Seem to Stop My Breath

Crash’s point of view

I felt sorry for confusing the hell out of Cassie last night, I have no idea why. Maybe I’m going soft. I decided, I’d apologize first thing the next morning. I went downstairs for some breakfast and saw her lying on the couch. With Gerard’s favorite blanket. He never let anyone sleep with it. I called him a four year old once, because of it. He then proceeded to call me a meanie and slammed the door to his room. A few seconds later he opened the door laughing so hard he was doubled over. I decided that Gerard had to have given Cassie the blanket. Last night before Frank and I slipped back into our room I heard someone slam a door. It must have been Cassie. Gerard probably did or said something to get her mad. Later, he felt bad about it and probably brought her the blanket. She was in plain view, it’s not like she had really tried to hide. I went to the kitchen grabbed something to eat, then grabbed a glass pitcher of juice. I walked out to where Cassie was sleeping and set down two glasses on a table near her. I sat down on a chair, watching her, trying to figure out what could have happened. Within five minutes of me sitting there Cassie started to stir. Slowly she opened her eyes and saw me sitting there. She jumped, not that I’d blame her.
“Morning”
“Morning Crash.”
She looked close to tears.
“What happened?”
“I did something stupid, and I don’t think he loves me.”
Would she believe me if I told her that she’s all he thinks about? That he comes home depressed and all you have to do is mention the name Cassie and he cheers up. He loves her whether she’ll believe me or not.
“What makes you think that”
“I asked him to do something and he said he couldn’t. He could though. I know he could, he just won’t commit.”
“What did you ask?”
She stared at me and bit her lip. As if trying to decide whether or not I was trustworthy. Cassie was quite for a couple of minutes, then she seemed to deem me trustworthy.
“I asked him to bite me.”
“Oh”
“Yeah, he said he couldn’t”
“he wasn’t lying”
“What?”
“He could be kicked out of this house for something like that. His parents would probably murder him.”
“Why?”
“Honestly? I’m not entirely sure. It has something to do with free will and the fact that you would have to live here for close to a month. Becoming a vampire isn’t as easy as it sounds. It’s really painful.”
“How so?”
“Think all of the despair, the depression, the physical pain you experienced as a teenager.”
“Okay, but what does that have do to with anything?”
“When you turn into a vampire, your body physically changes. It doesn’t happen overnight. You need to develop the ability to digest human blood, and certain antibodies to prevent getting sick from the blood. You grow fangs. It’s really painful. Supposedly it’s harder to watch someone go though it than go through it yourself. I wouldn’t know, I’m the newest vampire here. When I went through it, Frank seemed to change. I knew it was affecting him more than me. I don’t think Gerard has the heart to put you through that kind of pain.”
Cassie’s face was full of tears. Yet I could see it in her eyes that she understood. No matter how hard she could ever press Gerard he still might not do it.
“Why would I have to live here if..”
“Because it wouldn’t be safe outside these walls. There are vampire hunters, they know we live here, and they also know you’re not a vampire. We call them slayers. If you were in the process of becoming a vampire they could kill you easier than when you are one. They would use that to their advantage.”
“That’s awful!”
“I wouldn’t say that Cass, A slayer saved your life once.”
We turned around to see Gerard standing there. Cassie scooted over on the couch and he sat next to her, facing her.
“Remember that first night that we talked?”
“Yeah, of course. That was the night that that guy attacked me.”
“Well, he was a vampire, but not very good at hiding it.”
“You lied to me!”
“Would you have believed me if I told you the truth? I had met you five hours before.”
“True”
I didn’t know any of this, so I stayed quiet while they talked. They ignored me, and I defiantly wasn’t going to draw attention to myself.
“So, the guy’s name was Kyle, and we didn’t exactly get along with his little cult that followed him around the country. So when I saw him and the Slayer following him, I decided to see what they were up to. I though I lost them, but then I heard you scream. When I came around the corner and saw you and him I froze. In my panic I looked up and saw the slayer taking aim. When he shot Kyle I knew I had to get you home as soon as possible. If Kyle’s friends had found out you played a role in his death they would be after you “
“Why would they come after me?”
“You screamed. Most people don’t. You called attention to the fact that someone was about to bite you. You helped save you own life.”
Ana ran into the room , out of breath. The three of us stared at her. As she caught her breath she looked at Gerard and spilled.
“Gerard your parents came home last night, and they saw Cassie on the couch. They want to talk to you.”
“Fuck”
The three of us watched Gerard stand up and shakily walk up the stairs toward his parent’s room on the fourth floor.