Undead

25; Christmas

Ra 
Helping Melissa was my number one priority. I didn't care about this nigga or his life story, or whatever pity he wanted from me. I didn't care about forming a bond with him like Videl suggested, and I didn't care about any friendship he was offering. It didn't matter at the moment. All that mattered was helping Melissa.

His face softened; he heard my thoughts. His shoulders slumped in defeat, any ounce of hope vanishing from his hazel eyes. He wanted friendship, if not that then he wanted someone to chill with. Someone to fill the void. He didn't like being alone, I knew that and I knew practically nothing about him.

"I don't mean to be so harsh," I offered, smoothed my palm down my face. "I'm just frustrated."

"It's okay..." He turned and ventured away from me, back to the fireplace where he was still burning his plethora of sketches. Even from way over here, I saw every intricate detail he took care with. This monster had been haunting his mind for years, and now he knows that it's been his girlfriend all along. I could only imagine what he was thinking. He chuckled, yet again reading my thoughts as he sunk into the couch cushions and admired the flames. "You don't have to pretend like you care, it's cool."

"It's not that," I told him, and I stepped forward. "I've just never struggled like you are now, so I wouldn't know what to say to help you."

"My foster brother didn't know how to help me either," he muttered bitterly. So this nigga was a foster kid too? Has he ever caught a break? "The answer to that is no. The closest thing to a break I've ever had was meeting Akila, and look how that turned out."

"I heard you two talkin'," I admitted. "And you and the guy."

"That's Kane. He's a good friend of mine, but of course I didn't know he was a vampire."

"So why are you so mad at Akila and not Kane? They both hid this secret from you." I gazed at the remaining drawings being tossed into the fire, and the images contorted as the tongues of the flame licked over them, dissolving them slowly but surely.

"I had a feeling Kane was a vampire, but I didn't know for sure. I met him while I was in rehab a few months ago and we became close. Certain things he did just gave me a certain vibe, but it didn't really bother me."

"And Akila?" I asked cautiously. I didn't want to push him to place he couldn't come back from but I was also curious. The dam was broken and his thoughts were pouring out. It would be selfish of me to brush it off and ask for the favor at a time like this. Ironic, isn't it?

"Akila and I dated for five years but I met her when I was fifteen, right after my diagnosis. Now that I think about the timing of all that shit, I get why she stepped in. What I don't get is why she kept that from me. I would have understood."

"Her hands were tied, O," I reminded him. O would now be his nickname, Osiris was too much to say.  "We're not allowed to date who we're protecting, much less tell them what we are. She didn't have a choice."

He shrugged. "The whole relationship was a lie." His mind was made up. There was still love in his heart, he and I both knew that. He didn't want to accept it, though. He wanted anger and hatred to replace those deep feelings he had towards her, and he was surprised when it didn't happen like he wanted. But that's nearly impossible. Feelings with this much history behind them don't just go away overnight - if at all. 

I didn't have a response to that, but I was sure he could read my mind.

He glanced over his shoulder at me, his face blank of any emotion as if none of this just happened. "What's the favor you want me to take care of?"

"Since you're the guardian of my son or daughter, I need you to do something for Melissa."

"You don't know the gender?"