Captivated (An Affliction Novel) (11 page)

“You’re right. I should get going...” I t
old him when he didn’t speak. Dean arched his eye brows up with sadness. His eyes widened and pleaded with me.

“Don
’t.” Dean looked down and away from me. “Please.” he said softly. There was pain in his voice. Mixed emotions tumbled out of his mouth with every spoken word and it was difficult for me to figure out if he was angry or if it was something else entirely.

“What? I thought you said I should go.” I walked a few steps to where he was looking so that his gaze met mine. The worry in his eyes begged me to stay. “What’s going on Dean? What’s wrong?” I sincerely asked him.

Dean still didn’t answer. He just stared into my eyes as if it was the only thing in the forest to look at. It wasn’t the first time he looked at me that way, but it was usually from a greater distance like at school or the lounge. I wanted to ask him what that was about.

“Dean. Why do you stare at me? And I’m not talking about just tonight. It’s all the time.” I asked.

Dean’s eyes gazed into mine. I felt like I was about to collapse from his penetrating gaze. It was so deep, it made me feel somewhat connected to him. His lips twitched a little, holding back, as if he wanted to tell me something but was hesitating.

“Dean? Why? Why do you look at me?” I gently asked. My face softened, inviting him to feel comfortable.

“Like what?” Dean broke out. It sounded like he was out of breath.

“You know.” I replied.

“You’re mistaking.” Dean gulped.

“Why do you do it?” I asked again. I felt I knew what the answer was. My heart was pounding insanely in my chest
. I had never felt so nervous and eager for an answer.

“Every time I look at you...” Dean
paused and took in a deep breath. Butterflies fluttered all around my insides. My breathing got deeper and I had to focus on controlling it.

“What?” I desperately asked.

“Every time…there’s nothing.” Pain and worry filled his eyes. “It’s just a glance.” Dean looked like he was burning himself and was trying not to react to it.

Disappointment settled inside me. And I wasn’t sure if it was because I didn’t hear what I wanted to. Which was what exactly? That he was into me? Or if it was because I didn’t believe him; that he was lying and trying to hurt me.

“MINDY!” Markus called out, surprising me. “Is that you?” His flashlight shone on me, then to Dean, who was back to looking irritated.

“Markus? What are you doing here?” I asked.

Without saying anything, Dean walked away, leaving me alone with Markus, the dog, and my thoughts.

ude! I’ve been trying to get a hold of you all day.” Markus said while trying to catch his breath. He bent slightly and placed his hands on his thighs.

“What’s going on?” I regrettably asked. I was afraid he was going to bring up the disappearing people that he thought Dean was responsible for.

“You shouldn’t be out in the dark.” Markus panted said. He straightened himself and took deep breaths until he breathed normally again.

“Why does everyone keep saying that?” I huffed out then smiled at him. “Let’s go home. I’ve had a crazy night.” I reached down and grabbed the dog’s leash and headed back towards my house. Markus rushed to my side.

“Not crazier than mine,” Markus competitively said.

“Uh oh. What did you do?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.

“You know the disappearing people?” Markus mentioned.

“What about them?” I slowly let out, preparing myself for something out of this world to come out of
his
mouth.

“Well.
They weren’t really… people.” Markus blurted with an animated smile. Whatever he was trying to tell me was sure juicing him up.

I stopped walking and cocked my head to the side. “What are you talking about?” I asked.

“Vampires…” Markus slowly whispered with a charge of excitement.

I threw out a big huff and proceeded to walk again. “Whatever, Markus” I spat behind me.

Markus caught up to me and grabbed my shoulders to steal my attention. “No. No. It’s true! I can prove it. Wait, no I can’t. But I might be-” he stuttered.

“What are you rambling about? There are no vampires. It’s just a fictional monster created by someone who had nothing better to do.” I calmly said.

“Do you believe that about dinosaurs? That they too are just fictional?” Markus asked.

“No. There’s proof of their existence. There isn’t any for vampires.” I responded.

“That’s because they disappear when they die. And when they’re alive, they look just like the rest of us!” Markus replied.

“And how exactly did you come up with this conclusion?” I snickered in disbelief. Were we really having this conversation? I never thought I would have to convince Markus that vampires didn’t exist. He had yet to prove to me that there was a ghost that messed with him when he did his chores.

“I saw one attacking a human.” Markus pointed at his eyes with his long index finger.

“A human? You mean you saw a person attacking another person.” I corrected him.

“No. A living, breathing vampire.” Markus stated.

“I thought they weren’t alive and they didn’t breath.” I tested him.

“You know what I mean!” Markus spat out, annoyed.

“Ok. Why don’t you explain to me what exactly you saw?” I suggested.

“I was driving around, right?” Markus stretched his arms out in front of him as if he were gripping onto a steering wheel. “So I decided to check out the crime scene. And there they were. This chick was biting some guy’s neck and blood was everywhere. And she was way stronger than him…” he paused dramatically and continued on, “…are you ready for this?”

I nodded my head.

“Out comes Dean and kicks her off of him sending her flying into the brick wall! The guy didn’t even know what was going on. He just fumbled all over the place crying about his neck. Dean and the girl…I mean vampire, were throwing swings at each other. She was so fast. But then he took out a sword from a strap on his back and sliced her head clean off! Then poof… she and the head disappeared!” Markus declared.

“Whoa whoa whoa…Dean was there?
My
Dean?” I asked.

“
Your
Dean? What are you talking about What do you mean by your Dean?” Markus asked with confusion on his face.

“I mean…the Dean I know. Knew. That one?” I stuttered, trying not to blow my cover.

“Yeah. That one.” Markus’ face turned serious.

“Did he see you there?” I asked.

“I don’t think so. I was parked a good distance. And I quietly drove off when it was over.” Markus admitted. “What were you two talking about anyway? I thought he was a mute.” he questioned.

“No. He just chooses not to talk to people.” I corrected him.

“So?” Markus invited, trying to get me to spill the beans.

“Oh. We were talking about...” I paused. I wasn
’t sure what to tell him at that point. Was it a good idea to tell him that Dean wanted to say something to me but didn’t, and I was hoping he would, but he decided not to? He was confused enough as it was by things. “He was telling me the same thing as you. That I shouldn’t be out late.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Hold on…how far were you parked? Isn’t your car a clunker? He should have heard you.” I stated.

“Well, I was par
ked too far for him to hear.” Markus said defensively.

“In a quiet alley... Late at night…” I paused for a moment, “…you would have to park almost a football field away for him not to hear you.” I finished with a smirk.

“What are you trying to say?” Markus asked.

“Well, you said that you parked far enough for him not to hear your noisy car. Wouldn’t that make it too far for you to clearly see what happened too? Did you have your binoculars?” I asked hesitantly.

“No, I didn’t have them. I know what I saw, Mindy.” Markus said firmly.

“This all can’t be real, Markus. I’d have to see it for myself: the fangs, the
poofing
you keep talking about.” I said.

I just couldn’t bring myself to believe all that Markus had told me. Vampires couldn’t exist. They weren’t real. But he
would never lie to me. And that was too much for me right then anyway. I was already confused enough about Dean and my feelings for him. But I wasn’t sure why yet. Did I like Dean? Did I like the ripped muscles? The boyish face? The husky voice? Did I mention the muscles? Everything shouted yes to me. But most of all, I liked who he was on the inside. Tonight, he showed me a bit of what he truly was. The boy I knew from my past– the one that never really went away.

“We have to follow him,” Markus stated.

“We can’t do that!” I quickly replied.

“Maybe you can’t...” Markus
drummed his fingers to his chin and looked up to an invincible title above him. “…but private M can.”

“Private M? It must have taken you forever to think that up.” I teased.

“What would you have used?” Markus retorted.

“Private DORK!” I threw back my head and laughed.

“You’ll see! I’ll get to the bottom of all of this.” Markus pointed his finger at me. “I’m telling you, Mindy.” He tried sounding serious, but it wasn’t taking. I was too hyped up on his ridiculous theory.

We reached my front door after only a short time. The motion sensor came on and the bugs started bumping into our heads trying to get to the light. The dog noticed something at a distance. At first he gave out a deep growl, but after staring for a while, he ceased and instead wagged his tail and barked a friendly bark. I squinted, trying to focus on what he was seeing.

“It’s probably a deer.” Markus said.

“Why would a dog wag his tail for a deer?” I pondered aloud.

“Hey. What’s his name anyway?” Markus asked while tilting his head towards the dog.

“I haven’t thought of it yet. Ummm…I don’t know. What do you think?” I asked.

“Zeke.” Markus insisted. “That’s what I would have named a dog if I was allowed to have one. Gramps doesn’t like pets.”

“
Your gramps doesn’t like anything.” I commented. “That’s a cool name. Okay. I’ll name him Zeke.” I said in quick agreement. Hey, I didn’t have a list of names or anything. Why not call him that?

“I guess I’ll
see you at school tomorrow.” Markus said.

“Oh yeah. School. Back to reality.” I muttered.

Markus walked to his car looking in the same direction the dog was. He drove off slowly then finally out of sight. When I stepped inside, I took the harness off of Zeke and he ran around, excited to be in his new home. After I let him sniff every object in sight, I took him upstairs to my room. After a quick shower, I plopped down on the bed and fell right to sleep.

Waking up to the smell of musty dog breath was like a vicious hit to the face. Yuck! I opened my eyes to find Zeke lying on the bed next to me. All that ran through my mind was his dirty paws rubbing into my sheets, the many hairs he was leaving wherever he touched, and worst of all, the white stains of dried drool on my maroon pillows!