Love Bites

Chapter 10
The light from the moon barely touched Jack’s skin as he turned his hands over and assessed them. He felt oddly strong. He was unsure of where Alex had gone, or even what room of the house he was in. Bathroom, maybe? His senses were in overdrive, impairing his distinction between what is real and what’s not. He could hear the faint drum of the wings on the ceiling fan, and the slight creak of the floor beneath him. Someone was moving. He listened further, and his ears picked up on the familiar thud of a human heart. It was different, however. He could hear the liquid creep through each of the veins and arteries. He could almost taste the wetness of it, his face suddenly becoming hot and his mind spinning even more than it already was. A dull pain made itself known in his gums, and Jack whirled around, eyes landing on a mirror in front of him. The red glow around his pupils and the extended teeth underneath his curled lips were enough of an answer. The heart downstairs seemed to pound even louder.
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Jack shot up in bed, sweat beading on his forehead. Was that a dream? He glanced around quickly, gripping his hair and letting out a breath. He shuffled out of bed, scrambling to the bathroom and checking the mirror to find that everything was normal. He listened for the heart but all he found was silence. Part of Jack was relieved to hear nothing, but a larger part of him was disappointed. The dream was so vivid, he was almost sure he had been turned…
“Jack?”
He poked his head out of the bathroom at the sound of his name being called.
“Yes, Lex?”
“Everything okay? You moved kind of quickly.”
Jack emerged from the doorway, stepping towards the kitchen where Alex was bent over a skillet with two freshly cracked eggs.
“You heard that?”
Alex smirked. “Vampire ears, remember?”
That only made Jack groan. “I had the coolest dream, Alex. Don’t taunt me.”
“What are you even talking about?”
“Nothing, forget it.” Jack sat down at the table and made grabby hands toward the carton of orange juice on the counter.
“Look, Jack, we’ve already been over this-”
“I said forget it, Alex, I already know the answer.”
Alex threw down the spatula he was using. “You didn’t let me finish.”
The younger boy raised an eyebrow. “Go on.”
He drew in a deep breath. “We’ve already been over this, I know. But last night changed things. And I’m not saying this for sure, but I’m considering it. Maybe things actually would be easier if you were indestructible.”
“So you’re saying…”
“I’m saying that we can talk more about this. But until then, I am keeping you under close watch. We can’t have another incident like that again, babe. Think about it – if I was just one more mile out, I might not have heard you. I couldn’t handle losing you like that. It’s my job to protect you until we discuss this further.”
Jack’s eyes seemed to almost balloon out of his head. “You- you really mean it?”
His lover rolled his eyes and nodded. “Yes, Jack, I mean it.”
Jack surged forward, enveloping him in a tight embrace. “Lex, you don’t know how happy this makes me. I can’t believe it. We need to talk about this right now. How about you turn me in three days? That gives me enough time to do a few last minute human things. I have to call May and tell her I’m getting married and all of that. Of course, we’ll need to keep the guest list small for the wedding considering I’ll be a new vampire. Will I kill a lot of people? Am I gonna be able to run as fast as you? I have to prepare myself for this. Let’s do it now. Come on, bite me, snap my neck, do your vampire-changey-thingy.”
Alex laughed. “Slow down, Jack. We still need time to talk about this and think. In the meantime, I’m going to take a shower. Your eggs are done, I’ll be out in a few.”
He planted a kiss on the younger boy’s cheek before exiting. Jack immediately dug into the food, bending over the counter and thinking about how cool he was going to look as a vampire when the phone rang. Strangely, it disconnected after the first ring, as if the caller were having second thoughts. After a few moments, it rang again, and Jack answered with a mouthful of egg.
“Hello?” he asked, swallowing and holding his plate with one hand.
“Is this the residency of a Mr. Alex Gaskarth?”
“Yes, but Alex is in the shower right now, this is his fiance speaking. How can I help you?”
“Sir, if you could, have Alex come down to the police station. We have a few questions we need to ask him.”
Jack’s face paled, the plate slipping through his fingers and crashing to the floor. His throat tightened as he attempted to speak.
“That’s ridiculous, why would you need Alex?”
“Just have him come down to the station immediately.”
Without another word, the line disconnected. Jack’s eyes were wider than half dollars at this point. He slowly began to move toward the shower, legs wobbling underneath him. When he got to the door, he almost collapsed against it.
“Alex,” he called, “they know something.”