Chapter 5 — OUT OF TOWN

THURSDAY

I spent the remaining week in my attic; it was the least I could do to keep Tia from ratting on me. She had managed to avoid the topic with me as much as she could, but I could still see the glares of suspicion she threw at me occasionally whenever she caught me staring out of the parlour windows.

The urge to be with Dawn was one that I could not supress no matter how hard I tried not to think about her, my mind still dragged me back to the sublime kiss we shared. The warmth of her body had seeped into me as easily as sunlight breaking through glass. Even if it was sudden and totally unexpected, it was still special, the effect Dawn’s kiss had on me was more than double the effect her presence had had. It turned my bones to jelly and made something churn lightly in my stomach.

Jhan had told me he, Tia and Jereum were given special assignments outside the town. I had finally earned Jhan’s their trust, Tia eyed me carefully before they drove off a few minutes ago. I was alone; Leya could take care of herself. The little vampire had no problem with school and Jhan had seen no problem with it.

The part of the town we lived in was isolated solely for vampires. Our side of town was closest to the edge, we a small forested area stretched out a distance. Dense human population ended at around the block that had Dawn’s house and that territory was mostly outlawed to vampires.

But today I wasn’t scared of what might be, or of the consequences of my actions. I knew how to be careful, I wouldn’t let her get too close to figure out my true nature. I had to at least talk to her. The longing I had for this girl was tugging at me, irresistible the image of her face lay in my thoughts; clouding any other thoughts I had.

I had worn a black hooded jacket this time, careful not to attract any attention to myself I kept my head low as I walked down the block. I got to her main door and was about knocking when the door opened from the inside. I stared into her gaze. She looked at me for a while, just letting the warm stretch of silence that spawned between us to take over the moment.

Finally I spoke. “Dawn I—”

“Save whatever you have to say Kaldar, if it’s going to ruin this moment.”

Her words seemed to spark a new life in me, one that unfolded beyond Tia’s warnings and beyond any consequences I may face for this. It made me want to forget about the fact that I was an amnesiac vampire and that she was a human, the fact that this mere encounter could mean either one of our deaths.

“But you’re in luck, come. My mums not at home and I was just about to leave.”

She brushed past me, knocking me off my balance as my legs were boneless in her presence.

“What? Where are we going?”

She jogged around the house and I walked behind her.

“I think I found a way to help you with your memories.” She smiled before unlocking the left front door to her red sedan. She popped her head out, nudging me to come with.

I wasn’t sure about this. If it involved a car ride it probably meant that we would be leaving the neighbourhood. I wasn’t ready, I barely knew enough about myself to risk entering the world of humans. I took a short step towards the car, dithering on whether I should or shouldn’t.

“What’s wrong?” She asked, brows pinched.

I sucked in a cold scented breath before finally taking the next step. I was in the warmth of her car, the air in here was fragranced with orange scented air freshener, yet I could still tell apart her distinct scent from the fragrance of the orange.

She was wearing a pink cotton sweatshirt and a black short skirt that stopped just before knees. She revved and soon enough we were far away from my home. I closed my eyes and tried not to imagine Tia’s glare at me as we drove off. If what Jhan said was true, I had until tomorrow before they returned. I hoped he wasn’t wrong and I shoved away the thoughts of them returning to not find me in the house.

I stared at the buildings, different coloured roofs and buildings lined the streets creating an abstract pattern of colours. I gazed out to the streets, carefully taking in every inch of the environment before we drove by. My previous life must have not had much of the outdoors because just this sight was enough to mesmerize me.

“Getting anything?” Dawn’s voice came with a smile, but nothing I had seen had triggered any memories whatsoever.

“I think I just like gazing at the buildings…”

“Think you might have liked doing that before…?”

“Well, I'm not really sure to be honest.”

She eased her car to the side, parking between two other vehicles before she stepped out and I did the same. I hadn’t seen so many people since my impurification.

“Come on, let’s take a walk.”

“To where?”

“Umm, I'm not really certain, you might see something that may trigger a memory or sort.”

I kept the pace beside her, taking in freedom and euphoria. There was no doubt that I didn’t love the outdoors. Every inch of the busy streets made me feel like I had been there before. Birds fluttered above, cars honked noisily at others drivers, people walked all around us. I had held my breath tight, the hot sun of afternoon had not set out yet. It looked like to be a cloudy day, a perfect day.

“Well, don’t smile like that,” she said, her eyes fixed on the wide smile that stretched from one ear to the other. Her face was bright as always.

“I feel like I've been here, like I've always wanted to be... free.”

“What are you talking about? You’re not kept locked up are you?”

“Well, no. I'm not, but because of my amnesia its best that I stayed around people that I was familiar with.”

“Your family... Was that girl your... sister?” I knew her question meant no harm, but I couldn’t let her in, not when I had been strictly warned by Tia.

“She’s a friend. She's the only one I remember since I lost my memories so being around her could help jog back some memories. So I'm living with her for the time.” Lying to Dawn like this, it made me feel burdened. Even if I knew I couldn’t tell her the truth, but the lies were hot jabs to my gut.

“Only one you remember huh?” Her eyes drooped and I couldn’t help but feel the drag of guilt. “Is she special to you?”

“Well, I can’t really say. She was a close friend, nothing more. I really only have a few memories of her, but the doctors said it’s best if I stayed and she looked after me.”

“No wonder she was so mad the other day she came looking for you.”

My heart skipped a beat, Tia couldn’t know that Dawn knew as much as this about her.

“You saw that? You were spying on me?” I asked, keeping my voice calm and casual.

“Well,”—the red flush had started to appear at her cheeks again—“I wasn’t actually spying—”

“It doesn’t matter, it’s nice to know that you cared enough.” I eyed her carefully, a small smile had pulled up the corners of her lips.

She rounded into a small park. People occupied the other black benches, either deeps in conversations with another, or allowed to enjoy their own solitude.

Dawn took a bench and I sat next to her. The warmth from her close presence seeped through the layers I wore and thawed through the cold mist that flowed in me. I looked at her, she barely knew me yet she had let me into her life. It was either she was foolish for doing so with a stranger, or she was a kind person who was also in love. Either one it was I was grateful for her show of kindness towards me. I couldn’t let her into my life as much as she had let me into hers for her own safety, but the little I could allow her know, I cherished.

“So nothing? Not even a glimpse?” She asked, probably eager to steal the moment from the soft gaze I had on her.

“I enjoy the outdoors, but it doesn’t bring anything back...” I looked down at the greens of the grass below, trying to relate any of what I was seeing to any memories I had but all I could think of was the pungent smell of medicines in the hospital.

“It’s okay, you might get something back later,” She said, words of assurance that cracked a smile on my face.

We spent most of the rest of the day driving around the town. Dawn got severally and she resorted to eating a bunch of snacks which I refused to join in because the smell of ordinary food was enough to throw my guts up to my throat, talk less of tasting it. She had insisted that I took a bite out of a burger she bought but I strongly insisted against it. She ended up smudging the cheese all over my face and guffawing loudly when I tickled her to submission.

We talked about very random things, most of which I had almost no idea of, and when the sun heated up the afternoon lightly I was grateful for the fact that we were in a larger park with many large trees. I was beginning to understand her more and more, she wasn’t the type that usually made a lot of friends. She enjoyed reading novels and writing short poems. I made her promise to allow me a piece of her work later on, and she made me promise her a second date. The words made non-existent heat rise to my neck. She had considered our time together as a date.

I was surprised at how fast time was snatched from us until I spotted the sun settling behind the clouds at the horizon. We were back in her car and driving back to our town in perfect silence. She eased into the trees that cut of our town from the other town, I was about to ask her why she had chosen such a gloomy place to park when she threw her arms around my neck and pulled me tightly into the warmth of her lips.

She crossed her legs over my thighs, sitting on me as she kissed me deeply.

She broke from my lips slowly, her eyes still closed.

“Dawn?” My voice could have only been in my head for all I knew. “Are you sure this is what you want?” Tia’s warnings rang through my head like a bell, if I was going to put her at unknown risk at least I had to be certain she was fully aware of what she was doing. The rest was up to me to keep her safe.

“Kiss me Kaldar... I don’t know how to explain what you do to me, but just kiss me...”

I pressed my lips to hers, she moaned lightly as my fingers travelled under the soft cotton of her sweat shirt and to her bare skin.

She broke apart from me again, but this time with her eyes open.

“Let’s go outside,” she whispered, a crooked smile on her lips. She pulled me against her, I pressed her against the side of her car tightly. I had lifted her off her feet with ease, carrying her in my arms as I kissed her hungrily.

Doing this with Dawn made the heat from a thousand suns to explode behind my chest, warming up my entire being. I had to breath, even if it was just for this moment. The warmth from her breath flowed into my lungs, the scent of her of her hair filled my lungs. Her lively scent was like a cloud now, one that covered around my nose and made me want her even more.

She arched her back as I kissed a light trail down her neck, the moon had settled above us. It had gotten so late so fast.

“Kaldar...” This time it was her voice that was a mere whisper.

I had gotten so lost in her the lively scent of her hair I had forgot to hold the urge back. I groaned as I let go of her body, pressing the back of my hands to my eyes as I felt the beastly aura awaken within me.

“Kaldar?” Dawn’s voice had turned into one filled with horror .

I could hear myself growl, a strange electric tingle settling behind my teeth as my canines elongated.

“Kaldar???”

But I was too busy trying to fight my own inner demons I could barely make out Dawn’s terrified voice. Tia’s warnings rang through my head severally, each time I heard her voice it hit me like a mental spasm. This is what she was talking about. The danger she meant. I could barely control my vampire instincts and now they were revealing themselves in front of Dawn.

I was still clutching my head, saliva dripping from my lips when I saw the glint of red eyes. And soon enough, I could discern the large figure of someone, fingers tight around Dawn's neck.

"W-What is going on...?"