6. To Strangers

Juliet

After saying goodbye to Charlene and Carl at the bridge, I quickly ran the rest of the way home. I didn’t have my speed ability yet and could run like a human person. Made it easier being a kid in school. Participating in sports and joking with regular friends. Hurriedly I walked into our yard. Headed for the back door. I wanted to ask my mom why someone would be able to touch me when I was invisible. I would have to make up some story.

“Mom!? Mom!?” I yelled as I closed the door behind me. I got no reply.

Where were they?

“Dad! Dad…! Where are you?” Still no reply.

I scanned the house and heard them in the lounge. Slowly I walked over. There was an unfamiliar voice. I peeked around the corner. They had all heard me and were looking my way, waiting. My gaze met the unknown face as I came out of hiding. It had been a long time since we had company. My dad had come over. He took me by the hand and pulled me down the few steps that separated the sitting room from the rest of the house. He thought I was making my way too slowly.

I was trying not to stare at the handsome man. Dressed to perfection. Everything in place. Having high standards for guys, I could quickly make a decision. Attractive… No, very attractive! He seemed much older than me but much younger than my parents.

“This is our new neighbor.” My mom said, answering my quizzical brow.

I smiled immediately. “Wow, really! That’s exciting.”

“Yes, he’s moving in on Saturday and came to introduce himself.”

I bobbed my head… turned to the guy, and stretched out my arm.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Juliet Farrow.”

He smiled, and it almost reached his ears. Bigmouth, prominent lips, and light icy blue eyes… Made him mysterious. He had my attention. Didn’t you just say you were in love with your teacher? I chastised myself. That was an hour ago. The guy had stretched out his hand and clasped mine. He kept smiling.

“My name is Louis Du Pont.”

I snorted in surprise. “That’s very generic… I don’t think that’s your real name?”

He smiled again. “Yeah… Unfortunately it’s very dull. But it’s real… on my mother’s side.” I was skeptical.

I had not let go of his hand. I didn’t notice while we were talking. He saw that I didn’t believe him… “Really, you can ask your parents. They checked with the registry.”

“You’re a vampire?” My gaze traveled to my mom. She acknowledged by closing her eyes.

“Well then, welcome, Louis. You don’t know how happy I’m to see a fellow vampire in our home. You’re the first one in… forever.”

Surprised, Louis’s eyes darted to my dad. “Really? Why?”

My dad shrugged. “We had issues at the compound. Whenever there are so many vampires together, it brings about other problems.”

“Mm-hmm, I can understand that. Especially with the young ones.” Louis said.

My dad gestured for Louis to sit. “Yes, but we also had some other issues.”

I wondered why he wasn’t moving… I caught a glimpse of our hands and realized I was still holding his. I quickly let go… Sheesh, Juliet! Overeager much. It didn’t seem to bother him, and he sat on a wingback chair across from my dad. He could have laughed at me… It was as if nothing had happened.

My mom wiggled her eyebrows at me… My lips were in an upside-down smile… expressing my embarrassment. My mom just shook her head. She pulled me into a hug. We went to sit down on the couch opposite them. I leaned over and whispered, "Something happened at school today.”

My mom’s eyes widened. Her face worried. “Is it serious?”

“I don’t know…? Someone touched me when I was in my vanished state.”

The men stopped talking. The buzz they had created just moments before made the silence very loud. My head turned in their direction. Both seemed worried. “What?” I asked my dad. “What’s the matter?” I asked again when he didn’t say anything.

“Did anyone see you?”

“No,” I lied. Chris saw me and touched me. Told me I should go see him… and soon. And, there was someone there other than us.

“What happened? You’ve never displayed your abilities before. Did you need to? Were you in danger?” My dad asked hurriedly, sitting forward in his chair.

“No, no!” I exclaimed, waving my hands in front of me. “It just happened, out of nowhere.” I lied again. The one thing I was good at. Was faking.

“How do you know? That someone could touch you?”

“Well…” My gaze traveled between the three adults in the room. “I was walking to the bathroom to try and reappear… to see if I could control myself. Usually, I go into a stall behind a door. The person moved past me. We bumped into each other….”

My parents seemed relieved. Louis was just staring at me with his b.s. meter ticking in the red zone… I might have met my match…

“That doesn’t explain why you disappeared in the first place,” Louis ventured.”

I shrugged. “It had been a rough day.”

“And then?" Dad asked.

I was going to have to lie better in the future.

“The person was shocked. He looked up from their phone, all around them, to see what they had hit. He touched his shoulder, and I had definitely felt it. But he shook it off… Kept walking as if nothing had happened.”

Telling my parents about Chris wasn’t an option. They would pack me up, and we would move. I didn’t want to. I had friends there... I liked it… Carl and Charlene were the best of friends I could have asked for. Losing them would be like the loss of a family member. The events of the parking lot flickered through my mind. Carl stood up for me. He loved me. Maybe not in that way, but he would protect me. Charlene was so angry at Jerry when she heard what happened that night. Louis’s gaze was still fixed on me. I smiled at him, waiting for him to say something. My parents were talking… I was still thinking about earlier that day… Charlene said some nasty things to Jerry when he called me a whore.

Louis choked on the sip of tea he had just put in his mouth. He placed his cup down on the small coffee table… He kept coughing, putting his fist in front of his mouth. I got up and moved over to slap him on the back a few times. The gesture made him laugh lightly. “Can I get you a glass of water?”

“Thank you, water would be great.”

I left, walking towards the kitchen.

“Louis, why don’t you go with her.” My mom suggested.

I stopped. Louis’s eyes went from my mom to me, wondering whether that would be okay or not.

“Need to stretch your legs? I don’t mind. You’re halfway family already… You might as well make yourself at home.”

He seemed eager and followed me.

“So, do you hail from France?” I asked as we walked.

“Oui!” He joked.

I turned and gave a small laugh. “Funny. I’m glad to see you have a sense of humor.”

He frowned. “Are all vampires supposed to be brooding and serious?”

“No, just the French.” I quipped.

He smiled. “Clever!”

“The vampires I’ve met are far worse,” I whispered under my breath, turning to take a glass out of the cupboard above my head.

“It’s just, you seem much older than me, and trivial things must be boring to you by now… How old are you, if you don’t mind me asking?” I said quickly, hoping he wouldn’t ask about my experiences at the compound. Thinking about it made my stomach churn. After filling it with water from the fridge, I turned to hand him the glass. His eyes were still fixed on me, staring and not saying anything.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, I was just wondering if I should tell you I’m t….” He didn’t finish speaking… But the sound was there. He was checking nervously if it would bother me... Biting his bottom lip. That garnered my attention for a moment. He made it worse by suggestively smiling. Shaking myself, I turned around quickly, trying to give my mind a better chance to concentrate. Louis was… too handsome…

Twenty went through my mind, but he was way older than that…

“Two hundred years old?” I asked, turning back at him.

He nodded with raised eyebrows. “Two hundred and twenty to be exact…That’s not weird for you?” He asked quickly.

I was taken aback and shook my head. “No, why would it? To be honest, my first thought was how cool that would be. Making it to there is insane! Even for us. We have so many things against our race. And anyway, what has age got to do with good relationships?”

He smiled, listening… leaning back onto the counter, half sitting against it. Slowly sipping the glass of water in his hand. It was almost empty. “Your parents have it really good in that regard. Being as old as they are. Still together.”

I thought about my parents. How happy they were and how well they got along. “No… What they have… is beyond good or even lucky.”

“Love?” Louis offered an alternate word. He looked right and left before staring at me with his piercing blue eyes… Even if they were as blue as the Mediterranean, those dark blue circles around his iris were enchanting. Questioning… Trying to find out what I thought about the subject. For a moment, our gazes were locked until my dad came around the corner.

“Louis, we were thinking, would you like to stay for dinner?”