Lexi,
Your dad and I have gone to Myrtle Beach for the night. I deposited extra money in your account for pizza; the number is on the post-it by the phone. We should be back by 11am tomorrow.
Call me if you need anything!
Stay Safe! Love you, Mom
I sighed and looked around the empty space. I never enjoyed spending time alone in my house the way most teenagers pined for. I secluded myself most of the time but I felt secure knowing someone was nearby.
We had a rather large house for the neighborhood. It’s a grand two story home with a colonial design spread over thirty-five hundred heated square feet. There were five bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms. Two bedrooms were on the first floor, my parents master and another they reconfigured into their office. I had the upstairs master and adored having my own attached bathroom. The other rooms were set as guest quarters though we’d had zero guests in the last seven years actually stay here.
Reluctantly I made my way to the phone and ordered my pizza. The guy said thirty minutes for delivery so I trudged upstairs to my room. I grabbed my MacBook and plopped down on my king size bed. I checked my e-mail prior to the daunting task of updating all of my networking sites. How did these things become so popular again? MySpace, Tagged, hi5, Facebook, twitter… it feels like a chore!
I quickly logged my activity in Facebook, Tagged, hi5 and twitter. Last was always MySpace. Never failing in consistency were my friend requests from new foreign bands claiming to be local or upcoming rappers messaging event invites galore – unavoidably annoying! And don’t even get me started on the survey bulletins of random unimportant questions. Who cares what you’re first thought is when ‘yellow van’ is mentioned?! Ugh. Needless to say I saved the worst for last I guess; at least it’s a million times easier to navigate than Facebook, but the equivalent to being entertained by a dog sometimes.
I logged in. Surprise, surprise! - new friend requests. “What band is it today?” I asked out loud as I clicked on the ‘new friend requests’ alert.
“Oh,” I gasped. Kellan sent me a friend request. I quickly accepted and clicked to view his profile. His background was a woodsy landscape of forest and mountains in a dark setting under a full moon. His ‘about me’ section was simple reading:
My name is Kellan. I’m from Seattle and just moved to Charleston, SC. I’m quiet. I enjoy the peace I have within my mind. If you want to know something, just ask me.
I clicked his photos link; he had five photos posted. The first was of Kellan along a jogging trail it looked like, though he clearly wasn’t jogging in jeans. I gave him the benefit of the doubt though; Seattle is far different from Charleston. The second was him and, I was guessing, his best friend in Seattle; attached was the caption ‘Me & Craig’. He was just as gorgeous as Kellan; the same build and beautiful blue eyes matching messy wind-blown blonde hair. The third picture was of Seattle, a city scape with the space needle. The fourth pic was of Kellan in the backseat of a car, I assumed it was his parent’s. The caption read ‘On the drive from Seattle to Charleston’.
The last picture was a group photo. The description read ‘Family Reunion – August.’ I looked at his family. Everyone was beautiful. Aunts, uncles, cousins, they all stood flawlessly on the page. They seemed related in some fashion; their features were different yet united. They all adorned the same flawless complexion despite the dark and light hues of their mostly toned bodies.
It took me a minute to recognize the pair. I gasped. There in the back row were my parents. Unmistakably my dad had his arm around my mother, as did many of the other men with their spouses. That’s impossible though. Mom and Dad were supposed to be in Spain. This doesn’t make any sense. Why would they lie to me about Spain?
I jumped at the sound of the doorbell. I checked the time on my phone. Sure enough it had been half an hour. I scurried down the stairs to open the door.
I decided to watch TV as I ate my pizza in the family room. I flipped through channel after channel on the satellite finding nothing of interest. I eventually settled on the classic movie ‘Roman Holiday’ with Audrey Hepburn. I enjoyed classic shows and movies; the new stuff was entertaining but just doesn’t compare to the wholesome appeal love carried in earlier decades.
I grabbed a second slice of pizza as my phone rang. Without checking the caller ID, I answered, “Hello?”
“Hey babe, what’s up?”
“Not much. Eating pizza and watching a movie,” I replied. “What about you?”
“Just chillaxing,” he stated hesitantly. There was a good two minutes of silence before he spoke again, rather reluctantly. “Lex, can I ask you something without you getting weird on me?”
“Sure. What’s going on?” I was trying to be nonchalant but my interest was piqued if only by his strange aura today.
“Um. Well, I’m not really sure how to word this right so I’m just going to ask it,” he explained.
“Okay. Just spit it out,” I encouraged.
“Do your parents like me?” I knew he was building to something.
“As far as I know,” I offered in slight confusion.
He sighed quietly before continuing. “I don’t want to sound like a prick but why did your mom push you to ask another guy out? That’s just shady shit parents pull when they don’t approve of their daughter’s boyfriend.”
I instantly understood and felt guilty. I couldn’t blame him for his perspective; it made sense when dealing with most families, but not mine. My parents weren’t like that; particularly my mom. She didn’t have a problem expressing her disapproval and, thus far, she’d shared none over Mike.
“I know how it looks and I don’t blame you for thinking that, but my mom isn’t conniving. My parents have known Kellan’s since I was a baby. I really do believe it’s just my mom’s way of helping welcome them to the area. I don’t think she meant any harm. Plus, I agreed that we could make it a group thing. It’s nothing Mike, really. I promise.”
I could feel his tension start to slip away. I knew he didn’t completely believe me, but it did no good to push further. My parents hadn’t done or said anything to make me think Mike was right in any way. Likewise, he didn’t know of anything they’d said or done to imply he was right so we were at a dead end.
“Sorry. I just, well, I didn’t expect any competition I guess.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” My heart sunk a little. I knew he didn’t have any competition. He never did and probably never would, but hearing him say it hurt. I felt like he’d just stabbed me with a short, sharp blade and awaited my reaction.
“Hey! That’s a trick question.”
“How so?” I sat up on the couch, having abandoned my pizza long ago, anticipating his reply.
“Ok, so I maybe stuck my foot in my mouth back there. I didn’t mean it the way it sounded. I don’t expect to keep you forever-“ he fumbled before I abruptly cut him off.
“Come again!” My mind was reeling. I was struggling to take in his whirlwind of misguided destruction.
“I, damn it,” he huffed in frustration. “I just meant that I didn’t expect any competition so soon. I thought I’d have you to myself for a little while before I had to fight for your attention again.”
Well, he did come up with a nice save. It still didn’t erase the unease I felt inside. We usually say things we mean when we speak without thinking; they just tend to get us in more trouble because they lack the editing that softens the blow or avoids the point.
It had me questioning how he truly felt about me. I mean I knew Mike cared about me to a certain degree, but even the best of friends could be the cruelest of judges.
“Um, I think I’m just going to go for now.”
“Babe, don’t go. I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean it; you know that,” he pleaded.
“It’s ok. I’m not mad.” It was the truth. I wasn’t mad; I was upset and disappointed. Mike was always the one lifting me up, never cutting me down. He’d never m
ade a joke about my weight or offhand comment about my imperfections. Until now, I thought he liked me just the way I was, but now I was wondering if he liked me simply because he knew no one else would. Men are territorial, just like dogs. Am I just a pissing contest to him?
“I don’t believe you.”
“I’m fine, really. I just want to watch the rest of my movie. I’ll talk to you later.” I tried to inject as much enthusiasm into my tone as possible praying it would be enough to convince him.
“Uh, ok. I’ll call you later?” he asked rather than declared.
“Sure. I’ll talk to you later.”
I quickly hung up the phone to avoid any more awkwardness. He’d officially destroyed the confidence I’d had in our relationship. I knew it was sad that one phrase could demolish a month of dating and five years of friendship, but I was weak. Ok, perhaps I was more pathetic than weak. I just didn’t have any solid reasons to believe in myself and questioned my once concrete beliefs in the idea of ‘us,’ especially now that Kellan was absorbing most of my mental concentration.
I felt even worse when I started to cry. It wasn’t even that time of the month, but I felt overly emotional over the situation. Maybe I put Mike on too high of a pedestal. He’d always been the picture of perfection as a boyfriend. He walked me to three out of four of my classes, was openly affectionate with me regardless of the audience, called me every night to wish me sweet dreams; he reassured me around every corner and solidified my belief in the idea of love and a happily ever after, and I fought hard to believe it, but no one person can truly live up to that image forever. No one person can solely hold up a relationship, and lately I’d been questioning ours.
I’d just started to regain control over my heaves when my phone rang. I wasn’t familiar with the number, but on the off chance it was my parents calling from the hotel, I answered it.
“Hello?”
“Um, hi Lexi. It’s Kellan.”
“Oh, hi” I answered trying to clear the lingering effects of crying from my voice as I quickly wiped the last of my tears from my cheek and allowed one last quiet sniffle to escape.
“Did I call at a bad time?”
“Oh no. No. It’s fine; I’m fine. Sorry,” I stumbled.
“Are you ok?” I was surprised at the genuine concern that lit his voice.
“Yeah. I’m good, thanks. Want to catch a movie tomorrow?” I changed the subject. I was trying to sound chipper, but the chip never quite made it.
“I like horror. Are you up for ‘Diary of an Axe Murderer’?” he asked.
“That sounds ok.” I fidgeted for a minute knowing I needed to warn him ahead of time about the others I’d inadvertently invited through Mike. “I hope you don’t mind, but I sort of agreed to this being a group thing.” I felt bad springing that part on him last minute. I always felt uncomfortable in group settings, but could only imagine the magnitude if everyone was a stranger.
“It’s cool,” he replied casually.
“Good. What time’s best for you?”
“It’s a requirement that all horror movies are viewed at night.”
“Ok. I’ll check the times and text you. Are you ok to meet at Barnes & Noble across the street?”
“Sure. See ya then.”
“Ok. Bye.”
The second I slid my phone closed it went off again. I checked the caller ID, but it was Mel.
“Hey,” I answered expectantly.
“Let me just cut to the chase.”
“Thanks for the greeting. Proceed.” I smirked. Only Mel could get away with such rudeness.
“So apparently your boyfriend was a you know what and said something that put him in the pound, but he felt so bad and knew you were upset enough to come groveling to me. The only reason why I’m calling is because I love you and am officially volunteering to kick his ass if you’ll just say the word.”
“Thanks,” I chuckled, taken aback by her bluntness. That wasn’t anything new for Mel, but she never ceased to amaze me with her epic blurbs. “I think I’m ok though. He apologized and I’m sure you already dragged him through the ringer when he confessed.”
“Of course, but he could handle a second round.”
“I’ll pass. Hey, what are you doing tomorrow?”
“What do you think?!”
“Babysitting.” I didn’t even have to guess. Mel was her mom’s built in babysitter ever since her divorce a few years ago.
“As if I had anything better to do on a Saturday,” she sulked.
“Sorry. Any idea when she’ll be home?”
“She never gives a time. She’s home when she gets home.” I heard the frustration in Mel’s tone. She was used to the situation by now, but the bitterness never left. “What’s on the agenda for tomorrow?”
“Movie with Kellan and Mike plus whoever else Mike intends to drag along.”
“You still inviting him after what he said.”
“We’re still dating. Plus, I’m not really mad at him, just a little hurt. Everyone hurts you at some point though; even those you love and trust the most inevitably betray you in some way so I won’t hold it against him.”
“You are such a drag sometimes.”
“Gee, thanks. I love you too.”
“I know you do, but I have to go. I just heard my mom come in. Call me and let me know how it goes tomorrow. I want all the juicy details so remember them all!”
“Ok,” I laughed. “Night.”
“Night Lex.”
With that I closed the phone letting out a deep sigh. With nothing left to distract me, the picture from Kellan’s MySpace page jumped back to the forefront of my mind. How exactly did my parents know Kellan? If he’s a family member, then why didn’t my parents announce his arrival here in Charleston? When my Aunt Claire moved here, my parents made a big deal of it. For an entire month we gave her tours of the city. They were insistent on spending time at every landmark, and there are oodles of them here. Why didn’t we do the same with Kellan’s family.
Wait. It dawned on me. If he’s family, then that meant there was definitely no chance of him being interested in me and that should definitely cut off any curiosity on my part. Perhaps this explained why he mocked my discomfort when I had to ask him out; I was his family… Oh my! Had I gone off the deep end? Was I crushing on a distant cousin?
I decided I couldn’t wait any longer; unease was rising rapidly within me. I dialed my mom’s cell. She answered on the first ring jumping to the wrong conclusion since I usually didn’t bother them while they’re away.
“Lexi, are you okay? What’s wrong?” Her words flew off her tongue in a fury of fear.
“Nothing’s wrong, Mom. I’m okay, just have a question for you,” I quickly deterred.
She lost the frantic tone in her voice and calmly replied, “Sure sweetie. What do you need?”
“Well I asked Kellan out like you asked and just so you know he was completely amused by it. Anyways I saw you and dad in his family reunion picture from this summer and was wondering how we’re related,” I stated more than asked, but my mother understood.
“We’re not technically related. We met his family while living in Basque Country when you were little. His family revisits Spain the same time as your dad and I every two years,” she explained.
“Oh, ok,” I stuttered somewhat dumbfounded at her explanation.
“We’ll talk more when your father and I return tomorrow, okay?” She clearly wasn’t comfortable with the subject which left me feeling more knotted than before.
“Ok Mom. Love you.”
“Love you too. Bye sweetie.”
There was definitely something strange here. If his family was like family to us, then why did she have me ask him out as if it were a simple gesture? I was missing information, vital facts because it didn’t add up to me. I didn’t remember his family growing up. My mother was very detail oriented and told me practically everything, why would this be the exception? Oh well, I might as well gi
ve up on it for now. I would have to wait until tomorrow for the remainder of my questions to be answered.
I placed the pizza box inside the fridge before dragging myself back upstairs to my room. I had a whole night of nothing ahead of me, not even my best friend to keep me entertained. Feeling philosophical on life, I put on my glasses, pulled out my worn copy of Plato’s Republic and began reading.
I must have fallen asleep because when the phone rang I sprung up out of bed into a dark room. The light of the phone guided me as to where to reach. I groggily answered, “Hello?”
“Hey Lex, it’s Mel. Did I wake you?” she inquired apologetically.
“Um, yea but it’s okay. What’s up?” I asked still trying to piece together how long I had been unconscious.
“Oh, well I just had this bad feeling and wanted to check on you.”
“Oh, thanks. I’m okay though. No worries. Are you okay?”
It took me a hazy second to realize Mel hadn’t responded. “Mel?”
“Yea, I’m here. Just… I don’t know. I have this feeling like you’re keeping something from me. Are you sure you’re okay?” Mel knew me better than anyone. I hadn’t even discussed Kellan with her to the degree I was analyzing him and hadn’t even thought about mentioning how deeply Mike’s words cut me today, yet she knew. Somehow she knew.
I sighed, mentally debating whether or not to take the plunge.
“If you don’t want to talk about it; it’s fine. I just wanted to make sure you were alright.” Hearing the genuine concern in her voice broke me.
“It’s nothing serious. It’s just that Mike’s words today have really made me stop and think about our relationship. The way he said it, it made me wonder if he was with me just because he wasn’t ready to compete for another girl; like he decided to be with me because I was the easiest person to get with and would require the least amount of work and effort.
“I don’t know. You know how I was… How I still am,” I quickly amended. “No guy has ever shown any interest in me before and I guess I’m holding out, waiting for this all to turn out to be some kind of joke still.
“As much as it pains me to admit this, he really does like you. And beneath his obnoxious exterior, Mike’s a great guy. I know you haven’t had a boyfriend before and you’re still a little insecure and leary, but if you could have heard the things he said about you, you would just melt.”
Diary of a Vampeen Page 4
