I'm Not a Monster I Promise

I dressed in a rush for school that morning and had to speed to make it to my first class on time. I was on pins and needles waiting for art, something I was excited for but never this excited for.

It was as if the day was set on slow motion and I began to worry when I didn’t find him at lunch. I realized then just how much and how fast I had fallen for Rane McKinley. It was a huge let down when art class begun and there was still no sign of Rane.

“I saw you with Rane Tuesday,” I glanced up as Sarah stood next to me, hands on her hips.

“Yeah, he wanted to talk,” I muttered.

“Mhm, why don’t you stay away from him?” she asked. “He’s mine and he wouldn’t want a loser like you any way.”

Maybe it was the fact that I hadn’t seen Rane all day or if it was just a bad day but Sarah had struck a nerve and she’d struck it good. “Why don’t you just go sit down with your stupid little friends and leave me the fuck alone?” I snarled.

“You little whore,” she spat.

“Mm, says the girl whose easy,” I was feisty and I didn’t care what the price would be.

“You are so dead,” she glared. I was surprised Ms. Rose hadn’t noticed our little argument.

“Bring it on,” I growled. It was a shock when her hand collided with my cheek. I held my hand to my face and threw caution as I had just done with everything else, to the wind. My hand was just about to collide with her ugly face when it met a hand instead. I looked up to see Rane with a scowl on his face.

He cupped my cheek softly and I flinched. “Tender,” he murmured. “Go sit,” he told Sarah with a glare. “Come on,” he said as he took my hand and led me into the hall. Ms. Rose seemed oblivious as we passed.

“You should have let me hit her,” I mumbled as we got to my locker.

“You would have regretted it,” he answered bluntly.

“Rane, what’s going on?” I asked.

“Mia, after today, you won’t remember anything about me or vampires,” he said suddenly.

“What do you mean I won’t remember?” I smiled. “How could I forget?”

“The same way that your parents will,” he responded, seriously.

“What have you done to my parents?” I asked as panic wedged its way in my throat.

His lips crashed to mine in a desperate, powerful, mind altering kiss and then he gazed into my eyes. “Mia Carmichael, you never met me, you don’t know who I am, you don’t know what I am; you think vampires are just things of fantasy. I never existed, and your parents are not hunters, they work as CEO’s for two local companies.” His lips brushed my forehead before I watched in a daze, as he walked out the doors and out of my life.

I starred at the photo of us standing in front of my locker, I hadn’t even realized that the year book photographer had been there to snap the picture, obviously Rane hadn’t either. It didn’t matter how many times I repeated his words to myself, it just didn’t matter. He had only thought he’d erased my memory but he hadn’t. It’d been the first thing my parents had taught me; when a vampire tries to erase your memory chant something to yourself. I had chanted Cara Mia over and over, hoping it was true and I was his beloved.

In the end, he might have left my memory intact but instead, he’d stolen my beating heart.