Vampire and Single

3. Emily

Friday

7.30 P.M.  Emily is knocking at my flat door.

Earlier on Facebook she begged me to come out with her. She wants us to go to the opening night of a new bar in town. Emily is my best friend. I tried to come up with some really good excuses; working late, headache, leaking fridge, aching fangs, strong desire to suck the blood out of someone but she was having none of it.

I let her in. She grins and glides into my flat. Tonight she is wearing a miniscule of the shoulder black dress and red stilettos. I watch as she flicks her long blonde hair away from her face and I watch it shimmer in the light from the window. She smells delightful and I am not talking about her perfume. I get a grip of myself. 

After a few seconds of standing inside my flat she pulls a face, screws up her pale blue eyes and clamps her hand over her nose.

'Yuk, Sasha this place stinks,'  she moans, shaking her head.

'Um...it's the drains,' I say quickly, knowing full well it has nothing to do with the drainage system. It has more to do with the fact that my flat stinks of rotting meat and blood, which is past its sell by date. Emily doesn't need to know that. I make a mental note to purchase some heavy duty air freshener when I am next in the supermarket.

'OMG - what are you wearing?' exclaims Emily, pointing to my shapeless black trousers and baggy oyster coloured top, which I bought in a charity shop, on the way home from work.Before I changed into a vampire looking fashionable was an obsession of mine. I would spend all my wages on clothes. shoes and handbags. If it didn't look trendy or fresh from the catwalk of Milan I woudn't wear it.

Obviously I spend my money on other things now like raw or cooked meat. I no longer see looking good as a priority. Books and films that portray us vampires as being in touch with the latest season's fashion looks have got it all wrong. Once you become a blood sucker you can kiss goodbye to your spring and summer capsule items.

'Sasha, you cannot go out looking like that,' she shrieks, shaking her head, whilst still holding her nose. 'Go change now and please tell your landlord that this problem with your drains is a health hazard.'

I let out a loud sigh, turn and stomp back into my bedroom. My jaws are throbbing and my fangs are starting appear. Emily has no idea what pain she is putting me through by making me change my outfit.

I yank open my cupboard and work my way to the back where all my 'pre Vampire clothes' are. After I became a vampire I could not face any reminders of my previous life so I set about hiding everything from the days when I was normal.

Reluctantly I pull out a red dress and some red patent high heels. I seem to be attracted to the colour red now, more so than ever before in my life.

7.45 P.M. I finally emerge from my bedroom and I can see that Emily has opened all the windows in my flat.  She's stood by the lounge window taking in large gulps of air.

'Oh you look a lot better,' she exclaims turning round to scan my outfit. 'Let's get out of this stinky place, I don't know how you cope with living here.'

I like my little dingy flat which reeks of meat. Before I became a vampire I hated my flat. To me it was small, dark and pokey. Now it is perfect. The poor lighting means that I can avoid the sunlight which makes me feel sick and it has started to feel more like home.

8.01 P.M.  As we enter the bar my vampiric senses come alive. It is like someone has flicked a switch inside me. I can feel my eyes widening, my body stiffening and a warm sensation which is very similar to arousal shooting up my spine. As I haven't felt aroused for a long time, the last being my embrace with Boris, I find myself savouring the moment.  My eyes no longer scan the bar crowd for people I know, cool outfits or handsome men. I am seeing nothing but heads, necks, torsos and limbs.