To Be Mortal

Crickets chirped loudly in the grasses around us. I had been taking lessons from Jeremy for over a month and the year had turned fresh. Not much had changed except a couple episodes when there was loud pounding on the door of the apartment. My tasks no longer included answering the phone or door anymore and I suspected that Jeremy was hiding something more from me than what I expected. Unfortunately for me I never really looked into it when I had the opportunities. I trusted him.

The air was crisp and smelled strongly of dust and snow. Typically the Canadian winter was rather cold… more or less. Luckily for me however we were going through a warm spurt. Pavement and dead grass was shown and spotted with patches of ice combined with gutters lined with wet snow shown as a thick slush.

I had a nice coat and all but I didn’t need it. I was building up so much internal body heat that I could practically be a radiator all on my own. I discarded my jacket on the ground and let own skin feel the damp night. Dresses didn’t necessarily work when you were trying to fight off grown, experienced vampires; let alone learning from them. Instead I wore something almost equally regal, but it was also easily fought in; a simple white dress shirt and long black dress combination.

Speaking of clothing, I had noticed an interesting correlation between Jeremy’s attire and my own; not even just the apparel but everything he owned and bought. I mean, he liked nice stuff. I had no idea where he found the money; but he donned everything from crystal chandeliers to shiny fur coats. He dressed in a formal form every day. Pure white shirt not buttoned all the way but mostly; and sleek black pants over dress shoes. Everything he owned was primed to its fullest, perfect. That probably said something about him, but something prevented me from realizing what exactly that meant. Maybe even now I still can’t see everything that his illumination blinded from me.

“No, no; put more strength into it.” He sighed, “You’ll never defend yourself if you can’t do any damage.”

“I know, I know; but I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t hurt me.”

“But…”

“Hit me!”

I wasn’t making any progress, but Jeremy persisted. I ran at him with all my strength, but I tripped and skidded into his feet. He shook his head with rolling eyes, trying not to laugh. “Don’t sacrifice your balance for strength.”

“I can’t do both!”

“Yes, you can. You just have to try.”

I picked myself up and dusted off my knees. He took my arm and guided my body into a strong stance. He placed his chin on the top of my head. His arms pressed into mine and his feet showed her how to stand strong. I shivered and my heart began to race.

We were outside a really old building, it looked abandoned. Almost all the windows were broken and the sides of the walls were spray painted without so much as a square foot of leftover brick left. The parking lot was completely empty except for Jeremy’s sleek car parked by the building. It was a secluded and quiet, a good place to go with no one around to bother you.

“Hold yourself, tighten your fists.” I did as he said, taking deep breath. “Good.” He whispered, “Move like this…” he guided my arm back and I felt his own strength rippling as his skin touched my own. As one we moved in a strong, solid movement and my head shook as I felt my head rush with excitement and feelings that I hadn’t realized I’d been missing. Strength, independence, happiness… I let the air in my lungs collapse and I exhaled deeply, creating a foggy cloud from my lips.

“Yes, like that.” I felt him smile and pull away, “Now, try that without me.”

I copied his movements and he gave a handsome half-smile, “Not bad. Now add some power to it.” I grunted and nearly tripped again, but if it had hit someone…

“Alternate hands, left right left.” He said.

“I’m not a soldier, Jer.”

“Just try; it’ll help keep your balance.”

I lunged into the imaginary target; one, two, three air-strikes in a row. I panted and sweat began to appear on my forehead.

“Now try it on me.” He ordered. I turned and looked up in confusion. “Over here…”

I stood in front of him and bit my lip, “I…”

“You can’t hurt me.”

“You won’t hurt me, though; will you?” I looked to my knees and he pulled my chin up. He was so close.

“Never.”

One, two, three punches right in the gut. He stumbled back and gave a deep chuckle, coughing a bit.

I gasped and clasped my hands to my mouth, “Oh my god, did I hurt you?”

He shook his head and laughed, “No, no… I… I can work with this.” He smiled. “We still need to work on your strength though.” He looked around and took my hand, “Follow me.”

He led me into the old factory and I gave a gasp in awe and Jeremy dropped my hand. It was huge in here. I had no idea what they used to make in here, but whatever they made they needed a massive factory to make it.

“Come on. Up here.” He called, standing under a ladder. It led to the top of the walkway near the ceiling. He was at the top quicker than my eyes could keep track and he called me up, “Come on!” I could still see his gorgeous smirk from down here.

I walked to the bottom of the long ladder and looked up, already feeling queasy. I placed my hand on the cold metal railing and a shiver passed through my entire body. My breathing slowed and I felt my body begin to move on its own. Step by step I pulled myself higher and higher. Though I had managed to keep calm, I was still panting when I finally made it to the top of the walkway. Jeremy took me into a light hug and then gestured to the contraption in front of us.

“What goes up must come down.”

“Like that; really? I don’t know about this…”

“What goes up must come down…” he repeated, “…and often not in the same way each trip.”

It was a long, horizontal, mechanical pulley system, probably used to transport things from one end of the room to the other. It led to a shorter platform at the end of the room. After a bit of thought I realized they were using it to transfer girders from there to up here. It was pretty much a loop with long chains hanging down from it.

Jeremy grabbed a hold of one of the chains, looking at me with a grin, and for the first time ever he didn’t look like a calm and serious statue. Then he kicked off the platform, and like a long zip line he held on and soared to the next platform.

I screeched and tried to grab his jacket, but my reaction was too slow and I ended up having to double back and grab the railing. I heard his laugh bounce off the walls and I couldn’t help but give my own nervous chuckle.

“Are you crazy?!” I cried, holding back my own laughs, “Come on back! I…” I looked down the ladder and shuddered. “I don’t think I can get down alone.”

“Follow me!” he called.

“What?! I can’t…” I bit my lip and took a few steps back. “That’s insane. What if I can’t hold my grip? What if I fall? What if I hurt myself?”

“You won’t, trust me. Consider it a test of strength and bravery.”

I grabbed one of the chains and held onto it tight, preventing blood movement in my fists. I wrapped my knees around the cold metal and my breathing quickened. “I… I don’t think I can.”

“Yes, you can.”

I sighed and shut my eyes tight before kicking off the platform.

Wind smacked me in the face like a hurricane and forced my eyes open. I opened my eyes and felt adrenaline pumping through my body. My hair whipped behind me like blonde ribbons on a kite. I felt giddiness bubble up like my body was a soda can. I laughed and as I reached the platform but my hands slipped. I gave a squeak and came towards the end with wide eyes. For a moment I thought I was going to fall down to the concrete floor.

Just then I felt strong arms close around me and all of a sudden I was in his arms.

I had never considered myself a romantic type of girl. I mean, sure, I grew up with a few crushes and such but I never had the confidence to ever get anywhere with any of them. My wishes had never been of love, but everything changed in that moment.

Jeremy had given me everything, my strength, my home, my self-confidence. He was so close, and with his arms supporting me now I felt like everything that had ever been wrong could only possibly be a dream. This was my life now, with him, in his arms.

Before I could mess it up, before I could speak; he kissed me. Heat pumped between us in waves like the sea and my arms wrapped passionately around his head, feeling his hair between my fingers was amazing. It was like silk. For a heartbeat we broke apart, panting heavily. We shared our air together, lips still nearly touching. We searched each other’s eyes for something. To this day I don’t know what I was looking for, or if I found it, because everything turned into a blur.

I remember it, but everything was so fast. He kissed me again, and then we were running, faster than I had ever run before. I barely noticed, his lips preoccupied me to no end. We were at the apartment; I could smell the wafting smell of fresh baked cookies I had made this morning still hanging in the air.

Then we were in his bedroom, his hands and lips working in perfect sync. I felt more adrenaline in the air and the cold air of his room powered me even more.

As one we moved and touched and kissed and felt as a single being. It was as if our hearts had touched one another and something inside me burned like nothing else. I had never been the romantic type before, but Jeremy made me be things I hadn’t thought I could ever be.

I felt his fingers itching under my shirt and alarm bells rang like sirens in my head; “Wait! I don’t know about this…”

Jeremy made a soft hush from his lips, his soft eyes instantly calming me. He put a finger to my lips and as he spoke it was as if I was hypnotised to his words. “I love you, Ava. Do you love me?”

My lips trembled and I nodded, “Yes.”

“Then it’s all okay.” He whispered on my lips, and we snapped back into a passionate brawl.

It was hot and cold and warm and then, well, like I said; it was all a blur.

Later, as the sun began to peek on the horizon and my eyes were about to fall, I felt his arms around me. He gently kissed my neck and whispered, “Don’t worry; I’ll never let you go.”