Fortunately, nothing was wrong with Maggie, but she wasn’t waking up. The doctor said she just passed out because of shock and would wake up after hours without no problem. They put her in a room where there were other patients.
I wanted to go to my part-time job, but I couldn’t leave her alone. I just sat down on a chair looking at my phone while waiting for his boyfriend to arrive. It’s been an hour, but he had not come yet.After a while, I glanced at the door when the police officer entered wearing a black jacket. His partner, who wore a floral shirt, followed behind. He asked the woman near the door about something and she pointed her finger at where I was. I quickly understood they were there because of what happened in the coffee shop.The police officer bowed his head to the woman and walked toward me. He was in his thirties while his partner was in his twenties. Their heavy footsteps echoed as they walked. I put back my phone on my pocket as they approached me. Their eyes never left me.“Are you free?” the police officer asked while his partner stood at the foot of the bed and watched Maggie. “We’re detectives. You were there in the coffee shop, right?” he added and I nodded my head to answer. “We just wanted to ask you a few questions about what happened.”“How’d you know I was here?” I asked him first instead of giving him permission to question me.“We asked the other witnesses, and we figured you will bring the woman here since this is the nearest hospital,” the police officer told me and took out his notepad.“You can ask now,” I told him. “I will cooperate.”“That’s good to know,” the police officer began. “Can you tell us what happened after the bald man took her?” he said, pointing his pen at my classmate.“I ran after he grabbed my classmate. And I found him in the alleyway.”The police officer wrote on his notepad quickly. “Did he do something to her?”“I think he had done nothing. He left her in the alley unconscious and ran away when I saw him. The doctor said she was fine. She just needed to rest after passing out because of shock.”I didn’t tell him about the other man because even if I told them, they could not talk to him. They would just get suspicious if I said there was another man. I also couldn’t reveal what kind of person the man was and the bald man.He nodded his head.“Have you noticed something odd about the bald man?” the police officer continued questioning me.“He could jump high,” I said, and they looked at me in disbelief. “I am telling you the truth. He jumped to the rooftop.” I told them about it so they would figure out everything without me helping.“Are you sure about that?” the police officer said.“Yes.”“You’re the only one who told us about that information,” said the police officer, which surprised me for a second.I also quickly recovered as I realized about the other man. That man probably did something to the memories of witnesses. “I saw it wrong then because of fear,” I said, hoping they would believe me. I stopped talking because it would just get worse.The two police officers looked at me in silence. After a couple of second, the police officer closed his notepad, ending his questions. He took a deep breath before speaking again.“We’ll get back to you if we needed you. So, don’t leave the city for the time being,” the police officer said to me.“I understand. I don’t have a plan to do that. School is back tomorrow.”I turned to the younger police officer when he gave me his phone. “Can I get your number so we will know how to contact you?” he said to me.I grabbed his phone and put down my number and gave it back to him. After entering my number, he dialled and my phone rang. I took out my phone to answer his call.“Got it.” I even showed him my phone and put back my phone in my pocket without saving his number.“Let’s go,” the older police officer walked away.The younger police officer waved his hand at me before he tailed his senior. I shake my head at the young police officer. I found him weird even though I was more weirder hiding a secret.I just hoped they would not show themselves to me again and would reach the end of their investigation. It was up to them whether they would believe what was waiting for them once they found the bald man who was a werewolf. My eyes followed on their back until they walked out of the door.Once the two police officers were out, the man from earlier came again, carrying Maggie’s bag. That’s when I realized I left them at the coffee shop. He waved his other free hand as he walked closer while everyone inside that room look at his built. I frowned at him as he approached me.“What are you doing here?” I asked him.He threw the bag at me and I grabbed it before it fell down on the floor. “For that. You left them,” he said. “How’s she?” he added as he stood at the foot of the bed. He studied the face of my classmate.“Don’t ask like you’re concerned about her. She’s human and you’re not. You’re forgetting they’re your livestock,” I reminded as I put the bag on the bedside table.“Don’t worry. I am not planning on taking her. I am a picky eater,” he said to me.I wasn’t sure if he was joking or not. I just glared at him. “What did you do to the people in the coffee shop?” I asked him just to make sure I wasn’t wrong about what I presumed what happened when I was talking to the police officer.“I altered their memory. Why you’re asking me when you’re already knew what I can do? Don’t tell me, you told the police officer about me. It will make me go to them.”“I am not dumb. I didn’t. Are you afraid they will find you?” I said to him.“No. I can always erase memories.”“You need to stop doing that. You will ruin a person’s head.”“If you agree to what I said earlier in the alley, I will listen to you.” He smirked at the end of what he said, making me feel irritated.I really don’t feel any hostility around him when it was supposed to happen. Maybe he wasn’t lying to what he wanted to do, and he had no ulterior motive of talking to me.“Why are you really talking to me like you know me for so long?” I told him. I noticed it now. He didn’t feel like a stranger to me. “Ever since from the coffee shop, you’re acting like this.”“I will tell you when we’re together,” he told me.“You’re pissing me off. I don’t care anymore how you knew me. Just leave me alone.”“I don’t want to.”“What’s wrong with you? You’re really insane.”“You can call me that if that’s what you want. But I am not like that. I am just in love,” he said to me. “Can’t you just say yes? I am not that bad.”“No. I will not accept your feeling even if it is true. Leave now.” I even waved my hand to send him away, but he didn’t listen to me. He just stood staring at me with his sharp eyes. “If you’re planning to hurt me, don’t even try. I knew a lot of things about your kind. What are you even doing outside when you’re a pure blood?”“How did you know?” he whispered.“Are you really asking me? You’ve been walking under the sun,” I told him.He laughed shortly and spoke. “I thought you will not mention about it. Is there something wrong?”“Yes. Once your family found out what are you doing, I will be dead even if you’re the one who is pestering me..”“They will never know. And if they found out, they can’t stop me. I will protect you if they would do something to you.”After what he said, I couldn’t hold my anger any longer. “Can you stop now?!” I shouted that surprise everyone inside the room except him. They murmured, and I lowered my voice. “Don’t show your face in front of me again. Do you understand?”“I don’t understand. And even if I understand, I will not listen.” He brushed my hair with his hand and pushed it away. “Relax. I can also be your guard. I am afraid that the bald man will target you.”“As if it will change a thing. You will ruin my life by sticking to my side,” I growled at him.I had more than something to say, but I didn’t when I heard the footsteps rushing toward us.I already knew who it was. That’s why it didn’t surprise me when my friend moved to the bed next to me without a greeting. He checked Maggie first.He took a deep breath when he finally realized she was fine while grabbing his chest. He was wearing a navy blue suit that shown his built.“What happened to her?” he said to me when he turned around.“Seriously, Tristan. I already told you through text,” I said with a hint of annoyance.“I am just making sure. What if there’s something you’re not telling me? You’re a liar, you know.” I glared at him. That startled him a little. “I am sorry. And I didn’t mean to say that. I am just frustrated,” he added and shifted his attention to the man standing at the food on the bed. “Who’s he?”“I am his boyfriend,” the man said. He even offered his hand, and Tristan accepted. They shook hand before letting go.I looked at the man in surprise.“This is my first time hearing about this,” Tristan exclaimed as he spared me a glance. “Anyway, that will be great.”I stood from the seat after sending the man’s a death glare. “Don’t believe him. He’s just making it up to piss me off. I am going. Pay the bills,” I said to Tristan and walked away.”“Already? I just saw you. Comeback,” Tristan said but ignored them. “When we will drink?” he added in the end.I still didn’t answer him and continued walking. By the time I stepped out of the door, the man was already on my side. I stopped for a second and looked at him. “Are you really not going to listen to what I say? I don’t need you.”He met my angry eyes. “For now, yes. But after this day, who knows? Come on. Let me help you. You don’t need to pay me. You love is enough for me.”I gritted my teeth as my anger boiled again. I said nothing and kicked him on his right foot instead before continuing my way down the hallway.As I walked away, I received a text from Tristan asking for a favor. I had to go to Maggie’s part-time job, and I agreed to it since it would happen at night. I could go there after my job in the afternoon.As the night deepened, lights died below. The city was like a forest made of grand buildings. The bright lights that remained mirrored the stars from the clear night sky while the moon shone brightly in its glory. I could see everything from the rooftop where I was. It was indeed a beautiful view, but at that moment I wasn’t feeling happy. No matter how hard I tried to admire the scenery that I could only see at such times, I still couldn’t smile. I exhausted my body from working and I just wanted to go home to the comfort of my soft bed. Behind me was the crowd enjoying the birthday party. The murmurs sounded like they would not end. They didn’t reach my ears because the echoing melodious sound of the violin overshadowed them. As I remained standing, a wind blew from my left, whistling through the newly budding flowers lining that side of the rooftop. By midnight, that wind would breathe cold as the north pole, carrying with it the stench of the party. I shivered a little from the c
“What’s your name?” I asked him as I laid down on my bed. My body was weak, and I was too tired to move. I no longer had the strength to send him away, so I just let him stay in my room. Now that I had longer conversations with him, I found him trustworthy. Because if he wasn’t there was no reason for him to save me. I just didn’t like that one thing he had said to me. I didn’t hate relationships between the same sex. I just couldn’t imagine myself being in one. He sat down on the chair and looked at me with his eyes glistening in the light coming from the lamp on the table. “I don’t want to tell you,” he said without emotion. His tone didn’t rise or even go down. I stared at him because of what he said. I felt like he’s playing with me that time. “Don’t worry, I would not tell a soul about your name if your worried everyone would know who you are,” I assured him so that he would tell me. “It’s not that I am worried. I just want you to remember it as well.” His expression on his
I was supposed to listen to the professor after a school break, but I heard nothing he had discussed. The classes ended, and I understand nothing. My mind kept on wondering somewhere. I shouldn’t be thinking about Gavin because we only talked yesterday until that morning. I felt guilty about what I said to him before I went to school. I was thinking I hurt him for real that time. Because I knew what he felt for me was genuine. I could see it in his eyes every time he spoke to me with full of admiration. I groaned in frustration and stomped my head on the table. Some students who were going out turned around in surprise to where I was sitting beside the window. Thinking I was just acting baffling, they went on without sparing me a glance anymore. I didn’t need to be distracted while studying or else it would ruin my plan of finishing a degree before going faraway. It was also my fault. I shouldn’t have responded to him when he entered the coffee shop. Ignoring him was the best choice,
As soon as I walked into the faculty room, a heavy silence filled the air, while everyone stay seated. While I was there, I didn’t let that eerie feeling distract me. I went directly to the humanities professor’s table, where the teaching assistant was busy typing on his seat. This man who always wore a striped polo shirt didn’t like people talking to him. So, it wasn’t a surprise he ignored me when I stood in front of him. He still fixed his eyes on the laptop without sparing me a glance. I didn’t know why he was acting like that and I wasn’t planning to know. “Here’s our report. I am hoping you can send them to the professor,” I said to him as put down the two flash drives on the table next to his laptop. He didn’t say a word that made me took a deep breath. I was not worried he would not listen to what I said. Luckily, the professor knew what kind of person his teaching assistant was. If he did not pass the reports, the professor would scold him that would end up putting him in a
We went to a not secluded neighborhood where the store of the man Tristan wanted to interview was located. The entire area became like artsy grounds for talented people. Artists filled the empty walls along the streets with graffiti, attracting newcomers like us. It was not my first time there, so I just ignored the walls. I had a part-time job there before. Gavin wasn’t also looking and his attention was all on me, making me uncomfortable. He was confident about walking under the sun. Meanwhile, Tristan couldn’t help himself. He had took out his phone and took a picture of everything we passed by. After a few turns, we finally arrived to where the store was. The yellow color of the signboard said they sell fried chicken. I could even smell from the outside the spices the owner used to cook. The store had no glass walls, but it had a large window where we could take a peak of the inside. It was an old house, and it turned into a store a couple of years after the owner separated from h
The moment I was back at the front of the store, I felt this sinister aura emanating from the inside. It made the hair on my skin stood alarming me about the danger that was occurring there. With no second thoughts, I rushed to the door and stepped inside as fast as my feet could do on an ordinary form. I wasn’t wrong about the uncertainty earlier. I found the owner choking Tristan off the floor. The tables beside them broke in half and broken glasses scattered around them. Tristan’s face was turning into red as he couldn’t breathe air. The man turned his head toward me and growled. There was something different about the owner. His eyes were bloodshot alike to what happened to the bald man before. I clinched my fist, thinking of the right thing to do. I was putting a friend now in danger. But if I made a move, it would reveal my true self. As Tristan tried to lift his hand to ask for my help, I realized I wasn’t alone there. Tristan passed out after that. I had Gavin on my back. As
Everything seemed normal about me as I sat down on the floor, leaning on the side of the bed. But deep inside, I knew something had changed. I just couldn’t figure out what it was. It was something that resonated emptiness that I had not felt for so long. All I knew for sure was that when Gavin crosses my mind, I felt a pain in my chest. It had been days when I left him on the road after the witch appeared in front of me. Since that day, I haven’t left Tristan’s room because I was avoiding to see Gavin. I just felt like the moment I stepped out, he was there waiting for me. I glanced at the door when Tristan entered carrying a paper bag. He looked at me and his shoulder dropped after he sighed. “Stop making me worry. Ever since to other day, you’ve been acting like that. You don’t even want to answer my questions,” he said to me. “Aren’t you planning to go to school?” I shook my head. I didn’t want to tell him I didn’t have the urge to study. I would move to another city faraway fr
The entire ride on the train was quite uneventful, with the constant silent rumbling and screeching of the train. I stayed quiet while my head wandered somewhere else back to where we used to live. Just like before, I always thought we would last there, but because I made the mistake of hurting one of my schoolmates, we had to move. After several years, it was going to happen again. I didn’t want to live in a new environment. I had a hard time adjusting last time. But just like before, I had no choice. My brother on my right fell asleep sitting down. He leaned his head on the cold iron bar. When I looked at him, I still couldn’t believe I am seeing my brother in person. I even told myself maybe it was just imagination. But no matter how hard I convinced myself, nothing really changed. I only stopped looking at him when the train stopped at the station where I need to get off. My brother didn’t wake up to the noise inside the train. He was still deep asleep as I stood up. I took a dee