dad, not five.” Jessica said. “They leave her alone all the time.”

  “We’re not going anywhere or anything, just watching movies or listening to music.” I said.

  “I don’t see why it would be a problem.” Mrs. Sloan said. “As long as you girls behave.”

  “No boys.” Mr. Sloan said. He was eyeing me when he said it.

  “Not a problem.” I said. “All the boys I like happen to be big stars that wouldn’t be caught dead in this town.”

  Let them chew on that. Maybe that will stop their speculation. Hey, at least it lets them know that nobody here interests me in the least. And Barney can stop imagining me and him ever being together in any way. Creep.

  We gathered some of Jess’ stuff and headed off to my house. We walked, since she doesn’t have a license yet, either. We’re like the last losers in school who can’t drive. I’ve never driven. Not once in all my years.

  “So how much did you actually feel that cut? Like, at all?” she asked.

  “You have this idea that I’m some kind of super human, and I’m not. I mean... I’m not normal, but I do feel pain, ya know. And it hurt. Bad.”

  “So if I punched you...”

  “Wouldn’t hurt a bit.”

  “But...”

  “I said I feel pain.” I smiled at her. “You can’t hit hard enough to cause any.”

  “Oh you are so dead, Campbell.” She swung at me, giving me a fake punch on the arm.

  “So seriously,” I stopped and grabbed her arm. “Do you want to know how to really hurt me?”

  “Why would I...”

  “Because then you’d know. So you wouldn’t have to be so scared.”

  “Brynne, I’m not scared of you.”

  “You are. But it’s okay.”

  “So stake through the heart?”

  “Well, that’s a start. It wouldn’t kill me, but it would hurt a lot.”

  “So how do I kill you?” she asked. She was smiling and kind of rocking from one foot to the other. She wasn’t being serious, and didn’t expect me to give her an answer.

  “Do anything you can to hurt me. Shoot me, deep cuts, the stake, all those are good. Then lots of salt.”

  “Salt?”

  “Yeah. It stops me from healing so fast. Then you have options. You can burn me, you could cut me up, and the very easiest way is to behead me.”

  “Wow, um, Brynne, I don’t really want to think about this.” “Sorry. Just... so you know how to hurt me now.” “Got it.”

  “Look, I’m not good at this, but I’m trying to tell you... I trust you, Jess. With my life.”

  “Okay. Got it.”

  “No, you don’t. Seriously, in over a century I have never trusted anyone until now.”

  “Creeping me out, hon.” she said.

  “Sorry. Let’s... sorry.”

  It’s so awkward trying to explain to her that I think she’s the best friend anyone could ever have. I mean I can say it, but it doesn’t really mean anything if she doesn’t understand. Like truly, deeply understand.

  “Don’t make fun of me.” I said. I unlocked the door and opened it for her. She walked inside and spun around, taking in t
he whole room. She walked over to some posters I had and spent a while staring at Jo Banner, an amazing pop singer. Then she stopped at the coffee table and stared down at my dolls, at the little dinner party from the previous night.

  “Cute.” she said. “Wow, this place is so... pink.” “I like pink.”

  “I always thought va... your kind liked dark colors.” “I like pink. You’ve got to stop believing that I’m like one of

  those characters in your books.”

  “Obviously you are not.” She was looking down at my dolls.

  “So let’s see the rest of the house.”

  “Not much to see. I don’t use the bedrooms, except to store

  clothes.”

  “Where do you sleep?”

  “On the sofa. Which, by the way, I guess you can sleep on

  tonight. I’ll just toss a blanket on the floor.”

  “You don’t have a bed?”

  “Never really seemed necessary before now.”

  “You’re so weird, Brynne.”

  “Yeah, anyway, just come in here.” I said.

  I took her into the kitchen. I want to get this out of the way, so she isn’t scared of what she’ll find. I dragged her over to the refrigerator. After our talk earlier, I knew she’d have a problem with this, and she’s kind of nervous now, I can tell.

  “In the freezer,” I opened it up. “Is ice-cream. I love the stuff. There’s like five kinds in here, if you want any.”

  “Good to know.”

  “And,” I opened the refrigerator, and she closed her eyes. “Brynne, I really...”

  “Just look.” She opened her eyes. I have one little bag of

  blood, and I held it up. “See, it’s nothing. Don’t freak out about it. Seriously.”

  “But... that’s... human blood?”

  “Yeah. Um,” I looked at the bag. “Type A, if you want to

  know.”

  “Oh. Um...” Her eyes are fixed on it. “I guess that’s no big

  deal. I mean it’s not like you killed someone. Though there could be

  someone with type A that needs a transfusion, and you took the last of

  it.”

  “I try to be careful to only take what there’s plenty of.” “Oh.” She swallowed hard and grabbed onto the refrigerator

  door. She’s really nervous. “So do the different blood types taste

  different?”

  “Not that I’ve ever noticed. Though you can sometimes tell if a

  lot of it comes from someone who eats a lot of fat, or from a

  vegetarian.”

  “Which do you prefer?”

  “I actually try not to think about it either way.”

  “Why?”

  “Well,” I stuck the bag back in the door. “I don’t like that I

  have to have it at all.”

  “You don’t? So you think it makes you a monster?” “No. Hun-uh. I’m just a girl that has to have a different kind of

  food. It’s no different than someone who has to have constant

  transfusions, ya know. I just have to get the blood in a different way.” “I didn’t really think of it that way. Yeah, I guess that makes

  sense.” She sighed, then smiled at me. “It actually helps to think of it

  like that.”

  “You can put your pop in here. It’s not like the refrigerator is

  contaminated or anything.”

  “Yeah, okay. I guess.”

  “Ya know, I know this is all a lot to take in, Jess. I mean... I

  mean if you want to just take off and do this some other time, I’d

  understand. You won’t hurt my feelings.” Okay, that’s just a lie. “No, honey, it’s okay. I’m fine. So, let’s see what kind of

  channels you get on the television.”

  “Everything that is available on the satellite.”

  “Cool. So we could watch some steamy porn movie, huh?” She

  was joking with me, I think.

  “Um... if you really want.”

  “What, you don’t watch that stuff?”

  “Not really my thing.”

  “What would you rather watch?”

  “Um, I like a lot of stuff. But... I watch Disney a lot.” I think

  I’m blushing.

  “Seriously? What kind of vampire watches Disney?” “I’m not a vampire!”

  “Yeah, well, basically.” she said. She reached up and ruffled

  my hair. She keeps doing that.

  “Ya know, the soundproofing in this house works both ways.

  Nobody would hear your screams.”

  I shouldn’t have said that. That was exactly the wrong thing to say to her when I know she’s a little scared and very nervous. Even though she should know I’m joking, it’s still going to be in her head now.

  “We should go get some snacks.” I said. “I’m in the mood for chocolate.”

  “Why does it make me so nervous when a vampire talks about going out for a snack?” She smiled. “Okay, okay, you’re not a vampire.” She ruffled my hair again.

  “You confuse me.” I told her. “Your reaction to this, I mean.”

  “Did you expect me to run away screaming?”

  “Maybe. At least that would make sense. But you seem mostly okay.”

  “You’re still my best friend, honey. And it’s going to stay that way, no matter what.”

  “But... what about when you go off to college?” I asked her.

  “Well you’re going too.”

  “Jess, I can’t. I... I’ve done that, it doesn’t work so well.”

  “Well then you come along and do something else. You can even go to high school there, if you want, since you seem to like it so much.” She ruffled my hair again. She’s starting to annoy me with that. “And then we can hang out after school.”

  “That won’t work, Jess. You’re getting older, you’re going to want to go out with the people you go to school with. You can’t drag a kid around with you. Besides, you’re going to want to do more in your life. Things I’ll never be able to do.”

  “You’re my best friend, and you’re always going to be my best friend. No matter what.”

  “What about years from now, when you meet a guy you really love, and you two get serious? If you’re together with him for more than a couple of years he’s going to start asking who this weird girl is that keeps coming around, the one who doesn’t seem to get any older.”

  “If that were to happen then we’d just have to explain.” she said, as if it were that simple.

  “But Jess,” She doesn’t seem to understand that I can’t have a lot of people know this. Maybe I could tell a guy, if she were really going to marry him. Someone she trusted that much. “I guess we’ll deal with that later.” I told her.

  “You have to stop worrying so much, honey. You’re my best friend, and I promise we will make this work. Whatever comes up, I’ll take care of it.”

  “You’ll take care of it?”

  “That’s right. I’m not letting anyone come between us.”

  “Let’s just go get our snacks, okay.”

  So she’ll take care of it. It’s weird, because I’m more than a century older than her, at least based on birth date, but she’s still trying to protect me, just like she always has if anyone messes with me. She’s taking control of the situation, so I don’t have to handle it. So I don’t have to worry. I really love her. I don’t know if I should be doing this to her, getting her involved in all of this, but I’m glad she’s stepping up.

  “M&Ms, or Hershey’s?” she asked. She was holding a bag of each.

  “Both.”

  “Pig. You may be skinny now, but you keep eating like this and you won’t be.”

  “I actually can pretty much eat what I want, I don’t seem to gain weight.”

  “Figures. Another advantage of being a... one of your kind?”

  “I don’t know. I was sort of like that before. Not that we really
had a lot extra back then.” I wish she wouldn’t talk in the store like this.

  “How is it this crazy little red head can eat anything and not gain weight and I just look at chocolate and gain five pounds?” she asked the ceiling. Or God, maybe. Never can tell with her. “And then she’s going to look young forever. That’s so not fair.”

  “Are you done feeling sorry for yourself now?”

  “Not quite. But let’s go anyway.”

  We were waiting in line, and Jessica was scanning the magazine rack. She picked up a fashion magazine and sat it up on the counter with our snacks. I guess she assumes I’ll pay for that, too, now that she knows I have some money. And she grabbed a pack of orange Tic Tacs and tossed it up there too.

  “Are you done spending my money?” I asked her. “I’ll pay for my part.”

  “That’s okay Jess, I’ll get it.”

  “No, I don’t want...”

  “Jessica, how often do I come to your house and eat your food?

  I think I can handle paying this time.”

  “Well you forgot the popcorn.” she said. “If we’re going to

  watch movies...”

  “I know, I know. Go get some with extra butter. I’ll stay here in

  line.”

  While waiting for the couple in front of me to pay with a check, I ran my eyes over the magazine rack that Jess had been looking at. I like to get the newspapers, I like to do the crossword puzzles in the back. And I noticed another paper with a story about someone having their blood drank. It was a different story, from a different town, and this time the girl who had been drained of blood was dead.

  This can’t be happening! There have been a couple of times in the past when I’ve seen gangs or weird cults do things like this, so maybe that’s happening again. I hope so. I hate to think of the alternative.

  When we got back to my house we sat on the sofa. Jessica was staring down at my dolls again. She thinks they’re childish. Maybe she’s right, maybe I should put that stuff away and just grow up. But I like my dolls.

  “Jenna was my friend before you were born.” I told Jessica. I picked up Jenna and held her out toward Jess. “She likes clothes. You wouldn’t believe her wardrobe.”

  “Yeah, okay. Not like you at all, huh?” She laughed. “I admit it, I have a bunch of clothes.”

  “You could wear something different every day for six