“Kip.” Tyson knocks on my door, like he has every day this week.
And like I’ve done every time, I pretend I’m not here.
“I know you’re in there. I can hear you moving around.” Tyson sighs.
“…no you can’t…” I call back.
The doorknob rattles. There’s a thunk against the door when the knob doesn’t turn.
“You have to come out sometime, dude. You can’t stay in there forever.” Tyson says, trying to be gentle. “Just let me in. Let’s talk.”
“I have nothing to talk about with you, or anyone else.” I let my body slide down my headboard, until I’m flopped on my back, sprawled across the bed. “Let me dry out and die.”
I can almost hear the rolling of Tyson’s eyes.
“Don’t be dramatic. You’re being way too serious and it’s freaking me out. Being a vampire is supposed to be fun. You haven’t even tried out all your new powers.” Tyson tries to coerce me.
“I don’t want them.” I know I’m acting like a child, but I don’t care.
“I’ve given you time, Kip. I’ve been pretty patient. I could’ve broken this door down days ago, but I didn’t.” Tyson’s voice turns from soft to threatening. “I’m done playing this game with you, though. If you don’t open this door in the next two minutes, I’m ripping it off the hinges. And then I’m making you pay for repairs.”
I sigh. Why can’t people leave me alone?
“If I let you in, will you leave me alone afterwards?” I hedge.
There’s a pause. “…yes?”
“You’re a fucking liar.” Fine. I huff, heaving myself off the bed. It’s clear that my body has gotten even stronger, and my legs carry me faster than I’m expecting. Fast enough that I can’t stop myself before I run into the door with a thud.
“Ummmphh.” I groan at my head bounces off the door so fast it feels like I have whiplash.
“You might wanna open the door before trying to walk through the doorway.” Tyson interjects, unhelpfully.
Stepping back, I pull the door open forcefully, after unlocking it of course.
I frown at Tyson. Did you know that your face muscles can actually begin to hurt from frowning so much? I’ve never really frowned in myentire life, and now I’m probably going to get frown lines. Do vampires get wrinkles? That would suck, to be immortal but still get wrinkles. But since Tyson still looks like a twenty-five year old dude, even though he said he was turned in the eighties, I’m guessing wrinkles and frown lines aren’t a thing in the vamp community.
I flop back onto my bed facedown, burying my face in the covers.
The bed sinks down next to me as Tyson sits. Nacho was curled up on my pillow, but as soon as Tyson plops down, Nacho stands, hackles raised, and hisses.
Blindly, I reach out to my little kitten buddy and pull him towards me. “I know, Nacho. Tyson is a big meanie. It’s okay though, I’ll protect you.”
Tyson ignores my jab. “Look, Kipper. I know this is a lot. And I know you’re upset about hurting that Charlie kid. But moping around isn’t going to help anything. This isn’t like you. I’ve never seen you down like this.”
I snort. “Udntrlynome.” I mumble into the bed.
“What?”
With a deep, annoyed breath, I tilt my head to the side so my mouth is free. “You don’t really know me. Just like I don’t really know you. This has all been a lie.”
“Oh please, will you stop with the dramatics? None of it was a lie. Sure, when we first met I was using you. But after that we became friends, and it’s been genuine since.”
“You can’t prove that, though.” I turn my head away again.
“I mean, would I still be here trying to help you if I wasn’t your friend? And, doesn’t it say something that Charlie isn’t here helping you? Who is your real friend here?”
“Don’t talk about him. You don’t know anything about Charlie.” I snap.
