Corruption

Opening my bedroom door, I turned on the light and looked on my bed. There was only a small card on the covers. Of course I never expected anything to begin with so I wasn’t disappointed to see the red envelope. Snatching up the envelope, I ripped it open and was surprised when confetti spilled from it as I pulled out the card. The shiny pieces of plastic spilled over my lap and onto the floor. I sighed, looking at the mess around me.

I decided to pick it all up in a minute. Opening the card, I read through the cursive script that covered the inside of the card.

Mike,
I so glad to say that you are now eighteen. I have known you since you were in grade school and I have to say that you have grown to become a fine young man.

I know we have talked about this before, and I know how much you feel for her. I am so glad that she has been so nice to you both haven't lost the great friendship between the two of you. I do believe that this week would be a great time to do what I have been telling you to do for months. I know she feels that same way about you.

I am positive she will never turn you down. You need to gather up the courage to just tell her how you feel. I know she will tell you she feels the same. Don’t be worried about it. I know how she feels as well. I can feel the connection between you two when you are together.

I can’t help but believe you two will end up together. I wish you the best, and I hope you take good care of Candace. If you ever need to talk, I’m here. Just tell her you love her.

Love, Julie

My brows furrowed in slight confusion, still holding onto the card. Julie had gave this to me, I knew that. Was it real, or was it some sick joke? Julie was never the kind of person to do such a thing as this. Why would she need to? She usually just kept to herself and wouldn’t get into anyone else’s life. She was a firm believer in doing your own thing. So why had she given this to me now?

I put the card underneath my pillow so I could look at it later. My guitar was underneath my bed, so it took awhile to grab it. When I got it, I opened the case and took out the guitar, flinging my strap over my head. I tried to push the card out of my mind as I went back to Candace’s room.

I was so distracted when I arrived that I hadn’t noticed the little white ball of fluff at my feet until it started to bark profusely at me.

“Hi Mike.” Candace said from the bed, a large grin on her face.

“What is that?” I asked, pointing a finger at the little ball of fluff on the floor. I sat down on the bed next to Candace, still looking at the little yipping thing.

Candace scooped her into her arms and placed her on my lap before sitting back down next to me. “She is my birthday present. Her name is Cassandra.”

I scratched behind her ears, warming up to her in a split second after looking into her crystal blue eyes. “She’s rather cute.”

“Really?”

Cassandra jumped off of my lap and settled on Candace’s, laying her head on her paws. No longer paying any attention to the dog, I watched Candace. The words on the card came back into my mind as I watched Candace’s face light up with excitement at her new pet. Candace seemed to sense me watching and looked up from Cassandra. She cocked her head at my expression.

“You always wanted a dog.” I stated, not knowing what else to say.

“And now I have one.”

I turned away from to look at the ground. “Yeah,” I pulled the guitar off of my shoulder and settled in on my lap. Reaching into my pocket, I extracting my hand holding a very small plastic pick. “You ready?” I asked her.

She nodded, settling a little closer to me. Taking a deep breath, I started to play the song I had written while she was away. I always got caught up in what I was doing, so I forget about everything around me and began to play. The sound of it filled the room, and I heard Cassandra whine for a little while, then get quiet. I closed my eyes as I played, making it easier for myself to ignore Candace’s arm touching mine.

The song I was playing started out as peaceful melody, then turned into something ruff, and almost incoherent as to what the meaning was. The first part, I had written about Candace and the good memories I had of her. The second part was about the time I had called her that night, and I heard her getting attacked by… something. Thinking about the meaning of each and every cord, I started to get a little upset, but I finished the song.

“That was beautiful, Mike.” She told me. I didn’t look at her; I couldn’t look at her. I didn’t answer her either, I just stared at the puppy in her lap, trying to think of what I really wanted to do at this moment. I had a lot of questions going through my mind that I really wanted answered, but was sure it would upset Candace if I brought it up.

“Mike…” Candace’s hand reached out and grasped my arm, my scars under fingertips. She noticed them too and let go of my arm, the thoughts back in her mind again. I stood up, gliding away from her. If she did that every time she touched me, I don’t know what I would do. Running my fingers through my hair, I finally looked at Candace.

“Look Candace. I have a question.”

Candace stood up, Cassandra falling off of her lap, and walked over to me. “What about?”

“I just…” I began then stopped. Candace was already showing signs of being uncomfortable and worried. But I wanted to know, I needed to know. I knew so little about everything going on in her life and I wanted to be there for her no matter what the issue was. Choosing my words carefully, I said, “When I called that night…when your phone broke…what happened to you?”

Candace stumbled back to the bed and sat down, looking down at her feet. She looked as though she was somewhere else, remembering maybe. But she didn’t move, hardly even breathed. I came closer to her, putting down my guitar. “Candace?” I said, reaching toward her. I dropped my hand when her head moved to the side, looking at Cassandra who was sitting next to her on the covers.

Her face lifted, and mine fell, not wanting to see how upset she was. I got attacked,” she replied. The tears were coming slowly out of her eyes and down her cheeks to land on her clean dress. “By a vampire actually.”

“By Aiden?” I asked. I tried to keep the hostility out of my voice, but some leaked through. Of course Aiden hadn’t kept her safe that day. I hoped her felt guilty.

“No!” Candace yelled, flabbergasted. I flinched away from her voice, but she continued. “By Maryana. I wasn’t supposed to go near her, but I did anyway. It was my fault.”

“Did you get bit?”

“No.”

I sat down next to her on the bed. “You were okay?”

“Yes. Just a little bump on the head.” She wiped away the rest of her tears on her cheeks.

“Oh.”

We sat there on my bed, both flustered Anger was rising inside of me as I thought through it all. Candace got attacked by a vampire, while in Aiden’s house, under Aiden’s supervision. Of course that would happen there! Aiden’s house was a dangerous place and no one should ever go there. But of course Candace had to be in love with him. Being here seeing it all made it clear to me just how much. I grabbed my guitar in my hands for something to do other than sit there like an idiot.

This realization made me angry and upset at the same time. Before I knew what I was doing, my anger had taken over my body and I was screaming. “Then why didn’t you call me? Do you know what I went through after that—not knowing what happened to you? How could you not think to call me back? Do you know what you did to me in those few short hours?”

Now I was crying, small tears running down my cheeks. I whipped the few that had escaped from my eyes. Candace seemed startled and slowly inched away from me.

“I’m sorry, I…” she mumbled, still inching away.

“That was the worst day of my life!” I yelled. And it was true. It had been so horrible, hearing all of the commotion, Candace begging for her life, and then nothing. Who couldn’t be affected by that?

“Mike…please.” She begged her eyes wide with panic.

The sight of her fear made me realize I was up in her face, pressing her against the bed. I backed away immediately, regretting what I had done.

“I wasn’t thinking straight.” She told me, trying to calm me down. “I thought about calling you. There was just too much going on at the time. I’m sorry.”

I wiped my eyes again with the back of his hand, making sure I wasn’t still crying. “I know.” I got up from the bed again. Cassandra had been barking at us but we didn’t notice. We were too into our conversation to even try and shush her.

A sharp pain was in my finger so I placed the guitar on the bed. Flexing my fingers, I saw I had been holding the guitar too tightly so my fingers had cramped up. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have yelled.” I snatched up my guitar again and left the room, heading in my bedroom and slamming the door behind me. The wall shook a little with the force. Throwing the guitar on the bed, I yelled out in frustration, walking to the other side of the room and stopping.

I had never had a temper before. I was like my mom, calm and collected most of the time. Being here now, seeing all that has changed and all that I have missed must have changed me somehow. The thing that was making me frustrated with myself was that I had no idea what or who I was really angry at.

I stood by the wall and leaned against it, my eyes closing with frustration. At the moment, I was angry with myself for scaring Candace as much as I had. She had been so frightened, so vulnerable and I had made her that way. My bedroom door opened, and I wanted scream at the person to leave me alone, but I stayed where I was, my eyes staying closed. I would have to calm myself down before I did anything else.

Someone stood next to me, their presence known but not appreciated. The voice I heard surprised me a little, but not enough to open my eyes. “You okay Mike?” Julie asked.

“Peachy.” I hissed letting my head hit the wall. I wasn't too concerned about the reason why Julie was in my room at the moment, but I was still a little curious.

“Candace is just a little upset, that’s all.” Had she heard us yelling, what we had said?

“I’m not sure what that all was about, but I can tell she cares about you. She just doesn’t want to hurt you Mike, and I know you feel the same way.” I turned to her and opened my eyes. She was smiling at me in a reassuring way, sitting on the couch, her hands on her stomach like it had been at dinner. “She has missed you so much, you don’t even know. You make her happy when you are around. There has been such a difference since you arrived.”

I shrugged, still trying to figured out what she meant by the card. Of course she was going to be the one to talk to me about loving her daughter. How awkward is this going to be?

“You have to believe in your love for her Mike. I know she loves you too.”

I sniffed, then went over to my closet and opened the door, grabbing a pair of pajamas. “I’m just really tired, I should just go to bed and sleep for awhile.”

Julie got up from the couch and waddled to the door. “Okay Mike, but remember what I told you.” She closed the door quietly behind her. I threw the pair of pants I was holing on the bed. I wanted to punch something, kick something, kill something. I was thinking anything or anyone in particular, but the thoughts were there.

The thoughts scared me. I had never been a violent type just like I had never been an ill tempered type. I was changing so much from just being here. If I stayed here any longer, I would surely explode.

I snatched up the pajamas again and changed into them. I grabbed the covered that were covering my bed and ripped them from their place, bringing them out onto the balcony. I set up my place there, lying one of the two on the cold stone. I went back and grabbed a pillow and chucked it down onto the ground.

I turned off the light and went back outside on the balcony, closing both of the doors to lock everything inside. Nothing would come to me out here.

“Havn’t you heard it isn’t good to go to bed angry?” Aiden asked. His voice came from above me, but I didn’t look. I punched my pillow, laid my head down, and pulled the other blanket on top of me and over my head.

Aiden jumped down from the roof and landed with a soft thump next to my head. “I was serious.” He said.

“Shut up Aiden.” I grumbled into my pillow.

Aiden sighed. “She’s not as upset as you think she is. She’s a big girl.”

I flung the blanket off of my head, and sat up straight. “Who said I was worrying about Candace?” The truth was, this was the first time I really wasn’t thinking about Candace. I was thinking about myself.

Aiden was standing on the railing, hovering over me. He sat down now, his feet dangling in front of my face. “Aren’t you?”

“No I’m not. Not that that is any of your business.” I turned and faced the house, the moon giving it a slight glow. I started to look at the swirls in the ,marble, trying to see if I could see a picture of something. It was a good distraction until Aiden opened his mouth again.

“You want to talk about it?” he asked quietly. He was girlier than I thought.

“With you? Hell no.” And plus, I’m not no damn charity case he can just come over and help. I could take of myself. He didn’t need to try and save every single person in the world. It was just annoying.

“You sure? I could…”

“Shut up Aiden.”

Aiden did shut up, but he didn’t get off of the railing and leave. I covered my face back up with the blanket, and sighed out of frustration. I didn’t get why he tried to be friend when he clearly hated my guts. The feelings were mutual though. Sure we were civil at times, but we always got into fights. Well, I did. He never fought back, always staying quiet and keeping his thoughts to himself.

I use to be like him, able to keep it all inside and hide it all, but now that I’m here, that power was slowly easing away from me. I yawned, my anger warring me down. I curled up a little under the blankets and tried to cut all thoughts about everything from my mind, but it didn’t really work. I could still hear Aiden’s rhythmic breathing behind me, the light chirp of the crickets in the garden, and the soft hoot of a near by owl.

Trying to stay up until Aiden left just didn’t work. My eyes got too heavy, and my limbs were too exhausted to do anything about it. I fell asleep uneasily, remembering the nightmare I had the last time I slept out here…

Candace was clawing at Marissa’s hand around her throat, constricting her airway. “You are going to tell me everything I need to know.” Marissa screamed, throwing Candace on to the ground. Her head whipped to look in my direction, then she smiled. “How are you Mike?” she said with a devilish grin.

Marissa ignored me once again and went over to Candace,, grabbing both of her wrists in her tight grip. Candace was having a hard time breathing, her chest rising and falling with strain.

“You are going to tell me or he dies!” Marissa pointed to me, her fingers long for her size.

Candace nodded, still not able to get her breathing normal.

Marissa smiled slightly, which made Candace slowly shrink away from her towards the wall behind her, Her eyes shifted t me who was still held back by a short black hair women. I no longer struggled though, knowing that I was unable to win against this woman.
“Good. Now I know Aiden hasn’t told you a lot about his past, but you need to tell me as much as you know.”

Candace nodded again.

“Did he tell you about his great, great grandfather?” Candace winced from her as if in pain, then just as quickly as the expression had come, it was gone, replaced now by fear.

“Yes.” Candace mumbled.

“Good. What did he tell you?”

“He was a vampire hunter.”

“Good.” She seethed. She thought for a moment before continuing. “Did he show you anything that he might have given him?”

“No.”

“What the hell does that have to do with anything you bitch?” I whispered, trying not to be heard and yet trying be heard by the whole world. Candace tried to look in my direction, but Marissa’s hand shot out and grabbed her chin, bringing her back into focus.

“I really think you should be quiet unless you want Marissa to go totally crazy and kill your friend over there.” The woman holding me said, her grip loosening on my arms. I didn’t try to run from her because I knew she would get to me before I could even take one step. “Now I won’t hurt yo if you just stay put over by me, okay?”

I ground my teeth together. No way in hell was I going to talk to this creature. She sighed. “You don’t have to answer me if you don’t want to. I hear you loud and clear.” My head turn a little to look at her, but I stopped myself before I could get a good look at her. It didn’t matter who she was.

“Pay attention my dear.” Marissa tried to say sweetly. “Well did any of the other Westcotts?”

“No.” Candace answered, still on the ground trying to get her breathing in order.

She grunted in frustration letting go of Candace’s face. Candace stole a quick glance in my direction and saw the woman was talking to him in a low voice only I could hear. She quickly looked back at Marissa before she saw. She didn’t seem to notice.

“What else did he say about his great, great grandfather?”

“Nothing really. We never really talked about him.”

Again, she thought before she spoke. “Did he show you any kind of book?”

I could see her mind working, trying to think of what the woman was talking about. She must have realized she knew what the woman was talking about because her breathing began to speed up. “No.” she said hesitantly.

The women behind me shuffled a little where she was.

Marissa had noticed Candace's reluctantness and how much she had hesitated to answer her. Marissa gaze went from Candace to the man standing by the door. His body was unmoving when he said, "She's lying."

Marissa seemed satisfied that the man at the door knew what he was talking about. “Well, I see we have to teach you to tell the truth—“ Marissa stepped closer to Candace, her face showing menace. “I will ask you one more time, did Aiden show you a book?”

“No.” Candace said feebly. Her voice seemed more confident than it had the last time she had answered, but it still quavered.

“Lie—“ seethed the man by the door.

Marissa threw Candace onto the hay stack letting go of one of her hands. “I don’t think you get that I am serious. Tell me the truth!”

“He didn’t show me a book!” Candace yelled. Marissa’s eyes widen with rage, her muscles in her arms becoming hard, and more pronounced. Candace's face turned to pain again, as she grasped Marissa hand on her wrist. “He didn’t!” she yelled again. Marissa smirked, and finally a small snap was heard throughout the room. Candace screamed out in pain, tears coming to her eyes.

I struggled against the women behind me, her grasp becoming hard on my arms. "Candace!" I kept yelling, trying to get her to look at me. "You evil bitch!" I yelled at Marissa who's back was to me. Of course she ignored my feeble attempts to try and get to her.

Marissa let go of Candace's wrist and smiled down at her. “You do have plenty more bones for me to break. I won’t mind doing it to your friend over there either.” She jerked her head toward Candace, and the woman holding me brought me over to the other side of the shack, thrusting me down on the ground toward Candace. I gave me a worried look that she returned.

"Are you okay Candace?" I asked her, looking at her wrist which was already swelling to an abnormal size.

“So about that book?” Marissa asked politely.

"There is no book!" Candace whimpered, afraid of what she was going to do. Marissa glared at her, still trying to get the information she wanted.

"What does the book look like?" I asked, trying to stall her. He seemed abnormally calm for being so angry. If I could get her attention to me, maybe she would let Candace stay alive.

"Why does that matter?" She snarled, getting inches away from my face. Her breath was blissful and more of a fragrance than I thought it would have been. It was starting to memorize me, so I started to breath out of my mouth instead of my nose.

"How are we supposed to know what book you are talking about? Maybe Aiden has a whole library of books that he showed to Candace. How is she supposed to know what book you are talking about?"

Marissa thought about it for a moment then stomped her foot came down on my leg nearest her. A second after I heard the snap, I felt it. The bone jabbed into my leg, and I could feel it pressing against my skin, threatening to poke through. I screamed, then started to breath through my teeth, keeping my screams of agony inside. The thing I could help was me tipping over to one side onto the hay stake, clutching at my leg.

"It's an old damn book! Who cares?" Marissa screamed. "Now where is the damn book?"

No one answered. The only noise inside the room was Candace's short bursts of breath, and my very long strained ones. I glanced at Candace from the hay stake, trying to see what I could possibly do. I could tell that she knew what Marissa was talking about, but didn't want to say anything about it.

Marissa was even scarier than before. Her eyes seemed to have fire in them. Her teeth were bared and her hair was flying everywhere. She screamed and brought her hand up to hit me. I closed my eyes, waiting for the pain that was to come.

"No!" Candace screamed, but she did it anyway.

She struck me across the face with the back of her hand. I flung father than I should have because of her strength. I fell right in front of Candace, unconscious, blood trickling from my mouth. My mind was swimming, and I couldn't get up. The surroundings slowly became fuzzy and I found it hard to move so I stayed where I was, trying to stay awake, but having a difficult time.

Candace whimpered weakly, but I couldn't see her. My head was facing the other way, making me look at the women that had been holding me back. There was a slight shuffle of feet and Candace screamed, a sob escaping from her mouth.

"What was that you were saying?" Marissa asked.

"I know where the book is—" Candace sobbed.

"WHERE?" Marissa demanded, her voice rising in either excitement or fear.

"It's in the Westcott house, in my room there. That's all I know."

"Well that wasn't so hard, now was it?" Marissa asked. I saw her walk in front of me and walked out of the door, the man by the door following her. I just couldn't hold on any longer, I had to fall into the darkness. I was just in so much pain…

I shot up and grabbed my leg, massaging the muscle there. I frequently had problems with my leg, and it was always during the night. Right now, it was the worst it had ever been, making me breathe through my teeth.

"You okay?" Aiden asked, still sitting on the railing.

I jumped, not realizing he was there. "What are you still doing here? Watching me sleep?"

"No, I was watching Candace sleep actually. But you seemed to be dreaming…like usual."

I thought for a moment, then asked again, "You were watching me sleep?"

Aiden chuckled. "Don't flatter yourself." His balance was exceptional as he stood up on the railing and started to walk across it towards Candace's balcony that was on the other side of the house. "I'll leave you to cry in peace."

I grunted, still trying to get rid of the pain in my leg. All of the nightmares I kept having here were just not working for me. Aiden leapt from the railing and held onto the inch thick ledge that was sticking out of the outer wall of the house. He glided along it until he turned to the corner and was out of sight. He really creeped me out sometimes.

I sat up a little straighter, looking around me seeing the slightest sign that dawn was approaching. The sky was a lighter shade of black, almost blue, and there were no longer stars visible in the sky. I sighed and laid back down on the hard cement. I had come out here to sleep so I would have to think about anything that had happened, but that didn't turn out as well as I had hoped. It just followed me outside.

"Dumb Aiden…" I mumbled into my pillow. He was always around, trying to get into my head. Of course it worked ninety percent of the time, but that wasn't the point. I didn't see why he always wanted to compete with me; he already had Candace so there was no point in trying to drive me away. Unless he thought there was a chance that Candace would leave him…