Bloody Little Secrets

by Karly Kirkpatrick

  *

  Physics was the ultimate boredom today. I was tempted to give the teacher one of my special looks and head outside. Anything would be better than listening to Mr. Bez drone on about the finer points of Newton’s law. My mind was distracted anyways, wandering to thoughts of Drake. Was he okay? We had lunch the following period. I carefully slid my phone from my purse, doing my best to not be seen by Mr. Bez. I nearly jumped out of my seat when the phone came to life in my hands, buzzing urgently. A text popped up on the screen.

  Car! Help!

  It was from Drake. I threw the phone back in my bag and gathered my things before rushing to the front of the class.

  “Excuse me, Mr. Bez,” I said and interrupted him midsentence. He turned to look at me, simmering with anger. “May I please go to the nurse?”

  “No, I don’t think so. I’ve asked this class many times to please wait for an opportune time to ask me for such things.” He glanced at me sternly and turned back to the chalkboard. “Go sit down, Vicky.”

  A few voices snickered in the back of the room. Now was not the time to mess around. I turned on my heel and stormed out of the room. Mr. Bez turned to follow me, but once I hit the hallway I picked up speed and was at the central staircase just as he was sticking his head out the door. This could be fixed later. I dashed down the wide staircase to the main doors that led out to the parking lot.

  “Whoa there, young lady, do you have a pass?” an elderly rotund man with a bright, bald head asked as I reached the door.

  I widened my eyes and got close to his face. We were almost nose to nose. I could smell him, the scent of greasy fried food, chicken. And maybe some liver. My stomach turned. I guess there were some things I still wouldn’t eat.

  “I’ve shown you my pass and I’m leaving for the day.”

  His eyes glazed and his body went a bit slack, his aggressive stance relaxing. “You’ve shown me your pass.”

  I slammed the door open and tore across the sidewalk and into the parking lot, sprinting for my car, which I had parked in the back, near the trees. I skidded to a stop a few feet from it, nervous that there was no sign of Drake.

  “Drake, are you here?” I said, knowing if he was anywhere around, his hearing would pick that up.

  He jumped up between cars, a horrified look on his face.

  “Vicky, I’m so sorry.”

  I took the last few feet in a few long strides and came to where he stood, near the trunk of my car. A van was parked next to me, blocking our view of the woods. Drake pointed down to the ground and I could see two bodies slumped next to the Mustang, leaning against the van. A boy and a girl, both deathly pale.

  “Oh, Drake, what did you do?” I breathed.

  “I swear, I didn’t mean it. I came out here to get the blood. It got to be too much. I was sitting in math and all of a sudden my fangs shot out. I ran out here just so no one would see. I got to the car, but before I could get in, this happened.” He pointed at the bodies.

  “Are they still alive?” I sniffed the air, catching caprese salad, mozzarella, and garlic. “One of them is.”

  “That’s Allison. She and I used to date. The van was rocking as I came up to the Mustang, but I had no idea she was in there. They opened the door as I was trying to get into the car, but that asshole got in my face and I just lost it.”

  I glanced down, noticing his throat was ripped more violently open than the girl’s.

  “Allison started screaming at me and I had to shut her up. I didn’t know what to do.” He slumped to the ground, rubbing his face with his hands. “What did I do?”

  “The same thing I did,” I said. “Throw him in his van and shut the door. There’s nothing we can do for him.”

  I knelt down next to Allison, taking in her ample chest and blond hair. So this had been my predecessor, the one who had destroyed my Drake. Anger surged through my veins and my instinct wanted to end her, to make her go away. But she was still alive, and keeping her alive would damage Drake much less. I willed my fangs out and bit into my wrist, shoving it into her mouth.

  “Drink this, you’ll feel better,” I whispered as Drake hoisted the boy’s body into the van and slammed the door. She was barely conscious but managed to get a few sips. The holes on her neck closed, leaving a smear of blood behind. I pulled some wet wipes out of my purse and cleaned it up as she regained her strength.

  “Ow, what happened?” she asked, glancing up and looking at Drake. Her face blanched even whiter. “You,” she said, “you killed Tyson, Drake. Why would you do that?”

  Drake walked around to the other side of the car. I grabbed Allison’s arm and pulled her close. Looking deep into her green eyes I said, “you are fine. You were not attacked by Drake or anyone else. Last time you saw Tyson, he was alive and well. You tell people that he was dealing drugs. And you will stop being such a whore.”

  She gazed at me with glassy eyes. “I’m fine. Tyson sells drugs. I will stop being a whore,” she said.

  “Now go back into school and go to class.” I pulled her to her feet and pushed her towards the building. Drake sat numbly in the passenger seat as I slid into the driver’s seat. I started the car and threw it into reverse, spinning the tires as I tore out of the parking lot.

  Drake pulled the blood bags out of the cooler and handed me one.

  “Not hungry?” I nodded towards him after taking a deep sip.

  “I don’t want this, Vicky. I don’t want to be this way. I just killed a guy!” A few tears splashed across his cheeks. My heart shattered, seeing him cry, knowing that I made him this way.

  “I’m so sorry Drake. We didn’t know what would happen with my blood in your system. But even if I could take it back, I wouldn’t. I couldn’t bear to lose you.” I set the blood bag down and wiped away a few of my own tears.

  “I know you’re really upset right now, but that’s what you have to work on, fighting the urge. You didn’t kill Allison,” I said, hoping that would make him feel somewhat better.

  “When I was drinking from her it dawned on me who she was, the anger and hunger had faded a little. I just can’t believe it.” He buried his face in his hands.

  I was silent. What more could I say? He wasn’t given the option, just like me. If anyone understood him, it was me.

  “You have two options, Drake, and I don’t mean this to sound as awful as it will.” I reached across the seat and grabbed his hand away from his face. “You can learn to control it. Or kill yourself. These are the only options.”

  I drove through town, heading to Sue’s house. She was at work today. And Drake needed to be away from people.

  We trudged into Sue’s silent house and plopped down on the couch in front of the TV. I didn’t bother turning it on.

  “So that’s it. Those are my only options?” Drake slouched on the couch.

  “I’m afraid so. But if I can do it, so can you. Take a sick day tomorrow. We can go to the mall and practice, if you want.”

  He leaned into me, his lips finding mine. “I want whatever keeps me with you,” he said between kisses. “No matter how hard it is.”