Vampire Days

Chapter 54.2: Raging Bee

How long would it take for him to miss me? Why does it seem like keeping me off his mind was such a piece of cake for Austin? I want to know so bad. In that vacuum, with my ears blocked and my eyes tightly closed, I wished I could get a glimpse of him. An apparition would suffice, even a blurry image conjured in this dream-like state. Holding back a sob, I bit my lip, remembering how he stood out in the middle of the crowd even when he's such a midget. He dazzled me like a biscuit to a dog. He's never been out of my mind, even if I tried to set the thought of him aside just like how he's neglecting me by not thinking about me even for a bit. After my latest fuckup, my first impulse was to go see him so he's right next to me because I consider him as a major part of my life. I could even trade two big guys for one of him by my side.

But maybe I'm really just an overeager dog, too clingy and needy, too much of a hassle and easy to dismiss as an insignificant thought. Fuck it. If I don't snap out of this, I'd be stuck in this limbo for days.

A huge hand gently patted the back of my head and I automatically snapped up to check who it was and Mossberg blinked, as if he had forgotten what he was going to say after intentionally popping my bubble. 

"Are we going?" I asked, taking off the headset and handing it back to him. The noise came back like an avalanche or when you splash water on boiling oil, and I winced, regretting ever experiencing what silence was. But it was pleasant to be clueless for the first time in a while. I noticed the vacant seats and the table littered with leftovers like it's been hit by a passing storm. "Where are they?"

There were several tables still occupied, the diners chilling and talking and catching up. One group that was bigger than ours was clapping and singing a happy birthday to an old woman. She's all smiles while clapping along and staring at the cake's flickering candle.

Mossberg pointed with a quick pout and I turned to the other side where Lorenzo and Clifford were taking each other's picture. The weather was great and the clear, starry sky meeting the calm sea should look good as a backdrop. I'm glad they're enjoying themselves.

"We lied and told your mom you fell asleep," Lorenzo said, when we approached them. "She went to settle the bill."

"Sorry for earlier, Enzo," I apologized and he shot me a crooked grin after he hooked an arm on my neck in a friendly hug.

"No prob, don't let it bother you," he answered. He let go of me and snapped another picture of a moth resting on the leaf of a potted plant. Mossberg obediently took Clifford's phone and his directions on where he should stand, or kneel, to capture his best angle. "It's normal to get cranky when you're not eating well."

"No, lower the camera, Moss. And scoot more to the left. But don't include Magno's back in the frame, okay? Just enough. . .yes, right there," Clifford instructed while posing with an empty green wine bottle.

"How much are you paying the kid for his services, Cliff?" Lorenzo asked in pretend anger. "Don't listen to him, Arguelles."

"I don't mind taking instructions!" Mossberg answered eagerly. "I like taking other people's pictures for them too."

"There. That is 'what's the matter with you', you big oaf! People push you around because you're too kind! Learn to intimidate them with your height and ram them flat on their asses when they don't stand back," Lorenzo said like a commander giving his soldiers a pep talk, his nostrils flaring. I knew it was a joke but my instinct was giving a soft warning chime. "Don't act like a standing pangolin!"

Mossberg laughed out loud. It attracted the attention of the tables nearby but he didn't let up.

"I can't help it if I'm such an adorable, obedient boy," he said brightly but we knew there was a bite of sarcasm in it. "Those pieces of shit only like to make themselves feel less of a shit than they actually are by pretending to subdue someone of my size. I also don't mind giving them a hand with their delusions, Datu."