“Sabrina, Teri’s mother, is my little sister.”
“Teri?” I said. Teresa turned red. “Anyway, we were going to see if Tony was around.” I told him. “We’re going to go looking at cars.”
“He’s around here somewhere.” He turned toward Jess, who was fiddling with the television remote. “Jessica, why don’t you go see if he’s out back.”
“Sure Mike.”
She disappeared out through the back of the living room, through the kitchen I assume. Mike leaned back against the arm of the sofa and crossed his arms and watched me and Teresa. He was smiling, and I was feeling every bit as nervous as Teresa looked.
“Stephanie is going to find this surprising.” he said.
“Not really.” Teresa told him. “I told her, like, two years ago.”
“Two years. So you were thirteen then? Thirteen is kind of young to make such a big choice.”
“It’s not a choice!” She sounds like she’s had that argument with someone before.
“Sorry, sorry. Didn’t mean anything by it. Brynne, did you know when you were thirteen? And if you don’t mind me asking, how long ago was that?”
“I did,” I said. I knew, I just was trying not to think of it because it was never a possibility back then. “I’m fifteen.” That should avoid me lying about how long ago I was thirteen.
“I find this interesting. When I was your age I couldn’t decide which socks to wear, let alone figure out a huge life-defining thing such as this. Isn’t it odd that there are more and more gay people these days? Why do you think that is?”
“There’s not.” I said. “I mean I doubt it. I think more people are just refusing to hide it now. It has become a little more acceptable. There were probably a lot of gay people in the eighteen hundreds, even, who just hid it because everyone expected them to get married young and have a family. Like I bet there were a lot of girls our age whose parents tried to set them up to marry some random guy. So maybe some of those girls were lesbians, but never got a chance to even say so, or to even realize it. Back then women didn’t get a say in a lot of things.”
“Seriously?” Teresa asked. “Like, they tried to set you up to marry someone?”
“Set who up?” Mike asked. Great Teresa, just blab my secrets.
“Well, I mean, that’s what I hear.” I said.
“That’s sad.” Teresa said.
Mike offered us some snacks, which we refused, then he went into the kitchen, presumably to get a snack for himself. So Teresa and I were left to wait for Jess and Tony. She was taking forever to find him.
“Did they really try to marry you off?” she asked.
“There was a guy they were interested in. They were interested, not me.”
“Wow, that sucks.”
“Yeah. But it didn’t happen. And now here I am.”
“Hmm,” She leaned over and put her face down next to mine. “How did I get so lucky?” She kissed me. “I’m glad you’re a vampire.”
“I’m not!”
“You are so cute when you’re mad.”
“And I’m not cute when I’m not mad?”
“Of course you are, love.”
Where is Jess? How long does it take to find Tony and tell him we want a ride? Maybe he just doesn’t want to go. I find it really uncomfortable sitting in this house. I don’t know, it just feels... claustrophobic or something.
“This all seems so fast to me.” I told her.
“What does?”
“Us.”
“Oh.” She frowned and backed away from me a bit. “I’m sorry if I’m pushing things too much.”
“No, Teresa, not at all. I was just meaning... I never imaged anything seeming right like this. It’s... it’s nice. I can trust you and share things with you, like I always wanted. And we click like I never imagined possible.”
“Well that’s a good thing, right?”
“Yes. Definitely.” I squeezed her hand. “But you scare me a little.”
“Says the va... um... whatever you are.”
Jess and Tony finally came back inside, finally, and we jumped into his car and drove to the area car lots. This all seemed like a good idea in my head, but Jess and Tony wanted to get out and look at each and every car, and it was sunny out.
“Let’s check this one.” Jess said.
She jumped out and was heading toward the little red car. Teresa opened her door and was getting out, but when I didn’t budge she turned back and reached for my hand. I pulled it away.
“Come on, love.”
“I can’t.” I pointed at the glaring sun shining on the cars and ground. “It’s really bright.”
“Well it’ll just be a minute.”
“I’m already burning, Teresa.”
“Seriously?” I nodded. “Oh. Are you okay?”
“As long as I don’t get any more sun.”
“Should we go home now, then?”
“I’ll be okay.”
She climbed in next to me. I told her she should go on and look, but she refused to leave me alone in the car. She even took her sweater off and blocked the sun that was shining through the window so I wouldn’t have to lean forward so far to avoid it.
“Yeah, you’re turning pink.” she said. She kissed my cheek. “My poor baby.”
“I’ll be okay.”
“Is there anything I can do? Do you want me to rub aloe on you when we get home?”
“I...” That does sound interesting. But I’m not ready to have her rubbing all over me quite yet. “I’ll just take a cool shower and I’ll be okay in a day or so.”
“A cool shower? Want company?”
“Remember when I said this is moving fast and you scare me?” I asked her.
“Oh. Right. Sorry, love.”
“Don’t be sorry. Just because I’m saying no right now doesn’t mean I always will.”
“That sounds like an invitation.”
“Maybe.” I felt my face curling into a smile, even though I was trying to discourage her at this point. “We’ll discuss it when the time is right.”
“And when is that?”
“You’re fifteen, what are you in such a hurry about?”
“Because of you.” She grabbed my hand. “But I can wait. I can be patient.”
“Good.”
“But love, you really are burning, aren’t you?”
“I’ll survive.”
“My goodness, Brynne, why didn’t you say something sooner?”
“I thought I’d be okay.”
Tony and Jess finally came back to the car. She liked this one, a Toyota something, but she wanted to look at more. Teresa put her foot down, told them I had to go home. When Tony started to argue, Jess took a good look at my now very pink arm and yelled at him to shut up.
When we got back to the Sloan’s house, nobody was home. Tony again whined and complained about having to come home early. Jess repeated, again, that I have a skin problem and burn easily.
“You guys can go.” Teresa said. “Go, find your car. We’re fine here. I’m just going to get her into a cool bath, to see if it’ll help, and then if she’s up to it we’ll watch a movie or something.”
“Good, let’s go.” Tony said.
“Will you be okay, honey?” Jess asked.
“Go, I’ll be fine. It’s not that bad, really.”
“Okay.” She hugged me. “You need to put something on that. There's some sun burn lotion in the cabinet in the upstairs bathroom.”
Teresa pulled me up the stairs and she started running water in the bathtub. I sat there, trying to figure out how to get out of this, while she went to the bedroom and got a robe from the closet so I’d have something to put on afterward.
“That’s Jessica’s.”
“Do you have one?” Teresa asked.
“Not here.”
“Well then you can use hers. Now come on, get up, get naked.” she ordered.
“Um, Teresa,”
“Come on, come o
n.”
“I can take a bath by myself.”
“Just take your clothes off.”
“But,”
“What, are you embarrassed? Come on.”
“I don’t... there haven’t been... there are only a couple of people that ever saw me without clothes on, and I didn’t have a lot of choice about it.”
“Wait, you are embarrassed?” She grabbed my shoulders, gently. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about, love. You’re great.”
“But...”
“Don’t you trust me?”
I turned my back to her and started to undress. I’m not sure why she insists on this. It feels like she has ulterior motives, though. I turned my head to look over my shoulder at her when I heard her gasp.
“What?”
“Brynne, you... are you okay?”
“I’ll be fine, it’s just a little sunburn.”
“No,” She’s starting to cry. “You have scars. All over.”
“Teresa, I told you about this. Jess told you about this. I was chopped up pretty bad, remember?”
“I didn’t know it was that bad.”
“Oh.” She’s completely disgusted by me now. “Is this... why you insisted on this?”
“What?”
“So you could see how gross I am and...”
“No, Brynne, that’s not true.”
“Just go home.” I told her. I could feel tears welling in my eyes.
“Brynne,”
“I can’t help it if someone tried to kill me! And if you have a problem... just go, Teresa.”
“No.”
“I’m sorry I got you into this. That I told you any of this and burdened you with it.”
“I’m not leaving!” She sat on the side of the tub. “I’m not scared and I’m not worried about your stupid scars! I just was worried about you, that’s all. I love you. I’m not going anywhere.” She looked away. “Even if you want me to.”
“Oh.” I'm stupid. “I’m sorry.”
“Just get in the tub.”
I couldn’t argue any more. I made her cry because she was worried about me, and then I shout at her and freak out because I doubt her. I can’t really argue after doing that. So I finished undressing and got into the cold water. It felt good on the burns, but cold everywhere else.
“Would you like something to drink? Or a snack? I could get you a book, or some music.”
“I’m fine.” Like I could read book if I had her get one anyway. I’m sitting here with my arms covering as much as I can.
“You scare me.” she said in a weak voice. “Not you personally, just what you are and what you’ve been through.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. I just have a really hard time believing the things you told me, and I see things like those scars and it makes me understand that you meant it.”
“I’m really, really sorry, Teresa.”
“No, don’t. Look, I’ll get a hold on this, eventually. It doesn’t change that I love you.”
“Why?” I asked, not sure I wanted to really know.
“Because it doesn’t have anything to do with who you are. Not really.”
“No, I mean why do you love me?” I feel so embarrassed for asking that.
“I can’t explain it. I just know.”
“Don’t you think it’s too soon to say that?”
“No. Maybe usually, but not this time.” She dipped a cloth in the cool water and laid it across my forehead. “Is it too soon for you? To feel that way? Do you even feel that way?”
“We already know I’m strange, though.” I said. “And I do love you. I just don’t feel worthy.”
“Silly girl.”
“I’m too old for you.”
“You’re fifteen.”
“I’ve been fifteen for over a hundred years.”
“I don’t care.”
“Maybe I do.”
“You’re not getting away from me, Brynne Campbell. Deal with it.”
She left me alone to dry and dress myself. She said I was obviously too shy for her to get too good a look anyway. I dried off and wrapped in the robe. My burns are turning darker and darker. Not as bad as before, and I won’t spend several days in bed over it, but it is hurting pretty badly.
I let her rub the aloe onto my arms and neck, and around my face. It felt really good, too. And then we laid in bed and watched a movie. And I fell asleep.
“Wake up, my little strawberry.” Teresa said. “Dinner is done.”
“Huh? Oh Teresa, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”
“It’s okay. Come on, let’s go eat. Mrs. Sloan made meatloaf.”
The Sloans all made comments on my still darkening burns. They hurt bad now. Mrs. Sloan keeps talking about taking me to the doctor.
“Did you find a car?” I asked Jess. I wanted to know, but I also wanted to change the subject off of me.
“I really like that little red one.”
“We should get it tomorrow, then.”
“You’re not buying her a car.” Ted told me.
“She doesn’t even have a license.” Barney complained.
“She can get one. And then we’ll have the car already.” I told him.
“Where are you parking this car, Dear?” Peggy asked.
“Um, here. It’ll be Jess’s car.”
“So it’ll sit in our drive for six months?” Ted asked me.
“You could drive it.” I told him. “Or even Barney.”
“Oh,” Barney said, smiling. “In that case, I’m all for it.”
“Great.” I said. “So Mr... um, Ted. If I give you the money, can you go buy it? I doubt they’ll want to sell it to either of us, they think we’re just kids.”
“You are just kids.” he said. “I can go by after work. You’ll have to be ready when I get off so we can get right over there before they close.”
After dinner, Teresa went home instead of staying over again. Just as well, I guess. I already feel like I’m imposing on the Sloans, I don’t need to move my girlfriend in too.
My girlfriend. That seems so weird to even think. I never imagined linking those two words before. But now I know that I was just being stupid. I can have a girlfriend. But I didn't want to be close to anyone, anyway, and put them or me at risk. How restrictive.
“Goodnight.” I told Jess.
“‘Night, honey.” She switched the light off. “And goodnight, Jenna.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Hey, if she’s important to you, she’s important to me.”
“Are we just talking about the doll?”
She didn't answer, but I get the feeling that Jess would do anything she could to help Teresa now, and to keep her safe, because Teresa and I are together. It's nice to know that Jess cares enough about me that it extends to Teresa.
Monday, June 13
I had plans to go to the park with Teresa today, but when I woke up I was in so much pain that there was no way I could do it. Instead she came over and put aloe on my burns for me.
We sat in the living room, on the sofa, watching movies. She made popcorn and got our drinks, and wouldn’t even let me get up to get more ice for my pop. And she pulled my feet into her lap as we were watching and she gave me an amazing foot massage. She’s really good to me.
When the movie was over, a news broadcast came on. Another girl was found dead. Drained of blood. This can’t be happening. It can’t.
“Are those the other vampires?” she asked. She had wrapped her arm around me. “Sorry. I just mean the other people like you?”
“No, you can call them vampires. They’re evil, horrible, blood sucking monsters.”
“Did they do this?”
“Yeah.” I rubbed at my eyes. I hadn’t realized I was crying. “If you want to leave, I’d understand.” And then I realized I could sound too eager. “But I really hope you stay.”
“I’m not expected home until later. Uncle Mik
e and Aunt Steph know I’m over here.”
“I didn’t mean just for now.”
“Oh.” she said. “No way. Hu-uh. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“Stop talking about me leaving, then, okay?”
“I’m sorry. I’m just trying to make it easier for you if you want to go.”
“Okay, well, I’m not going anywhere. I wouldn’t care if you were a hideous monster, like them, I’d still love you.”
“I don’t deserve it.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
Late that night, after Teresa left and Jess and I were in bed, I broke into tears again. I should have let Teresa stay. She offered to. Maybe it would have made me feel a little better.
“Honey, what’s wrong?” Jess asked.
“Those... people. Jess, they’re killing people. Innocent... and they just kill them.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“I have to do something. I just... I have to stop them.”
“The last time you tried that they almost killed you.”
“Well... that’s okay. I mean... I’ve lived a long life, and if that is what it takes to stop them, to try to stop them, then... I mean... okay.”
“It’s not okay.” she said. “Not with me. Brynne, I can’t let you just go off and get killed, honey.”
Brynne, Non-Vampire (The Non-Vampire Series Book 1) Page 16
