A Day in Bridgend

The drive to Bridgend was relatively uneventful, although listening to Matt softly singing along to Closer by Nine Inch Nails was certainly interesting. I glanced at him and knew he saw me out of the corner of his eye because he smirked and sang slightly louder. I smiled and turned back to the window, shaking my head.

When we got to Bridgend he stopped near town then led me through the streets. By the looks of it a local school had recently finished for the day because a lot of teenagers and kids with their parents wondered around. A few pointed at Matt and I heard exclamations of “Oh my god! Matt Tuck!” but he did a good job of ignoring it all. Many of the shops I saw reminded me of the day I had come here with my own school. It made me a little sad, remembering the trip. The boredom of being with the girls. My desperate attempt at getting someone to rescue me. I wondered how they were, if they were still wondering where I was or if they had forgotten me.

Matt dragged me out of my thoughts as he stopped outside a tattoo shop. I glanced up at him.

‘What are we doing here? Is this the big surprise?’

‘I noticed you didn’t have any piercings,’ he said. ‘So I thought we’d come visit an old friend and get a couple of holes in you at the same time.’

‘Oh my god, really?’ I asked, excitedly. ‘I’ve always wanted to get piercings!’

‘Why haven’t you ever gotten any? Not even your earlobes are done.’

‘Parents,’ I replied simply, touching my lobes briefly.

He smiled. ‘Lets do it then.’

I smiled back at him excitedly and took the hand he was offering me, letting him pull me inside the shop. I looked around me, starring at the many tattoo designs spread across the walls.

‘Hey! Nick!’ Matt shouted to the seemingly empty shop.

‘Keep your fucking hair on, I’m com- Oh!’ A man appeared in a doorway across the room. ‘Tuck! Sorry, I didn’t realise it was you.’

‘Its okay,’ Matt chuckled walking towards him. They quickly hugged, patting each other’s backs. ‘Its nice to see you again, man.’

‘You too,’ the other man agreed.

‘This is Lilly,’ said Matt, pointing at me. He beckoned me forward. ‘Lilly, this is Nick. He’ll be doing your piercing.’

‘Ah, a customer,’ said Nick, smiling. ‘So that’s why you came.’

‘That’s not the only reason,’ Matt defended.

Nick laughed. ‘I’m only teasing.’ He put his hand out to me and I took it. ‘Nice to meet you, Lilly.’

I smiled a little nervously. ‘Are you a vampire too?’

He laughed. ‘Why? Do I look like one?’

‘Not really,’ I admitted. ‘But then, neither does he.’ I jabbed my thumb at Matt, standing beside me.

Again the tattooist laughed. ‘Good point. So, where do you want this piercing?’

I thought about it a moment. ‘I’ll just do the lobes today,’ I decided.

‘Rightio. Come through to the back,’ he said, motioning to the room he’d come from.

I glanced at Matt nervously but he just nodded reassuringly. I went after Nick with Matt following close behind. The room I was taken into was smaller than the main tattooing room, with just a couple of chairs, a small table and a reclining chair, kind of like a dentists chair.

‘Sit down,’ said Nick, pointing to the chair. ‘I’ll be with you in a minute.’ I did as he asked, sitting on the edge nervously while he grabbed some antiseptic, cotton wool and the piercing gun. ‘So, how is she still alive? Knowing what you are? I mean, why haven’t you killed her yet?’ The question had been directed at Matt but I looked up quickly to see his reaction. I had wondered why they were really keeping me. Surely it wasn’t as simple as they had first made out.

Matt shrugged. ‘Initially we were going to kill her together but we decided not to. We just thought we’d keep her with us instead; take her on a few tours. She’s too nice a person.’ He paused then said, ‘Plus she’s gorgeous and tastes really good.’

They both laughed at my blush.

‘Are you ready for your piercings now?’ Nick asked me, putting the equipment on the table which he pushed closer to the chair. I gulped a little but nodded. ‘Don’t worry, we’ll look after you.’ He quickly cleaned my ear lobes and I looked up at Matt anxiously. He smiled and reached down to take my hand.

Nick put the gun to my left earlobe and carefully lined it up. ‘Alright. Ready?’

‘Yeah,’ I said through gritted teeth. I bit my lip hard in anticipation of the inevitable pain and squeezed Matt’s hand slightly. I heard a loud click and felt a sharp pain. ‘BITCH!’ I squeezed Matt’s hand so hard it would have hurt a human but he just gently squeezed back.

‘Do you want me to do the second one?’ Nick asked.

‘Yeah, just get it over and done with.’ He put the gun in the same place on my other ear and “CLICK” it was over.

‘There you go,’ he said, turning away to put the gun and other stuff away. I released my grip on Matt’s hand and smiled up at him.

‘Was it as bad as you thought it would be?’ he asked, smiling back.

‘Not really. The first time it was more shock than pain that made me cry out. Are they bleeding?’

‘A bit. Come here.’ He bent his head and quickly, carefully sucked on my earlobes, one after the other, to get rid of the small amount of blood. For some reason I didn’t mind him drinking my blood from cuts previously made but the idea of being bitten again (by any vampire, not just him) terrified me.

We hung out with Nick for a while and Matt bought me a few pairs of earrings and studs but Nick refused to let him pay for the piercings.

‘Since it’s her first and you’re friends it’s free,’ he said as we were leaving.

‘You sure, man?’ Matt asked him again.

‘Yeah,’ he said.

‘Thanks dude.’

‘Yeah, thanks a lot,’ I said. ‘See you again some time.’ He hugged me, then Matt.

Half an hour later we stopped outside Matt’s apartment block. It was around 7pm now. We stumbled into the apartment with the bags of clothes he had insisted on buying me and dumped them on the floor in the bedroom.

‘Hungry?’ Matt asked, straightening up.

‘Starving,’ I said. Again, I hadn’t eaten anything besides the breakfast that morning.

He smiled. ‘You put the new shit away and I’ll make food then.’

‘Um…where do I put them?’

He opened his wardrobe and pushed his clothes to the side. ‘Anything you can’t fit in there put in the bottom drawer, I think there’s some space.’

‘Okay, cheers.’

While he left to cook I emptied the bags and started putting the clothes into the wardrobe. When it was full I quickly stuffed the last couple of tee shirts into the drawer, then the underwear. I stared at the skimpy bra and knickers set he had forced me to get. I shook my head and shoved them into the back corner of the drawer.

Matt was taking a massive pizza out of the oven when I joined him in the kitchen. ‘You don’t really expect me to eat all that, do you?’ I asked, looking at it doubtfully.

He laughed. ‘It’ll be good as a snack if you don’t eat it all.’

‘Good point,’ I said, sitting at the table and taking a slice.

When I was done I took my plate to the sink. He washed it and my cereal bowl from that morning while I dried them. As I was finishing up Matt sat on the counter behind me to watch.

‘I can’t wait to see you in that underwear,’ he said suddenly. I glanced back at him and blushed fiercely. He laughed. ‘I’m only joking,’ he said. ‘I love making you blush. Its so cute.’ I looked down, embarrassed. ‘Come here.’ He put his hand out to me.

I took it and he gently pulled me forward, until I stood between his legs. He put my hand on his leg, holding it there, and put his other hand on my waist to pull me a little closer. He smiled at me slightly as his eyes glazed over and turned a gleaming red. He bent his head to kiss my cheek then moved down to my neck, his mouth hovering close to my skin. I stayed still a moment, hoping he’d just move away, but when I felt him move in I gasped and stepped away from him. His hands fell away from me and his eyes returned to normal.

‘Shit. I’m so sorry,’ he said, looking horrified. ‘Fuck, I shouldn’t have done that.’ He leapt down quickly and I stepped back even more. ‘Are you okay? You’re shaking.’

‘You…you were going to bite me,’ I accused quietly.

‘I know,’ he said softly. ‘I haven’t fed today. The bloodlust took over for a second. But I promise I won’t do anything to you now, I’m in control again. I’m sorry I scared you.’

I nodded, still shaking slightly. I leant back against the counter behind me to steady myself. He looked at me sadly and stepped towards me. He put his arms around me and I froze.

He broke away suddenly. ‘I should go out to feed. You’re too much of a temptation for me when I’m not desperate for blood.’

‘Okay,’ I smiled as best I could, still nervous.

‘I’ll be as quick as I can,’ he said. He grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair as he passed and left me alone. After a few moments I stood up straight and went to bed.

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I shifted slightly in my sleep and stiffened, my eyes snapping open, when I realised I had a pair of warm arms wrapped around me. I slowly began to relax as it dawned on me that it was only Matt, holding me against his bare chest. I lay on top of him slightly, me head resting on his chest while my chest rested on his torso. He moved down so our heads where level, his chin on my shoulder.

‘I’m sorry,’ he whispered yet again in my ear.

‘I forgive you,’ I whispered back.

He smiled and shifted again so my head was back to resting on his chest. I sighed softly and snuggled down to go back to sleep.

© Amber Williams 2008