As I walked into my (former?) room, memories flooded my mind. It was exactly as how I had left it, save for the few things I had taken with me to New York. The walls were painted a deep purple, and the carpet was such a light lilac that it was almost white. On one wall there was a huge window facing the beach, and it was framed with dark purple curtains. On the window sill sat a beautiful pink Orchid, it made me happy knowing that my mom had watered it and kept it alive for me. Orchids had always been my favorite flowers. Between my window and my bed stood a dark oak bookcase, filled with all my favorite books. Along one wall stood a huge black vanity, and I noticed jewelry that I had completely forgotten about.
On the wall opposite the one with the vanity was a door that led to my bathroom. I had forgotten how much I had missed my Jacuzzi bathtub, especially after being forced to use the small little shower back in the dorm. But even though this was where I had grown up, and where my family lived, I realized that the small little dorm with the three boys was my true home now. And I could not be happier about it.
Aaron walked around my room, stopping every so often to look at something. He examined the pictures I had taped to my vanity mirror, and I realized that I had completely forgotten about those. I really, really hoped that none of them were too embarrassing.
“Who is this?” He asked, pointing to a particularly awful one of Emily and I. It was the first time we had gone surfing, and neither of us had wanted to wear sunscreen. That backfired. In the picture we were standing next to each other, with our arms around each other’s shoulders. Our bikinis showed off how sunburned we really were. Our skin had been beyond red, almost to the point of purple. I didn’t think I had ever felt so much pain as I did that day in my life. Except for what happened to my back, a little voice in my head reminded me, and I shuddered. As he looked at me in the picture, I saw a small smile form on Aaron’s mouth.
“That’s Emily. She’s my best friend.” I said.
“You’ve never mentioned her.” He observed, and I realized he was right. I never really had a reason too.
“I’m sure you will meet her soon enough.” he nodded, and then started looking around.
“What are you looking for?” I was curious.
“Blankets, pillows- just stuff to use to make a bed.”
“Don’t be silly Aaron, there is a bed right there.” I pointed to the huge bed pushed up against the wall, like he was dumb not to realize it. He just shook his head in amusement.
“Yes I can see that there is a bed there, but that’s your bed.” I realized what he was talking about, and I scoffed.
“Are you serious Aaron? I have been sleeping in the same room as you for months, and now you are afraid to sleep next to me?” I shook my head, and a small smile crossed his face.
“I guess you have a point.” He chuckled. We climbed into my bed, but we didn’t fall asleep. We both lied on our back, staring at the ceiling. Aaron had his arms crossed behind his head.
“You grew up here?” he asked, although he already knew the answer. I nodded, knowing he would see it even in the dark. “It’s beautiful here. It’s like a safe haven.” He laughed when he realized the pun, and I rolled my eyes.
“Yeah it is. It’s probably my favorite place.”
“I bet.” he smiled.
I looked over at him from the corner of my eye. He looked so content, just laying there with his eyes closed. I was surprised that he felt comfortable enough with me to be so relaxed, usually Aaron was the uptight one of the three.
“Why doesn’t your dad live here too?” He asked, and I could tell he had been wondering that for awhile.
“My parents are divorced.”
“Well I can tell that, it just seems weird that they can be so friendly towards each other.”
“They weren’t always this friendly. When they were still married I thought they would end up killing each other; they fought so much. When I was nine they decided to get a divorce and right away it was life they were best friends. I’m not really complaining though. I like it.”
“That makes sense I suppose.” Aaron mused.
“What happened to your family?” I asked, afraid that this would be something he didn’t want to talk about.
“Hmm?” he asked, even though I think he knew what I meant.
“After you and Damian became vampires, what happened to the rest of your family?” When I asked this, he pursed his lips but his eyes remained closed. After sighing he began to speak.
“Damian and I knew that we could never return home. We left the city, and Damian went off on his own, but I still kept tabs on my family. My mom died three months after we disappeared. The depression had left her weak, but the pain of losing us proved too much for her to handle. She passed away in her sleep. After losing his two sons and his wife, my dad went crazy with grief. He gambled what little money he had to his name, and the rest he drank away. Despite the alcohol prohibition, he always found liquor to drink. He drank so much, he managed to drink himself to death within five years.”
“That’s awful!” I exclaimed, feeling bad for asking and making him relive those horrible experiences.
“That wasn’t the worst part.” He reflected.
“What could be worse than that?” I asked, astonished.
“Losing my wife.”
I was stunned. I didn’t know what to say or even if I could say something. That one little sentence made me realize how little I really knew about Aaron, and how much I really wanted to know more. I couldn’t get my head around it. Aaron had been married? He was only eighteen! A small voice in my head reminded me that plenty of people got married young, especially back then. But still, picturing Aaron with a wife was too much to handle.
“What was she like?”
“When I married her she was perfect for me. Her name was Helena. She was kind but had a fierce side. Quiet but determined. Actually, you remind me a lot of her. She had dark hair that fell to her waist and was skinny even before the depression. She was only seventeen, and we had only dated for three months before we were married.” He smiled as he talked about her, but then his face got serious and his voice lost its loving tone. “After I disappeared, I waited a month to go check on my family and Helena. When I did, I found her married to another man.” The pain of the betrayal was evident in his voice, and I found myself shocked again. Aaron was the last person to deserve that. After he said that we fell quiet, and it was a while before I broke the silence.
“Aaron?”
“Hmm?” He asked, this time his voice seemed more tired, as if her was drifting closer to sleep every second.
“Is it hard?”
“Is what hard?” Yep, he was defiantly falling asleep.
“Being a vampire.” I didn’t know why I was so curious, I just had always wondered how they felt about it.
“Mmm, not so bad.” By this point I wondered if he was just sleep talking. “Just want to have someone to spend eternity with.” The way he said it, half asleep or not, made me think that he meant me. I closed my eyes, and pretended to go to sleep.
