Scarlet Prison

Chapter 12

            When Dominik and I arrived at the door to my room, a terrifying realization occurred to me. The whole way home, I'd been working on a plan to reject Dominik, should he attempt to kiss me goodnight or come with me into my room. So the situation found us standing in the doorway because I'd been planning on telling him to get lost. Then I was too distracted by the terrible realization to think to invite him in. The realization was this; Dominik Jäger was currently my surest bet for getting Novashi back. He was the mayor of this city, and in his position of power, he was likely to have access to all kinds of information and resources that could be key to retrieving Novashi. Figuring out how to use those resources for my purposes would be tricky, but I would have been a fool to let even the slimmest of chances of finding Novashi slip away.

            Dominik stepped in close to me. "I enjoyed your company tonight," he said in a low voice, like he was sharing a secret.

            The hair stood up on the back of my neck, but I managed to resist the urge to step away from the vampire. I looked up at him, into his deep brown eyes. "Well, I'm not much of an art person, but you managed to make it seem fascinating." I wrapped my arms around his neck, as I spoke, moving in slowly to hover my lips near his. He didn't seem surprised by my advancement, despite my previously distant demeanor. He moved to close the gap between our lips, but just as he did, I pulled away, playing coy. "I hope to see you around, Dominik," I said. Then I slipped into my room and softly shut the door between us, before he could respond.

            I stood in the darkness, with my back against the door, feeling very alone. I hadn't felt this alone since my brother had died. After his death, I isolated myself. I was surrounded by people at school, but I didn't interact with them. I even detached myself from Novashi. I just went through the motions of everyday life like a robot.

            Now, I felt a familiar disconnect from those around me, but, unlike before, I had to pretend the disconnect wasn't there. My life, and Novashi's, depended on my ability to fit seamlessly into the crowd. Pursuing a romantic relationship with a vampire meant that I was going in deep, and that prospect made me feel terribly alone.

***

August 19th, 2509. That's the day that I received word of my brother's death. They told me that Aryan never arrived at the station. Two of my mom's coworkers, dressed in uniform, standing in the doorway because I never bothered to invite them in. I thought they were looking for my mom, so I said she wasn't there. I thought they would leave, so I didn't invite them to come inside. They didn't leave. They said they knew where she was. They had to lock her in a cell at the station. But why?

I asked them why. They seemed at a loss for words. That's when one of them told me that Aryan never arrived at the station. I don't remember which one. I knew all of my mom's coworkers by name, but I don't even remember which two were there. That day, they were just two men in uniform.

I said that maybe Aryan had forgotten about self-defense practice. Maybe he just didn't feel like going today. They shook their heads. They suggested we all go sit down. I didn't think that was necessary. I didn't know where Aryan was. He wasn't here.

So they told me while we were all standing in the doorway. Aryan never arrived at the station. Then they got a call about a car accident. They went to investigate and found him. Not my mom, though. She stayed to do paperwork. She wanted to scold Aryan, when he got there, for being late.

Witnesses said he swerved to avoid hitting an animal. He pulled the wheel a little too hard, though, and ran into a street lamp. The post fell onto his car, denting the roof enough to crush into his skull. They said he died on impact. They said it was quick.