The Sweetest Death

Thirteen+

© Amber Kalkes 2014

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Thirteen+

Some will call my next decision foolish, stupid even but it’s one I feel I have to make. When Edgar falls into his deepest realm of sleep during the day I crawl out of our bed. My feet make minimal noise against the dark hardwood below as I make my way towards the master keypad. It’s the one that makes sure the black out blinders go down so I don’t fry like an egg on the expensive Persian rugs Edgar has everywhere.

Pushing in the code, oddly enough being my upcoming birthday, I wait for three beeps telling me that everything is closed down. When they sound I exit the bedroom and enter the dimly lit hallway of the upstairs. I can hear murmurs in the lower level from what sounds to be Tyler, Jane and Jane’s brother Gavin and I make my way to them.

Over the past nine months I’ve gotten to know the interior of this house pretty well, it was my training ground the first few months after my change. Edgar didn’t want me to go out unprepared for the bloodlust that raged through my body so I was on lockdown in the house. Edgar had me feed from blood bags or bring meals in or ‘drive through’ as I called them.

Every piece of art on the wall, every scrape of wallpaper and the feel of every fiber of rug on my feet are now engrained in this new mind of mine. The vampire’s mind is built like a predator’s. Following instinct I often take in every area I go into, looking for danger, other predators or simply an escape route just in case. When I smell the tantalizing scent of human my mouth salivates and my mind fantasizes about the next flavor they’ll bring to my pallet.

My mind is now a steel trap. Nothing goes unnoticed by me unless I’m purposely blocking it out. This house, the people I meet, and every single new memory of this new life is solid and will never fade. I just hope that with the madness I’m about to entertain that this will come in handy.

I am going to meet a vampire coven master soon.

Making my way down the stairs I smell the familiar scent of batter and syrup telling me that Tyler is making his famously sloppy but delicious pancakes. A smile works its way onto my face but I don’t go to the kitchen straight away. Instead I veer to the right and make my way into the music room. Its double doors are open and since my chemistry has changed I’ll go barely noticed by the super noses Tyler and Jane posses. Vampires don’t give off strong odor to anything other than other vampires.

Lovingly caressing the smooth exterior of the piano I smile at it before passing it in favor of the short but narrow hallway toward the study. I’m not surprised to see that it’s locked but I’m a woman will skills unknown to my bloodsucking husband in afterlife. Pulling out a bobby pin from my pulled back hair I sink to my knees and work the lock until I hear a lovely click.

This habit is from my younger days. After my suicide attempt my parents sent me to a mental health clinic. It didn’t last long, two weeks really, before I was sent back home. When I was released my mother began quietly locking all the sharp objects in the locked liquor cabinet. Unfortunately for her I had already figured out how to pick locks the year before after locking my self out of the house. The gesture was out of concern but I was determined and that made me crafty.

Anyway that was then and this is now.

Rising to my feet I pushed the study door open. Flicking the light switch the room becomes dimly lit quickly and I find I prefer it to any other light. Bright lights burn my fairly fresh transformed golden eyes, more suited to the darker corners of out hunting grounds than anything else. I scan the room before letting my gaze rest on the painting above the desk. ‘The Nightmare’ by Henri Fuseli stares back at me daring me to find it as odd as I did the first time I laid eyes on it.