Bad Taste (Part I) // Colby Brock

23 - Colby

          She had enjoyed the movie; I hadn't. At all. It was too shit for me to even consider spending my time watching, and so, I had watched her instead. She didn't like to show when she was happy, but I started noticing the little things she did when she was amused or when she wanted to smile. Her eyes would light up, which was the most prominent thing, and then her lips would twitch, her heart stuttering. When she wanted to jump or when she was scared, her heart would jump for her, though she refused to show it in her actual body. I was amazed by the self control it must have taken to keep every one of her muscles still. And then I fell asleep watching her. She was so intoxicating when I was lying so close to her, and I knew that making myself vulnerable by sleeping would make her vulnerable, but I just couldn't help it. My dreams were filled with images of her asleep on the couch, replaced now by what we must have looked like from someone on the balcony who could see us clearly.

I liked that image.

I didn't know what time it was when I woke up, though I knew that it was much later than 'almost nine'. I had been awake for so many nights now that seeing the moon's position through the window clued me in. About two am, if that. I checked my phone and realised that I was right — it was 1:47am. Rebecca's breathing was the only sound in the apartment aside from her even heartbeat. She was sleeping in the other room, lost in her dreams. I considered a lot of things while I was lying on her couch: should I go and lie with her? Would that be too much — for her and for me? Should I be mad she left me? Will I be able to handle being here much longer? Yes. Maybe. Yes. Maybe. I decided that I wouldn't go and lie with her until I was certain that it was safe for the both of us, and that meant taking a little detour on the way to her bedroom.

I shot up from the couch immediately, zipping through her balcony door and leaping down to the ground. As I darted through LA, I thought about what else I could do while I was gone. Get a change of clothes, something that I could wear when I snuck into bed with her, maybe. The house was buzzing with life when I got there. It was prime time for us, the early-early hours of morning. I wondered if any of them would dare to bother me. Disappearing for hours at a time had become my normal, though I was never with someone else. I realised with a sinking feeling that I could smell Rebecca on my clothes. It wouldn't be a big deal if Tara didn't know her scent as well as she did. My speed suddenly became more urgent. I went straight up to my room as fast as lightning, throwing a change of clothes, a pair of sweatpants, and an old t-shirt I wore to bed sometimes into a backpack.

I caught Rebecca's scent on me again and reminded myself that I needed to do something before I went back to being close with her. So I zipped into the kitchen for a blood bag. I made it as discreet as possible, so anyone listening to me — which they shouldn't be — couldn't tell what I was doing or getting. I zipped up my backpack and flung it over my shoulder, glancing towards the red room hallway. Everybody was still inside, seeming oblivious to me. They weren't talking about me, at least. So I ran back out into the LA night. Multitasking seemed like a good idea. I had gone through one whole blood bag, which was pretty disgusting and stale, before I even got close to her apartment. But I waited until I was hovering on the balcony, listening for any signs that she was awake, to pull out the second one.

I crept into her living room and locked the balcony door. Just as I finished the blood bag, Rebecca's voice rang through the silence. "Colby," she whispered, fidgeting in her bed.

I froze, but she was still asleep. Lust spilled through me. Lust for her. Lust for her blood. Just outright lust. I suddenly couldn't move from my position next to her couch. If I did, I worried I'd bite her and that certainly wouldn't end well. Not with my new plan, at least. It was a while later when my muscles started to work once more. I jumped to life. The blood had made its way through my body and given me a rush of energy. I knew I wouldn't be asleep for a while, but lying in Rebecca's bed and watching her sleep was on the top of my to-do list.

I threw the empty blood bags into my backpack and zipped into Rebecca's room. She was curled up under her blankets, her crazy-curly hair covering the pillow beneath her head. I noticed she was wearing a plain black shirt — the large one I'd seen her wearing before. My gut twisted. At an impossible speed, I changed into my sweatpants and t-shirt then threw my backpack into the far corner. I approached her bed; Rebecca shifted — just a little. I slid in; Rebecca straightened her body. I shuffled towards her; Rebecca found me. Her arm draped itself over my waist and her head managed to land on my chest, her legs twisting with mine under the covers. This felt... different. But it was the best kind of different, because as I looked down at her face, I just saw my future, an endless future, with her.