2. Cold Shoulder
Four months later?
I was busy folding my laundry and listening to the music play from my itunes, I had it on shuffle so there was no order to what song came next. The days were a lot easier to get through now, the first couple of months were hard. I felt the loss of my friend deeply, she wasn't perfect in anyway but she did touch my soul in ways no one else had. I was glad to be back from my hometown in California, I needed to be close to old friends during the rough time. I'd been home here in Shreveport for about a week now and I was disgusted at how I had left the place, it was a complete mess. Thankfully I don't think anyone would blame me if they knew the turmoil that had been going on inside me the day I left for my break in California.
I was born and raised in Northern California in a somewhat small town, it had enough going on to keep you entertained but not too much that it lost it's quaintness. I received a scholarship to LSU Shreveport and moved out here after I graduated from high school. During my first week of school I met Judy, she was so different from me and I loved her zest for things. She and I were so opposite in many ways but it worked for us and we quickly became good friends, we had enough differences though to keep us from becoming best friends. To be honest, I hated the term "best friends" and didn't really believe in categorizing people that way. Jude, as I affectionately called her, was a cheery blonde gal and had looks and a figure that made guys melt. She loved men and was a huge flirt, she really wasn't shy about much. So, when vampires came out of the coffin it was a new thing for her to get into. Too bad that new thing didn't turn out so well for her.
I was really starting to feel the weight of my thoughts, I had been doing pretty good until now. I just didn't understand it and I was one of those people that hated being left in the dark. How the heck did she hide her dealing V and draining vampires from me so well? I was really shocked when Eric told me and also informed me that she most likely wasn't making it out alive from the club that night. I was starting to get a little angry at the thought of him toying with me a little, he had the gall to entertain the thought of me taking her place in punishment only to tell me minutes later that he never would've allowed it anyway. What kind of person does that? Oh wait? he's not a person. He's a monster. I understand that he had to punish her for what she was guilty of but why did he have to play that game with me? What was the purpose of that? I was frightened out of my mind and had basically settled myself into death for my friend, he even got me to share a bit about the time I had tried to end my own life. For what? For what purpose did he need to do that? It's sick to toy with people and their emotions that way.
The song that started to play pulled me out of my head and I was grateful, I was getting to a better place and didn't need to go back there. I was finally settled with the events of that night and I needed to let it go and move on. There really is nothing I can do at this point anyway, there never was anything I could do. I just hoped that it was quick and relatively painless for Judy. I started putting away my folded laundry, looking at some of my clothes I realized I needed to do some shopping. I wasn't one with a lot of style, Judy always told me that I dressed like a dude but wore the clothes fitted to my body and that made it relatively acceptable to her. She was much more revealing with what she wore. I just never put that much though into it. If a guy was going to like me I wanted it to be for me and the person I am, not for the clothes I wore or how I looked in them. Jude always told me that that way of thinking was a pipe dream because first and foremost there has to be a physical attraction. She always said, "no attraction, no love". It was one of the things we disagreed on but then looking at our track records maybe she was right and I was living in some sort of dreamland. She always had men after her and I didn't. But I kind of preferred it that way as I wasn't a hugely social person.
I wasn't one of those that had some rough or disturbing childhood, we all face hard times in our lives and I was no different than anyone else. I had good times and bad times just like everyone else. I never measured myself against anyone else's experiences because we all react differently to things and we all have different ways of dealing with the hard times in our lives. I was a good student in school and I was a shy kid. I had a few close friends and that was it, I didn't have the want, need or desire to be popular. I was made fun of a lot when I was younger because I looked different from everyone else.
I have naturally red hair but it's not the usual red color most people have. If you were to pour yourself a glass of red wine and closely examine it, that is the color of my hair. I always called it wine red and Jude called it burgundy red, which ever works. My eyes always stood out as well, especially with the color combination of my red hair. They are an aqua blue, the color of the Caribbean ocean and if I wore black eyeliner and mascara they popped even more than usual. I was luckily blessed with flawless skin, I never had issues with acne or anything of the sorts. My skin tone wasn't the usual match up with an individual with red hair as I wasn't fair skinned. I had sun kissed skin, a light tan that looked like a light honey glaze and considering that I didn't reveal a lot of skin it was easy to tell that it was the natural hue to my skin. I wasn't someone whom liked to lay out in the sun and tan or go cook myself in a tanning bed. I did have a nice physique though and I took good care of myself, I ate somewhat healthily and worked out three times a week. It wasn't to keep up any appearances, it was simply to be healthy. I stood at about five feet and seven inches tall so I wasn't someone you would call tall and I wasn't necessarily short either, I guess I fit in the middle there.
I headed to the bathroom and stepped in the shower once I discarded the clothes from my body. A good hot shower always felt refreshing and since I was headed to the mall to check out some clothes I wanted to look fresh and presentable. I had this thing about smells, it was very important to me to always smell good. I didn't load on the scented lotions and perfumes though, it was always something light. Just enough to give others a pleasurable whiff. I really didn't know where this weird quirk came from, I always blamed it on my mother. She was one of those women whom would spend roughly two to two and a half hours getting ready for the day in the morning. She was one of those that refused to leave the house without her hair and makeup done and dressed nice with one of her many perfumes clinging to her, she always said that you never know who you may see or run into. You never know what can happen, might as well look good. I chuckled to myself because even though it wasn't really my way of doing things, it did make sense to me.
I hopped out of the shower and dried off then followed that up with the usual brushing of the hair and teeth. Since I lived alone I dropped the towel to the floor and grabbed the hair dryer and began blowing my thick naturally wavy hair straight. I went into my room once finished and put on my soft pink underwear and matching bra and yes I was one of those that always had to wear a matching set. Then I pulled on a pair of blue jean cut off shorts, it's warm and humid in Louisiana even in the fall. I grabbed my white men's button up collared shirt and rolled up the sleeves to the elbows and buttoned three buttons down the front as I wanted to keep things light and airy. The shirt wasn't an oversized one. I had bought it in many colors for me personally so it fit well. This would make Jude so proud, it was one of my more revealing dress days. I got over my non revealing dress code after living out here, I wasn't as strict on it these days but the mind frame still remained. I wasn't trying to show anything off just trying to keep a comfortable temperature level. I had to laugh when looking in the full length mirror, I was wearing shorts that showed plenty of leg and with only three buttons done on the front of my shirt my belly button area and just below to the low rise waistband of my shorts was showing. I had the button done over my chest and the two buttons below. After putting on my eyeliner and mascara I headed out the door and drove to the mall.
It was a weekday and the sun was already down and it wasn't all that busy, just the usual bustling around. Teenage girls hanging out together and giggling anytime they saw a cute boy or gushing over something they just bought. The more mature women seemed to be on a mission, they were there for a purpose. Then there were those that were there socially just meandering along with friends doing the usual talk and gossip. After checking out a couple of stores and finding nothing I HAD to have I decided to try a store for women (haha Jude) and more in my age range. On my way in a few younger girls on their way out were gushing about the most gorgeous man they had ever seen. The usual? "did you see him look at me?" or "do you think he noticed me at all?" ensued. I chuckled gently to myself, I was so happy to no longer be a teen girl. As I made my way around the store I heard some of the women whispering to each other too, okay, this dude must be universally attractive to women of all ages. I looked around the store for the guy they had to have been talking about, I saw I good looking fellow with brown hair and cheesy outdated sideburns. He was a bit on the pale side? vampire. Hmmm. I don't think it's him though. He is talking with a certain amount of conviction to a much taller blonde haired man, his back was to me so I wasn't sure if this was the one. Though he did look good from the rear view, he had amazing broad shoulders, a nice booty, and long lean legs. His clothes were somewhat fitted to his body and they showed off his form well and he has a very pleasing form. He looked to be pretty pale as well, another vampire. They must travel in packs especially to the mall with the raging hormones of the teenage girls, their strengths were nothing to match the power of that.
Just then the shorter brunette vampire looked at me, it was a curious look and then a small smile came to his face as he gave me a nod. I smiled a little sheepishly and turned my attentions back to the clothing rack in front of me. I felt another pair of eyes on me as I pushed article after article of clothing by, scanning for something worthwhile. I cut my eyes over to the direction I felt the gaze coming from and sure enough both vampires were looking at me. The brunette had then resumed talking to the blonde? the blonde? my breath caught in my throat and I coughed harshly. It had taken me a moment to recognize him now that his long golden locks were much shorter and somewhat slicked back. It was Eric. What the hell was he doing here? at the mall? In a women's clothing store? He had a very amused look on his face and he was so lucky I couldn't find any wood near me, I would turn all Buffy on him so fast that he'd be a mush on the floor before he realized what had happened. I turned my back and walked to a different part of the store, far away from where he was. I continued to look through a few more racks of clothes, I figured I'd look rather pathetic if I just up and left so quickly. Then I heard a familiar voice behind me.
