Chapter Seventeen

 “How is she? Do you know what’s wrong?” Frank pressured.

“No, not really. She just got sick. Yesterday she was faint and stuff, but that’s about it.”

“You should get a doctor.”

Gerard answered too quickly, “She doesn’t like doctors.”

“Why?” Frank, Frank, Frank. Just let the man be!

“Um, not sure. Bad child hood thing.” Gerard’s voice was so unsure I knew frank hadn’t bought it.

“What’s really going on here, Gerard?”

“She’s just sick.” Gerard was looking down, I could tell by the depth, the way his voice was muffled, something human ears couldn’t even comprehend. He was so unsure. I hated to put him through this. He swished his hand through the air and sighed, putting his face in his hands. There was a long silence and then I heard Gerard’s quiet sobby quirks. Frank’s jacket ruffled dryly as he put his arm around Gee. I felt so useless just lying on the couch.

“I just don’t know what to do, Frank. She’s so delicate, right there, and she’s slipping away.” I laughed, partially, because that’s how I felt about Gerard. I felt like I was going to loose him, like he was going to loose his crazy vampire girlfriend. Wait, I guess that’s what we are now. An item? No, I won’t think of it like that. That’s what eighth graders call it. Gerard and I are a – couple, I suppose.

  Also, I cried inside, so hard I cried, for all of this hurt all I was getting of my chest was a lifelong secret I had known. Yes, I believe I had known this my entire life. There was no denying it. The first time I was old enough and smelt blood, the first time I bit some kid in second grade, and the first time I looked at a guy as delicious, instead of hot. Now that was dangerous. With a flick of my finger, the swaying of my hips, a dodgy skirt, ill-behaved grins and a fallen apart Ava was all that was needed to be the end of any guy too delicious looking and smelling. I sighed in my ‘sleep’ remembering all that had happened to me up till now.

One: I had fallen irrevocably in love with Gerard, a tremendous smelling human.

Two: An immoral man was after the heading of my death and he had the perfect weapon.

Three: I was a vial, desolate, erroneous creature; a vampire.

(But just as fragile as any love stricken human)

 

  My head spun through the clouds of confusion as I listened to the boys’ conversation. It had turned normal again, away from the immortal creature lying just inches from their beating hearts. Instead of thinking of the inevitable, I thought about my recovery process. Peter said I should be better only if a fed, but what did he mean? Feed on my friends, no! I didn’t think I could take only the slightest amount from anyone without draining them completely. I rattled the rocks in my head around, trying to get a sensible answer from them, but nothing came to my vacant mind.

Maybe, my heart or conscious suggested it’s time for you to go. Maybe the world really doesn’t need magic anymore. Maybe it’s found a way to live without the immortal.

Me? Magic? Pfft yeah right. I’m no magic, I argued.

But you are mythological. It pointed out.

Well yeah, but there’s no magic in me.

There may be more than you think, Ava.

And what’s that supposed to mean? I retorted.

Look at how happy you made Gerard. Look at the joy you brought these people.

So, are you saying I’m some profit of god? Likely story. I’ve made my deal with the devil.

Ava, Ava, Ava, it accused when will you learn? The voice faded off into the back of my head. I wished I was normal. No vampire junk, love, or anything. I just want to take pictures all day and hang with Penny. Penny.

Sigh.

Now I remembered how much I missed her, my job, and everything before all of this crap.

  Suddenly, the bar chair legs scraped the linoleum floor, signalling someone had gotten up. It was Frank. From the slit in my eye I could see his slender figure moving across the room. Though I didn’t know he would do this; before putting his shoes on Frank put a warm hand on my forehead and gently kissed my forehead, similar to when older men before this time would great a lady with a kiss on the hand, looking into her eyes longingly…