The Week I Was A Vampire (17 page)

             
“Hope you don’t mind,” Lux said, “but I took a shower.  You really need to upgrade from that vanilla stuff.  It’s so boring and you can hardly smell it.”

             
Jude took another whiff of the air and felt her heart plummet as she realized, without Lux’s half dozen heavily scented products masking her natural scent, her friend was left smelling like two distinct things.

             
Blood and death.

Saturday Afternoon

Dreamcatcher

It was a rare occurrence that Simon woke up before his sister.  Or maybe not entirely rare as of late since she’d become quite nocturnal with her sleeping habits.  Regardless, Jude awoke to the sound of her brother banging on her door telling her they needed to clean the house before their parents got home.

            
 
So overdramatic
,
Jude thought as she rolled out of bed and padded out of her room, not bothering to change out of her pajamas.  It wouldn’t take long to clean the house, it not being anywhere near a mess, and she had every intention of climbing back into bed once she was done. 

             
She didn’t know if it had something to do with the awkward transition phase she was currently in, but she was exhausted.  It seemed like she couldn’t sleep and when she did, it was hardly restful.  Her mind was being plagued by dark, twisted dreams that usually showcased her family being killed and drained of blood; sometimes by Jemima, sometimes by herself.  Those were the dreams that wreaked the most havoc on her mind. 

             
Absently, she wondered if she could schedule an earlier appointment with Dr. LeBlanc.  While she couldn’t go into detail about her situation, she was sure the good doctor would have an idea or two on how to banish bad dreams.

             
Jude stepped into the kitchen and nearly crashed into Simon who’d stopped short just inside the doorway.

             
“You make a better wall than a door,” Jude said, moving around her brother.  She wasn’t hungry per say, at least not for anything considered normal food, but the refrigerator was beckoning her like a homing beacon.  Or a moth to the flame.  Whichever.  Frankly, she was too tired and hungry to care at this point and didn’t even give Simon a second glance before she pulled a sack of lunch meat from the fridge and started chowing down.

             
“What?” she said around a mouthful of ham when she caught Simon staring at her.  He was still rooted to his spot in the doorway and for a second, she thought he’d turned to stone.  But her vampire senses picked up on his even breathing and steadily beating heart.  She tore into a piece of meat with a little more vigor than before.

            
 
Do not eat your brother
,
she told herself and couldn’t help smiling at her odd mental commentary.
 
Chances are he hasn’t bathed in a week.

            
 
“Sorry for waking you up,” Simon said, looking at Jude in a way that had her wondering if he remembered anything about the Eerie Street Club, Kyle, and whatever supernatural altercation had occurred.  He hadn’t said anything or had a mental breakdown, so she hadn’t bothered with persuasion.  Had she made the wrong call?

             
“I thought the house would be a wreck,” Simon continued, “you know, with mom and dad gone for a week.”

             
“Lux has been over pretty much every day this week,” Jude said.  “You know how anal she is about keeping things clean.”

             
Simon scratched his arm and ducked his head before shrugging off his awkwardness and blowing off Jude’s comment.

             
“Didn’t even notice,” he said.

             
Jude was about to comment when the doorbell rang.  Her heightened hearing picked up the sound of a rumbling truck and she wondered if Kyle had come to pay her a visit.

             
“I’ll get it,” she said, leaving her bag of ham on the kitchen counter as she stepped into the foyer.  Opening the front door, she wasn’t too disappointed to see it wasn’t Kyle standing on the porch, but a UPS delivery man.

             
He didn’t say anything, merely handed over a small box before nodding politely and heading back to his truck.  Jude liked delivery men who didn’t say anything beyond a simple, “Hello,” and “Have a nice day.”  Lux got a kick out of the ones who said, “I have a delivery for you,” because her automatic response was, “No shit, Sherlock.  You are a delivery man, after all.”

             
Sometimes, Jude was amazed Lux didn’t severely irritate people.  How the girl managed to move around and mouth off to people without generating a torch and pitchfork bearing mob was a miracle.

             
“Who’s the package for?” Simon asked, having appeared in the foyer.

             
Jude glanced down and saw it was addressed to her and then remembered Dr. LeBlanc saying she’d send her something.

             
“For me,” she said.  “It’s from Dr. LeBlanc.”

             
“Not fair,” said Simon, moving out of the way so Jude could climb the stairs.  “She never sends me presents.”

             
“When are you going to realize, Simon,” Jude said, “that people like me more?”

             
Her brother glared at her, half-heartedly, before telling her he’d be outside mowing the lawn and “why can’t Lux be OCD about yard work?”

             
Excused from having to do anything for the rest of the afternoon, Jude returned to her room, passing her hissing cat in the hallway.  She shut the door in his face before tearing open the box.  Nestled amid a collection of styrofoam packing peanuts was something that resembled a dreamcatcher.  Resembled, but wasn’t actually one.

             
While Dr. LeBlanc’s gift was round like a dreamcatcher and had beaded strands, it wasn’t like any dreamcatcher Jude had seen.  And with Lux as her best friend, she’d seen plenty.

             
Instead of a web of string, the circle was shot through with a metal arrow etched with odd, runic looking letters.  The chain strands attached to the base of the circle had been threaded with glass and metal beads that clinked together.  A brilliant red feather hung in the center, flanked on either side by seven strands.  While peculiar to look at, Jude had to admit it was a beautiful... well, whatever it was.

             
There was no note or instructions, but dreamcatchers were fairly self explanatory.  Jude attached hers to the bed post closest to where her head would rest at night.  Or during the day as she was now prone to sleeping until nightfall.

             
Crawling under the covers, Jude cast a dubious look at her strange dreamcatcher before deciding it couldn’t hurt to give it a try.  So, with an open mind and a brief thought about the ham still sitting on the kitchen counter, Jude tucked herself into bed and fell asleep.

             
She dreamt of being human again.

Saturday Night

Countdown

Apparently, vampires could get drunk.  This was a fact made obvious to Jude when Daphne welcomed her into the Ward home acting infinitely more bubbly than Jude would’ve thought the vampire capable of.  Granted, it may have just been because she didn’t know Daphne all that well, but then Daniel had come to her rescue and swore Daphne was usually much more composed, but there was something about his sire not mixing with champagne that Jude had forgotten.

              “Here’s to the final twenty-four hours,” Daphne said, handing Jude a glass of champagne before clinking her own glass against it.  She downed the glass in one gulp while Jude looked on amazed, silently offering Daphne her own glass of champagne when the vampiress looked displeased to see her glass was empty.

             
“You’re quite the sweetheart,” Daphne said before turning away and leaving a surprised Jude standing next to an embarrassed Daniel.

             
“Interesting family you’ve got,” Jude said and Daniel grimaced.

             
“She’s normally much more refined,” he apologized, but Jude brushed off his comment.

             
“I like it,” she said.  “There’s something human about it.”

             
“Something human about vampires?” a voice said from behind the pair.  “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

             
Jude turned and smiled when she saw Kyle walking towards them, dressed casually in jeans and a tattered gray sweater.

             
“I see you dressed for the occasion,” Daniel observed a bit icily, but Kyle ignored his sharp tone.

             
“Had to see if the soon to be human would like a date with the finest wolf east of the Mississippi once she, you know, is human again.”

             
“I’d love to,” Jude said, smiling.  She caught Daniel’s glum look out of the corner of her eye and made a show of looking around Kyle.

             
“What are you looking for?” Kyle said, glancing behind him and seeing nothing.

             
“The finest wolf east of the Mississippi,” Jude said, straight faced.  “You did bring him with you, right?”

             
Kyle looked flabbergasted for a moment before shaking his head and stalking off, muttering something about “human girls” and “stick with she-wolves” as he did so.

             
Jude smiled at Daniel whose lips had the slightest upturn.  It wasn’t much, but she’d take it.

             
“Do you think that was rude of me?” she said.  “I think he might have been serious.”

             
“He was serious, alright,” Daniel said, “but you’re well within your rights to say no.  Don’t worry about being rude though; werewolves practically invented the thing.”

             
“I might be able to say the same thing about vampires.”

             
Daniel opened his mouth to respond, but didn’t get the chance as Mafe appeared and asked him to see to her child before Daphne made too much of a spectacle of herself.

             
“I’m sorry, Jude,” Mafe said.  “My child is normally-”

             
“More composed,” Jude interrupted.  “Yeah, I kind of figured that when I met her, but then Daniel explained she’s got some weird relationship with champagne that turns her into a blonde airhead.  No offense.”

             
Mafe brushed her dark blonde locks off her shoulder absentmindedly.

             
“No worries,” she said, “I don’t actually consider myself a blonde.  Jemima, however, most certainly does.”  The older vampire pointed over Jude’s shoulder and she cringed when she turned and saw Jemima glaring at her.  The blonde vampire wasted no time turning around and disappearing up the stairs.

             
Jude made to go after her, but Mafe stopped her.

             
“What do you plan on doing?” the vampire asked her and Jude shrugged.

             
“I don’t know,” she said.  “Be her friend?”

             
Mafe’s brow furrowed and she cocked her head to the side, a trait, Jude noted, the Ward clan seemed to have in common.

             
“You would befriend her after all she’s done to you?”

             
Jude thought about her own days as a sixteen year old and how hard it had been to make friends in school.  Heck, the only friend she really had was Lux, who made sure to include Jude in group activities with her other friends, but Jude had never really felt like one of the gang.  She could, she admitted, actually relate to Jemima.

             
“I’m going to try,” Jude said and Mafe released her, pointing to the top of the stairs before gesturing to the left.

             
“Third door on the right,” she said.  “Good luck.”

             
Jude nodded to the ancient vampire before speeding up the stairs, coming to a halt outside a bright yellow door that stood out like a beacon of light in the otherwise gloomy house.  Knocking, she heard Jemima moving around before the door swung open.  Vampire Barbie, as Lux had called her, wasted no time in fixing Jude with her best glare.

             
“What do you want?” she demanded, daring the human girl to step out of line.

             
“I just want to talk,” Jude said, raising her hands in a placating manner.

             
Jemima looked disgusted by the idea, but nonetheless stepped out of the way and held the door open, gesturing for Jude to enter.

             
Upon seeing Jemima’s room, Jude had to admit it wasn’t what she’d have pictured for the spiteful and vindictive vampire.  The walls were painted a bright yellow color, shot through with stripes of teal and pink.  A four poster bed had a lace coverlet and sparkling curtains Lux would’ve loved.  And all around, scattered about, were dolls and stuffed animals and pretty little trinkets obviously picked out with care.  The only part of the room that fit with Jude’s image of Jemima was the white wardrobe left open to reveal skin tight dresses and leather pants.

             
“You’re just a girl trying to grow up,” Jude said and then silently cursed when she realized she’d spoken aloud.  She turned to find Jemima standing right behind her, a murderous look on her face.

             
“I am not a child!” Jemima shouted and Jude recoiled internally, but externally remained the picture of calm.

             
“Maybe not in age,” Jude said, “but you are in body.  You’re trapped, aren’t you?  You want nothing more than to grow up, but at the same time, you can’t let go of a childhood you never had.  Why is that?”

             
“Shut up,” Jemima barked, stepping around Jude to slam her wardrobe shut.  “You know nothing about me.”

             
“We can fix that,” Jude said.  “Why don’t you tell me what’s bothering you and maybe I can help.”

             
“You can’t help,” Jemima said.  “More importantly, why would you even want to?”  She glared at Jude, a challenge written in her eyes, but something in Jude refused to back down.

             
“Because you need a friend,” Jude said, “and I’m willing to be that for you.”

             
Jemima scoffed.

             
“You’re just a human,” Jemima said and Jude nodded.

             
“You’re right, I am just a human.  But I’m a human who knows a lot more about friendship than you.”

             
“Oh right,” the vampire snapped, angrily picking up a few errant stuffed animals off the floor.  “You have what, one friend?  That makes you an expert?”

             
“Actually,” Jude said, “it does.  Not only does that mean I have one more friend than you, but it also means I know what it’s like to not have friends.  I know how it feels to be surrounded by people just like you and none of them notice you; they all pay attention to your best friend or your older brother, who isn’t all that social, but at least people notice him.  But you know how aggravating that is, don’t you?  You know what it’s like to have an older brother who can hang out with the people you want to notice you and yet he doesn’t.  He has the world at his feet and he just throws it all away.”

             
Jemima hiccuped, a childish sound, but that’s not what caught Jude’s attention.  Awestruck, she watched Jemima’s eyes change from their deep brown color to a vibrant blue.  As she continued to stare, Jude realized Jemima’s glamour was still intact.  Furthermore-

             
“You can cry,” she said and Jemima dashed away the tears, hurrying over to her vanity to fix her smearing makeup.

             
“I’m a vampire fluke,” the girl hissed bitterly as she tried to salvage her smeared eye makeup.

             
Jude stepped up behind her and rested a hand on her shoulder, keeping it there even though Jemima flinched.

             
They stared at each other in the mirror, neither girl wanting to be the first to break eye contact.  At last, though, Jemima looked away.

             
“Don’t tell anyone,” she whispered.  “Even Daniel doesn’t know.”

             
“You know,” Jude said, silently acknowledging Jemima’s request while simultaneously changing the topic, “if you really want to look older, there are things you could do with your hair and makeup.  You won’t look that much older, but still.”

             
Jemima sniffed and grabbed a tissue, blobbing away her ruined mascara before looking at Jude in the reflection of the mirror.  Her eyes still watered, but they were starting to fade back to the dark eye color all vampires seemed to possess.

             
“Like what?” the girl said, sounding much younger than usual.

             
Jude smiled at her and gathered her long blonde hair in her hands before twisting it.

             
“It’s pretty,” she said, grabbing a clip from the vanity, “but a bit too much.”  She clipped Jemima’s hair up until the length mimicked that of a chic bob.  The young vampire frowned, not entirely sold on the look, but Jude didn’t let that deter her.

             
“And I know the girls in magazines wear mini dresses, and I don’t mean to offend you,” Jude said, “but you look like a little girl playing dress up.”

             
“I never finished,” Jemima said, awkwardly gesturing to her body.

             
“Developing,” Jude said and the girl nodded.  “Thankfully, I’m glad you didn’t, because had you, you would’ve been the definition of a blonde bombshell.  Every man would fall madly in love with you and there would be no one left for me.”

             
Jemima actually laughed at that, a light, bubbly giggle that escaped before she could stamp it down.

             
Jude smiled at her before spinning her around in her chair and setting to reworking her makeup.

             
“Even if every man fell in love with me,” Jemima said, “Daniel would still be in love with you.”

             
Jude caught herself before she smeared lipgloss all over Jemima’s face and frowned.

             
“I don’t understand how he could possibly love me considering how little we know about each other.”

             
“Vampires just know,” Jemima said.  “You get to the point where you just know people are going to change your life.”

             
“Or you get to the point where you know they’re going to be an easy snack,” Jude said and watched with a hint of satisfaction as Jemima’s face fell.

             
“That’s not why I attacked you,” Jemima said.  “I know Mafe and Daniel and even Daphne think I attacked you because you were an easy target, or because I was jealous, but that’s not it.”  She stared down at her fidgeting hands. 

             
Jude was surprised at how rapidly human Jemima was becoming, as though once the initial wall had been breached, the rest were falling like dominoes.

             
“Vampires just know,” Jemima said, repeating her earlier comment.  There was something in her voice that made Jude think there was a deeper meaning she was supposed to pick up on, but she couldn’t figure it out.

             
With an indignant sigh, Jemima clutched her hands tightly and quickly glanced at Jude.

             
“I didn’t attack you because I knew you were going to change Daniel’s life,” the vampire said.  “I attacked you because I knew you were going to change mine.”