Broken Ties

Chapter 2

Palo~

“Hey, Palo, can you run these papers to Mr. Joi next door?”

“Sure, no problem.”

I love my job at the Science Center, but I just don’t like the fact that it takes up so much of my time on the weekends. I’ve been trying to hang out with my best friends Becka and Faythe, but they are both only available on Saturdays, which is the day that I work. I’ve known them both for about three years. They are totally awesome girls, and they are very loyal and protective of people, especially who are treated unfairly or just needs someone to talk to. Ever since we all started high school, all of us had difficulty trying to spend time together. Faythe and Becka would text me and ask me to hang out, and I would have to decline, or think I would get to the meeting spot, then find out I won’t get there in enough time. In result, the girls would end up having a girl’s day out or just cancel the meet.

When I made it over to Mr. Joi’s office, I knocked on the door. “Come in,” I heard through the wooden door. This man is the manager, but he is a total killjoy and jerk. “Oh..it’s you. Hello, Palo. What do you need?” He wasn’t even trying to hide his disgust this time, and all I did was walk through the door. Keeping my composure, I responded. “Ms. Kumar asked me to give you this papers for the next event in the prehistoric area.” His face became water spiraling down a drain, making him look more ridiculous than he already does. Why does he always have such an attitude? I wondered, growing more and more irritated the longer he looked at me as if I was the dirt on the bottom of his unnecessarily expensive shoes. Every time I have ever seen him, he is always either grimacing or behaving arrogantly. Honestly, if I didn’t have any self-control or need this job, I would have beat him to a pulp right this instant.

He gave me a cold stare before thanking me ungenuinely. “You may exit now.” Oh, gee, thank you so much. I walked away, trying not to talk back like I usually do. My morning has been excellent so far, and I have plans later on with Faythe that I am looking forward to. The last time I saw her was when we went to dinner with Becka the last Saturday of last month. Now, it’s only a week before her birthday, and I don’t know if I should get her a gift or not. Even though I know she hasn’t been making a big deal about her birthday recently, I still want to get her something special. For the remainder of my work day, I continued to think about what may be a great gift for my best friend.

~~~

I arrived home a few hours later, ready to lay down and relax. I went to my room and changed into some sweatpants and a t-shirt, since it was only going to be a few hours until I went to bed for the night. Once I changed clothes, I went to the bathroom to wash my hands before I headed downstairs to get some food.  “Hmm..what should I eat? Maybe some leftover mostaccioli and some garlic bread,” I said aloud to no one in particular. Having made my decision, I put some pasta on a plate and stuck it in the microwave before preparing some garlic bread to be put in the oven.

About twelve minutes later, I was sitting at the kitchen table with my food. My mom had to run to the store for a few things, so I was in the house alone. After I finished, I texted Faythe if she was ready to chat. It took a little while before she responded.

Yep. I’m ready when you are, Mou.

Okay.

I headed to my room so that I could have some privacy in case Mom came back early. I closed and locked the door behind me (my mom can be really nosey sometimes), and threw myself on my bed. I picked up my phone that was lying on the side table and logged into my Gmail account. Seeing that she was online already, I sent the invite for a video call. She answered after a few rings.

“Hey, Palo,” she said kind of quietly.

“Hey, Faythe. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Faythe, that is B.S., and we both know it,” I said, not beating around the bush. Actually, she doesn’t look as bright and energetic like she usually is. She looks...darker somehow. Yet more attractive. I can’t explain it really, but I know she’s not sick. She doesn’t get sick often, but when she does, she’s not sick enough to the point that she gets pale. She sighed as she looked away for a moment, before she looked right at the screen into my eyes.

“Palo, something happened last night. I don’t remember anything, but this morning…” She seemed unsure of what to say.

“Did he find you?”, I asked, already angered at the thought of those sorry excuses for men touching my friend again. Faythe’s eyes grew wide. “No! No, I don’t think either one of them had anything to do with what happened.” Well, that’s good.

A few years ago, back when she was in sixth grade, some people have been harassing Faythe. She was bullied by some of  the other students. People made fun of her weight, how she took so long doing work because she wants to make sure she didn’t miss anything while trying to solve a problem, and a lot more petty stuff that is unnecessarily said and picked apart. When she wasn’t bullied at school, some fool would beat her up or touch her inappropriately. Unfortunately, she is one of those people who feels like anything she says or does may cause unnecessary drama, since there are still a lot of people who love and care for her deeply. It dwindled down some when I arrived the next year, since I made it my duty to protect her, even before we became friends. When it comes to people being treated wrongly, I have very low-tolerance.

However, nothing I did could stop the times when older male teachers take a liking to her. She already had trouble trusting guys after this one guy kept messing with her, so you can imagine how she felt when she began high school. A sweet, mature girl with natural beauty can attract many older men, apparently. Even her own uncle couldn’t resist. Faythe has told both Becka and myself about how these creeps check her out on the street, and how the male teachers at her school pays her special attention. One of them even had her stay after school one day, and he was bold enough to take one of the most precious things from her any woman can have. On top that, her own uncle raped her as well, and her aunt didn’t do a thing about it. She just stood idly by and let her husband harm her sister’s child. Faythe hasn’t quite been the same ever since, especially since her  former teacher has stalked her every day since then, but she gets better and happier every day. Her faith in God has only grown stronger, and she uses all of her experience to help others. She eventually told her parents about what those b****s did, and both were sentenced to prison for about eight years.

“There’s no easy way to say this,” Faythe started again, breaking me out of my thoughts. “So I’m just going to say it.” She looked a little afraid, but strangely calm at the same time.

“Palo, I think I’m a vampire.”