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Chapter Fifteen

I decided to drink myself into a stupor. It wasn’t solely because of Arthur, it was more of a combination of all these: my life sucked ass, Arthur didn’t love me, I was now bonded to the man that didn’t love me, and every single demon wanted to slurp on my blood now too because I also had some glory too.

So I went to the alcohol cabinet. Much to my disappointment, I had next to nothing. At least, not enough to get me drunk enough to be happy. So I’d have to go into my weed stash (I had tried stronger drugs, but found myself back here). Taking the nearly empty bottle of wine with me, I went to my bedroom and pulled out what I needed.

I sat down cross-legged on my bed, rolling my blunt with care. I overpacked it a little, but I didn’t care; the plan was to get baked anyway.

When I finished rolling it, I hurriedly made my way up to the roof with blunt and bottle in hand. Arthur was in his apartment--because I knew that now--so I wasn’t worried about him being upstairs for a smoke.

I stepped out into the frigid air, not caring that my thin sweater wasn’t enough to keep me warm. I walked over to the railing, throwing my legs over and sitting in the same spot that I had been in when I had first met Arthur.

How long had it even been and I already loved him so much? It was pretty stupid; I was pretty stupid.

I brought the blunt to my mouth, lighting it and taking a deep breath, feeling my brain start to buzz. I breathed the smoke out through my nose, then took a swig from the bottle. I wished I had something stronger.

I started to think about why Arthur didn’t like me. As more than a friend.

Not to toot my own horn, but I was pretty hot. I may not have been absolutely gorgeous like a vampire or Nephilim (apparently), but I was attractive in my own right; I had a nice body, too. But Arthur didn’t seem like the type to judge people based off of their appearances. So that wasn’t it.

Another hit.

Was it my personality? I’d admit that I wasn’t the most charming person and had a knack for melodramy, but I was pretty chill in the end. And Arthur said that he liked me! To see someone as a friend, you had to like at least one thing about them.

I polished off the last of the wine, slamming it down next to me. “God,” I groaned, burying my face in my hands. This seriously sucked. I was confined inside of this place unless I had a death wish or took Arthur with me. And the latter option was looking a little gloomy.

He’d be even more distant now since he knew that I did, in fact, love him. If our roles were switched, I’d probably try to distance myself, too. Leading someone on--giving them hope--like that was... cruel.

So yeah, I was grateful that he had told me, but at the same time, I wished that he hadn’t. I guess we were going to be the most closest distant people ever recorded in history.

I rolled my neck, about to take another hit when I noticed that Arthur was coming. And he was m-a-d.

Crap, I’d totally forgotten to keep track of him. With a fire lit under my ass, I started taking one hit after another so that I’d be high enough fast enough to not get emotionally crushed by his words and presence.

I had enough practice to not seem high when I was actually floating up with the airplanes in the sky. Would he notice? He was totally going to notice. s**t. I kept going, though. I think that I smoked it in record time, managing to grind the leftover roach into ash almost the same second that Arthur burst through the door.

“Cam!” he barked.

I looked up and casually said, “Oh, hey. What’s up?”

“Are you serious?” he questioned. “Are you really doing this right now?”

Pursing my lips, I scratched my head in confusion. “Huh? I’m not doing anything.”

“First of all, I know that you’re lying.” He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. “Second, you reek of cannabis.”

“Okay, Arthur the Science Guy.” My head spun a little. I didn’t know why I was bothering right now, he knew that I was baked. And I definitely knew, too.

His brows furrowed. “What?”

Right. He hadn’t gone to school in like ten thousand years. “You know, like Bill Nye.” I tried to lean back on the railing, but I misgauged the distance and almost fell. “They always showed his videos in like,” my eyes rolled up in thought, “okay, I don’t really remember, but they did.”

“You’re high.”

“Yeah, no s**t,” I snapped. “That’s what ‘cannabis’ does.”

His eyes landed on the empty bottle. “A dangerous mixture.”

“It’s a f*****g party over here in my brain, so I think it’s a fun mixture.”

“It’s not healthy.”

I scoffed. “You literally smoke cigarettes.”

“It’s not legal.”

“Do I look like I care? Jesus Christ,” I hoped that he could sense how annoyed I was right now, “can I just be left alone?”

“Not if you make bad decisions.”

“So now you care about me?” I tossed back my head, laughing a little. “You don’t have the right to care about me.”

Arthur was hurt. I felt it the same moment he did. “We’re friends.”

“No, no we’re not.”

Another sting. “Now you know how it feels when someone throws your feelings out the window,” I told him.

“I’m not trying to hurt you.” He hesitated. “I just... we... I don’t--”

I knew what he was trying to say; I didn’t want to hear it. “Just... screw off, Arthur. I have to live in this apartment complex for pretty much the rest of my life, so excuse me if I want to get shitfaced right now.” I pushed past Arthur, making sure to hit his shoulder as I headed back downstairs.

Like yesterday, he didn’t follow me. He was smart enough to that much.

To my own credit, I didn’t cry. I just sat down in a chair and started to watch TV, grateful that I was high enough to tell myself I didn’t care about what Arthur thought or said about me.

I inhaled deeply, clicking through random stations until I found a cheesy romance movie and put it on. Something to distract me. It didn’t really. Instead, I found myself craving pizza, so I dialed the nearest delivery place and put in an order.

Even then, it hadn’t seemed like the best idea, but I was high off of my ass so it didn’t really process fully. When the doorbell rang, I jumped up and grabbed the money that I had put on the table and nearly sprinted to the door.

Since it had almost been an hour, my high had faded enough to be more conscientious, but I was still up there.

“Hello,” I said, swinging the door open.

“Hi,” the acne-scarred teenager responded, handing me my pizza. He told me the cost and I handed over the appropriate amount of money, telling him to keep the change as a tip.

He nodded his head and turned to leave. Or at least I thought he was going to go. But he didn’t. Instead, he put his foot in between the door and wall as I went to close it.

“Did I forget something?” I asked, confused.

The boy’s eyes changed from a muddy brown to a vivid, amethyst. He smiled at me, revealing his mouth that was full of jagged teeth.

Oh, come on! I thought as he tackled me, the two of us flying across the living room and crashing into my cheap coffee table. He didn’t waste anytime chomping into my neck, sharp teeth tearing through my delicate skin and muscle.

I shrieked loudly, pain lighting up my sensors. The demon or whatever the hell was attacking me didn’t stay for long, soon enough, it was thrown across the room (therefore, off of me) by none other than Arthur.

I grabbed my neck quickly, applying pressure to the profusely bleeding wound. Arthur took care of the demon, I heard a sickening pop sound and saw blood and brain matter splatter against my light blue walls. From my angle, and with a couch blocking me, I couldn’t see more than that. I was glad that I couldn’t.

I tried to sit up but Arthur rushed over to me. “Don’t!” he said, bending over next to me. “Let me.”

“You can’t do anything,” I reminded him.

“Temporarily, I can,” he countered. “Just let me... until we can figure out a solution.

I allowed him to remove my hand from the bleeding wound and touch his hand to it instead. Immediately, I felt relief flood through my body. “Why?” I jumped up to my feet, feeling at my neck.

He furrowed his brow. “What?”

“Why are you saving me? Why are you doing this?”

“Bec--”

“It’s not your job to take care of me! And you don’t love me, we’re not friends, either.”

“We are friends. And none of that matters! I just want to protect you.”

I stared him. He just wanted to protect me? After what he had said? Did he think that saying about sticks and stones was right? “Can you just... let me go?”

“Go?” He was confused, slightly angry. A little sad, too. “Where?”

“Nowhere. Let’s just... stop. Being friends. Talking. I’d rather just be alone.”

“I don’t want to do that.”

I took in a deep breath. “Neither do I, but I can’t just be your friend. And am I even safe here anymore? How did that demon get in?”

“The demon possessed the human after he entered the building,” Arthur explained hurriedly. “But back to--”

It made me kind of happy that he was was more worried about our friendship (albeit, ending). It made me feel as if I wasn’t just some girl whose life he had to save. But I quickly squashed that emotion. “There’s nothing else to talk about.” I exhaled. “I think that you should go now.”

Arthur opened his mouth to respond, then just shook his head. “Okay, Cam. We’ll talk when you’re more levelheaded.”

He left then.

It was about two hours later that I started to regret my decision. I may have overreacted a little.

I was trying to watch a movie, but all I could think about was how mean I was to Arthur. And the demon’s disintegrated body and blood on the walls was a little distracting, too. We could be friends. It’d be hard at first, but I figured that I’d be able to get used to it as time went on.

So I went downstairs and knocked on his apartment door; I knew that he was inside, so I would’ve been pretty annoyed if he didn’t answer the door. He did, though.

“Yeah?” He didn’t answer with a hi--he knew it was me. Arthur must’ve just taken a shower because his hair was still wet and he smelled amazing.

“Can we talk?” I asked him.

He nodded his head, stepping aside and allowing me into his apartment. Much to my surprise... it was empty. Arthur’s place hadn’t been grand or anything, but it was pretty nicely decorated. Felt homely. But now it was reduced back to the bones that had been there when it was first bought.

“What’s going on?”

“I--we’re moving.”

I blinked, another surprise. “What?”

“This place, as you noticed earlier, isn’t the safest. The demons get creative pretty quickly. We have to change locations.”

Leave... here? I’d been in this area since I was eighteen and commuting to the local college. Six years wasn’t a lot, but it was enough for me to get attached. “Where did your stuff go?” I didn’t see any boxes.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s taken care of. I’ll do your place after.”

My brows shot up. “Like, get rid of my stuff? But clothes--I need to pack.”

“It’ll slow us down.”

“What am I supposed to do about my clothes, then?” I was about to talk about all my trinkets and memorabilia then realized that I didn’t have any.

“Some.”

I pressed my hands to my temples, about to argue with him more then I realized that I came here to apologize to him. “Listen, about earlier... I’m sorry about what I said. I didn’t mean it.” I kind of did. I didn’t want to be his friend, but for different reasons.

Arthur must’ve known that too (he probably sensed it) and gave me a little smile. “I would like to be your friend. You’re funny... interesting. And I’m glad that we met, even under these circumstances.”

“Funny? Interesting? Half of the time, I’m yelling at you. I’m a b***h to you.”

He just shrugged, he didn’t care. “Anyway, I’m going to go clean your place now. Then we’ll leave.”

I nodded my head, eyes following Arthur out. “I’m glad I met you too,” I said just before the door shut behind him.