La Vampira // a Lost Boys Fanfic

✞ uno ✞

A slightly damp towel was tossed aside to a nearby chair. The sounds of a faint Bruce Springsteen song came from the radio alarm clock, filling the dim and quiet room. A young girl, no older than eighteen, sat on her dusted violet colored sheets. It had been a long day and the warm summer night led her into taking a shower, hoping it would cool her down. All the windows in her room had been opened, awaiting somewhat of a breeze as she fell asleep alone in her home. Noises of the night were absent, seeing how they were so close to the ocean of Santa Clara. The crashing of waves in the distance, however, was amplified with there being silence between the home and the shore. On occasion she would fall asleep to the sound of her mother watching television, working on one of her embroidery projects until her father came home from work. These past few weeks it seemed impossible to rest with all the quiet.

Salvatrice Velasco, or just Sally as she had preferred it the past few years. It was just an easier name to go by, instead of explaining that her parents initially had intended for a son named Salvatore. She had raven colored hair, just as both of her parents did, with a set of very dark, nearly black, brown eyes.

Her sun-kissed skin, fresh out of the shower, was covered by a thin slip dress. Usually, she would wear an extra-large button-up shirt, but the temperature was not in her favor for comfort. Sliding into her sheets, only slightly covering her body, her thoughts were racing a million miles an hour. 'How can I go to sleep now?'

Turning to the side table where her favorite photos resided, Sally stared at them before reaching to turn the lamp off. The largest one of the sum, a picture of her and her parents smiling and laughing at her quinceañera a few years ago. It was the moment she had placed a flower in her father's ear to match her and her mother. Grinning ear to ear, so big that his eyes were closed, she had wondered where that man had gone. Her mother, so lively and full of color to her cheeks at the time, she wondered the same.

Earlier in the spring, her mother fell ill, needing to be placed in a hospital for care. They managed her spot from having her father's store opened more hours of the day; Sally's free time was now replaced with sitting behind the counter of a bookstore on the boardwalk, occasionally getting up to take inventory and make sure none of the beach punks stole from them. She didn't dread having to work at the store, she had a lot of time to sit and study, and her friends would stop by from time to time. With it being the end of her senior year of high school, she tried making the best of it. Glad to help and whatever to help her parents.

Tonight was one of the occasions when her father would let Salvatrice visit her mother. The man would hardly eat, sleep, or even think of himself, as he was by her bedside nearly all hours of the day, on top of going to work. Now that their Sally had graduated high school, he let her open and close the store. Going away to college definitely not on their list for in the fall, they kept it in the back of their heads until mother was better (which seemed unknown) The only interaction was when he came home late at night, when Sally was already fast asleep, or when he caught her making breakfast in the morning, heading to the boardwalk. The first few weeks were durable, not feeling so alone, as well as having her boyfriend keep her company at the time.

Thinking of him made her glance to the next frame, which was instead made up of photo booth strips and a polaroid right in the middle. The camera catching him right at the moment he would turn to look at Sally, then give a goofy grin when she looked back. His sweet smile, she remembered, as he would sometimes chew on his knuckle when he had nothing to say or was just listening to her talk about friends and the day she had at school.

They had met back in high school, he a year older than her, but had dropped out the winter before his own graduation. That, however, didn't stop the girl from seeing him. He was always there outside the fence with his motorcycle, waiting for the girl to be released after the final bell. She would immediately say goodbye to her friends and run over to greet him. No taller than she, he had always tried to spin her when they embraced. A kiss, then they'd immediately head to the boardwalk before it was time for Sally to go home. On school nights, she had to be home before sunset, except for Fridays and weekends.

Of course, that didn't stop him from climbing through her window at night. Sneaking out a few hours later, just before her mother would wake her for school. Sleepy kisses on her nose before they were to see each other again that afternoon. One particular morning (before she started seeing him less) she remembered he was creeping out from the blanket, trying not to disturb the sleeping girl.

"No." She said in a whisper, her eyes still closed, as she grabbed ahold of his wrist.

" I gotta go, Sally-girl." He whispered, turning back to hover over her. Kissing her nose, like he always did, "Your mom will be here any minute now." she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in closer until his body was on top of hers. She finally opened her eyes, then whispered into his neck, "I don't care. You can go hide under my bed and I'll pretend I'm sick. Then we can spend the day in bed."

"I'll see you this afternoon, okay? You gotta go to school: Remember, I'm the dropout. I don't want that to have an effect on your grades." He tried escaping her hold, seeing as he had just enough time to get dressed and sneak down before even her neighbors noticed.

"My grades can manage one day of absence." she tried reasoning him to stay.

"Says the girl who cried when she got a C on her chemistry test."

He laid there for another moment, wrapping his arms around her too, laying in silence. He really wanted to just spend the day talking and spending time together, just holding each other like this, but he knew she needed to go school. She had all these opportunities and he didn't want her to waste them.

"I really gotta go now, Sally-girl." He broke the silence, lifting his body up, only to see she had just fallen back asleep. He softly chuckled, brushing her long hair out of her face, then kissing her nose before finally crawling out the window.

When she had to start working at her father's store, he would always stop by during the day, keeping her company, as well as making sure no one would shoplift.

Then those days turned into afternoons, those afternoons turning into evenings, then to him showing up a short while before it was time to close and lock up. Even then, Sally could see something was off. From the corner of her eye, she could see him and a group of friends, telling them that he'll catch up with them later. It was three other young men, and her boyfriend being the shortest out of them. One of them had long dark hair, similar to Sally's, but it looked more wild on him. Another was blond, who teased her boyfriend as he entered the store. The last one, whom she had only caught a glimpse of, had platinum blonde hair- she never could fully see his face, but it was like he had to get the approval of that friend in particular, as he would nod in approval right before he could enter.

Last week was the last time they had even spoken a word to each other. She was given the night off and decided to go on a few rides with a few friends from high school. In the distance, Sally thought she recognized a certain head of curls.

"Marko!" She shouted, giggling, waving her arm for him to see. She could see him turn, before hesitantly continuing to go forward in the opposite direction. Her heart immediately sunk, thinking it was, in fact, the boy she had fallen in love with, her mind immediately going to him stop seeing her and even ignore her. A few of her friends tried assuring her that maybe it was just someone else- probably even a tourist: Santa Carla gets a lot of those during this time of the year. She hoped they were right, but she couldn't help but think about it while being pulled and pushed at fast speeds on the rides.

Usually, she'd get sad or even a tear would be brought to her eye when she first thought about him after that event, but something in her had changed. Sally was now angry, just looking at the black and white photo. On her way to reach the string for her lamp, the girl put the frame face down, out of her vision. With a click, the room was completely dark. Only sounds of the night and the radio filled the darkness.