You Just Broke Every Stereotype

I pulled my blanket tighter around me as Micah handed me a mug of hot chocolate. It was the next morning and I basically felt like crap. Not in a sick way, or in a physical pain sort of way. Just like general crap. Total crap.
“You feeling okay?” Micah asked as he pressed his hand to my forehead like moms do when they’re seeing if you have a fever.
“I’m fine. Just sore,” I sort of lied, taking a sip of my drink.
“Yeah. I know. Sorry, darling.” He gave me a sympathetic look.
I took another sip and let out a heavy sigh. Ryder skipped in with a pop-tart in his hand and sat cross-legged on the floor in front of me.
“How’s our favorite girlllll?” he asked. I just shrugged and drank more of my hot chocolate. Ryder held out his half-eaten pop-tart.
“Want a bite? It’s strawberryyy….”
I broke off a piece and popped it into my mouth. It hurt to swallow. My neck was sore. Oh yeah. Probably because I have multiple vampire bites.
“Don’t you worry your pretty little head about Kaige. He’s an asshole. We’ll take care of him,” continued Ryder.
“But vampires can’t die,” I pointed out.
“We can still keep him from hurting you.”
“How?”
Ryder was silent. He got up and ambled into the kitchen. I sank back into my seat. Yep. I’m dead. I thought. Wait. I’m in hell. I already died. Right? But I didn’t die. My parents did. Ugh. What the fuck. And what about Wolf. What am I going to do about Wolf? Wolf. You know. The vampire with the ironic name. The vampire that I’m in love with… Wait what?
I was battling with myself in my head when I felt a tap on my shoulder which brought me back to reality.
“You looked possessed there for a second,” said Micah.
“Sorry.”
“Woah! Guys! Since when do they make dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets?!” called Ryder from the kitchen. Dimitri grabbed a can of Mountain Dew from the fridge and mocked “Since forever, dumbass.”
“That’s sooo cool,” exclaimed Ryder as he examined each kind of dinosaur.
Wolf wandered out of his room and headed into the kitchen to join the excitement. He was wearing a white wifebeater and dark skinny jeans. I couldn’t help but stare.
Then I noticed a dark red streak on the side of his shirt. It looked like… dried blood?
“H-hey Wolf?” I asked.
“Yeah?” Wolf walked over to me with a chicken nugget in his hand.
“What’s that? On your shirt?” I pointed to the smear.
Wolf glanced down, then back up at me.
“Blood. We’re vampires. Remember…”
“But it’s in a straight line.”
“So?” he said, taking a bite of the dinosaur in his hand.
I reached for his shirt and tried to lift it just enough to see what he was hiding. I caught a glimpse of some dark red marks, but then Wolf slapped my hand away. Hard.
“What the fuck Jaydee?!” he snapped at me.
“Wolf… I—“
“I don’t give a shit. Don’t touch me.”
I was shaking. I wanted to disappear. I didn’t like this side of Wolf. I’d seen him furious… but not like this. Not directly at me.
“Wolf… You’re the one cutting yourself, aren’t you?” I said calmly.
His face flushed and you could see the anger wash away. Guilt took its place. I knew the answer to that question. I could have been angry. But I wasn’t. I could have yelled. But I didn’t. He wasn’t trying to hurt me… He was mad at himself. He was hurting himself because he felt guilty about what was happening to me . He thought it was his responsibility and his fault, and that he failed me. He was cutting because his anger turned inward. And he knew it was hurting me, but he also knew he could blame that part on Kaige.
“It’s okay. I’m not mad. I understand,” I said as I thought about the scars that covered my own stomach.
“I’m not trying to hurt you Jaydee…” he said, sounding pathetic.
“I know. It’s okay.”
I hadn’t noticed that the rest of the guys were staring at us. But there was an awkward silence until Ryder shattered it.
“Why your side, Wolf? Why not your wrists like a true emo?” he teased, in a semi-serious way.
“Wrists are hard to hide. Legs would hurt Jaydee more… I think. Side just feels like stomach pains to her. Which are common, right?” he turned to me.
“Mhm. Just like cramps,” I murmured. Actually, no. They feel like I’m getting stabbed… But I wouldn’t dare say that out loud.
Ryder just chuckled. But no one else did. It made him look like an asshole. But we knew he just handled serious situations with laughter. He shrugged things off, but deep down he really did care.
He took the weird looks we gave him as a cue to leave. Dimitri and Micah followed him out, and so did Lurk. Who I didn’t even notice was there in the first place.
I got up too. I looked at Wolf and planned to just walk away.
But I didn’t.
I leaned in and kissed him.
Fuck.