'The Shop Girl (ap)

            “forget about you? not a chance!” the blonde vampire finds his spot right in front of the register, resting his elbows on the glass as he leans forward slightly. mischievous grin finds his pale features as green eyes remain completely focused on her. he’s going to ignore the boys and any snide comments they have about him striking out.  his eyes do leave for a moment to scan the store, making sure max was not around. he never liked them being in here, even though they were his boys, weren’t they not? he never understood him. eyes meet hers once again, a hum leaving him. “oh, don’t talk like that. that’ll get you in trouble,” he’ll give a playful wink before he shifts slightly. “ain’t nobody got my attention more than you, maria. you know that.”

❝ Is it so dangerous when everyone knows whose pulling the strings ? Manipulation ? Or . . . is it more dangerous when his followers know just what strings he’s pulling and still following ?❞  she smiled , twirled a piece of loose curled hair around her finger . A leader, a villain is only as scary and dangerous as his worst follower . If he was referring to Max --   -  she wasn’t so bad . His mask of virtue was true to a degree.  He cared enough not to kill her. 

❝Stop! ❞ she’s chiding, but her tone is a mixture of horrified and excited . She should have just been scared as he told her the story , but maria ended up biting her lip & fidgeting . Getting up onto her knees, as they dug into the sand . She enjoyed the stories - hearing about them , sometimes they were fake & others were more real than she was ready to admit to herself . The sand was still warm from the hot day until the sun came out and the bonfires happened . The time when college kids roamed the beaches was their busiest evenings . ❝ Did they find anything else ? You would think by now the cops around here would stop looking –  - tell people to stay away , but they still flock here like a mecca. They’re excited by the danger ,❞ she shrugged her shoulders , grinning at Marko before sitting back down on the sand . She was one of them , but she knew what the danger was . 

Maria glanced over at the crowd of teenagers before looking back at Marko, ❝  Do any of them look good to you ?❞

That was comforting. The wizard of oz reference only made her shudder. Witches were not something she wanted to deal with if that was what he was alluding to. Vampires were enough? Max and his boys had been enough. The werewolves had been enough. Instead she put her head up, tucked some of her hair behind her ear and looked from the blonde man to the woman, ❝  Yeah ,  i’ll try not  to mind her… Listen — my Master has a proposal for you . I’m here on business & unfortunately he’s dealing with some things right now and sent me … here , ❞  she confessed . Max didn’t think to send one of the boys , but send the human with no protection to show good favor. She crossed her arms , eyes moving from his to the ground . silly human . 

HORRIFIED - murderer - and she cowered at the sight of David with blood everywhere , the bodies mangled . She wasn’t able to get out any words , just small noises of fear , back against the cave wall . Max had sent her there to tell David he wanted the boy . The new pretty boy in town .  She had interrupted a feeding. Blood had gotten on her own face & clothes and god it felt like she couldn’t wipe it off. He was sadistic , played with his food . She didn’t care when the boys fed, but god luring women and men away for David filled her with dread. ❝ D-Da-David , Max wants to see you. He has a job , a new boy for you ,  ❞ she spluttered over her words . When he moved she flinched , trying to curl up within herself , head going down - subservient - a dog - leaning as far as she could away and towards the ground . Without any of the other boys here she felt exposed and alone . 

❝  I’m sorry I interrupted … ❞  his show . 

alcoholism.  amnesia.  anxiety.  appetite loss. binge eating. co-dependence.  cynicism.  defensiveness. denial.  depersonalization.  depression.  derealization.  devaluation.  displacement.  dissociation.  drug abuse. dysphoria. emotional detachment. flashbacks.  flat affect.  guilt.  hallucinations.  hypersomnia.  hypervigilance. hypochondria. idealization. insomnia.  intellectualization.  introjection.  isolation. low self esteem. narcissism. night terrors. obsessive compulsion.  overeating. panic attacks. passive aggression. paranoia.  phobias. projection.  psychosis.  rationalization.  regression.  repression.  restrictive eating. risky sex.  self-harm.   somatization.  splitting.  sublimation.  suicidal ideation.  sleepwalking.  suppression.  thousand yard stare.  triggers. trust issues.  violence.  whiplash temper.

❝ —–  and how unfortunate that is for you . I am neither the library or a resource to answer these questions . Find them on your own , or better yet STOP looking for things you don’t understand ,❞  she snapped at the boy . Did he want to die ? Did the Frog brothers have a death wish ? She was sure of it after this little escapade . As if snooping around the shop when Max wasn’t there wasn’t enough for them . She should have gotten an apartment that was not so close to the board walk , at least then when she walked home she could have some privacy . Not even the boys knew where she lived & she liked to KEEP it like that . ❝  or are you looking to die , sweetheart ? ❞   she asked , keys held tightly in her hand . She wasn’t  a vampire , but she had been harassed enough by Max’s enemy's . 

She turned around in her complex doorway , ❝ Listen kid —- I once had a morbid curiosity too , but stay away . Some things are better left alone & you don’t want to end up on the back of a milk carton . Those kids don’t come back . ❞

❝ Being their bait ? Luring unsuspecting men and women to their deaths ?  ❞  she questioned . Maybe once she had felt bad with the first couple of ones , did they really deserve to die ? no.  She just wanted to live. Max hadn’t made any promises to her , no she was a useful pet to him . another variation of Thorn, she supposed . Did her heart shatter into a million pieces each time they forgot about little Maria Dejesus?  No thank you - no kind words - but they were vampire . What need did they have to give her anything ? The first time Max had turned someone else and not her she had cried herself to sleep for the last time over thinking he wanted her for an eternity . She would be disposed of when he was good and ready . 

Now they had Star . She could do just what Maria had been doing before she came into the picture , but who could resist the vampire charm and beauty ? None. She had lured the newest request , per Max’s wants, but he had spoken them through David. Michael Emerson. The handsome boy who had just moved here with his mother and brother ( she always did her research.) ❝  I cannot tell you that it’s good - that it feels good at the time , after my first time I cried & cried and could not go into work the next day . You won’t be thanked & they will do it over & over again until it’s second nature to you to immediately seek out the weak links or the pretty faces for them and yourself . In time the guilt will fade , ❞ she explained , hand reaching out to take Star’s as they walked the shoreline   ❝ They do not show remorse . When I die , I will have god judge me with these murders and I will be punished accordingly .  You will live forever & must detach for these feelings . My life will be so short that one day I will not be remembered by you or the boys just like that Michael boy will be as short lived as I . ❞  It was the best advice she could offer.   

❝  You are a vampire . It will fade -  just like it did for them . ❞