A Girl in the Shadows

Chapter Five

As Tristan stood in both awe and confusion, I sauntered over to my pile of clothes in the floor and grabbed a long black sock to wrap around my wound. The pressure caused some of the pain to subside, but I could feel that it was in pretty deep. Once I made sure it was tight enough, I sat down on the makeshift bed, then wrapped the dirty knitted blanket around me. I looked at the stitching and swore I could still hear the little needles in Dolly's hands clicking together.

"Well, this is my home, welcome," I said.

"That's hilarious." He started laughing to himself, as only a young drunk would. "But really, this is pretty cool though. I've never been up here." His eyes wandered around the room. "What's with all this stuff?"

"What about 'I live here' do you not understand?"

He pointed his finger and smiled. "You're funny. I mean, you're really funny."

"And you really like to drink, don't you?" I said, looking up at the hatch in the ceiling. "If you come back in a day or two, I'd be happy to take you to the roof. It has the best views on the whole campus." I gestured to my folding chair. "Feel free to have a seat, if you'd like to stick around. I don't bite."

He held his stomach from the laughter, walked across the room, and sat down. "So, what's a girl like you doing all alone on a night like this?"

"I'm always alone," I said.

He chuckled nervously. "Good one...but seriously, though."

"I haven't had friends for a long time." That's smart. Real smart. Go ahead, pour your heart out to a stranger. That'll find Molly. That'll make all your pain go away. Tristan raised an eyebrow and my body began to shake. "Please forgive me. It's been a rough few days."

To my surprise, he got out of the chair and sat on the floor with me. The minaret began to spin. I reached for the half-empty bottle of water next to my pillow and took a few sips. Tell him to leave or it'll be your downfall. Tell him to leave now, Tali. I held my face in my hands. A few minutes of silence—that was all I wanted.

"You sure you're gonna be okay?" Tristan asked. "Maybe you should ditch the costume and lay down."

"No. It's not a costume." I shook my head and ran my tongue over my sharp teeth. "This is probably a good time for you to leave. Remember, you never saw me."

"You're kidding me, right?" Another laugh escaped from his throat. "But seriously, you do make a lot of jokes."

"Touch my fangs." I bared them and pointed. "I promise you, they're not plastic."

"Okay...I'll play along."

He extended a sweaty finger into my mouth, poking at the hard enamel of my right fang, then letting his pointer glide over it. When my eyes gazed up into his, he backed away, but only a little.

"No shit. That's some professional stuff right there," he said.

"They're not glued on. These are my actual teeth." I tapped them with my finger, then tugged and tried to wiggle them around. His eyes grew wide as saucers and he was at his feet in seconds. "Please, don't go."

It was hopeless. Tristan turned and made a b-line for the staircase. He was out of sight and gone, in seconds, just like all the others. I lowered my head to the flat pillow on the floor and laid on my good side. The pain was beginning to fade as my body healed itself.

This is why you shouldn't associate with humans. They hurt you again, physically and emotionally. When are you going to learn Tali?

"I want to see him again," I said, yawning. My eyelids were heavy. "Just...once more."