The Art of Being a Vampire, page 3
I kept walking straight ahead
pretending
I didn’t hear him
behind me,
asking me to stop.
We mighta gone
this way
till I made it
all the way
back to Clara’s.
But then
a drunk
stumbled out of
a bar, and
decided to
get involved.
I didn’t even
see the guy
until he
grabbed holda
my arm
and said,
“Hey there,
honey,
don’t worry,
I got ya.”
I guess
it didn’t even
enter his
thick head
that maybe
I didn’t want
to be gotten.
Not by him
or anyone else.
I grabbed at
his hair.
Pulling with
everything
I had.
I laughed
when he screeched,
high-pitched
and mad.
I’d been
in a fog
since Mama died.
Scared,
but also
angry.
Furious really.
I had so much
mad,
I didn’t know
where
to put it.
But just like
when I punched
Charity,
this guy was
giving it a place
to go.
Giving it my all,
I took a handful
of the man’s hair
and yanked.
Which he
didn’t like
one bit.
He let me know
with his fist.
It came ’round
so fast,
I didn’t have time
to flinch.
It connected
with my spine.
I fell back
but he followed—
promising to
make me pay.
And then Brandt
was there.
He grabbed
the guy
like he was
nothing but a
small, yapping dog.
Picked him up
and gave him
a shake.
It made no sense.
The drunk was
a head taller
than Brandt
and thicker, too.
But Brandt
didn’t even
seem to strain
as he shoved
the man
to the ground
and then
told him
with a cruel
smile,
“You don’t even
know it,
but you’re
already
dead.”
I Coulda Sworn
Sharp teeth flashed
as Brandt smiled.
In that moment,
I honestly believed
he woulda bit
that man
if I hadn’t grabbed
the back of
his shirt
and dragged him
away.
Course, the minute
we got away
further down the street,
my brain caught up
with me and I realized
how crazy that was.
Which is what
I said to Brandt.
“That was crazy.”
He nodded
but looked distracted,
glancing over his shoulder
like he thought
that guy was
coming after us.
“Hey,”
I said, trying to get
his attention.
“How didja
bring him down?
Was it like
some sorta
ninja kung fu or
what?”
At this
Brandt finally
looked at me.
Reaching out
his long fingers, he
touched the pulse
still beating hard
in my neck.
“You were scared,”
he said.
I swatted his hand away.
“Nuh-uh.
I was pissed.
I’m not
some
weak
little girl,”
I added.
“And that
dummy
back there
wasn’t the
first man
to grab me.”
I winced
where he’d punched
my spine.
“You’re hurt,”
Brandt said.
“Yeah,
not the
first time
that’s
happened
either.”
I said,
with a
shrug.
Brandt
was silent
for a
moment,
then asked,
“What if
it was
the last?”
This actually
got a smile
outta me.
“You gonna
teach me
your kung fu?”
Brandt
grinned back.
“Something
like that.”
Reaching
out for
my hand,
he said,
“I’ve got
a way
to make
you better
and
stronger
and just,
well,
MORE.”
It sounded
too good
to be true.
But I liked
the feel
of Brandt’s
hand in
mine.
Even if
it was
ice-cold
as usual.
“I might
like that,”
I answered.
Then I leaned in.
Gave him
a kiss
on the
cheek.
To my
shock,
he pulled
me in.
Pressing
my body
against his.
I wondered
if he
could feel
the thump
of my
heart.
And if
his felt
the same.
Maybe
it did,
cause
when he
pulled away,
he said,
“I want
you
with me
forever,
just like
I said before.”
He was
so over the top.
His eyes
burning
behind his
floppy hair.
“Okay,”
I said,
slightly
breathless.
Not even
sure what
I was
agreeing to.
It was
the right
answer
though.
Cause
Brandt
finally
pressed his
lips to mine.
It was
just a
peck
really,
but still
enough.
And even
better,
then he
added,
“I think
you should
come with me
and meet
some of
my friends.”
“Who Lives Here?”
I asked.
“I do, kinda,”
Brandt answered.
“Nuh-uh,”
I said, right away.
“This ain’t
your house.”
Brandt hated
talking ’bout it,
but he was a
rich boy.
Like really rich.
I figured this out
when he mentioned
all casual
how he didn’t have
a car no more.
That the sweet SUV
he’d gotten for
his 16th birthday
wouldn’t be returned
until he did everything
his dad said.
And Brandt
wasn’t never
gonna do that.
Anyway,
this didn’t look like
the type of house
someone who got
a brand new car
as a birthday gift
would live in.
This was the type
of house that
woulda better fit
my old life
with Mama.
This was the
type of place
you lived
when you didn’t
have any
better options.
There were boarded-up
windows.
A yard overgrown
with weeds.
He shrugged
one shoulder.
“I guess technically, my
house is my dad’s big
ugly brick colonial. Or
maybe it’s my mom’s
even bigger and uglier
modern monster
on the other side of town.”
Brandt paused
and then studied
the house
like he was trying
to figure out
where it fit
in his life.
“But this,
this is . . .”
He hesitated
once more.
Looked to me,
the house,
and then back
at me again.
“Maybe this isn’t
a great idea.”
There it was.
The hot
and cold
again.
I couldn’t tell
whether he
was really
that mixed
up inside
or if he was
just messing
with me.
Either way
though,
we were here.
And the
angry, buzzing,
reckless feeling
that seemed
to live
in me
full time
was more alive
than ever.
It grew
in that
moment.
Till my skin
no longer
even seemed
to fit me
no more.
“I like bad ideas,”
I said.
Boldly,
I took Brandt’s
hand in mine.
“And I
like you,
too.”
Brandt squeezed
my hand.
“Sure, now,”
he said.
“But soon
you might
hate me.”
“No. Never,”
I said, believing it.
In that
moment,
I was
certain.
Brandt and I
would be
together
forever.
It Was Dark Inside
The windows
that weren’t
boarded up
were smeared
with grime.
It smelled
like rot.
Brandt said that was just
owing to the roof
leaking and the
constant damp.
But it
didn’t smell
like damp.
It smelled
like death.
That shoulda
been the
first clue.
This place seemed
wrong.
But, at the same time—
familiar.
I felt weirdly
at home there—
in that dark room.
More than I
ever did
in Clara’s
neat and tidy
house
that smelled
like lemons
or sometimes
roasted chicken.
It never ever smelled
like stale beer
and sweat
and vomit
like Mama’s house.
Can you hate
something
and miss it
at the same time?
I guess so,
cause I did.
As We Came Down
the creaky old
staircase,
there were
two figures
standing
at the bottom.
Waiting for us.
And I knew
in a bone-deep
and certain sorta
way that
they were
the whole reason
Brandt had
brought
me here.
“Shelby,
this is
Sid and Tallie,”
Brandt said.
My First Impression
was of bones.
Sid and Tallie
looked
like skeletons
wearing thin
and worn-out
skin suits.
Their eyes were
huge in their
heads.
Empty of all
light.
Worst were
their teeth.
Yellow and
chipped.
Crooked.
They were like
the people in photos
I’d seen of survivors
of distant wars.
Where you
wondered
how they
were even
still alive.
I didn’t like ’em
at first glance.
And as I got to
know ’em better,
I liked ’em
even less.
Sid was too quiet.
Tallie too loud.
Between the
two of them,
everything felt
off.
They were bad news.
But Brandt clearly
wanted me to
like them.
And them
to like me.
Or perhaps not
like
but approve.
As if
they were
his parents
instead of
two randos.
It seemed
I was being
presented
to them.
Like there
was some
sorta test
going on.
If it
weren’t
for Brandt,
I woulda
told them
I didn’t
want none of
what they
were selling.
But Brandt
was holding
my hand
again.
Saying,
“This is
Shelby,
and
I think
she’s
the one.”
I liked
being
the one.
I’d never
been
anyone’s
“the one”
before.
I’d never
been
anyone’s
anything
ever before.
With those
words,
Brandt
melted
the last
of my
walls.
I woulda
followed
him
to the ends
of the
earth.
The Girl
“So this is the girl
yer so
gone over,
huh?”
Tallie said,
with a smirk
at Brandt.
I glanced
at him.
Waiting
for him
to say
yes.
He just
shrugged.
“Well, she’s
real pretty,”
Tallie said,
and then
reached out
to tug at
one of my curls.
“Look at this
purty hair.
Like a
cartoon
princess,
she is.”
She turned to Sid.
He was silent
except for the click
of a piece of
hard candy
in his mouth.
“Ain’t she a looker, Sid?”
He jerked his chin up
which I guess was
a yes.
Tallie cackled
and clapped her hands.
And then so sudden
I didn’t even see
it coming,
she gripped my face
with one hand.
Fingers pressing
too tight
into the soft skin
above my jaw.
“All right,
pretty girl.
D’you
like Brandt
so much
you’d follow
him into
hell?”
I Thought of Mama
How she fell
for my daddy.
Kept falling further
and deeper,
until she
fell to pieces.
I looked toward Brandt,
who looked
like he was certain
I’d walk
away.
My heart twisted.
He’d told me
I was the one.
He gave
that
to me.
And I wanted
to give him
that same feeling,
of being chosen
and
wanted,
above
all
else.
I Turned
to Tallie
and the shadow
of Sid
behind her.
The smirk
was back
on her face.
Like she
already knew
my answer.
Lifting my
chin,
I told her,
“I’m with
Brandt.
Wherever
he goes.”
Tallie Had a Laugh
that was
plain mean.
She cackled
at my
answer.
Said,
