Trembling With the Strings
Best Friends
“I didn’t mean to hurt her!” I cried, begging Darius to let go. He snarled at me as he dragged me up the stairs.
“I don’t fucking care!” he screamed, shoving me ahead of him. I stumbled over the last step before falling to the wall. Darius grabbed me roughly before pushing me further down the hall.
“I’m sorry!” I stumbled again as I tried to stop, but suddenly Darius slammed my back to the wall, crushing his body tightly against mine and holding me there. I had to struggle just to breathe. “I’m sorry!” I already felt tears streaming down my cheeks.
“I know that, Gracie,” he purred in my ear. “I know you’re so sorry. Babe, Marcy is in her room crying right now. She liked you so much,” he mumbled, his hands trailing up my thighs before resting them on my hips. “Best friends shouldn’t make their best friends bawl their eyes out. That’s not how it works, love.” He put his lips to my neck and I shivered as I felt his tongue licking my skin slowly, seductively. I took in raspy breaths as I remembered the pain I would be feeling if he chose to bite down. “Don’t give me any ideas.”
“Please, let me go apologize,” I begged, not wanting Marcy to be upset with me. “You can put me through all the pain you want, just please let me go ease hers.” A confused look crossed Darius’ face before a small smirk overtook that emotion.
“Of course, love.” He tore his body from mine and shoved me to her door. I took in a deep breath.
“Marcy?” I called, rapping softly on the door. I heard muffled sobs before the door was pulled open. I smiled painfully at her. “I didn’t mean it—I wasn’t thinking. I’m really, really sorry. I would never hurt my best friend.”
“Best friend?” she asked, watching my face closely as if checking me for a lie. I smiled, nodding.
“Yeah: my best friend in the whole world.”
“Oh, Gracie!” she squealed, pulling me into a tight embrace. “Okay, I want you to see something.” She pulled me in and slammed the door. I didn’t hear Darius protest once. She tugged me over to her bed and threw me on it before jumping down beside me. She opened a small, deep purple book with “Marcella-Caitlyn Jameson” embroidered in the top center in black calligraphy. I stared curiously as she leafed through the pages. “You know, I wasn’t always a bloodsucker.”
“What do you mean? Weren’t you born a—vampire?” I chose to use nicer terms than her.
“No, no. Darius and I aren’t really Daddy’s kids. We were thirteen at the time he found us. It was 1974 in Lansing. We were on a family trip to Savannakhet, Laos because my step-father had family ties there. But on the way there, there was this fight. My step-dad tried to break it up, but he just managed to get himself stabbed in the heart. My mom tried to hurry us away, but she was too busy focusing on us that she didn’t see the man coming up behind her. We’d just watched our parents get murdered before our very eyes and we had nowhere to go. All we cared about was protecting each other since our parents hadn’t written a will and we didn’t know the way to our relatives’ home.
“Then Darius came down with this illness. I didn’t know what was wrong with him, but he kept complaining of these horrible headaches that would leave him bawling on the floor, curled up in a tight ball. He’d then start shivering violently and vomiting and then he just went into a state of shock. I was terrified of what was happening, so I took him to the nearest hospital. I thought he had influenza, but they told me that his kidneys were failing.
“I asked them if he’d be okay soon. They asked me what I knew about the human body and I knew nothing, of course. They told me he wouldn’t last much longer without kidneys. But I couldn’t afford him an organ transplant! I just sat there crying beside him as he slowly withered away. I prayed to God that he would save him, but Darius was just getting worse with each second.
“To make things worse, I started to notice I, too, was starting to feel a bit weak. I’d start shivering and I got a fever soon after. I didn’t care to bother the doctors with my small problems because I wanted them to help Dray. I didn’t need to take their focus from him. I’d go into these terrible fits of coughing and the doctors finally did something and told me I had tuberculosis. Honestly, what are the odds of two twins both dying? I simply don’t know. Nonetheless, without the right medicine I was too far gone.
“But then Drakken came. He told me he was a physician studying up on some diseases in Southern Asia. I know now that he was lying, but at the time I was willing to hope. I begged him to save my brother: his kidneys were failing. I told him I didn’t have much time either, but I only cared about Darius making it out okay.
“Drakken distracted me with stories of his past and random nothings: anything to keep my mind off of the pain I was going through. He told me he would save both me and my brother for no monetary reward. I had no idea he meant to turn me into a vampire. He changed me first since I was the most unstable and while I was writhing in the pain of venom pumping through my veins, I saw him bite Darius. I screamed, but the pain overtook me. The next time I opened my eyes and fully took everything in, the pain was gone and everything was so much clearer. My senses were heightened. He took us home with him and we learned that his wife was expecting a child. They would be having a baby boy in five months. He would be a vampire: Dante. It’s been so long since then. And we’ve now been vampires for eighteen years.”
“I had no idea,” I whispered softly after a moment of silence passed between us.
“Of course not. But don’t hold Darius’ past against him. He loves being ‘better’ than the rest of the population. He enjoys the thrill of knowing what a person is thinking when they’re staring death in the face. I don’t know what happened to my sweet brother...”
“I would have liked to know the nice Darius,” I mumbled jokingly. She smiled.
“I’d love to see him smile like he used to. But I’m sure he’s mad at me for keeping you. Here, you can take my journal. Read all you want and maybe you’ll understand things more. Try to see the world through our view: we were abandoned and left for dead by the God we so desperately prayed to believe in.”
“I’ll try,” I promised, taking the book gently in my hands.
“Darius has one, too. I’m sure if you look hard enough, you’ll find it,” she whispered. She then embraced me quickly before pushing me out her room and to a waiting Darius.
I had known the punishment was coming, but as soon as I stepped out that door, he’d knocked me to the wall and done just as I told him he could. He was merciless, but I’d been expecting it and I thanked God for when he finally bit me and made me fall into a blissful darkness...
“I don’t fucking care!” he screamed, shoving me ahead of him. I stumbled over the last step before falling to the wall. Darius grabbed me roughly before pushing me further down the hall.
“I’m sorry!” I stumbled again as I tried to stop, but suddenly Darius slammed my back to the wall, crushing his body tightly against mine and holding me there. I had to struggle just to breathe. “I’m sorry!” I already felt tears streaming down my cheeks.
“I know that, Gracie,” he purred in my ear. “I know you’re so sorry. Babe, Marcy is in her room crying right now. She liked you so much,” he mumbled, his hands trailing up my thighs before resting them on my hips. “Best friends shouldn’t make their best friends bawl their eyes out. That’s not how it works, love.” He put his lips to my neck and I shivered as I felt his tongue licking my skin slowly, seductively. I took in raspy breaths as I remembered the pain I would be feeling if he chose to bite down. “Don’t give me any ideas.”
“Please, let me go apologize,” I begged, not wanting Marcy to be upset with me. “You can put me through all the pain you want, just please let me go ease hers.” A confused look crossed Darius’ face before a small smirk overtook that emotion.
“Of course, love.” He tore his body from mine and shoved me to her door. I took in a deep breath.
“Marcy?” I called, rapping softly on the door. I heard muffled sobs before the door was pulled open. I smiled painfully at her. “I didn’t mean it—I wasn’t thinking. I’m really, really sorry. I would never hurt my best friend.”
“Best friend?” she asked, watching my face closely as if checking me for a lie. I smiled, nodding.
“Yeah: my best friend in the whole world.”
“Oh, Gracie!” she squealed, pulling me into a tight embrace. “Okay, I want you to see something.” She pulled me in and slammed the door. I didn’t hear Darius protest once. She tugged me over to her bed and threw me on it before jumping down beside me. She opened a small, deep purple book with “Marcella-Caitlyn Jameson” embroidered in the top center in black calligraphy. I stared curiously as she leafed through the pages. “You know, I wasn’t always a bloodsucker.”
“What do you mean? Weren’t you born a—vampire?” I chose to use nicer terms than her.
“No, no. Darius and I aren’t really Daddy’s kids. We were thirteen at the time he found us. It was 1974 in Lansing. We were on a family trip to Savannakhet, Laos because my step-father had family ties there. But on the way there, there was this fight. My step-dad tried to break it up, but he just managed to get himself stabbed in the heart. My mom tried to hurry us away, but she was too busy focusing on us that she didn’t see the man coming up behind her. We’d just watched our parents get murdered before our very eyes and we had nowhere to go. All we cared about was protecting each other since our parents hadn’t written a will and we didn’t know the way to our relatives’ home.
“Then Darius came down with this illness. I didn’t know what was wrong with him, but he kept complaining of these horrible headaches that would leave him bawling on the floor, curled up in a tight ball. He’d then start shivering violently and vomiting and then he just went into a state of shock. I was terrified of what was happening, so I took him to the nearest hospital. I thought he had influenza, but they told me that his kidneys were failing.
“I asked them if he’d be okay soon. They asked me what I knew about the human body and I knew nothing, of course. They told me he wouldn’t last much longer without kidneys. But I couldn’t afford him an organ transplant! I just sat there crying beside him as he slowly withered away. I prayed to God that he would save him, but Darius was just getting worse with each second.
“To make things worse, I started to notice I, too, was starting to feel a bit weak. I’d start shivering and I got a fever soon after. I didn’t care to bother the doctors with my small problems because I wanted them to help Dray. I didn’t need to take their focus from him. I’d go into these terrible fits of coughing and the doctors finally did something and told me I had tuberculosis. Honestly, what are the odds of two twins both dying? I simply don’t know. Nonetheless, without the right medicine I was too far gone.
“But then Drakken came. He told me he was a physician studying up on some diseases in Southern Asia. I know now that he was lying, but at the time I was willing to hope. I begged him to save my brother: his kidneys were failing. I told him I didn’t have much time either, but I only cared about Darius making it out okay.
“Drakken distracted me with stories of his past and random nothings: anything to keep my mind off of the pain I was going through. He told me he would save both me and my brother for no monetary reward. I had no idea he meant to turn me into a vampire. He changed me first since I was the most unstable and while I was writhing in the pain of venom pumping through my veins, I saw him bite Darius. I screamed, but the pain overtook me. The next time I opened my eyes and fully took everything in, the pain was gone and everything was so much clearer. My senses were heightened. He took us home with him and we learned that his wife was expecting a child. They would be having a baby boy in five months. He would be a vampire: Dante. It’s been so long since then. And we’ve now been vampires for eighteen years.”
“I had no idea,” I whispered softly after a moment of silence passed between us.
“Of course not. But don’t hold Darius’ past against him. He loves being ‘better’ than the rest of the population. He enjoys the thrill of knowing what a person is thinking when they’re staring death in the face. I don’t know what happened to my sweet brother...”
“I would have liked to know the nice Darius,” I mumbled jokingly. She smiled.
“I’d love to see him smile like he used to. But I’m sure he’s mad at me for keeping you. Here, you can take my journal. Read all you want and maybe you’ll understand things more. Try to see the world through our view: we were abandoned and left for dead by the God we so desperately prayed to believe in.”
“I’ll try,” I promised, taking the book gently in my hands.
“Darius has one, too. I’m sure if you look hard enough, you’ll find it,” she whispered. She then embraced me quickly before pushing me out her room and to a waiting Darius.
I had known the punishment was coming, but as soon as I stepped out that door, he’d knocked me to the wall and done just as I told him he could. He was merciless, but I’d been expecting it and I thanked God for when he finally bit me and made me fall into a blissful darkness...