Vampiric Visits

I stared around my room, taking in the bright pink walls. In a year, I'd be graduating from high school and heading off to college. That was quite a way off still, but my summer vacation had just started and I found myself worrying about when the time to leave this place would come.

I glanced at the clock, noting that it was around the time where Gastov would pay his visits. I closed my eyes, breathing deeply and calmly for a few moments.

I still hadn't seen Gastov since that one Tuesday night. I worried about him, wondering if he was alright. I still thought about the short kiss we shared. Where could you be, Gastov?

Not much progress had been made with Nate and I. May was absolutely overjoyed when I told her that Nate had kissed me. She was so excited about my relationship with him.

The sound of my window being pushed open startled me, and I turned around immediately. A small piece of me was hoping that it would be Gastov.

Nate smiled at me as he sat on the window ledge. This had become a habit for him: sneaking in through my bedroom window to check on me, and see if I was alright. I rolled my eyes at him, but couldn't keep the smile from appearing on my face.

"Hey, Nate."

"How are you doing tonight, Anna?" he asked, drumming his fingers against the siding of my house.

"I'm doing fine," I laughed a little. "Honestly, I am fine. There is no need to check up on me."

"But you're always a little out of it... I'm just worried, you know," he shrugged.

"Well, I'm fine. How are you?"

"I'm fine, as well," he nodded. "I'll be going now." He winked at me as he climbed away.

I sighed, walking over to the open window and watching him. I smiled and waved at him before he started walking down the street. My gaze then traveled around the scenery outside.

I admired the way the shadows fell around the trees and grass, the street lamps giving everything an eerie feel. A light smile graced my lips.

"Gastov, where are you?" I asked the night. I pushed my window closed, sighing again as I made my way to my bed. I truly missed him.

The next day, while my mother had taken my younger sisters shopping, I sat on the couch in the family room and watched one of my favorite movies: Monsters Incorporated. This would get my mind off of all the weird things happening in my life.

Halfway into the movie and through a bowl of popcorn, there was a knock on the door. I let out a sigh, paused the movie and set my bowl of popcorn down as I got up.

"Just a minute!" I called out; hoping that whoever was on the other side of the door could hear me. I stumbled over the furniture in the room before I finally reached the door.

Shocked to find Gastov standing in the doorway- in broad daylight- when I opened the door, I accidentally let out a small gasp. The smile on his face at the sight of me sent my heart beating in a crazy, quick pattern.

"Gastov, you're... here."

"Indeed I am, Anna," he nodded, and as his hair shifted about his face, I noticed that something was missing. I reached forward, brushing his hair back out of his eyes with my fingers. A gasp escaped me again.

"Gastov, your... eye..."

His left eye, the one that had the demon pupil, was still there; however, his right eye had been removed. It was a horrifying sight to take in. A sad smile covered his lips, and he removed my hands from his face to cover his eye with an eye-patch.

"It was a punishment for being with you when I was," he explained. A sickening feeling moved through me as I took in what he said.

"This was done to you... because of me?" I reached out to tenderly touch his cheek.

"It's not so bad," he shrugged.

"Gastov..." I threw my arms around him, holding my chin up over his shoulder as I hugged him. "If I'm such a danger for you to be around, why did you come back?" His arms wrapped around me, his hands pressing into my back and holding me close.

"I had to tell you the reason behind my absence," he murmured into my hair.

We remained silent for a long moment, Gastov holding tightly onto me.

"Anna..." he whispered, breathing a sigh afterward. "Tonight will be our last night together, and then I will have to leave your life permanently." I pressed my face into his chest then, squeezing my eyes shut tight as I felt the pain of his words sink into me. "We can have the remainder of the day together, if you wish."

"Yes, I... I would like that," I pulled back a little, looking up at his face. His smile was calm and gentle, almost too peaceful on a day like this one.

"Would you like to go anywhere?" he asked.

"...I don't know. I never thought I'd see you outside during daylight hours," I laughed a little, thinking hard about several locations. The two of us could head to the park and mess around there, but the park didn't seem quite right.

"I do usually sleep at this hour, but today is an exception. I, as well, never thought I'd see you in your realm of day." A peaceful sensation fell over me. The world where the sun shone brightly was my kingdom, and the kingdom to any other Faerie of the sun.

"So, Nagostien, do you have any plans in mind?"

"Well, no. I mean, this is on such short notice; I wasn't expecting you to ever come back." I pulled out of his hold, grabbing his wrist and pulling him inside the house. "Come on. Any plans will be decided in here. It really is a little too warm out there." I shut the door behind us, bringing him over to the couch in the family room.

Gastov looked around, finally taking in the sight of a room in this house that I did not sleep in.

"It is lovelier in here than I expected," he murmured, not really speaking the words to me. Distraction was written all over his features as he glanced around.

"Well, it is nice in here." I tried to see the room the way he would be looking at it. I imagined that I was a vampire who had never been inside this house before. I realized that once you've lived in a place long enough, you began to take what's there for granted. The place didn't seem to be new or exciting anymore.

"Yeah, very nice," I assured myself. The placement of the furniture and decorations along with the color scheme were rather pleasing to the eye.

Gastov turned to me again, and I felt a little odd: looking at him with that eye-patch covering up his missing eye. I felt pained still that the reason behind it was me. I was to blame for his pain, and I felt ashamed of myself for wanting to be near him. We truly could not be together, and that fact was really sinking in then.

"So, do you truly not have any ideas about how we could spend the day?"

My cheeks heated up a little as another thought flashed through my mind, and I turned away from him. As if on auto-pilot, I wandered into the kitchen to grab a sticky note and pen to write a note for my mom.

"I was thinking that we could head out to the park," I mumbled as I wrote.

Going out, be back later. Love you, mom. I stuck the note to the refrigerator after I finished writing in.

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea," he nodded, having followed me into the kitchen. "Do you want to just wander around and talk, then?"

"Yes, but not a word should be breathed about magic or anything like that," I pointed at him as I spoke. Gastov shot me a look.

"Anna, I've known about these things for a lot longer than you have. Don't you think that I know not to speak about them while out in human public already?" I sighed, nodding. There was logic that I had not seen to his words. He smiled down at me and took my hand in his.

"Are we ready to leave, then?"

"I have to get my shoes on first," I told him, pulling my hand out of his.

"No, you don't," he bent to pull his own shoes off. I raised my eyebrows, causing a laugh to echo from him.

"Well, any normal person wears shoes when they're outside," I began to walk over to where my own shoes were placed.

"Honestly, as long as you look out for things that could injure the soles of your feet, and make sure you don't step into any dog shit, you'll be just fine barefoot." When his fingers covered my wrist, I stopped and turned to him.

"Gastov, you're really weird."

"I know that."

"Well, fine; let's go to the park barefoot, after we put your shoes in my room." I shrugged and allowed his hand to grasp mine.

We walked up the stairs to place his shoes under my bed before exiting the house. For a brief moment, I wondered if anyone would notice the absence of shoes on a day like this.

"It's really warm out here," I muttered, looking at our hands when Gastov gave mine a gentle squeeze.

"It definitely is."

"You're not uncomfortable at all, out in the sun?" I led him down the street.

"I am, but the sun isn't too much of a discomfort."

"What are people going to think about your eye?" I glanced around nervously, wondering what they'd think about the odd color and shape of his pupil.

"They'll think that it's missing," he shrugged and chuckled.

"No, I meant your other eye."

"Oh. They only see an ordinary eye," he shook his head. As the brick wall on the corner of the street came up, we turned right and the park came into view. "I use glamors to hide what I truly am."

"Well, let's not talk about that out here anymore."

"That sounds like a very good idea," he nodded.

There was a gentle breeze that rolled over us then, and I found myself sighing in relief. I saw Gastov smile out of the corner of my eye, and I smiled as well, shaking my head.

"You really are something, Gastov."

As we approached the park, Gastov thanked me and I caught sight of Janet and her cronies.

"Um, maybe we should go somewhere else instead," I said, stopping. Gastov stopped a few paces ahead of me, our hands still linked.

"What is with this sudden change of heart?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"Well, there are some people I don't like over there," I nodded toward the group of girls. Gastov raised an eyebrow.

"Anna, you can't possibly care about what they think. Those girls are so far beneath you that it doesn't even provide any sense of humor."

"Thanks, but I still don't like them."

"Don't let them bother you; we're here today to have fun." Gastov began to pull me toward the park again.

"Gastov, please don't."

"Anna, come on."

"Please?" I tugged back on my hand, attempting to stand my ground. Suddenly, the ground was no longer in contact with my feet, and Gastov was holding me up in his arms.

"We are going to the park," he said, his tone final. A quiet groan left me as I sunk into his hold.

"Please don't let them see us." Gastov carried me over, and we almost passed the group of girls when Janet came over and stopped Gastov.

"Hey, what's your name? What's a handsome guy like you doing with trash like her?" she put on her flirtatious smile that could win over the heart of any man. I could not see this going well: Gastov did not seem to like this girl.

"What is it to you?" he asked her, raising an eyebrow in irritation.

"No need to get so mad, I'm just trying to save you. Where are you from, anyway? With that accent, you can't be from around here." I sunk further into Gastov's arms, and his hold on me tightened.

"You're trying to save me? Little girl, I suggest you set your priorities straight. In the meantime, I'm going to a romantic picnic with this beautiful young woman here." His head bent down then, and his lips covered mine for the second time.

"But, she's already dating..." Janet's words were lost to me.

The kiss lasted longer than he expected it would, and I could see this by the way his eyebrows lifted before I shut my eyes. My hands found their way into his hair as my lips responded to his. The world around us seemed to melt away. The kiss became a second kiss, and then a third, and a forth, until he pulled his face back. I stared up at him in wonder.

"Shall we go, then?" he asked quietly. I nodded slowly, and cast one last glance at the shocked and angry Janet before Gastov carried me away.

"Are we really going to a picnic?"

"No, we're going to some place quiet where I can do that to you again." I felt my cheeks burn as his words registered in my head.

"Wait, what?"

Gastov carried me over to a secluded gazebo, then set me down on one of the benches. He leaned over me, pressing his hands into the back of the bench behind me.

"Gastov, don't you think that maybe... you shouldn't? I mean, we came here to just talk."

"Anna, I've been waiting far too long," he looked slightly perplexed and wild as he spoke. "I didn't know that I was attracted to you, but I am, and it is a truly strong attraction. I only wish that... we could be together, my little Nago; my little sun."

"Gastov..." I grew silent when his lips pressed against mine again. My arms responded on their own, wrapping tightly around his shoulders and pulling him closer. He pressed as close as he could in our position, kissing me even deeper than I thought possible.

What was it that attracted us to each other? How could we feel so close when we had barely known each other for three weeks?

Gastov's arms wound around me, pulling me off the bench and into his lap as he sat down. A small noise of surprise escaped me, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. Gastov groaned in content.

Time seemed to fly by as we kissed, pulling each other closer by the moment. Breathing became slightly difficult, and my panting seemed too loud.

Eventually, Gastov pulled back, his own breathing slightly labored as well. I wondered to myself: did vampires need to breathe?

"Anna, I'm sorry that I have to leave you tonight," he mumbled, sorrow evident in his voice.

"It's alright, Gastov. We... we really can't be together, anyway, since..."

"It was forbidden."

"Yeah... forbidden..." I sighed, pressing my face close to his shoulder and breathing in his scent.

"I'm a wanted vampire, as well, Anna. Escaped from prison... I'm risking a lot, being out here, but it's completely worth it if I'm sharing the day with you. And I..."

"Gatov... maybe we should head back home, then." I pressed a light kiss to his cheek.

"No... Let's stay for a while longer..."

We sat in each others embrace until I saw the sun setting in the sky, and my phone beeped: telling me that 7 in the afternoon had already arrived. Wow, it was morning not too long ago... I thought. Time really does fly when you're having fun.

Gastov stood up, helping me up with him. His fingers intertwined with mine as we began walking. There was no sign of Janet anymore, and there were less people around as the town's curfew grew closer.

"Your mother and sisters are probably home by now," he said as we walked. "You'll enter through the door, and I will enter through your bedroom window."

"That sounds good enough to me."

"If you need to eat, don't worry about me. I've got all night; I can wait if I have to."

"You know... it sounds to me like you've been sentenced to death." Gastov fell silent. I stopped walking. He stopped, as well. "You... have been, haven't you?"

"Anna..." Gastov released a heavy sigh. "I have been, alright? We don't need to talk about that. Come on, let's get you home."

We remained silent then for a few moments as we continued walking. His hand held mine very gently.

"Anna, there is something that has been bothering me."

"What is it, Gastov?"

"Where's your father?"

"Oh." I thought of how to answer, or where to begin. "Well, my dad died on his way to work one morning. The accident happened a year ago. It's fine though, Gastov."

"I see."

We reached my house then, and Gastov pecked my lips before wandering around the side of the house my bedroom window was on. I sighed and wandered in through the front door.

"Welcome home, sweetie," my mother greeted when I wandered into the kitchen.

"Thanks, mom," I sat at the table against the wall, where the leftovers from dinner were placed. I dug in, munching small bits of chicken.

"Did you have fun?"

"Yep; I wandered around the park," I served myself some macaroni and cheese.

"May called while you were out; she wants you to call her back as soon as possible." I frowned slightly as she handed me the house phone.

"Alright, I will."

"She told me that she wanted to plan a day out tomorrow."

"That sounds nice." I dialed May's phone number as my mother left the kitchen.

Our conversation lasted thirty minutes at most, and we did indeed discuss the topic of what we were going to do the next day. May had invited Nate and her boyfriend. A guilty feeling shot through me at the mention of Nate's name. I kept the fact that I had kissed someone else from her.

I finished eating after hanging up, and cleaned up my dishes before heading upstairs to my room. I closed my door behind me, spotting Gastov lounging on my bed. I couldn't help, but to laugh a little at the sight.

"Hi again, Gastov."

"Good evening, Anna," he greeted, his grin sending a shiver up my spine. "Hurry up and switch into your night wear; I'll hold you until you fall asleep."

I rolled my eyes and told him not to look as I did as he said.

"Did you look?" I asked when I finished changing and sat on my bed next to him.

"No," he laughed, "I am not one to steal glances at a lady when she asks me not to." I rolled my eyes again.

"What a gentleman you are."

"Come on, time for you to get to sleep."

"It's not even 9 yet," I looked at him as if he had grown four toes on his head. "Are you that eager to head off to die?"

"I just want to hold you..."

"Alright," I got under the covers, but he remained seated on top of them. His arms circled around me, and I kissed his lips lightly.

"I'll miss you."

"I know." The pained smile on his face caused a dull ache in my chest. Silence fell over the room, and I eventually began to feel tired. "Good night, my little sun," Gastov murmured into my hair. Tonight is the last night, I thought before I fell asleep.