Garlic Is For Vampires (#Wattys2016)

Chapter 5: Argument

Brendon tilted my head back slowly, his eyes on mine in the mirror. I looked down at the bruising on my shoulders, and then slowly craned my neck to see the bigger bruise on the back of my neck. Brendon gently massaged the area, wincing when I flinched. I clutched my elbows and met Brendon's gaze again.

"It's just bruises," he said quietly. He let go my shirt sleeves and took a step back. I leaned against the bathroom sink and looked at him. I noticed the hard look in his eyes. They were usually soft, but after today's sudden attack, something was different. As if a switch had suddenly gone off inside him, triggering the emotionless Brendon that everyone should've been afraid of when he was on the job.

"The girl was a-"

He bolted from the bathroom. I sighed and followed him. He was in my living room, grabbing his stuff from the couch. I simply walked around him and strode towards the kitchen island. My groceries were sitting on the counter, still in the paper bags. I started putting the groceries in the fridge before I spoke again.

"I think we both saw the same thing. The way she attacked you and threw me wasn't possible for someone so small."

"She must've been on drugs," Brendon simply grunted. I heard him pacing back and forth. He usually did that when he didn't understand something. Even when he was a high school student, I'd see him spacing around in a library or outside his house. His dad always said he had too much energy. But it was the feeling of not knowing what you were up against. I chewed my bottom lip and put the butter on the top door shelf of my fridge.

"What about the teeth?" I whispered. I heard Brendon's pacing stop, and then he was beside me, looking down at me. I didn't look up at him; I looked at the contents in the fridge.

"Do you honestly think those teeth were vampire fangs? There's no such thing as vampires."

"I know, but how else do you explain the girl? There's no such thing as werewolves either."

"Maybe she was on drugs or something." I heard the aggravation in his tone. But I stopped and looked straight ahead of me with my back turned to him.

"What kind of drug sharpens teeth into vampire fangs?" I questioned aloud, rather sarcastically too. I heard him turn towards me again but I slammed my fridge shut and walked around him to fold the paper bags on the counter. He got in front of me, his hands gripping the edges on the counter. He sure wasn't going to give in so easily. If anyone tried telling Brendon he was wrong they were in for it. Good thing I was just as stubborn as him.

"Now I know there are some pretty powerful drugs out there," I commented quietly. "But none that are that powerful to do whatever that girl did. I'm not sure what you think about it, but I believe something abnormal is going on around here. Just look at the murder case you're handling, Brendon. The victim's throats are torn out."

"Body limbs are missing and the head of the last one-"

"I know what I saw that night. But did the murderer use sharp knives or a machete to cut those body parts? Did you test for saliva? Did you even look at the limbs closely? What if there are teeth marks?"

I finally finished folding the bags and looked up at him with innocent eyes. He was a scowling at me-his mouth pursed. Then he pointed a finger at me and grabbed his jacket from the couch. He walked towards my front door and opened it. Then he looked back over his shoulder.

"I'm going to prove to you these weren't vampire attacks. You're in over your head here, Bree."

He closed the door shut behind him. I let out a deep breath and set my forehead against my palms. I shook my head and laughed. Brendon was wrong. He was making a fool of himself. I didn't actually have evidence that a vampire killed those victims, but we knew they existed. But how? Vampires couldn't walk in the sun. This girl was out in daylight. But the sun was setting. I didn't know if it had to be direct sunlight that killed them. Brendon knew he was wrong but he kept lying to himself.

I soaked in my tub that night, eating takeout because I was too tired to do anything like cooking. I needed to relax and let my brain rest.

After I got out of the tub, I curled up on my couch in my living room and explored the Internet on my laptop. My search went to vampires, and I mentally slapped myself for returning to the topic. But I couldn't help it-after that girl attacked Brendon and I today, what else was I supposed to do but figure out what was going on? Brendon was involved in this too-I just had to figure out a solution that could help him close this case. He was my friend for the longest and even though we had our arguments we were always there for each other. We were closer than we were with our families. Brendon needed me.

While exploring a website, I came across something unusual and sat up. Then I grabbed my phone from beside me and called Brendon. His phone rang for a while, but then he finally answered. His pride hadn't won the fight this time, and his tone of voice said it too.

"Bree." I knew he was tired, but I heard the softness when he said my name. I knew he was upset that we argued but he couldn't go soft on me now. He hated that. He couldn't admit things without wounding his leadership ego. I didn't like that about him but he was always by my side when I did stupid stuff. And vice versa.

"I found something," I said.