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8. Victim One: Tommy

Rosé

I got to know a bit about how each boy worked. Tommy was the type to pull pranks, but he barely spoke to me after we parted ways. Denis preferred to talk more than he took action. Taunts were his specialty.

Manuel fanned the flames of rumors that he himself made up, and he wasn't trying to hide it. Thanks to him my teachers didn't respect me as much as they used to. I'm now seen as a cheater and dishonest. Many of my friends left me because of said rumors as well as the bullying, more than likely not wanting to get caught up in it. Then there was Cameron and Steve.

He became the first one on my list. Syll suggested I get rid of him as fast as I could so I wouldn't have to worry about him while carrying out my plans since he seemed the most dangerous. But I knew next to nothing about Steve other than he liked chasing skirts and listened to Denis. However there was one guy I knew in and out, and that was Tommy. During our friendship he always held a calm stance, didn't say much and wasn't as friendly as he appeared.

There was something I remembered him saying to me. He couldn't look away while trouble came closer. Even if the one in trouble had no relation to him, he would take a step forward and help them. I don't think that applied when it came to me, but I was more than happy to test it out.

To get to Steve, I would have to invade Tommy's mind as well. If I got him to get rid of my enemy, I can get him to do under things.

We sat side by side on the staircase in the abandoned building. Well, I sat down, Tommy leaned against the wall and stared into space.

"Thank you," I said as I wiped my eyes with the back of my hands. "You don't want to take a seat?"

Tommy sighed as if I bore him. He hid his hands inside the pockets of his jeans pants. "What I want is for you to get it over with? Why did you call me here in the first place?"

I nodded meekly. "You're right, you're right. It's lunch and I could never ask you to stay and listen to me without eating. So I got you this from the vending machine!"

After reaching my bag I offered him a snack. His dark eyes saw it, looked at me, then looked at it again. "You want me to eat a granola bar?"

My shoulders shrugged. "I know it's not better than what you could've had, but I remembered you liked them a lot before... I should have thought it through..."

The volume in my voice dropped with each word as I averted my gaze to the floor. I felt the bar being pulled out of my grip. When I glanced up, I saw Tommy tuck it into the pocket of his plaid yellow shirt. "I'll keep it since you already bought it. Are you going to start talking or what?"

A bright smile across my face. I giggled. "Thank you!"

"Uh huh."

"I don't even know where to begin, it's hard to talk about him."

"Hm. If you're trying to snoop on Robin and Manny I have nothing to say."

"No, no! Not that. I'm happy for them, truly."

Tommy snorted. "The way I heard it you weren't happy before."

"And that was my mistake. I'm the reason she's turned away from me. I should have accepted their relationship from day one, I get that now."

His body stiffened yet he didn't say anything.

"The reason I wanted to talk to you was about something more personal. Regarding me. Thomas, I don't care about you bullying me, I'm used to it. However, could you ease on the bullying for this week alone? This is the only request I will make of you."

One dark eyebrow rose further up his forehead. "Are you trying get off easy just because you don't have friends anymore?"

I shook my ponytail as if a spider was on it. "Never! As I said, I'm used to it. There is something else going on that, honestly, makes me worried for my life."

That caught his full attention. Tommy took the step below me, leaning his back on the wall with his graphic white T-shirt on display. He sighed. "Spill."

"Wha-what? No, I couldn't bother you with-"

"I said 'spill', Rosy."

I gulped and looked away. "Promise not to say anything."

No reply.

"There are some men who come on my street often. Cameron told you about my father, right? You're both close so I'm sure he did. They're his dealers. They come everyday and he usually meets them around the corner to buy his, you know. Only he hasn't paid them for over two weeks, and today is the last day he has to pay them before they do something drastic."

"Huh. Cops exist. Why not go to them?"

"I thought about that, but my mom and I agreed if they got away they might come back with others and kill us."

When I tried to read his face, I realized he turned his head away. "So, a week? You want things around here to calm down for a week?"

"Mhm, yeah."

"I can't guarantee others will do the same, though."

"I know. That's expected."

He nodded, then directed his gaze to my face. "I can do it, but don't think this will be a repeated thing."

My head bobbed furiously. "Yes! I mean, no! Of course not."

Without saying anything else, Tommy pushed himself up and dusted off his pants. I stood up too. "Before you go," I asked. "Can I give you a hug? Just for old times sake? You gave the best ones."

Come, Tommy. I need to touch you one more time to verify if what I felt before was true.

He sighed and rolled his head back. "You're making a lot of requests, aren't you?"

But he didn't say anything as he walked towards me and enveloped me into a hug. He wrapped his arms around my back, nose buried in my reddish, brown hair. I did my best to not focus on the fact that he actually did it, not his rapid heart beat either. My attention went to a memory of something Syll taught me. I thought about Tommy, and told myself I wanted to know more about him, including what he was.

"Other beings exist," Syll said. "Some even attend your school. I went there and confirmed it. i must say, there are quite a lot."

"Have you ever been there before?" I asked her, tying my shoelaces.

"No, I have not. But now, I've become more curious. I can show you how to spot them, however for the moment you'll only be able to do so through touch until you become stronger."

With Tommy stapled in my mind, I felt the familiar tingles travel up my body and to the places he touched. When the information hit me, I was so taken aback that I almost let him go.

I patted his back and he let me go. It must have been a mistake, but I felt like he didn't want to.

I expected him to walk away but he asked me something. "Where will you go tonight? I can't imagine that you're going to stay home while those dealers come after your dad."

"Oh, my mother has a friend just out of town that I'll be staying with. Don't worry, we'll be safe. Can't say the same for Dad since he'll be the only one at home."

He nodded once, and then left me all alone in the building. As soon as I couldn't see his back anymore i plopped myself on the metal railing.

From Tommy's memories, I actually found out he was a vampire!

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