Corruption

I woke up, Aiden next to me on the bed. His eyes were closed, but I knew he wasn’t sleeping. He was breathing heavily, relaxed after a very heart pumping night. I pulled my blanket up a little higher on my half naked body, chilled by the open double doors.

Aiden smiled, but didn’t open his eyes. He was lying on his stomach, his bare back showing. The blankets were covering the rest of his body. I grabbed the sheet that was crumpled underneath me and pulled it out. Wrapping myself in it, I stood up. When I looked back at Aiden, he was watching me. I could see his eyes were red, but didn’t quite register it. I was too ‘high.’

The sun was soon going to be up in the sky, making the sky a little lighter blue. For the first time in my life; I had actually felt connected with Aiden. He had completely opened up to me. My clothes lay all over the floor, Aiden’s next to mine. I smiled back at him as I went over to the other side of the bed and opened the drawer, taking out my digital camera.

I snapped a picture when he wasn’t aware of it. It was actually a good picture; Aiden at ease and smiling at me. He grabbed my waist and pulled me back onto the bed, lying on top of him. I laughed as he brought my head down to his, our lips touching.

“I love you.” He whispered.

“Of course you do!” I said, laughing at myself. “I love you too.”

I got off him with much protest from him, and changed into my pajamas once more. It took Aiden only a few seconds to change back into his everyday clothes. “I should probably go.” He said. He kissed me on the cheek and left toward the balcony. I watched as he flung himself off the balcony, landing with a soft thump.

I sighed, satisfied with myself and how the night went. We hadn't gone all the way, and was sure he would have never let it get that far, but the high I had was still great. I was so excited, I didn’t think I could sleep. I practically skipped to my library to find a book that would keep me occupied until a descent hour, wandering aimlessly towards the shelf that held all of the vampire books. There was one space there, filled with dust. I ran my finger across it.

The book. I actually missed that book. It made me feel strong, feel powerful; like I felt at that moment. It was such an amazing feeling; I didn’t want it to go away. That is why I didn’t take a shower or a bath. I was afraid that it would be washed away. I put my hair up in a messy little bob on the back of my head and headed down the stairs.

I knew it must have been only six AM, but it didn’t matter to me. I was no where near tired. As I tried to find something to do I looked in each one of the doors. A closet, the pool, a sauna. Before I opened the last door, I heard voices. I leaned into the door and tried to listen.
“I don’t know if I can.” said a male voice.

“You need to. I know she feels the same way.” A female voice said.

“And what if she doesn’t? What I am going to do then?”

I opened the door and saw a large indoor theater. My mom was sitting on one chair, Mike pacing in front of her. They hadn’t seen me come in, so they kept talking.

“Candace is a nice girl.”

“I know that.” Mike said sarcastically.

“So what are you scared of?”

I cleared my throat, showing I was here. I didn’t want them to talk about me, not knowing I was there listening. They both looked in my direction, clearly flustered. I walked toward them and sat down in the chair next to my mother.

“When did you wake up sweetie?” My mother asked. She smiled innocently at me, rubbing her stomach. Why does she keep doing that?

“A few minutes ago.”

I looked at Mike as he shuffled his feet, his hands in his jeans pockets. “I should go help the cooks make your birthday food. Happy birthday!” She gave me a small hug, and then bustled out of the room.

“Mike, can I…” I said, but he was already leaving the room.

“I gotta go Candace. We’ll talk later.”

I watched him leave. Every time I wanted to tell him something really important, we were always interrupted. Maybe it was because I wasn’t timing it right.

I went upstairs to my room to get some clothes on, but when I pulled my shirt off, my phone rang. I raced to my end table to pick it up. “Hello?” I said into it.

“Happy birthday Candace.” Aiden said from the other line.

I laughed. “You were just here, why did you call?” I sat down on my bed, still topless.

“Because I wanted to speak to you.”

“You always want to speak to me.”

“Is that a crime?”

As low and quiet as I could, I said, “It should be.”

“I heard that.” he said, laughing.

I laughed too. “Of course you did.”

“It will be a full moon tonight.” Aiden said. I groaned. I should have known. “It’s perfect!” he said excited. “Then I can give you my gift tonight.”

“I think last night was a pretty good gift.”

“That was half of it.”

“Only half?” I asked, wandering back into my closet to get a shirt to put on.

“Only half.” He repeated.

We didn’t talk much longer than that. He said he would see me tonight when the real party started. I couldn’t wait to see him.

I went downstairs as soon as I got fully dressed into some plain clothes. I attached Cass’ leash to her collar and brought her down with me. My parents greeted me at the foot of the stairs.

“Happy birthday!” they both shouted. I hugged them both, grateful for anything at the moment. They led me into the dining room where Mike was already sitting. We all sat in our normal spots as the waiters brought out the best breakfast I had ever seen. There was eggs and bacon, toast, a variety of rolls and cakes, and so many other things I couldn’t believe were on the table.

My parents sang to me and Mike, then dug in. I too, followed suit, but Mike excused himself from the table without eating. My mother winked at him as he left. They were starting to freak me out.

After breakfast they piled a load of presents onto the table. I tried to excuse myself, but they said I wasn’t aloud to leave the room until I opened all of the presents. Just by the look of it, there were more than twenty. I slumped back in my chair, exhausted by the thought.

The first one I opened was a pair of pajamas. They said they were real silk. I didn’t doubt it. My mother made me stand up and let her get a picture of the presents. She did that for each one of them, my fake smile plastered over my face every time.

There was a variety of clothes, CDs, DVDs, and many other various things that I didn’t need. I watched as the minutes ticked by. I couldn’t help it. I wanted to go and talk to Mike. I had to before he left tomorrow morning.

One hour, hour and a half, two hours.

Finally my mother let me go after three hours and twenty-four minutes. I opened more presents than I can count, and hardly remember one of them. I ran to my room and pulled the large box out from under my bed. The tag said: To Mike, love Candace.

The box was pretty heavy, but I managed to bring it to Mike's door and knock. I ran around the corner so he couldn’t see me when he opened the door. The door never opened. I went and knocked again, this time, staying put. Still, no one answered.

I leaned in closer to the door. A soft sound of music was coming from the other side. I opened the doors and saw that Mike was on the balcony with his guitar. He was strumming on it aimlessly, looking into the garden.

“Mike?” I called out to him. He turned around and saw me in the doorway. He set his guitar down making it lean against the stone railing. I picked up the large box and brought it into the room, setting it on the bed.

Mike looked at the tag, then back at me. I nodded. He popped the top off of the box and stared at what was inside. An ice blue guitar was sitting in a puff of blue tissue paper. “I think the man told me it was an Ibanez or something like that.”

Mike picked up the guitar and held it in his hands like it was sacred. “Really?”

“Yeah.” I sat down on the bed, bouncing a little. “Do you like it?”

“Do I?” He grabbed me in a tight one armed hug. I was a little surprised at first, but hugged him back, glad he was actually acknowledging me. He let go of me and looked at the guitar once again. “Can I try it out?”

“It’s yours.” I said. I couldn’t stop smiling. Today was one of the best days of my life. So I thought… "And the man said he would deliver the custom case tonight. The amps and speakers I got came with it for free, but I sent those to your house."

Mike played the guitar, running around the room like he was crazy. He stood on the bed, and then ran over to the couch, almost tipping it over. He was so excited. When he finished his own little jam session, he sat down by me on the couch.

“So how much did this thing cost?” Mike asked. He was always worrying about money, I knew he was going ask me, so I made sure I didn’t know.

“I have no idea.”

“No, seriously; how much did it cost.”

I mimicked his voice. “No seriously; I don’t know.”

“Candace.” He wined, but he was smiling.

“I don’t.”

“Did you buy it?”

“Yes.”

“And you don’t know how much it costs?”

“No.”

“Sure.” Mike turned his head away from me, pretending to be mad.

“I don’t. I told the clerk not to tell me. I knew you were going to ask, so I decided not to have an answer.”

Mike turned his head back to me. “Really?”

“Really.”

Mike marveled the guitar once more. “Wow.”

“Happy birthday, Mike.”

He smiled at me. “Thanks.” I smiled back, satisfied with myself. I hadn’t realized, but I hadn’t stopped smiling today. My cheeks were starting to hurt from the strain. Mike stood with his guitar and put the strap over his shoulder. He strummed the six strings once, making a light hum.

“Mike?” I asked. I had butterflies in my stomach now. I had to tell him, I just had too. “Can I tell you something important? I need to talk to you.”

Mike sat down next to me on the bed. His face told me he wasn’t worried by what I was going to say, but he should be. I fumbled with my fingers, trying to think of what to say. I didn’t know how to say it. “Okay…” I began. I breathed in out steadying myself.

Mike sat patiently awaiting for me to bash his heart in. He just didn’t know it yet. “So…about that night. I just wanted to tell you…”

Mike shook his head. “Nope.”

“What?” I said, clearly confused.

“I don’t want to talk about it. Every time we get to talking, we always fight. I don’t want to fight anymore.”

“But Mike this isn’t…”

“Candace.” His voice was soft but firm at the same time. “I’m serious. No more ‘vampire’ talk.”

I slumped a little where I sat. Now how was I going to tell him?

“Besides,” Mike added, “it’s your birthday.”

I stood from my spot on the bed. Mike stood with me, still holding his guitar. I excused myself from the room and went back to my bedroom. Gloria had brought Cass in there after breakfast, so she was barking when I approached the door. Once she saw it was me, she stopped barking, her small white tail wagging.

I needed to get of this house. It seemed to be getting hotter. How could I just walk out on him like that? Why would I do such a thing? I had the perfect time to say what I had been aching to for so long, and I just left. What was wrong with me?

I grabbed her leash that hung on the side of the door, and clasped it onto her collar. She had never been walking before, but there is a first time for everything.

She raced down the stairs, trying to pull me along. Once we were outside, her nose went into action. She was constantly sniffing the air and the ground. Her tail was in full force, wagging from side-to-side. As we walked around the street, I was in deep thought.

There were so many things people didn’t know about me. Things I wished that people did know, and things that I wished people would never find out about. There were also things that needed to be said, but weren’t.

I couldn’t decide how to do so either. My parents would be easy because they would think I was on drugs and wouldn’t believe me, but Mike was another story. He would believe everything I told him.

I saw his face in my mind. The face I saw when I told him that I was moving from Georgia and coming up here to Maine. He was so hurt and confused then. I would have to make him look that way again. I didn’t think I could do it.

Cass barked at a butterfly that passed out path. I tugged on her leash, keeping her back from the road. We walked on, away from Aiden’s house. He wouldn’t be outside anyway; it was the day before a full moon and he was sensitive. He couldn’t go outside in the sun because the full moon was cruel. It was cruel to all of us. Something bad always happened on a full moon.

A car whizzed by me, startling Cass and I. I wasn’t paying attention when I was walking. I wondered how far I had gone; not too far I would imagine. I still couldn’t see the city.

I tried to think of the words I would tell Mike. How could I explain the way I felt? The way I felt when I was with Aiden; the ache in my heart when I thought about losing him. It was the same with Mike, only different. My heart ached a different way for Mike. He was only a friend, just my very best friend; my heart and mind were telling me that that shouldn't be. Life would never be the same without him; I yearned to be by his side as I thought of leaving.

Where would we go? We couldn’t stay here—not so close to my family. We would have to go far away…maybe out of the country. I couldn’t think straight.

Cass suddenly stopped, and since I wasn’t paying any attention, my arm jerked backward by the force of her. I looked back; she was sitting down, looking into the woods on the opposite side of the road. Another car passed up, momentarily blocking my view. When it passed, I looked where she was intent on. It didn’t seem different that the rest of the forest.

Cass started to wine. She slowing scooted her behind across the sidewalk, backing away from the forest. “What is it?” I asked her, confused to no end. She barked at me, trying to tell me something. I scooped her into my arms and started back toward the house. She seemed to be done with the walking thing for today.

A light breeze came through and rustled the trees. It was such a hot day outside, I wished the breeze would continue. All of a sudden, the breeze came again, more urgently this time. My hair flew in my face, making it hard to see what was happening. The trees rustled in the breeze as before, but it didn’t sound right. They made such a noise, I didn’t think it was possible. It was almost ear shattering.

I had to refrain myself from dropping Cass and cover my ears. Cass shivered in my arms, huddled close to my body. When the wind died down, I tried to comfort her—or was it me who I was trying to comfort?

“Shh,” I told Cass, “we’ll be home soon, honey. You’re okay. We’re okay, don’t worry.” I could hardly believe my own words. The ora of the forest seemed some what—dark. It was almost frightening to look at. I stared straight ahead as I walked, too nervous to look around. I don’t know why it spooked me so much; it must have been the condition my mind was in.

I let Cass down from my arms as soon as I closed the front doors behind me. After a few minutes of walking back, I thought my actions were silly. I even laughed at myself out loud. The day was wonderful outside, and it couldn’t get any better.

I raced Cass upstairs to my bedroom, laughing when she lost her footing and almost tumbled off the top step. I scooped her up and ran into my bedroom, throwing her onto my bed, me landing beside her. She was so surprised she stumbled and rolled right into…Mike?

Mike was sitting on my bed casually. His legs were up and crossed at the knees, and his hands behind his head. He smiled at my expression and ruffled my hair. I sat up and stared. Why was he here? My question got answered quickly.

“I was wondering if you wanted to go somewhere.” Mike asked me. He seemed casual about it, but all of the nervousness wasn’t hidden in his voice.

I searched his face, but the nervousness disappeared quickly. He covered it up with a smile.

I asked, “Where to?”

His smile got larger. “It’s a secret.”

I laughed. There were more secret in his life than he could possibly imagine, but that wasn’t why I laughed. I laughed because he seemed to enjoy that he had a secret I didn’t know about. I was always the one with the secrets. Now he had his own.

“Alright.” I said, “Let’s go.”

Mike took my hand and almost ran down the stairs. I had to go two at a time to keep up with his long legs. He led me outside to the limo—which wasn’t parked there before when I had come home. Charles held the door open for us. He winked at me when we got inside.

Mike didn’t let go of my hand as he stayed out and told Charles where to go. My arm was outstretched toward him, almost uncomfortably, but he came in a minute later. I didn’t know where we were going, but I liked the suspense. I couldn’t help but smile at him as the door slammed shut.

“This is going to be nice, don’t worry.” Mike patted my hand he was holding with his fee hand.

I squeezed his hand. “I’m sure it will be.”

We weren’t driving as long as I thought we would have been. After only two minutes I felt the car slow, and then stop. Charles' door opened first, and then he opened ours. I couldn’t quite see outside because the sun was shining through the open door, blinding me.

Mike pulled me along as he climbed out. He thanked Charles and told him that he didn’t need to wait for us. We would walk home from here. Charles nodded and closed the door behind me.

I looked around myself eagerly, trying to get my barring straight. It was so surreal what was in front of me, I couldn’t believe it. I was probably the only one in the rest of the country that would be astonished by this sight.

In front of me was a very small playground. It wasn’t an ordinary playground, however. It was our playground. Technically, it was different, but it sure looked the same. A small slide was in front of us, a set of swings behind it. The playground was on grass rather than small pebbles, but it was closer to the playground in Georgia than I could have dreamed of.

“You like it?” Mike asked.

“Do I?” I asked. I could almost see a reoccurrence from this morning when I had given Mike the guitar. I couldn’t stop smiling. I had our special place back. Well, the closest it would ever be to our special place

“Happy birthday Candace.” Mike said.

He squeezed my hand tighter as he dragged me toward the swings. Charles pulled off the side of the road and headed back toward home. I didn’t notice because I was too keen on getting to the swings. I always got the left one and Mike got the right one. It was always that way and it would always stay that way.

I flung myself on the swing, laughing. Mike laughed with me. It felt like all of our worries and everything that had happened to us in these past months was gone. Everything seemed to be back to normal.

I got off the swing quickly and ran to the slide, Mike right behind me. He tried to catch me when he was standing on the ladder before I went down, but missed. When I reached the bottom, I looked up at him. He was smiling at me from the top, standing tall. His glare was strange; different from his usual looks. It didn’t seem bad, but I didn’t know if it was good either.

He suddenly jumped from the top of the slide and started to run for me. I screamed and ran for the edge of the forest. He tackled me before I got too far. He grabbed me, wrapping his arms around my entire body, pinning my arms. We crashed to the ground, but he made sure I landed on him.

He grunted as my weight fell on top of him. I laughed at his expression; pure shock and excitement mixed together. I just felt so at ease, feeling like I was truly at home here, and Mike seemed to feel the same way. He laughed too. This was more laughing that I could bare. I tried to twist my body away from his grip, but he held me firm. I only turn slightly so our chest were touching, heaving as one.

The smiles slowly faded from our faces as we looked at each other. Mike’s hold loosened on my body, but I didn’t get up. His eyes were pulling me into him, telling me to give in. I lay on his chest, my arms underneath me. I spread my palms over his chest, feeling his heart beat. It was so reassuring, feeling the steady beat.

The steadiness seemed to seep through my fingers to my heart, making it obey the beat as well. It sped up as I slowly moved my hand closer to his neck; Mike’s heart doing the same. I was so tempted to do what he wanted me to. My whole body seemed to be on fire everywhere we touched.

I looked up from my hands to Mike’s face. He was watching me, wondering what I was thinking. I know what he wanted to do, but knew he wouldn’t do it unless I let him. I just couldn’t do it, I couldn’t kiss him. It didn’t seem right. I rolled off his chest to lie next to him on the soft grass.

He sighed in frustration, but didn’t say anything. I was frustrated with myself as well, but knew I did the right thing. Mike was my friend that was it. A friend…right?

I stared at the blue sky as my heart slowed. A very small white cloud was in the sky; the only one I could see. Mike grabbed my hand—after a few minutes of silence—and pulled me to my feet. We went to the swings and sat down. Mike stood up right away and went behind me. He started to push on the small of my back, making me rock. I grabbed the chains, steadying myself.

Mike pushed harder against my back as I started to go. I soared higher and higher as he pushed. I closed my eyes to get the full effect. The wind against my hair, the sun on my face, Mike behind me; it felt so…right. I couldn’t describe it felt other than right. It wasn’t like being with Aiden, it was so different, so…

Mike interrupted my thoughts. I hadn’t realized that he had stopped pushing me. I opened my eyes to look around as I heard him speak. “You like this place?” he asked me.

I slowed myself down—dragging my feet along the small patch of gravel underneath me—to a stop. “Of course. It almost seems surreal.”

Mike nodded. “I found this park on my way here from the airport. It seems to be just like the one at home. It feels the same.”

I shuffled on the swing to make myself more comfortable. “It must have been good luck then.”

“I’m not so good with luck.”

I smiled lightly at him. “I know.”

Mike put his hands in his pockets and looked down at the ground. He played with the grass with his feet, moving his sneakers lightly over the blades. I swung back and forth on the swing, watching him. He seemed to be nervous again like he needed to tell me something. I waited for him to say it, but he just came over and sat on the swing next to me.

When he started to talk it again, it was barely a whisper. I had to lean in closer to him to hear what he was trying to say. “This. Feels. So. Right.” He sighed. On the last word He looked up from his hands to see what I would say. He was messing with his fingers, somewhat nervous.

I didn’t know what to say. I was thinking the same thing before, but would it be wrong to say so? Thinking it is different than saying it. What would he think if I told him that I felt the same way? Would he take it the wrong way—or the right way?

I settled with a nod. I didn’t think I could open my mouth and trust myself to say the right thing. Sitting here on the swing set with Mike did feel right. But not as right as I felt with Aiden.

I don’t know how long we were swinging silently on the swings, but when we finally stood, the back of my neck was starting to get sunburn. Mike went into the woods and grabbed a picnic basket that was hidden there. He laid out the blanket and the paper plates.

I gratefully sat down next to him and watched him pull Tupperware containers out that were filled with a variety of foods. The first on he took out, I could smell it before I saw it. The smell of fresh cantaloupe and watermelon tickled my nose as I breathed in the heavy scent.

Another container held some type of salad, and the last one he pulled out, he took off the cover and showed me what inside. Two large pieces of birthday cake sat on the bottom of the container. I smiled up at Mike. He was always prepared.

We both ate more than we could handle, but it felt good to have a full stomach; it was something I was use to. When we were finished, Mike said that we should probably get home so I could get ready. He would not tell me what for, but I knew anyway, so I didn’t push.

Mike held the picnic basket as we walked back home. I had no idea how close it was to home; on my walk this morning I could have passed it without realizing it. It made it even more surreal that it was here.

I looked back over my shoulder toward the park. I did not want to go, but I knew I should. Mike caught me looking and laughed. “We can go back anytime you want. Well, you can. I’ve got to leave tomorrow. Maybe we’ll go there early tomorrow before I go. I think we could have another time like this.”

I looked at the ground. How could I have forgotten Mike leaves tomorrow? How dumb was I? “I guess.”

When we got home, my mom greeted us with a wide grin. Her hair was tied up in a long ponytail—so not like her—and she was wearing a little pink sun dress. It was so odd seeing her not in a suit or blue jeans, I didn’t register it was her until she opened her mouth. “How did it go?” She wasn’t addressing me, she was addressing Mike.

He smiled sweetly at her, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Her smile faded a little, but didn’t entirely disappear. “That’s good. That’s good. Candace, I think you should go wash up and get ready for tonight…”

Mike cleared his throat, warning her. She looked up at him, and smiled, ashamed. “I got you a new outfit and want you to try it on. It’s on your bed.” She finished.

Mike grabbed my hand and led me up the stairs. My mom’s eyes were almost burning holes in the back of my neck, but I ignored her. She was acting too strange and I didn’t know what was up. I was sure it wasn’t the surprise party that really wasn’t a surprise at all.

Mike stopped in front of my door, not letting go of my hand. He leaned into me and kissed the top of my head. “Happy birthday, Candace.” He told me. He smiled as he rushed down the hall and turned the corner. Where his lips had touched my hair, it felt like it was on fire. Why would that happened with him? Mike was just a friend, right?

I sighed and went into my bedroom—not even thinking to look on my bed for the dress—and wandered into the bathroom. I was finally ready for a shower.