Balance Beam

Zekial had let me hang out at his bar once I had got off work. He was really down to earth and easy to talk to, not to mention he was rather hilarious. When I had interviewed him for the magazine, he had said I wasn’t bad for a human and told me to come hang out at the bar any night. So early this morning, I finally took him up on that offer again.

I was slightly buzzed by the time he had finished closing up. Zekial offered to walk me home, but I had declined. I was waiting for Miss Geneva to get back from a day trip that she had took. I was going to tell her I finally made my mind up; I agree to sacrificing her so I could become this hybrid thing. After she tells me more about it first though.

I clumsily lit a cigarette and Zekial went into a rant about how horrible smoking cigarettes were. I leaned against the building, smiling at him as he continued talking and I kept puffing on the nicotine. As much as I tried not to, I began to laugh at him. Zekial was calm unless you did one of his pet peeves. Smoking cigarettes happened to be one of them.

“You’re still going on about that?” Geneva asked as she walked up to us. I hadn’t seen her approach. “I see you’ve let Bram get intoxicated, perhaps a bit too much.”

Zekial smiled sheepishly. “It kept him out of everyone’s way.”

Geneva shook her head at the vampire. “Well I’ll make sure he gets home sober and safe. Come on Bram, let’s get you some coffee.”

I waved goodbye to Zekial and followed Miss Geneva up to her apartment. She was humming softly as she unlocked the door, motioning me inside. I could sense she didn’t like me being drunk and I felt like a young kid in trouble.

“Have a seat while I put on some tea and coffee,” Geneva pointed at the table and I obeyed.

As I waited, I tried my best to sober myself up. It didn’t work though. In my head I cursed at myself for drinking so much. Soon Geneva was placing a cup of coffee in front of me. I thanked her as she offered me sugar and milk. She sat across from me and stared as I fixed the coffee to my liking. A knock came to the door, making me jump slightly. In all the times I was here, no other visitors stopped by. Miss Geneva looked surprised by the extra company as well.

“I wonder who that could be,” she mumbled, making her way towards the door.

I was taking a sip of the strong brew when Geneva opened the apartment door and gasped. My eyes darted in her direction and I rose from my seat. She cried out and hugged the person who was still outside. Reclaiming my seat, I took another sip of the coffee.

“Please come on in,” Geneva said and she shut the door.

“Bram,” that familiar voice said. I drunkenly looked over at Giselle and she didn’t look pleased. She turned back to Miss Geneva, who was now clearing a spot for her at the table. “What’s he doing here?”

Geneva scowled before taking her seat. “Bram is a friend of mine as of recently. I’m assuming he’s a friend of yours as well?” she asked Giselle, a small smirk on her face.

Giselle shook her head and I frowned. “It’s not what you think, Geneva.” Giselle looked at her long-time friend and sighed. “How can you be in the same city as me and not contact me?”

The look on her face just screamed that Giselle was hurt by this. Glancing between the two supernatural creatures, I quietly excused myself to the bathroom. I could sense that they needed to talk in private, plus I needed to take a leak really bad. Once in the bathroom, I shut the door and leaned my head against the wall as I unzipped my pants and relieved my bladder.

I heard a couple of shouts as I began washing my hands. A small part of me was frightened. I couldn’t imagine Geneva yelling at Giselle and vice versa. After taking longer than usual to dry my hands, I returned to the small dining area with the two women. They were both sending each other death glares and when I sat down, Giselle turned her icy stare towards me.

“I refuse for you to do this,” she snarled.

“Do what?” I asked, not knowing what she was talking about. Giselle groaned loudly.

“Giselle,” Geneva hissed in a mother-like tone. “He’s a grown man, he can do what he wants.”

Giselle ignored her and turned her whole body in my direction. Her facial expression softened and she grabbed one of my hands, lacing her fingers with mine. I was still a bit drunk, so my brain was having a difficult time establishing what exactly was going on here. Wasn’t she just mad at me?

“I know you’re just trying to help me, but you can’t turn into a hybrid Bram.”

“I’ll do as I please,” I grumbled as I pulled my hand from hers. “Maybe I don’t want to be a human anymore, ever thought about that?”

I couldn’t tell you where my sudden hostility towards her came from. It was a mixture of things, perhaps. Here I was always throwing myself at her and she pushes me away; I offer to help her out, even at desperate measures, and she refuses it completely. What did it fucking take for her to just give me a chance?

Giselle scoffed at me. “So you want to live forever now? Well I’ve been around for six hundred and twenty-nine years and I’ve been ready for it to fucking end for centuries now.”

I bravely rolled my eyes at her. “Well that’s you, Giselle. Just think, we could keep each other company for the rest of eternity after I become a hybrid.”

Giselle’s expressions softened and she froze where she was. Had I finally got through to her? Was she imagining all the things we could do and the places we could travel to? Could she actually be considering it, the two of us, a couple of supernatural beings, spending the rest of time together? Giselle opened her mouth like she was going to say something, but closed it again. Her eyes darted away from mine.

“We’ll need to do it tonight,” Geneva spoke up. Both, Giselle and I snapped our heads in her direction. “I called in a good friend for a favor. I expect the both of you to be back here at sunset. Do not be late either.”

I quietly thanked Geneva for the coffee and stood from the chair, walking towards the door and out of the apartment after saying goodbye. I stepped outside and was greeted by the beaming morning sun. A loud yawn escaped my lips and all I wanted was a nap. Giselle finally caught up to me. I wouldn’t doubt if she stayed behind to say how she didn’t agree with the plan.

An uneasiness settled in the pit of my stomach as it hit me that tonight I would no longer be human. What would I even do as a hybrid, especially if Giselle wants nothing to do with me after this? Shit, I could do whatever I wanted. I could travel and see the world. I could go from town to town, alluring different women. The possibilities were endless. It was a bit exhilarating to think about.

“Why are you following me?” I asked Giselle. She had followed behind me as I made a right at the corner. To go back to where she lived, she had to go left.

“You’re still drunk, I can smell it. I’m just making sure you’re getting home okay,” she said matter-of-factly. I rolled my eyes at the vampire. She didn’t know what she was doing.

“How fucking nice of you,” I grumbled. “Don’t you have something you could be doing right now? Don’t you work or something?”

Giselle cut her eyes at me and I frowned at myself. I was being a dick, I had to admit it. She’s just pushed me over the edge emotionally since I’ve known her. She knew she had and that’s why she felt pity and was walking me home. A fucking girl walking me home, what a shame. But after tonight Giselle won’t be the one doing the protecting, the tables will turn and she’ll need it.

She grabbed my arm and we stopped on the middle of the sidewalk. Her vibrant green eyes bore into mine. A genuine look was on her face. Giselle actually looked like herself for once. In that moment she wasn’t trying to be tough and push me aside.

“I know I hurt you and I’m sorry, but we’ve got to get along now. It’s what Geneva wants,” she said as her voice cracked. Giselle cleared her throat. “It’s the least we can do since she’s sacrificing her life for the both of us.”

I nodded at her and she softly smiled. We proceeded to walk towards my apartment. The two of us were quiet for the next several minutes, until Giselle broke the silence again.

“What do you think Quinn is going to say to of all this?” she asked, glancing over at me.

“I’m not going to tell him.”

“Why not?”

“He just wouldn’t understand.”

Giselle nodded. “And you’re certain you want to do this?”

“Absolutely.”

We reached the Chelsea and Giselle said goodbye, walking back in the direction we came from. As I walked through the lobby and got on the elevator, I thought about the things I needed to do before tonight. First of all, I had to cut all ties with Alexa for good. Then I was going to call Lucinda and take leave from work, lying about one of my parents dying and I needed to go to Boston for a few months. Then I had to somehow convince Quinn to not tell my boss, without giving him all of the details of what was going on. He’d try to talk me out of it, I just know it.