Animal Attraction

Paul held me as the police and CSU came and started to take pictures of the whole crime scene. I felt so safe and good in Paul’s arms, but that didn’t stop the flashes of seeing Mr. Markey’s decapitated head inside of my head over and over again. I whimpered and hid my face in his chest. He held me tight.

“I wish I could protect you from this,” he whispered. “How can I make you feel better, baby?”

“Just like this,” I said back.

My mom and the others arrived and I felt Paul, and went to my mother. I cried into her chest. Police had called them.

“Baby, it’s all right,” she told me. “I’m here.”

I saw Angie and for the first time I didn’t see the snobby look on her face. She looked… worried. I was passed over to Landon while my mom went over to the police and talked to them. I hugged Landon and he placed his arms around me. It felt good. For the first time in my life I had my dad.

“It’s going to be okay, love,” he stroke my hair.

“What an awful thing to do to an elderly man? Who would do such a thing?” Maggie spoke.

A vampire. A vindictive vampire.

Hours later, after giving a statement to the police, it was okay for me to go home. I went with Paul because I knew his company would make me feel better. I didn’t put on any music. Paul tried to get me to talk, but I just didn’t want to talk, not yet.

I needed a smoke.

When I got home, I convinced him that I was okay. I got out of the car and soon my mom and the others arrived. I went straight to my room and locked myself. I went to my closet. I got on my knees and opened the weak floorboard and lifted it. There was my stash. It was Marijuana. I’m not much of a needle person. I went over to my window and started to make myself a blunt.

I was done pretty quickly. I found my lighter and I opened my window. I brought the wrapped blunt to my lips and lit it. Immediately the smoke filled my lungs and the fear, and shock was washed away. I’m not a druggie, but every once in a while I liked to smoke some weed. I wasn’t an addict, and I know many people say that, but I prefer cigarettes over weed, so I’m not an addict.

Plus, a cigarette wouldn’t be enough for me, not at the moment.

You’d be pretty fucked up if you saw a body without a head, especially if it was someone you truly cared about. It was a miracle I didn’t just break down into sobs and hysteria.

“Erin, please let me in.” It was Jared.

My best friend.

I turned off the blunt. I sprayed some air deodorant. I walked over to my door and unlocked it. Jared slipped in. I wrapped my arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around me. He picked me up easily and walked over to my bed. He sat down and placed me on his lap.

We just sat there for a little while. I wasn’t even crying.

“He’s dead because of me.”

He shook his head. “Don’t say that. It was… our mistake. We didn’t think the leech would harm him.”

“What are we going to do?”

“You’re not going to do anything. Paul and I and the rest of the guys are going to take care of this once and for all.”

“Do you know where he is?”

He nodded. “In the note. He told us he wants a showdown with Paul.”

“No! Paul is going to get himself killed.”

“Paul is strong, Erin,” he sniffed around. “Were you smoking weed?!”

I smiled. “Just a little.”

“Erin,” he warned.

“Erin.” I mocked him.

“Getting high is not going to solve anything.”

“Nope, but it sure makes everything better.”

“Paul isn’t--”

“Paul doesn’t have to know,” I interjected.

He placed me on the bed and got up. “I know this is hard for you, but I’m not letting you go back to your old ways. You were clean for five whole months, Erin! Why ruin it?!”

I shrugged. I was surprised he was so upset.

I played with the hem of my shirt. “I don’t know… it’s… complicated.”

He looked around and then he went to my window. I tried to get to him, but since I was high my reflexes were slow as fuck and he found my stash. He quickly threw it out the window.

“Noooo!!!” I whined. “You bastard!”

“You’re not doing this again.”

He walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.

“Dumb piece of… damn… I can’t even curse him out loud.”

He was doing what was best for me. And yes, I was sober for five whole months. I was doing so well, but pressure and seeing a dead body was just the breaking point.

The munchies comes when being high. I sprayed some perfume on me and went downstairs. No one said anything as I took out a bunch of food and started to eat.

I made myself a big sandwich, with a lot of chips, and a soda. I ate that and then got some more chips. I knew the red eyes would look like as if I had been crying, so I didn’t have to worry about that.

For the rest of the day, I spent it watching TV with Sean. He didn’t sympathizes me and I was grateful for that. I knew he was sorry for what happened, but he didn’t treat me any differently. I laughed at almost anything. I was left silent after the high wore off. I didn’t laugh as much, but I didn’t act like a cactus either. I just went back to my old self. At night, I called Paul, but he didn’t answer me.

I called Jared and he didn’t answer me either.

I went back to my room. I was messing around with my phone when out of the corner of my eye I noticed a piece of paper on my desk. I didn’t recognize it, so I walked over to my desk. I picked up the paper and unfolded it.

Your boyfriend is next.

My heart raced. The door opened and I screamed, Angie screamed too. I stopped when I realized it was her. I placed my hand over my heart.

“Damn it, Angie,” I said breathless, “you scared me.”

“I scared you? You were the one who screamed.”

“Can I help you with something?” I asked trying not to sound bitchy but it didn’t work.

“I was getting my towel because I’m going to shower. Aren’t you going to get out of those bloody clothes?”

I looked down and saw that I was still wearing the shorts. I don’t know why I didn’t take them off. It was the furthest thing from my mind. She got her towel and when she was gone I walked over to my window. I hoped the fucker was looking and I flicked off the darkness.

I closed the blinds and went to my closet. I placed back the loose board and grabbed my pajamas. I changed quickly into them. I looked back at the note. I called Paul again, but this time I left a message.

Five minutes later there was tapping on my window. I jumped thinking it was the vampire, but then I thought ‘why would he tap my window?’.

I walked over to it and lifted the blinds. Paul held a hard look on his face. I opened the window and let him in. His chest heaved up and down, I loved it when he did that.

“Let me see the note,” he said. I gave it to him and he compared it to the other one. “It’s the same handwriting. He was in your room.” He gritted his teeth.

“I was downstairs with the others,” I said.

He looked at my face and he cupped one side of it with his large hand. I leaned on it. He was so warm and I was so cold.

“Stay with me?”

He pressed his lips together to keep himself from saying yes, I just knew it.

He shook his head. “I have to protect you.”

“You can protect me from here.”

“Angie sleeps here with you, I don’t want to get you in trouble.”

I chuckled. “A few weeks ago you wouldn’t have minded me getting in trouble.”

He chuckled too. “Yeah, true, but I love you now, Erin. I loved you even before the Imprint… I was just too proud to admit it to myself.”