Chapter 3 - Forget you, not.

It has been two weeks since I saw the mysterious vampire and I had started to think maybe I had just dreamt it all because as much as I didn’t want to, it all kept replaying in my head. No matter what I was doing or how engrossed in a book I was, his face would appear in my head and the more I thought on it, the more it felt too bizarre to be real. The only thing that confirmed it was how different Danny was whenever he saw me. Of course, he said nothing to anyone about that night. He never saw what knocked him down and seeing as how he man-handled me, I couldn’t see him admitting to anything any time soon. But he had never backed off from me before, for years he always tried to get my attention or sleaze his way over to me at a party.

It had taken days for me to feel like I was normal, just like everyone else here. Me speak to a vampire?.... Nooo never! I was just like everybody else, not that I really wanted to be, and what happened will be my little secret, never to tell a soul.

As much as I felt so bored with my life here, I couldn’t believe the situation I had gotten myself into. I could never let my parents know that I had been in the company of a vampire and that I had stupidly told him where I lived and, in hindsight, I also put their lives at risk by doing so. For all I knew, he was picking the weakest out of the herd to pick off for the sake of my blood, hoping to lure me for the taking! I mentally scolded myself a few times for potentially putting them in harms way and a knot in my stomach made me hope and pray that whoever he was, was long gone and wasn’t devising a plan to drink us dry in the middle of the night while we slept. But every little noise outside the house had me lying awake at night in fear, hoping it was just the wind or a cat making the bins clatter or the tree outside my bedroom window rustle and creek.

I checked in the last of our new books and set them ready in the book trolly to be shelved tomorrow. Grabbing my jacket and my bag, I headed out of the office to say goodbye to Andrea before I left.

“I’m off now Andrea”. I called over to her as she was organising a new children’s book display.

“Ok El’s, are you still ok to lock up tomorrow?”

“Of course!”. I smiled as we both waved to each other.

I left the library and got on my bicycle to ride over to the old, abandoned warehouse several streets away from the rest of the town. Many of the guys and girls around my age would retreat here for the occasional party, it was the only place we could drink, boom out our music and do whatever we wanted without our over-baring parents knowing a thing about it. I only ever went to hang out with my friends, but even that was becoming sparse now. Since we left school, they either had serious boyfriends that they’d spend most of the night snogging and grinding on each other and my other friends had given in to the temptation of one- night stands that happened in the old office rooms on a dirty floor or dust covered desks.

The parties here used to be just about the fun of drinking without our parents knowing, while we all danced and laughed about the hangover we’d have the next day. But as I walked into the warehouse, it was just as it was the last time I came, it looked more like an orgy now or a misfit of horny, sex crazed teenagers. You wouldn’t think we were actually supposed to be considered as adults. I cracked open a bottle of beer as I walked around people dry humping as they tried to dance together, or couples tonging each other’s mouths dry and some were just too drunk to barely stand, not to mention the ones barfing in whatever corner was available.

I didn’t know if it was me, that maybe I was just a prude and too boring to get any enjoyment out of this. I had already kissed most of these guys when I was younger and it was either a sloppy mess or just a fun game we played for the sake of entertainment, but none of them I actually had the desire to kiss again or even sleep with. That was something me and my friends used to have in common. None of us had slept around, or slept with anyone, in fact! But I was the last of my group, still just grazing through life, not much different to how I was when we first left school.

The only thing I really had going for me was my job at the library and six months ago I had started working six days a week to help out my parents. I didn’t know if they were aware that I heard every argument they had when it came to money, their savings gone, almost losing the house, my college fund completely wiped out. Their last argument was what made me increase my hours. In all their arguments about money, the last one was by far the worst. So, with more than half my wages going to them, I could barely afford to save for my own place.

But looking around, I still didn’t want to trade places with any of these people and started to realise how much we’d grown apart. Gone are the days when me and my friends would go to the pub on a Friday night, or go to any of the town dances, call each other almost daily. Maybe, in our own way, we were all trying to hold onto whatever piece we had left of our youth, before we all took the plunge into what was expected. They all came here, perhaps in hopes of meeting their 'partner', but I refused to settle for someone I didn’t love or barely even liked.

I made my way over to the only sensible friend I had left. She was the only one I believed was actually happy. She started dating our childhood friend Joel when we were seventeen and they’ve been inseparable since. Turns out they had crushed on each other when we all started high school. They lived together and she still kept her job at the local vets to pursue her love for animals. He was one of the sweet guys and, luckily, their crush had steered them right. They were completely smitten after their first date and, to me, they suited each other… the couple of all couples.

“Hey Ellie”. She smiled innocently as I sat next to her on the old musty couch, and I could feel the springs almost popping through the cushion.

“Hey Han, where’s Joel?”

“Oh, he’s gone to get us another beer. I’m surprised you came. I know this isn’t really your scene”.

“Well… I suppose I wanted to see everyone, though now I’m here, I can see they’re all a bit pre-occupied”.

“Yea, I dread to think how many people will be swapping body fluids tonight!”

“Ewww Hannah! That’s gross”. I nudged her on the arm in amusement.

“It’s true!” She chuckled as we both looked around at all the sexually heightened couples and noticed some of them were missing some of their clothes. Bras and boxers were on show as they walked away together hand in hand to a different, more private room.

“Is it just me, or has it gotten worse every year?”

“Oh, it’s worse, for sure. Me and Joel have already said this is the last time we come. It’s nice to see and hang out with everyone, but it doesn’t seem to be about that anymore. The only person I’ve spoken to since I got here is Joel, so we may as well be at home talking instead”.

“Home sounds like a good idea, I’m going to go, but why don’t we meet up for coffee, when we both have our next day off?”

“I’d love that, Ellie. I miss not seeing you as much”.

“Yea, me too”. I agreed as we both gave each other a tight hug. “Give my love to Joel”.

“I will”.

I left Hannah, headed out of the warehouse and peddled fast on my bike the whole way home. The last thing I wanted was to ‘find’ myself in another situation. I wanted to avoid it just as much as I avoided stepping foot in the forest again.

When I got home, the house was quiet, not a peep from any of the rooms. It wasn’t until I walked past the doorway that I saw my mum sitting on the edge of her bed, with her head down just staring at her hands placed in her lap.

“Mum, are you ok?” I asked softly as I walked in and sat next to her.

“Oh, yes I’m fine darling, nothing to worry about”.

“Then why are you just sitting here by yourself? Where’s dad?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe he’s at the Tavern”.

“Mum, he never goes to the Tavern, why would he be there now?”

“He went there last night, so I’m assuming that is where he is again”.

“Well, that’s weird… but maybe he just wanted to do something different. You could always join him, you know!”

“No, I’m much too tired to go there now, I’ll let him enjoy his night”.

“Okaaaay, but that doesn’t explain why you look like you’ve got the world on your shoulders”.

“Oh it’s complicated honey, but I’m fine”.

“Mum, are you?” I asked, raising my brows at her for confirmation.

“Yes, I am”. She smiled as she held my hand. “Are you off to bed?”

“Yes, that’s where I was headed”.

“Ok dear, goodnight then”. She said as she pecked my cheek.

“Goodnight mum”. I replied, standing and giving her a little kiss on her forehead, before retreating to my own room, but something tells me, things between her and my dad, were not ok and they hadn’t seemed like it for some time now. I just wish she trusted me enough to tell me what was going on. Something had been bothering her for months now, but whatever it was, she didn’t spill a word of it, no matter how many times I asked. Although I couldn’t quite accuse her of being so secretive when I had one of my own… One I couldn’t shake.