cut: a novel
Danielle Llanes
1.
I’m sitting on the edge of a tomb in the darkness. I look back to the man sitting at my side, my long lost friend. He nods to me as I look back down at the groups of tourists talking about the architecture. Who knew a resting place could be so noisy? I rocked back on my heels as I got to my feet,
“Why did you bring me out here?” I stepped off the edge and dropped to the dirt below. My feet silent against the dried leaves. I looked up to him as he shrugged and dropped off the side.
“I thought you’d want a quick bite.”
“I appreciate the gesture, I’m just not in the mood for the Red Hat Society.” He laughed as he noticed the women in the tour group were pushing eighty.
“I figured you would be comfortable with someone closer to our age.” I scoffed as I headed for the exit, I could hear the women giggle as they took in the tall pale man with long black hair,
“Octavius, I think they find you attractive.” He smiled as he stopped and turned to them, he bowed and said,
“Good evening, ladies. I hope you are enjoying my dear city.” He smoothed his hands over his dark jacket, this was a new look for him as he had opted for more flamboyant looks previously. His hair was as dark as the night around us and hung like a curtain around him. His lips were a deep shade of red and sometimes seemed as if he painted them but I knew the truth.
“Yes, we love it here!” They cheered as the tour guide gave us both a glare. He had been with them for an entire weekend and had ignored the repeated requests to visit a nude bar. I laughed as we waved them off and headed for his dark roadster parked outside the gates.
“Rent, I feel like we’ve been ignoring the last few years.” I looked at him as I shrugged. I had tried to forget a large chunk of my life with her. We sat in the middle of Café du Monde surrounded by tourists now. I was staring down at the empty cup. Two hundred years and I still had a weakness for café au lait and beignets.
“I was hoping everyone would forget that it all happened. I mean the last time I saw her she was holding a knife to my neck and vowing to cut my throat.” I bit my lip as I felt I had said too much. Had it been so dramatic? I looked at him as he nodded,
“No, it’s actually not something anyone would forget. A year, two years…a lifetime…she messed with us all. I believed she had turned her back on that life.” He moved his chair as a woman pushed a small stroller past us. The tiny baby inside was wrapped so tight his face had turned a deep shade of red. I reached in and pulled the blanket loose before she noticed. I saw the infant open the tiny mouth to inhale a deep breath and the tiny hand break loose. I looked to Octavius as I shrugged,
“I was stupid, admit it.”
“We were all stupid. She was a liar and a cheat. I should have seen it coming a mile away. She fooled us all into believing she had turned her back on her kind.”
I stared at him a long moment as I turned my cup upside down and got to my feet,
“I have to go.”
“It’s early and you have yet to feed.” He was right, I was weak. I couldn’t recall the last time I had a real meal.
“I’m not up for the girls tonight.” He shook his head as he headed for his car,
“You have been asleep for a long time. Things have changed around here.”
“A blood bank, that’s original,” I said as I followed him into the building. He nodded to the security guard as I followed him down the long corridor.
“We all haven’t lost our sense of humor,” he said as he stopped before an unmarked door. He pulled it open as I followed him into the room. I looked around at the empty beds separated by curtains. I looked to the black man in a dark blue hospital scrubs, he nodded to Octavius.
“Good to see you, Miles.” The man smiled as he scanned the clipboard,
“Mr. Porter, I only have one donor tonight. It’s been a slow night.” I watched as Octavius produced his wallet and set a card on the desk,
“I’m taking care of his visit for tonight.” Miles looked to me as he nodded,
“Good evening, Mr. Tres.” For having slept the last two years, I hadn’t been forgotten.
“Nice to meet you Miles.” I followed Octavius as he headed down the long corridor of empty beds to one occupied by a lone woman. She nodded to him as I took a seat by her side. At her side was a gossip magazine that she had thumbed through awaiting a visitor.
“Hello, Octavius.” She had dark hair that was curled and pulled away from her face. Her face was round but happy as she looked to me. I nodded as I looked to him,
“And now you drink from her. This is her job.” She nodded enthusiastically,
“Yes, I love my job. I come here at least once a week. I used to clean houses but the money was no good.” I took her heavy wrist into my hands as I leaned forward and opened my mouth. I looked up as I noticed she had turned her face and fixed her stare onto the magazine. I bit down, her eyes squeezed shut as I drank from her. The thick liquid burst through my teeth as I tasted her soul. Here she lay on this bed after traveling great distances to be free. I could taste the sun on her skin; the salt in her pores. I pulled back as I watched the wounds start to seal from the virus in my saliva. I looked to Octavius as he nodded back to me. I patted her on the leg as I backed away,
“Thank you, Carla.” She nodded as I reached into my pocket and slipped a bill into her hand.
“I think I may have lost Carla to you,” said Octavius as he followed me into my house. I looked back at him as I smiled,
“The Great Rent Tres is back from the dead.” He laughed as I turned back to face the darkened house. In front of me stood the monster in my life. I placed my hands on my waist as I said into the night,
“Now what the devil am I to do with this goddamn house.”
“Sell it? I cannot think of one good memory that can be taken away from this house.” I thought to the girl I had met once long ago in another lifetime that had been thrown from the bedroom window and into the pool out back. I looked at him as he shook his head,
“Hey, any house where I nearly died is no house of mine.”
“When have you almost died?” He looked at me as he shrugged,
“You’re right, I somehow manage to get away before they lose their heads.” I winced as I recalled one of his former lovers had ended up on his doorstep less a head.
“Let us not think of the past.”
“I need a hotel room for tonight.”
“I don’t think I know of a good place…”
“The Ponchartrain?”
“I think it might still be in business.” I looked to him as he stared at me openly, “You were aware that the city almost was wiped out.”
“When was this?”
“Not long after you went to sleep.”
“Hurricane?”
“Of epic proportions, the lower ninth was wiped out…gentilly…the levy busted open.”
“Wow…and I was uptown the entire time?”
“Yeah, I was sure the noise would have awoken you.”
“I was really weak.”
“I brought you a couple of looters and a national guardsman…suffice to say you didn’t wake up.” I looked around into the night as I replied,
“I think I was trying to will myself into death.” I looked at him as he frowned,
“Of all the stupid things you’ve said tonight…I will not listen to that. She was just a woman and nothing more. Now let’s get you a room.” I put out my hand as I touched his wool jacket,
“I said I was trying but I realised it was idiotic. There is something greater out there for me.” He nodded as I followed him down the walk. I looked back at the darkened house as I said a silent goodbye. It was not a place for living and by the sight of the tre
e limb having shattered the bedroom window on the second floor, it really was in a sad state.
“Did anyone think to fix that?”
“Uh, no, I guess no one noticed it broke. Must have been from the last storm. I don’t get down here much.”
“You live two streets away from me.” He nodded,
“And I don’t come this way, you were lying up in my attic the last few years. Your house wasn’t exactly on my list of things to do.” I laughed as we headed back to St. Charles in search of a hotel room.
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay in my house?”
“Octavius, I think I just want to have a minute to myself to figure out what I’m doing next. By the way, where is Phillip?” He stopped just outside the doors of the hotel. He looked back to me as I stared at him. He opened his mouth then stopped as I inhaled the air all around me. I didn’t have to ask another question as I pushed past him.
In the hotel room I surveyed the contents as I began pulling the curtains shut. I moved the bedding into the walk in closet as I pulled the mini bar in alongside me. I sat on the plush carpet as I leaned against the wall. I stared at the ceiling as I recalled those final moments before I fell into that deep slumber.
“Shhh…” her voice was in my ear as I stared into her face. She was standing above me with her long blonde hair around us. I opened my mouth to say her name as she put the blade to my throat.
“I asked you…no I pleaded with you to be honest with me. You told me there was no one else! You lied to me! I saw you with her today. You had your arm around her. You were staring into her eyes just like you used to do with me. I saw you kiss her! You kissed her and it didn’t even look like an accident. I begged you to be honest. You lied to me!” I felt the blade tearing my skin as I cleared my throat.
“I don’t know what to say. I do love you. I’m with you. I don’t love her.” She began screaming as she backed away from me, I felt the blade rip at my neck as I sputtered words, “Sa…mar…a.”
“Rent!” She was cursing as she raised the blade and slammed it down on my chest. I could feel the blade pounding my body many times over; I stopped counting after twenty. She fell back onto the floor as she held her head in her hands. Her face was covered in my blood as she wept. I could see her drop the knife on the floor. She got to her feet as my eyes watched her leave. I felt my body growing heavy as I lay staring at the ceiling. I cursed the day I had met her. I could hear angry voices from somewhere below and blows being exchanged. Something below me exploded, I inhaled his scent and knew he was gone. Phillip, my son had died that day.
I stared at the empty contents of the bottles from the mini bar and the worn pages of a travel magazine I had taken into the closet. I now knew more about Los Angeles than I cared to know. I got to my feet as I pushed open the closet door. It was dark out as I looked down at the wrinkled pants I wore. I eyed the phone near the bed as I picked it up,
“Would you be kind enough to send someone with my clothing to the hotel?” I hung up without explaining anymore and sat on the bed. I turned on the television to see a woman holding a rose and professing her love to a man with a deep tan. The man smiled and revealed teeth bleached beyond white. I rolled my eyes, if only love was so simple. I looked to my watch as I got to my feet and headed for the bathroom. I stopped and stared at the face before me. I managed a smile as I ran my hands thorough my dark hair, I looked good for having lived longer than most. My skin still carried a certain glow from the sun I had walked under before the sleep.
A knock sounded half an hour later and a thin boy with pale skin held a wardrobe bag,
“Mr. Porter said this is all that was salvaged from your former home. He wanted to know if you would be meeting him for drinks this evening?” I smiled as I stared at the boy, he was not much taller than myself. His hair was long in front and covered most of his eyes. I knew behind the bangs were a pair of striking blue eyes that had stared back at me many times in his short human life. I nodded to him as I said,
“An eternal teenager, I’m impressed Marc. I will be meeting your father for drinks, thanks.” The boy smiled revealing his teeth as he turned away,
“I’ll meet you downstairs.” I shut the door as I shook my head as I tossed the bag onto the bed. I pulled off my shirt as I leaned over to unzip the bag to reveal a black t-shirt and jeans.
“…the hell is this? I left more than this before the Big Sleep.” I rolled my eyes as I quickly dressed, I would have to ask where my things had gone.
I spied Octavius already holding court at a table in the lounge with several young ladies. He nodded as he raised his wine glass,
“Ladies, the great Rent Tres.” He winked as I surveyed the girls, he always knew what barrel to scrape from. I frowned as I continued to stand,
“I was hoping to get out of here, alone.” He looked to the girls and realising the error in his choices he replied,
“You’re right…I must have drank more than I thought.” He pushed his way from the booth and followed me as we headed for the exit. I looked back as the server handed the girls the tab. I looked at him as I said,
“You could have paid for their drinks.”
“Uh, no thanks,” he replied without looking back. He headed for the drivers side of his roadster as I got in, “So where to?”
“I take it all my favorite places have closed…” He nodded then stopped as he smiled,
“I think one place survived.” He sped off as a hurl of profanities burst from the hotel doors. I knew the Ponchartrain would not be home for another night. His car sped down St. Charles Avenue as he headed for the French Quarter. I was starting to wonder if my dear friend had forgotten who I was.
The lights were low as the bass pulsed through the building. I looked around at the tourists sitting at tables talking and laughing. I feared the roof would fall in on my head as I stared at the glass of absinthe before me.
“And it’s legal now?” I held up the glass taking in the milky green liquid. I held the spoon over the glass with the sugar cube as I lit it on fire with a match. I sat back as it burned,
“Well yeah…I mean it is nothing like what we had in Romania that one summer.” I held my hand up as I held off that memory.
“She was a lovely girl,” we said in unison as we shared a laugh. Setting the spoon on the table, I took a drink as he stared at me,
“I swear you are not the same.”
“I had a lot of time to reflect about the life I was living.” He shook his head,
“No, you seem to be soaking everything in now. You used to live by the seat of your pants – I’d say jump and you were waiting at the bottom for everyone else to join you.”
“I’m not setting the tone anymore that’s for sure. Tell the others that they are on their own.” I downed my drink as I looked into his face.
“That’s another thing…everyone has spread out of the city.”
“So what your telling me is that not only are my favorite places gone, my clothes, my house, but also my friends?” He nodded,
“Marc is here though…and that’s about it. Sure the usual suspects hang around the city but Klaus returned to the desert ages ago.” Klaus Porter, the man I considered my father had returned to his home after spending a lifetime at my side. On many occasions if I felt lost, he always set me back on path.
“Did he have any parting words?”
“Stay away from mental patients,” he said with a laugh. I shook my head as I looked to the other patrons in the bar. A century later and it was still holding up to time. The building had no electricity but was lit by candles set into the chandeliers above. I recalled a time when everything in the place was new.
“No, this place always looked like it was falling apart,” said Octavius as he poured us another glass of absinthe.
“Well it’s a good thing that goddamn hurricane didn’t blow it to bits,” I said as I looked down at my clothes, “which reminds me, where the hell are my clothes?”
“Um
not sure, I think they disappeared from your house. I had Marc buy you a few new things.” I ran my hand over my hair as I nodded,
“I’m not shocked, the last sleep I took in the sixties I woke to find myself in a basement and an empty house.”
“Yeah, it was not a good couple of decades for you.” I nodded as I recalled finding my furnishings in an antique mall years later.
“I need to find a new place, maybe a loft downtown?” He shook his head,
“You should stay at your house on Second, the economy is in the can right now.” I sighed as I looked back to the patrons in the bar then back at him,
“Last night you told me I should sell it.” He laughed again as I looked at my watch then at the dark sky overhead,
“So doc, how long until I’m back in the sun?”
“Give it another day or so, I’m almost envious that it’s the one thing you can still do.” I smiled as I stared at my pale arms then realised they were not as pale as his skin.
“I can’t help that I was born into this.”
“No, I suppose you can’t.” He winked as he finished, “Tell me how does it feel to have your heart still beat?”
He waited outside as I entered the blood bank. I nodded to the security guard as I walked down the empty corridor. I wondered what this place looked like on a busy night. I stopped before the unmarked door as I pushed it open. The lights were low as I entered the room. I nodded to the elderly woman holding the clipboard. I handed her my credit card as she gestured to the awaiting person lying on the bed. It was a young girl with long blonde hair. I stopped for a moment as I took in her face. I bit my lip as I looked back to the woman, I wondered if this was a joke. The girl shared the same features as someone I once knew. Her deep blue eyes stared back at me as she tossed the thick paperback aside. She wore a long black sleeveless dress and sandals. Her eyes widened as I sat beside her. I nodded as I greeted her. She managed a smile,
“Hi, I’m a little nervous…I’ve never done this before.”
“I’m new to this myself,” I replied as I motioned for her hand, she looked down then lifted her arm to me. I held her thin wrist for a moment as I looked around the room.
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