A World of Shadows

Chapter 22: Storytime

It felt as though someone had torn out my stomach as all the breath whooshed out of my lungs. His gaze was fixed, once again, on the comings and goings on the street spread out before us but I could still see how the words hurt him as I watched his chest quake with rapid breaths. However by some miracle his voice remained steady.

"I was out buying Christmas presents...how ridiculous is that? We didn't normally bother with them, but it was my first Christmas with Clarissa, and I had the best present planned for her...I was walking to the house Clarissa and I shared...my parents were staying that week as well...but they weren't what greeted me home...instead..." His eyes slid shut and I almost felt as though I was reliving the memories with him as they flashed across the insides of his eyelids. It was as though everything I knew had been drained from my mind, all I could do was listen to his haunting voice, "...instead I was greeted by the smell of burning flesh and the crackle of flames. The house was on fire but I knew it wasn't just wood and brick which was burning. That was when I saw the pile of limbs engulfed in flames just inside the door and...their heads...they were lined up on the door mat next to...next to a paw print in the rose bed." He stopped speaking with a sharp intake of breath, hunching over with his elbows on his knees; eyes clenched tightly shut. I sat paralysed in my chair, sure I should do something to comfort him but at a loss as to what.

After a moment of pained silence I got to my feet, moved towards him and knelt down in front of his chair to wrap my arms round him tightly in one swift movement. I held him like this, against my chest, till his arms loosened just long enough to encase me. We remained like that - wrapped round each other with me crouched awkwardly between his knees on the grimy concrete slab half held up by his grip as he sat, almost doubled over, in the metal chair - for an immeasurable amount of time.

It was as though we thought that if we held tightly enough we could squeeze the fragments of our shattered minds back together, and for a while it almost felt as though we had succeeded.

Then, without warning, Jamie pulled away sharply as though he had just woken up from a deep slumber. He scraped the metal chair legs backward so there was several inches of empty air between us and his face had regained the serene, arrogant set that I had seen when I first met him.

"Now I've kept my side of the bargain it's your turn." He spoke as though he had told his story without a hitch and we had remained separated by the table throughout. I slid back into my chair trying to dispel the ridiculous sting of rejection pulsing through me whilst feeling slightly whiplashed at his constant personality swings.

"What do you want to know?" I replied smoothly, following his example as I did not want to address what had just happened. I worked on keeping my features completely smooth and detached, whilst trying to still the confusion that spun my thoughts like a whirlwind. He stared right into my eyes and I had the horrible feeling he could see right into them, like open doors, but I ensured my facade didn't slip.

"I want to know more about Edward." He said, delicately running his finger round the rim of the mug who's contents would, by now, be stone cold. His words were like a punch to the chest and my brain froze for the briefest of moments before hurtling into overdrive. What should I say? "And I don't want the half-baked summary this time, I kept my side of the bargain." His eyes refused to let my gaze shift as rushed plans fell away...he had a point. I took a deep breath.

"We actually met at school, which I know is cliched, but there is the one slight deviation from your typical love story which is the fact that he was...is a vampire. I was drawn in by him at once and I realise now that it might have been down to his 'vampire powers' but I'm sure it was more than that. He stood out from everyone to me...even his vampire family and I couldn't believe it when he took an interest in me. I still don't know if it was just because he was a mind reader who couldn't read my mind or if he truly liked me without the mind shield thing."

"He's a mind reader?" Jamie said and for some reason I sensed a slight tenseness in his voice.

"Yeah but for some reason he couldn't read my mind...come to think of it I don't know if he can now - now that I'm a vampire I mean." I felt my voice falter ever so slightly on the last part but I refused to acknowledge it. Jamie made no indication of commenting on my words so I plunged on. "We became close and I fell for him...he was the first person I ever felt connected to. Before that I'd just been so detached, I'd had friends obviously, but I'd never had that one person that I could trust with everything...that one person who made me the person I wanted to be...that person who I could talk to forever without getting bored." Nostalgia was crushing me now but I dispelled it with an immense mental push before continuing, "Anyway, sickly stuff over, we met some nomads and one of them took a particular interest in me, shall we say. He was a tracker and we tried to run, which didn't go too well, and it ended up with me getting bitten by him but Edward saved me and killed the tracker.

"Before that happened I had never really understood why Edward was so cautious but from then on I knew and I knew he expected me to run in fear but it actually made me feel closer to him...that's weird I know. Then...then I cut myself while I was round their house and one of his family lost control; they tried to bite me. They were stopped and I was fine but after that something about him never was so he left."

"That's when the other nomads came back?" Jamie asked.

"Only one of them; Laurent." His name shivered down my spine as I said it. I had told myself I had moved on from that grudge. I had tried to convince myself that I had left all that behind me but deep down I still harboured a smouldering hatred for him and his red-haired accomplice. "He turned me while I was out for a walk by myself. The-" I paused measuring Jamie up with my eyes. "But I think you saw what happened next, didn't you?" I said slowly, measuring each word carefully, as I voiced my suspicion. This was the perfect opportunity to delve deeper into the heavily edited story he hd told me. His gaze on mine suddenly tautened and he leant back in his chair carefully, his eyes remaining on my face. He didn't speak for a few moments and when he did his words were just as slow and measured as mine had been.

"From a distance, I may have seen a little scuffle, but I didn't see you." I raised my eyebrows in disbelief.

"There's no point in telling half-truths, Jamie." I let my gaze slide from his face as I said this and instead watched a women as she walked round the corner we sat on carrying a blood-red bag with matching heels that clacked on the paving stones. As she wove into the bustle of people further down the street I returned my attention to him. Frustration was building in my chest and his next words didn't help.

"I'm not. Why would I?" His tone was derisive, as though I was idiotic for suggesting that he was a liar, and it hit a nerve.

"I don't know, Jamie." I emphasised the name. "But then again there's a lot I don't know about you, isn't there? The sad little story you told me isn't everything, we both know it, so don't pretend." I had given up all pretences now but he just looked at me with a strange expression on his face, like he was contemplating me, then pushed his chair back abruptly and strode away without looking back.

I sat stunned for a few moments and considered following him briefly but resisted. I knew all too well that pushing him didn't end well after the last time when he had screamed at me. If he was going to tell me something he would do it in his own time. So I pushed my chair back and walked in the opposite direction leaving the untouched coffee placed in the centre of the table. All the while completely unaware of the bronze-haired vampire who emerged from the shadows between the cafe and some office block to watch my departure with a pained look on his angelic face.