24/11/2009

So, vampires were assholes. Huh. Was it a surprise? Not really. Michael's eyebrows knitted together. He looked annoyed. I didn't want to annoy him, but he was finally talking about being a vampire. I didn't want to push it. "Not all of them, I don't know all of them. I don't want to get into it right now." "Sure. Whatever." "Maybe another time." The fire crackled as I put the roach on the tray. It was almost an inch long but I was already as high as I was going to get. He waved it down, too, but looked me in the eye. "How did you know I was a vampire?" "Um, well, you looked like a vampire. You looked different." "Different how?" "Your face, your skin, it's kind of shiny, almost. Like a glow." "Not everyone sees that, just you, people like you. Have you ever met any other vampires?" "Not met, just seen some at a show once, in the crowd." "I could tell, that you knew, but you didn't act weird about it. That time at Carl's. You knew but you treated me just like everyone else. You were nice." "You mean Carl didn't know? No one else there?" "Carl figured it out eventually, but most people don't know, not like you. To most people, we don't stand out the way you see it." "Huh. So what makes me different." Michael looked into my eyes. His eyes reflected the fire, looking more yellow than the light brown I thought they were. "Have you ever had a seizure?" "Once. From some bad medication." "You take medication." "Yeah." "Whatever makes your brain different makes you able to pick out vampires." "Because I'm crazy. Crazy people see vampires. That makes sense." "You're not crazy. Not that I've noticed." "We've just met. I've had my moments." "I've seen you around." "I haven't been around. What are you talking about." "I've seen you out. You come out at night, usually walking by river." "You've been watching me?" "No, I've just been out, at night, and I've seen you go by, on your way to the convenience store or around the park. You're usually out late. We keep the same hours." It felt weird, knowing someone had been watching me, but it was reassuring, knowing that feeling was justified. He hadn't seen me doing anything odd, just walking around. I didn't have to feel embarrassed. "So when I ran into you, did you plan that?" "How could I plan that? I didn't expect you to walk right up to me, but you did. You came over to me." That was true. "So how did you know I knew? Do I look different?" "It's just the look on your face, recognition, but you didn't get scared or--" "Should I be? Do I have a reason to be?" "I don't think so." "I'm really high. This stuff is pretty strong. I wish we had pot clubs around here so you could pick out the specific kind you wanted. Calming or invigorating or happy." "Do you not like it?" "It's not that, it's that it makes me feel a little trapped in this chair. I feel like I should jump around a little, get my legs back." I got up and stretched, still feeling awkward. My limbs felt a bit heavy. He could tell that I was different. Could he see how many times I'd been in the hospital, how I'd heard voices that one time. I had had periods when I couldn't trust my senses and now he was saying that not only could I see things other people couldn't see, but the times I felt someone watching me when I was out at night were validated. I wanted to believe him, but maybe even this vampire business was all in my head. Maybe this pot was a lot stronger than I thought, and what was I doing in some stranger's house getting high with someone I barely knew in the first place? Shouldn't I be afraid anyway? I wasn't. I had been acting out of boredom in the first place, approaching him. I didn't really feel like I had anything to lose. He could have blown me off or attacked me but he didn't. He'd been nothing but decent so far, not at all creepy, but I hadn't been thinking very far into the future. His motives didn't seem too far beyond my motives, the want for a little company. I took my coat off. The fire was blazing at this point. I sat back down, grabbing my glass of water, sipping it. "Did you want a cigarette?" "You smoke?" "No, but I could smell it on you." 'Oh. No, I"m okay," I said, think now that I reeked of tobacco. "I just have a really strong sense of smell. This smell of the dust in this place doesn't seem like it will ever go away." "Was it empty for a long time?" "A while. I'm not sure how long." "It doesn't look dirty, but maybe it could probably do with a good scrubbing. Really get the floorboards and wash the walls. I never think about washing the walls. Am I supposed to be scared? Should I be scared?" "Are you scared?" "No, but you keep saying." "Some people do get scared, some people just freak out, but usually they just start spitting out nonsense and people ignore them." "But if you're a vampire, you drink blood?" "Well, I have, yes." "Do you kill people?" "Not usually, no." "You're not going to kill me?" "Wasn't planning on it." "Okay." "Did you think I was? Going to kill you?" "No. Not at all." But you have, I thought. Killed people. I didn't want to say it. It was a bit heavy and I didn't want to get into it right now. "Do you have any scrub brushes?" "I don't think so." "Well, we could get some at the big box store and work on the house." "Right now?" "I wasn't thinking right now. But another time or later." "It would be a lot of work." "Do you think so?" "It's a big house." "The upstairs isn't so bad. It's mostly sealed off with dust covers on everything. This room is probably the worst." "Do you eat?" "Are you hungry?" "No, not really. I was just wondering if you eat." "No, not really. I can but it isn't really like eating. Are you going to ask me a bunch of questions now?" "Can I?" "I don't really want to answer a bunch of questions. The answers will just come out eventually, if we're going to hang out." "So we're going to hang out?" "Is that okay with you." "Yeah, sure. I'd like that." I wanted to ask why he wanted to hang out with me, but it sounded too loserly. "We keep the same hours, or so it seems." "I do stay up mostly at night. I get to sleep around dawn. I call it third shift and people mostly seem to get it. Can you be up during the day?" "I don't like bright light. It hurts my eyes and I'm extremely photosensitive." "How did you get the house?" "A lawyer contacted me." " Sorry. I'm totally baked, and I feel awkward." "It's okay. Do you want some more water?" "Sure." I got up to follow him into the kitchen with my near empty glass. He grabbed a candle off the table. I wanted to ask him if he even needed the candle but I wanted to stop spitting questions at him. Why did he want to hang out with me? Were the asshole vampires out of town or local? It was easier to stop thinking. I looked around the kitchen, no fridge. I guess he didn't need one. He turned on the faucet and the pipes thumped again. This time I looked inside the pantry. There were cans and jars on the shelves, it was too dark to make out more than that. If he didn't eat, what was the deal with that? Had someone else stocked up, maybe someone else he was hanging out with? He placed the glass on the island, turning toward me. "Where's the bathroom?" I asked. "It's around here." he said, walking towards the back stairs. A little hallway I'd missed opened up to the left. "Take this." he said, putting the candle in my hand. "It's on the left." I found a little room with a sink and toilet, with a mirror above the sink. The candle light wasn't the most flattering as it lit from below, sitting on the edge of the sink. I pushed my long hair out of my face, pushing pieces behind my ears. I hadn't gotten a chance to see if he had a reflection or not. Mine looked kind of puffy. I didn't have an urgent need to use the toilet, but decided I might as well since I was here. Thankfully, there was a roll of toilet paper on the tank. So maybe he was just a good host for his human friends, having food and toilet paper for them, not needing them for himself. Maybe the cans and jars were old preserved food that came with the house. The sound of urine against the bowl echoed loudly, she was sure he could hear it, whether all his senses were amplified or not. Oh well. Humans had to pee, he knew that. He was human only a few years ago. Five years ago was nothing but it could stretch out a long while if he spent it with asshole vampires. Asshole vampires. It wasn't a stretch to think that vampires could be total dicks, but he was separating himself from them, so they didn't have to be assholes, some had chosen to be. It made sense. The flush roared, filling the small room. She could see his silhouette from the hallway. He'd gotten the other candle and carried it back with him, waiting at the island. "Do you use the kitchen much?" "Not really." "It's huge. My kitchen's so tiny." "Do you like to cook?" "Yeah, I do, but whenever I cook, I make a lot of food, so there's a lot left over and I'm eating the same thing for a while. I don't usually mind." "The stove works. It's gas." With that he turned back towards the door and I followed him back to the fire. "That dining room table is nice but I don't know what happened to the rest of the chairs. That sideboard is in good shape, too. Are you warm enough?" "Oh, yeah. The fire is warm." "It has to burn down some." he said grabbing the poker. In his button down shirt and gray pants, he looked like a man from an earlier age, poking a fire, but he could be around her age. There wasn't any stories coming about the civil war or prohibition. He probably had an ipod charging up somewhere. "Are you bored?" I asked. "No, why?" "I mean, is that why you wanted to hang out." "Not really." "I was. Bored. I'll do a lot of things out of boredom." "Like what?" "Stupid things." "Are you bored now?" "No, not at all. But I can't think of any thing interesting to say. All I can think of are questions and I don't want to drill you with more questions." "Here, give me your hand." he said, his hand reaching out for one of mine. It was warm. "It's warm because of the fire, normally it's cold." "Oh." "I've always had cold hands. Bad circulation." "Mine are like that too sometimes." "So we have that in common." "I like it better cold than hot. You can always wear more clothes or have a fire when it's cold, but as I get older, I can stand it less." "I don't mind the cold at all anymore. And I like fire." His hand felt strong but he was holding my hand delicately. His thumb stroked the back of my hand but it felt like it could crush it in an instant. I squeezed his hand and let it go, letting it fall back into my lap. I could have been squeezing a lamppost for all the give in his flesh. "Sorry. I feel dopey." "It's okay." I got up and walked around the room, lingering in the writing room doorway. "It's not all that cold yet. It will be soon though." I sat on the chaise lounge, then swung my legs onto it and laid back, sighing. "You okay in there?" he called. "Yeah." I called back. "Micheal?" "Yes?" "What's your last name?" "Caine." "Really?" "Yes." "You're name is Michael Caine." "Yes." "Like the actor?" "Yes." "Are you named after him?" "No." "That's pretty funny." "If you say so." "I say so."