Cries of a Love Bat

I was scared, terrified even. I couldn’t feel anything from Pete. It was like a blank state, numb and filled with nothing. There was always something there; most of the time it being a mixture of annoyance and exhaustion that tugged at me. It was apart of the marking, like ten percent of my feelings were replaced with his, but he always claimed that more than ten percent of my feelings stirred within him.

I waited until seven o’clock to go to the police station. What was the point of going early if Pete wouldn’t be able to leave because of the sun anyway? His needs could be such a bother sometimes.

When I walked into the station, an officer greeted me. “How can I help you?”

“I don’t really know how to go about this, but I need to bail my friend out. He seemed to get into some trouble last night,” I explained, not really knowing what I was doing.

“You must be here to pick up the little punk who was at the warehouse fire last night I presume,” he stated, pulling a folder out of a draw and opening it.

“Yeah, the little punk,” I said angrily.

How could he say that? Yes it was true, but only I was allowed to insult Pete. So what if I felt jealous? I had the right to be.

“Okay, we will bring out Mr. Ross in a minute. You just need to sign here and pay. How do you plan on doing that by the way? Check? Debit card?”

I almost chocked on the air. Ryan? What the hell was he doing here? I came to pick up Pete!

“Check,” I stuttered, pulling out the slip of paper from my pocket. “How much?”

“Seven fifty,” he said, not looking up. I signed the check, filling in the appropriate spots and handed it to him. He stared at it then looked at me. “This is in the name of Patrick Stump…”

“My husband,” I lied, smiling at the officer. “Ryan is his friend. Patrick is at work and asked me to come bail him out.”

The officer looked uneasy, but went to go and tell someone to get Ryan. “You can take a seat.”

I sat in the chair, which was really uncomfortable. The metal felt cold and gross, like a million people had sat in it and their germs lingered on the surface, but I don’t think that’s what made me nauseous all of a sudden. The tug filled my stomach and I wanted to throw up.

I looked at the clock and ten minutes had passed already. I sighed, leaning back and closing my eyes. The wave of nausea passed and the feeling went back to nothingness.

“Emily.”

I looked up and Ryan stood there, half smiling and half looking like he was ready to cry.

“Hey RyRo,” I smiled, standing up and hugging him quickly.

His eyes darted across the room, and he said, “Let’s go.”

I walked out with him, the cold air of the night making me shiver. It was silent, like the little town right out side of Chicago was all asleep.

Ryan looked uneasy. He was tense and edgy; ready to snap at any moment and turn away.

“Ry?” I asked, looking up at him. “What’s wrong?”

He sighed before looking down at me, he smiled and his brown eyes twinkled. “Don’t worry, it’s me. Just…that wasn’t a fun experience in there.”

“Do the crime, do the time.”

We both turned around, scared at finding someone who was following us. He had kinky hair that curled under his beanie hat. Worn jeans and a wife beater t-shirt were coated in old, crusted blood.

“Travis,” Ryan breathed. “Nice of you to stop by.”

“No, it was a pleasure seeing you last night! We should have made popcorn and watched the warehouse burn down together!” he said sarcastically. “And it’s Travie, don’t be a Dandie with that proper and formal shit.”

“But I am a Dandie,” Ryan grinned.

“Exactly all the more reason to kill you,” Travie glared. “William was stupid to think he could expand your borders and take over our turf. We hoods stick together, so you fucken Dandies better watch your backs.”

“You wouldn’t dare bring out violence in front of this girl, would you?” Ryan asked. He tugged my tattooed hand behind me, hiding it from Travie. “She doesn’t need to be scared before dinner tonight.”

Travie grew out his fangs and licked his lips. “She would taste amazing.”

Ryan pinched my skin and I let out a cry. I got the message and fell back into Ryan, praying I would be a good actress.

“Agreed,” Ryan smiled, looking down at me, his fangs now showing.

I’d never seen Ryan’s fangs, and was surprised that they were shorter than most. So my wide eyes that were studying them gave off the affect I was stunned.

“Feel like sharing?” Travie asked quietly, tugging at me shirt. His eyes fell over my body and I felt uncomfortable.

Ryan hissed, pulling me closer to him. I stopped acting; this Travie guy was really freaking me out now. “I worked hard for her, hoodlum. I’m not letting you fuck up my meal. I haven’t eaten in a week.”

Travie growled, but stepped back. “Just wait. The Dandies are going to all die pretty soon, then we’ll be able to have all the pretty girls to ourselves.”

Ryan and I didn’t stay to hear the rest. He was pulling me down the street, in the opposite direction of Travie. He turned quickly into an alleyway and kept walking, until we were safe on the other side. He slowed down and let go of me. “How about I walk you home?”

I laughed a little, agreeing to the idea, knowing walking out here alone was basically saying that I wanted to be someone’s next meal, especially with Travie lurking around.

“You should take a shower when you get home, you probably smell like me now. I doubt Pete would enjoy that,” Ryan smiled, trying to make a joke out of it, but I looked at my feet.

“You know what happened to them?” I asked, almost hopeful.

Ryan shook his head no. “We burned down the place and I stayed back; William said he and Brendon would go to the fight. It was the plan. I got put in jail and well…here I am now. I haven’t heard anything from them.”

“When were they going to get you?” I asked.

“Next week. They needed to come up with the money first. I’d tell Will we have to pay you back, but he would know that…we are working with you all then.”

I smiled, “It’s not my money Ryan. It’s Patrick’s.”

“Great, now I’m in a bigger debt to him.”

“You’re in debt to him?” I asked curiously.

Ryan stopped walking and looked at me. “I shouldn’t have said that…”

“I’ll find out eventually,” I pushed, as we started walking again.

“No, I can’t tell, I’m not supposed to. Patrick’s rules,” Ryan pointed out, knowing that I couldn’t push him anymore because it was Patrick’s rules. “Here’s your stop.”

I made a face and mocked Ryan, “Patrick’s rules.”

“I’d tell you if I could darling, but you know how strict he is with these things.”

“I can’t wait until your year is over. If you weren’t a new born you wouldn’t have to listen to him.”

He shrugged and said, “I think I’d still listen to him then. He’s scary when he’s angry.”

I laughed and walked up the stairs. “Bye Ryan!” I called when I reached the door.

He was already half way down the street, and he waved. “Bye Em.”

I walked into the house and down the hall, heading for the living room when I noticed the floor: dirt and blood. I took a shaky breath, thinking about if I should go get Ryan, but I kept walking.

What I saw in the living room almost made me pass out. Andy was sitting on the floor, leaning against the couch. He was clutching his leg, trying to get his cut to clot. Joe was on the opposite couch, his eyes closed tight. But that was normal.

It’s what Pete was doing that made me scream.

He was in the middle of the room, sitting next to Patrick on the floor. Patrick’s wrist up to his mouth, and it was obvious Pete was drinking from him.