TO LIGHT MY FIRE

FOURTEEN

I walked into the dark house and closed the door behind me. I wanted to take an aspirin for my invisible pain but I was too lazy to get some from the store.

When I heard the click of the lamp being turned on I knew I was in trouble.

Mom was sitting cross legged on the couch with a glass full of a liquid that I’d never seen before.

From where I was standing it seemed like a regular glass of water; however the air reeked with the sourness of vinegar. She was consuming it without cringing.

‘Where have you been?’ She glanced at me with annoyance.

‘I told Dad that I was spending the day with Cassi,’ I looked at her furrowing my brows. ‘Where were you all day.?’

She had on a silk green dress which highlighted her caramel skin. Her feet were covered with silver strapped heels and her kinky hair slicked up into a bun on top of her head. Her face was lightly coated with makeup which she rarely wore.

Dad had work up north today so it couldn’t have been date night.

I could tell she knew what I was thinking when she scrunched her mouth bitterly.

‘What I do is my business, child.’ She swivelled her weird beverage and chugged the rest.

I felt an eerie aura when she stood up and shuffled past me. It was like we were connected in some way like the feeling I got when we rode across the lake today. Although this was different.

Whoever this woman in my house was, I had no idea who she was. When her shoulder brushed past mine it was like I was talking to a stranger.

If Mom sensed it she didn’t pay it no attention as she sauntered up the stairs. She stopped midstep and sniffed the air.

‘Yon ti chen vle mouri aswè a.’ Mom’s mumbling was almost inaudible but I could hear it loud and clear. Something about wanting a dog to die.

We didn’t have a dog. And when did she learn how to speak Creole?

She continued her journey to her room and I didn’t go to mine until I heard the slam of her door.

Groggily, I got out of my uniform and took the longest shower ever. It was a struggle to get out because the water’s scent reminded me of the one in the springs. I could imagine the blooming flowers and I could hear the distant movement of the water.

After finally getting out, I was too sluggish and relaxed to put on clothes and ended up snuggled in my warm comforter in the nude.

This was the most carefree that I’d ever felt. I was able to control the air around me so if it got to hot my powers would conjure up a cool breeze. I guess that’s a perk of being Mother Nature, the gift of changing the atmosphere is at my fingertips.

My eyes automatically closed when my bonnet hit the pillow and I was convinced that an explosion wasn’t even gonna be able to wake me up from this amazing slumber.

I happily entered dreamland.

The Dark figure that had been in my dreams many times before was standing in front of me.

It held out its hand, but it still didn’t talk. Its shadow beasts were floating at his feet whimpering in agony as It pulled their needle embroidered collars. They attempted to run away again but it casted them off with a wave of the hand.

Still, Its hand was held out to me.

‘What do you want?’ I finally choked up the words to say to this creature.

My skin crawled when I heard Its deep whispering voice.

‘Join us, darling. We can rule together.’

If I hadn’t had bad vibes before I definitely had them now. Immediately I shook my head.

Something told me not to take this stranger’s Dark hand.

‘No, I don’t want to.’

With a displeased grunt from IT, my breath hitched when a blade went through my back.

I was able to turn around in time to see a tattoo of a cross before my neck was sliced open.

My eye opened in panic as I held my neck and tried to put air back into my lungs.

I screamed when I saw someone levitating above me. Quickly it covered my mouth.

‘Stop. We don’t want you nuisance of a mother to wake up now do we?’ I know those ocean blue eyes. The first time I saw them they consumed me so much that it was suffocating. Then I remembered how much of a douche he was.

‘Get your hands off me,’ I snatched his hand away from my mouth and jumped out of bed. He lowered himself down onto it and put his face in my pillow.

‘You smell like lemon grass. So exotic.’ His voice was muffled as he continued to violate my pillow.

I tugged it from under his face and threw it on the floor.

‘Get out.’ I lowly said crossing my arms in irritation.

His eyes lifted but didn’t meet my eyes. They were stuck on my chest.

I’d completely forgot that I’d fallen asleep naked. My entire body was on fire as I snatched my comforter from under him to cover myself.

‘Don’t be shy, Doll.’ Clark’s eyes were glowing like torches on a winter day. They didn’t waver not once and I tightened my grip on the blanket.

‘Let me join you,’

‘That’s really not necessary.’

Before I knew it, he scratched his stubble beard and took his leather jacket off revealing his muscle shirt and inked up arms.

Not paying attention to them I turned on my lamp.

He fell off the side of the bed like the light burned him.

‘Give me a little warning next time.’ He peeked over the bed and rolled back into my covers. I realized that his hair was different from the last we saw each other. The sides were buzzed and his long dark hair was swept back with a loose strand hanging in his face at the top.

‘What are you doing here?’

He got comfortable and took his boots off. ‘Why can’t I visit my girl who has the sexy undergarments?’

My Girl? He needs to go. Now.

Noticing that he wasn’t moving anytime soon, I had some things to ask him and pulled up my desk chair,

Instinctively I shielded my legs from his view.

‘You know, it’s a perfectly good spot right here.’ He rubbed the place next to him.

‘Even though it would be amazing to lay next to a stronger who is an asshole, I don’t think I’ll take my chances,’ I sarcastically said as I tried not to think about yelling at this guy for stealing my bed.

‘What are you?’ I asked curiously failing to keep my anger down.

‘Your Boyfriend.’

‘I’m serious, motherfucker,’ I gave him a sharp look.

He sat up so his back was against my headboard and looked toward me with his stupid dreamy eyes.

‘For the first fourteen years of my life, I was just like any other Wolf Man. That night when your brother ran away, I was transformed into a creature that had been unheard of since the beginning of time; and most likely the most dangerous.’

He winked at me an I frowned in disgust.

‘Before I was able to live off actual food and I could shift into a Wolf whenever I wanted. Now I have to live off blood and I can’t always control when I want to shift.’

‘So you’re a V---pire?’ I asked confused.

He bit his lip and scratched his brow.

‘When I saved your brother that night, the Congregation took a life for a life. I had to sacrifice something to save him. Not only was I a slave to the moon but also the sun.’ He leaned his head against my headboard and smiled.

‘You basically own me,’ He chuckled lowly but stopped when he didn’t see me laughing.

‘You saw your brother’s Blue eyes?’ I nodded and leaned forward.

‘The only way I knew how to save him was turning him into a Wolf Man. Blue eyes symbolizes the taking of an innocent life. I lost my innocence when I was made into a Demon Bloodsucker.’

He bit his lip in remembrance.

‘If I could go back in time to be in that situation again, I would do the same thing. Parker is like a brother to me.’ His face softened from his exterior and I sat by his legs.

‘Thank you for saving him.’ I squeezed his knee in kindness.

‘Yeah, well if it got you to touch my body of course I would do it again.’ His obnoxious smirk was what pulled me out of my sympathetic trance.

‘You’re a shitty person you know that?’ I spat and started to get up but he pulled my arm and I collapsed on his chest with my cover loosely hanging from my body.

‘You Don’t know it yet, but I’m YOUR shitty person.’