Love Bites

Much to my disappointment, Oliver didn’t come looking for me though I hadn’t really expected him to. It was like breaking up with your boyfriend; you keep expecting them to text you or call you like normal but you have to keep reminding yourself that they won’t bother because you’re done…only Oliver and I weren’t together. God, I was stupid. Why did I suddenly care so much about who Oliver had been with? It didn’t affect me. We were friends and I just had to accept that. I’m not even sure where I got the notion that we could be more.


“Maybe humans are just more hormonal,” I mumbled to myself, still walking down the roads that cut through the bayou. My biggest fear right now wasn’t other vampires, it was gators and Oliver. If a gator came, what the Hell would I do to fend it off? If Oliver came, what the Hell would I say to him or would we sit in that dreaded, cold shouldering silence? I was probably more scared of Oliver than I was the imaginary gators to be honest.


The only thing lighting my way down the streets were the lightning bugs that were out. They were kind enough to lead me to what could’ve been the edge of the bayou, where an old, probably pre World War II era playground was. There were enough breaks in the trees here that in the moonlight, I could find the swing set to wallow in my self pity. The rusted chains squeaked under my weight as the frame gave a heavy sigh.


“Let’s all get up and dance to a song that was a hit before your mother was born,” I recited, hardly singing as I kicked my feet in the dirt. Dust swirled around me, tainting my black jeans as it always did while I spun around, twisting the ancient swing chains. “Though she was born a long, long time a-go. Ya mother should know. Your mother should know.”


It was stupid to be outside so exposed like this but I was just doing Oliver a favour. I should’ve let him have his space. I should’ve let it go and accepted it. But nooo, I just had to keep pushing shit. Even if someone came though, at least he’d still have Nikki and Valerie, who both seemed to like him enough.


“Let’s all get hot and sing me a song,” I mumbled, completely out of time with the metronome in my head. “That was a hit…” I kicked the dirt again. “Before your mother was born…” I fell back in the swing and let the chains spin themselves out. “Though she was born a long, long time a-go…” The world spun and spun around me, in a whirl of blacks, purples, and blue lights. “Your mother should know. Ya mother should know…” Wait. Blue lights? Blue?


I dug my heels into the dust and looked around for them. There were no lights to be found anywhere though I knew I had seen them. There were two and they hovered next to the top of the slide. Fight or flight? my brain asked, assuming that this was one of them. These vampires were quick with their work. It was possible one had already sniffed me out. I didn’t pick either option though. I sat on the swing, unmoving like an unbelievable opossum playing dead. “Thorne, you can come over here”, called a voice. It was familiar and sort of friendly with a deep baritone to it. I remained still, suspicious about Oliver’s views of Andy before I heard Biersack laughing.


“Thorne.” The blue lights appeared from nowhere again and I realized they were his eyes. He came out from the shadows and crept into the moonlight, all but glowing where his frosty skin was exposed. He was wearing black skinnys with matching cowboy boots and a high collared, leather jacket. It was a little too warm for that right now but then again, I guess vampires don’t feel temperatures well. “I know what Sykes has tried to tell you. I promise I won’t,” Andy announced, holding up his hands like a surrendering war criminal. I watched him approach me before I finally managed to say anything.


“We got in a fight,” I mumbled lamely. Andy shrugged, like he didn’t care, and pulled out his pack of cigarettes.


“That tends to happen with him,” the slayer said, offering his pack to me. I took one before he lit another one for himself. “What was it about?”


“Just stupid stuff. I don’t know what provoked me to start it,” I replied. “I just…I dunno. Maybe I kind of care about Oliver.” Andy watched me inhale the cigarette and cringe at how the smoke burned my throat. I was a veteran drinker but not really a smoker.


“Well, what does that mean?”


I pulled at my hair and shook my head. “I don’t know. After all the dumb kisses and the charitable little moments, and him telling you we’re dating today. I dunno. I was just…omiGod, it’s so dumb now that I think about it. Oliver couldn’t have been serious with any of that. I mean, I’m a fucking grave robber. Third to prostitution and farming, that’s like the world’s oldest profession.”


Andy’s eyebrows came together and he smiled. “Thorne, there’s nothing wrong with you being a grave robber?” he said. “I don’t know why you’d think so-“


“Because, Andy. Think about it. Who wants to be with a body snatcher when they can have an actress or a doctor or something…you know, normal.”


“I don’t know. I think you’re pretty normal.”


“You’re also a vampire,” I pointed out.


Andy beamed and exhaled a cloud of smoke. “That’s why it’s illogical to think Oliver wouldn’t like you because you do what you do,” he explained. “Being alive for 600 years and feeding off of living people isn’t exactly something ‘normal’ to the everyday person.”


I wanted to smile at Andy but my muscles just wouldn’t let me. Unlike Oliver, Andy was still human inside and it made him easier to talk to. Oliver was a vampire. That was it. It was like Sykes couldn’t remember how to be human. Andy wanted to eradicate the vampires to I guess figuratively reclaim his life from them. I leaned against him and breathed a sigh. He suddenly tensed up under me, a low growl coming from inside his chest. “Thorne, we need to leave,” he said quietly.


“But why? Where will we go?” I questioned.


“Oliver’s. It’s close,” whispered Andy. He forced me to stand up and led me through the small park to a black car. The entire time, his glowing blue eyes looked around like he was expecting something. “Here’s to hoping whoever’s here isn’t a friend of his.”


“Whoever’s a friend of who?” I asked. Andy rolled his eyes as we got into the vehicle. When the doors were shut, he turned on the engine and set us into drive.


“A friend of Oliver’s,” Andy stated.


“Oh…” I was quiet as he sped back to the estate. I didn’t want to go back to Oliver’s house. What if he didn’t want me there? “What if he kicks me out…? Or tries…you know.”


Andy sent me a sideways glance and frowned. “He has to accept it,” the slayer said firmly. “I’ve already made it across the threshold so if he tries doing anything to you, then I’ll do worse to him. Just because you’re his doesn’t mean I’ll just stand aside if something happens.” I bit my lip, the realization of the situation and what Andy just said he was willing to do for me made me tear up. Oliver was a hunter who was parading me around a group of people looking for a sacrifice while Andy the Blasphemer was trying his damnedest to prevent it. My eyes stung and I tried blinking back the salty drops while Andy drove. When we arrived at the plantation house, Andy escorted me inside where it was already dark, meaning everyone was probably asleep. That didn’t keep Andy from continuously checking the windows to see who, if anyone was outside.


“What do we do now?” I asked softly. Andy chewed on his lip ring before answering me.


“Whatever you’d normally do, but I’m not leaving you alone.”


“Normally, I’d be in bed around now,” I shrugged.


“Then to bed we go!” he chirped. We walked upstairs to my room, Andy making sure to be quiet in case Oliver was up.


“Do you want to sleep on the bed?” I proffered. “I can take the-“


“Thorne, it’s fine. You can keep the bed. Besides, it’s plenty big enough for the both of us.” I stared at Andy, looking for that flirty glint in his eyes that Oliver always seemed to have but Andy just looked…shy. Like he wanted to share the bed but didn’t want to make me feel weird. I didn’t mind either way. I changed in the bathroom, putting on a pair of Oliver’s graciously loaned sweat pants and one of my own t-shirts. Quietly, I slipped out of the bathroom and under the blankets where Andy already was.


“I’m sorry you’re part of this,” Andy sighed, pulling the blankets over my shoulders. “And I’m sorry about the Right of Blood. One day, this will all be over and you’ll have nothing to worry about.”


I smiled at that thought. There hadn’t been a day that I hadn’t worried about anything. It sounded as nice and surreal as the idea of killing Oliver probably sounded to Andy. With the hopes nobody would be cut down in the morning, I closed my eyes and tried my best to go to sleep.

Notes