Lost Kisses

Hayley sat up in a flash. She was still wet, still covered in mud, still had make-up down her face, and she was still alive. Well, as alive as she could get.

Bangs of kitchen utensils floated up from two stories down. The only choice she had was to follow.
Rain, mud, and all, she plopped herself into a chair.

“You know, you really should clean up before presenting yourself at dinner. Especially like that.”

“Mmhmm.” she mumbled.

“And really, it’s not right to rest your head on your hands with your elbows on the table. Pick yourself up!” She did as she was told, still slouched over in her chair. “Alright Hayley, cut the crap. You’ve been depressed since school started three weeks ago. What’s gotten into you?”

“Mom wasn’t there to make my lunch.”

“She stopped making your lunch in the seventh grade.”

“Dad wasn’t there to drive me to school on his way to work.”

“You’ve been walking since the eighth grade!”

She paused, then looked up into her face. “It’s Dave. The last day of Summer I fed on him. He hasn’t talked to me since. He found out that I’m a freak too!” She buried her face in her hands.

“You’re not a freak.” Her Moms best friend put an arm around her. “And it’s one boy! It doesn’t mean your uh, life, is over.”

“It does when every other kid knows you’re a freak too!”
“Listen, you’re not a freak. You’re just different and that’s ok.”

Hayley knew that it wasn’t ok. She knew that Melinda was a liar and that being a pale, blood sucking freak who can go in the light, sleep during the night or stay up for days in a row, eat real food and slightly grow was not ok. It pretty much had every person you ever encountered take a label maker and write “FREAK” on your forehead. That’s not ok.

She looked at the steak on her plate with disgust. It was so rare, it could practically still be mooing. “I’m not hungry. Leave it in the fridge, I’ll eat later.” That was it. She pushed up from the table and disappeared (quite literally) into her room.

“Ring! Ring!” I’m not gonna answer. “Ring! Ring!” I REFUSE to answer. “Ring! RING!” Will you shut up and LEAVE ME ALONE?!

“Beep. Hey, its Hayley. Leave me a message ‘kay? Beep. Hayley its me Alice. Please pick up? I wanna talk to you. I…”

“Hey Alice.”

“Oh good! You’re home!”

“Yeah. Why’d you call?”

“David”

“Gone.”

“…what? What do you mean “gone”?”

“He never showed up. I come home and there’s a message. He said its over, he said not to come trying to get him back.”

Alice paused “Hayley?”

“Yeah?”

“Why do you think he left you? One day you two were fine and the next, you weren’t. He wasn’t talking to you and now, its over. I’m sorry, it just confuses me. You were perfect.”

“Ya know Alice, I really don’t know. I thought differently too. But listen, I gotta go, dinner’s ready.”

“Oh, ok, bye. And feel better?!”

“Yeah, I’ll try. Bye.”

She ventured across her room and onto the balcony. It was still warm and a bloated moon rose above the trees. Thankfully, the clouds had cleared away. She could see every twinkling star dancing around the moon to their own little melody.
Melody. That’s a pretty name. In one swift motion she jumped. The grass felt soft and damp under the pads of her feet and between her toes. It was nice for a walk. Her path plunged straight into the forest. Deeper and deeper her feet carried her until the twigs and trees stopped and they found the clearing.

She needed to be alone, to think, to analyze. What had gone wrong? He was going to trust me, I could tell! But something came, something changed fate. As she thought, tears flooded her eyes and began their fall downward. Why did it go and change?! Immediately her senses flared. Someone’s here. Her body pressed against the trunk of a tree still nestled in the forest. Her eyes darted this way and that searching for the intruder. She whipped her body around and found the boy.

He was standing in the path she came from with an amusing and curios smile on his face. He saw the hunter in her eyes and the red circles underneath. His smile quickly changed to a curious frown. “Are you alright?” She gasped. The hunger and thirst filled every vein in her body. Her hands caught her throat and she stumbled backwards in surprise. “Whoa! I’m sorry , I didn’t mean to startle you. Here, sit down.” He lead her to the one tree in the clearing and sat with her underneath it. “Who are you?”

“Well,” She laughed a little “I thought I was seventeen and invincible, but it looks like I was wrong.” Hayley raised her eyes and found his gaze

Slight amusement filled his eyes and a crooked smile covered his face, setting off a million butterflies in Hayley’s entire body. She noticed his strong jaw, lanky body, and that tousled chestnut hair. Have I ever felt this way before? She wanted to touch her body all over and look for any new things she may not have noticed before. She wanted to look for the place this feeling was coming from and ask its creator who, what, when, how, and most importantly, why?

“Well, I thought I was twenty three and invincible, but that didn’t work out so well either. I don’t think your mother named you seventeen though.

“oh, right.” The slightest blush bruised her cheeks. “I’m Hayley, and you are? We never, uh, really met before.”

“I’m sorry, my mistake. How rude of me? I’m William.”

Fondue drizzled over and swirled around her “William, Rebecca was my mother. She, well, she’s not with us anymore.”

His mouth fell open but like a gentleman he quickly shut it. “Wow, I’m so sorry. Its such a terrible loss to loose a mother. Terrible, terrible…” He put his hands in his pockets and looked off into the distance.

“How did you know my brother?”

“I knew her before she met this guy Mark. We had been good friends for about three years. I showed her how to be like me, I showed her what my life was like and taught her everything I knew. I was so blind to her, to women. She was only newly nineteen and I was twenty-three. I went and got a girlfriend and I think I broke her heart.
“I left with this girl for Italy and we went for nine months. I came back with her and found Rebecca about six months pregnant. I was so heartbroken, I never knew that I might have had feelings for her. I left the other girl and went back to Italy on my own. I never saw Rebecca again.”
“Mark’s my father,” She began “was my father. He died with my mother.”

“Where did Mark come from? Was he new made or was he old?”

“Mark was human.”

Grief, horror, shock and surprise shot William’s face all at once. “H-how did Rebecca die?”

“A year and a half ago the disease finally took over. My mother hated what she had done to Mark, what she made me. She wasn’t going to pick us up and make us move to a community with people all like herself. She tried to save us, not realizing that my father would die too and that I would be left alone and depressed. She was trying not to be selfish and I admire her for that. Mark would have rather died with her anyway.”

“Human doctors can’t fix a vampire disease. Didn’t she know what she was doing, what she was getting you into? Why didn’t I tell her that?! Why didn’t anyone tell her that!?”

Gently and carefully, Hayley raised her hand and pulled it on his cheek slowly turning his face toward her. “It’s ok, you didn’t kill my mother. She was warned. I was an accident. Nineteen isn’t the proper age to have a daughter even for a vampire, you know?”

He let his gaze linger on her features, then let his hand cover the one resting on his cheek. “Your just like your mother. Her spitting image. Same personality, same voice, same touch.” He removed her hand with his for emphasis. “I’m sorry if I hurt you with all this talk about your parents.”

“But thank you, thank you for talking to me. I’m actually feeling quite good right now, and I haven’t felt good in a long time. I don’t have anyone who understands, anyone who I can talk to about it with ought having to try to explain myself.” A smile found its way to her lips as she stood. “I better be getting back.”

“Yes, its late, and you’re welcome. Any time, its my pleasure.” He bent down and kissed her hand. “Tomorrow night, here?”

“Would this be a date?” Hayley added an uneasy laugh.

“Only if you want it to be. I know it must be odd knowing my past relationship with your mother, but I can promise you that its not just the things you have of your mothers that I’m so fascinated by. Hayley, there’s something about you, a bright sparkling light burning inside you that I really can’t explain. But it stole my heart and gave it to you. I hope this isn’t too fast. I like you, Hayley, I really do.”

“William, I…”

“Shh, don’t say anymore. We’ll talk more tomorrow. Goodnight.”

In a flash he disappeared through the forest. He left Hayley with a tingling feeling outlining the kiss on her hand, and a thousand butterflies fluttering through her entire being just begging to be released.

Chapter 3: School is spelled P-R-I-S-I-ON

Later that night Hayley lay wrapped up in her blankets. The rain fell outside her window and made tapping noises on the concrete of the balcony. It was a peaceful feeling for once.

Somewhere in her dreams, Hayley sat on a couch in a living room watching late night television. Her own house, her own T.V.. A young girl sat next to her, her world absorbed by a book, her daughter. Hayley watched the way the girls legs were curled up next to the slender body, half on the couch and half on the recliner.

The girl had soft waves of brown hair that fell onto her shoulders and side-bangs that covered her one eye as her head bent reading. She wore plenty of bright colored bracelets on her one wrist and silver sparkling nail-polish on her fingers and toes. On her ring finger was a silver band with her name in script. But in Hayley’s dream the name was illegible. Then, on her right wrist was a sparkling bracelet of silver hearts, given to her by someone she loved and idolized.

There was one thing on her daughter that Hayley loved the most, though. It was her eyes. They were deep and luscious brown. They mirrored and reminded her of the eyes set into the man she loved. The man who helped her make this little girl.

The father, where is her father? Hayley whipped her head back and forth frantically. She stood up and scanned the room looking for him. Where could he be? It seemed like she searched everywhere, like she had searched every room in the house looking for the one with wavy brown hair and eyes she was addicted to. The one who was just like her. But he wasn’t there.

She woke up to what seemed like a shadow floating across her eyelids. But when she looked to her left, to the balcony doors where the sun and moon rose, nobody was there. Peering down at her clock it read 7:30. Hayley sat up, yawned and stretched, then pulled herself out of bed. What to wear today?

Her room was big and modern. Hayley was lucky Melinda was so kind. She walked over to her dresser and stood before it. Her peach silk nightgown formed to her chest and waist. It wasn’t too sexy, but it wasn’t too elegant either.

Hayley strode to the left past her bedroom door and into her walk in closet. I need to look good today. I need too look sexy and cool. She pulled out her jean skirt, a white low cut tank top and her form fitting leather jacket. Perfect.

“I’m just going to have a doughnut today, ‘kay Melinda?”

“Well someone’s in better spirits today.” Melinda watched Hayley glide through the kitchen and pull her breakfast out of the fridge.

“Yeah, I don’t know why really. I just feel good.”

“Well, as long as it stays that way I’m certainly happy. Tell Alice I say ‘hi!’”

Hayley grabbed her bag off the hook on the wall and took the front steps down two at a time. Let’s go meet Alice. She walked up Maine Street to the school. Half way there was Alice, sitting on her front lawn playing her acoustic guitar.

“Hayley hey!” Alice ran inside and dropped her guitar at the front door. Then she stumbled across the lawn, grabbing her bag from under the tree as she went. “What’s up?”

Hayley hesitated a moment. Should I tell her? But decided to hold just one dirty little secret a little while longer. “Not much, actually in a good mood today you?”

“Me? Well, I’m trying to dress like you. How am I doing?”

Alice was wearing a ripped and faded pair of skinny jeans, a black tank top, and a red and black plaid button down. Except the button down was opened. “Cute. Hrm, I might just wear it myself.”

“Well, I must say, that’s a relief.” Alice laughed and linked her arm in Hayley’s. “Have I ever told you that I know you better than anyone else?”

“Why no, you haven’t. But you know, that’s a relief too considering you’re my best friend and you should.” She’s done and gone found me out.

“Well, lets just say I kind of know something that you absolutely know but just haven’t told me yet.”

“Oh really?”

“Yes and I would like you to tell me pronto.” Alice spun around facing Hayley, completely blocking the sidewalk in front of the school. “Spill.”

Hayley let out a sigh of air. “Ok, can we leave it at this? I’m going to tell you that you’re right.” Alice smiled in spite of herself. “But I’m also going to tell you that I can’t tell you because I’m not even so sure yet. Pinky promise that when I find out completely I’ll let you in on all the details?”

Alice seemed to consider the offer. “Only because I understood what you just said and no body else probably would, sure” Both girls linked pinkies and pulled down in agreement just as the bell rang. “Let me know if anything interesting happens in class ok? I got to fly.” Alice ran up the lawn and into the school building.

. . . . . . . .

“Hayley! Hey girl, what’s up?” Hayley spun around at her locker and found herself face-to-face with the ones she used to call her best friends.

“Nothing. You?” She eyed the girl up and down. She had long legs, slim waist, a chest all the boys wanted to get at, and sand colored hair that fell in waves of gold just past her shoulders. Plus, she was wearing the latest style of skinny jeans, a plaid shirt with the top button opened, and chocolate brown Ugg boots.

“Oh, you know. Just ruling the school like I do. Anyway, enough about me, I need some info about you.”

“Me? Fine. What?” Hayley wasn’t going to give any kind of nice attitude to the girl who kicked her onto the street like a lost dog begging for food.

“I wanna know about you and Dave, Hayley. I want to know your status. Is it true? Are you two over? Because if it is, I’d be more than happy to get him off of your mind for you. You know, take him into my hands.” She smiled wide enough so that to the cameras monitoring their school halls, it looked like a simple confrontation. To Hayley, it meant there was only one answer she could give, so she better give it right.

“Go ahead Stacey, take him. He was too afraid to do anything anyway.” Hayley slammed her locker shut, turned on her heel, and took a long strut down the hallway.

. . . . . . . .

As the bell rang for first period, Hayley slid into her desk in one of the History rooms. Her teacher was beginning to pass out papers. “We are doing and in-class project today. You are working with the person in front of you. No exceptions. When you get the paper you may begin.”

Hayley bit the inside of her cheek and gave a low growl only she could hear. Of course she would get stuck with the person in front of her. Of course she couldn’t just work with the dumb blonde beside her. She had to work with the Italian boy sitting in front of her. The one with the lean body, silky brown hair, and hazelnut eyes. She had to work with Dave.

“Hey.” he gave her a sheepish smile.

Don’t be mean to him. Remember, it’s mainly your fault that things are like this anyway. “Hey. So, do you have any idea what were supposed to be doing here?” She held the paper up to him.

“Actually no, let me see.” He looked it over briefly. “We can still be friends, right?”

Hayley didn’t know what to say. What could she say? He had left her, quite brutally in her mind, should she really just forgive him and let it go like she didn’t spend all of yesterday crying? But then again, she had put him in with the supernatural, a world he wouldn’t believe. Hayley couldn’t imagine handling that torture if not being borne into it. “Yeah, of course.” She gave him her best smile.

“Cool.” He genuinely smiled back and went back to reading their paper. “Well, it looks like were supposed to be making a mini poster. ‘Divide the poster into four and illustrate the four main causes of the war with detailed descriptions’.” He read “Sounds easy enough.”

She gave her best Cheerleader-Team smile “How about we divide our work, you search the book and I’ll illustrate and write?”

“Sure! I’ll get right on it” Dave spun around in his chair and as soon as he wasn’t looking, Hayley let down her smile. I hate him. She placed her head on her left hand and sighed, then saw something. She swiveled her head to the left toward the window and gapped out in shock. There, standing across the street from the school was William.

. . . . . . . .

By lunch, Hayley was exhausted. Her brain was utterly confused and her school work was going down the drain. “Alice, they’re going to kick me off the team!”

“Oh, they will not! Coach loves you! Plus, you’re our star cheerleader, our Varsity Captain!” Alice stabbed her salad with her fork. “We loose you, we loose at competition. Easy as that.”

“I’m sorry Alice, but our reigning title of State Champions does not overlook the rule that my grades can’t keep me on the team. If anyone found out, we’d be disqualified before we could even spell competition.”

“Then study! Really, its not that hard.”

Hayley sighed and leaned over the table so her face was inches away from Alice’s. She lowered her voice and sternly, she said “Listen, we’re dealing with the most emotionally depressed cheerleader to ever be on this squad in the history of the school. Her parents died and she can’t get over it, her boyfriend just randomly broke up with her, and her used to be best friend has already stolen her popularity position and is inches away from stealing her role as Varsity Captain. Plus, if she were blonde, the label “Dumb Blonde” would apply nicely here. We’re not all as brilliant as you, Alice.”

Hayley pulled away and stared down at her tray. “Sorry about that.”

“No, no. It’s alright. You’re right. We have a lot more at stake here, it’s not easy.”

“So what am I supposed to do?”

“We’ve got to work harder than we’ve ever worked before. We need you Hayley. More than you will ever know.”