#morrison'stales

           August 25, 2015 was the third anniversary of when I met my boyfriend Damien. We had finally gotten over the one time he’d cheated on me and decided to celebrate our anniversary by going to the bar where we met three years prior. It was all going great until he got a text and didn’t want to tell me who the text was from. That sparked an argument between us and in the middle of it, he got up to go to the bathroom. I was still angry but decided that I was going to apologize once he returned to our booth. Sadly, he never returned. I never saw him again.

           Three years went by and the authorities had long given up searching for him. His family didn’t care because they’d disowned him for being gay. I was all he had and he was all I had. It just didn’t make sense and I couldn’t make it make sense. How does someone go into a bathroom and then disappears without leaving the place? I looked at the camera footage over and over again and Damien never left the bar. He went into the bathroom and never walked back out. He vanished.

           Needing answers, I decided to go talk to a specialist that I’d been referred to. Her name was Erica Breaux and according to the person who had referred me to her, she could communicate with the dead. I didn’t want to believe it but I knew in my heart that Damien was dead. I needed to know what happened to him and who did it to him. As I walked up the walkway to Erica’s big house, I stared at the last picture I’d taken with Damien on the night of our anniversary.

                                         Me (Rafael) & Damien

           “Come on in,” called out Erica’s voice before I even stepped onto her porch.

           I walked up the steps and then entered the house. It was a very old house but the inside had clearly been renovated recently. I closed the door behind me and as I approached Erica—her back was to me—she began to shiver and quickly turned around to face me. She was an older black woman with big green eyes. Judging by her accent, she was most likely from the islands.

           “I need your help, Ms. Breaux,” I said to her. “My name is…”

           “I know who you are, Rafael Jameson. I know who you are and I know what you are.”

           “How?”

           “I have a way of knowing all sorts of things. Please, have a seat.”

           I sat down on a nearby sofa and pulled out my wallet because I’d been told that her work was expensive. However, she put her hand up and shook her head. Confused, I said, “Your services aren’t free. I was told that they’re expensive.”

           “Not for you. You’re here for something that money can’t buy, my dear.” She smiled as she sat down beside me on the sofa. “You’re here about Damien, aren’t you?”

           Tears immediately filled my eyes as I answered, “Yes.”

           “Tell me, have you been feeling like no one listens to you? Have you been feeling invisible lately?”

           “Well, not really. I mean, I still do things with my friends but…”

           “Do they ever bring up Damien?”

           “No, but probably because they think I can’t handle talking about him.”

           She stared at me for a long time silently before smiling again and saying, “I’m sure that’s the reason, dear. So, what do you need me to do for you?”

           I took a deep breath and then asked her, “Can you communicate with Damien?”

           “I could but there is a lot that I already know.”

           “What do you know?”

           “I know that your heart is broken. I know that your spirit is also broken. Rafael, I am so sorry.”

           The tears rolled down my face as I looked into her beautiful eyes and asked, “What happened to him?”

           She was silent again for a while and then she simply replied, “Nothing.”

           “What?”

           “Nothing happened to him.”

           “But he disappeared. He went into that bathroom and disappeared.”

           “No, he didn’t. And you know it. You just refuse to remember. I can help you with that, Rafael.”

           “What the hell are you talking about? There isn’t anything wrong with me.”

           “Yes, there is. And I can help you. But you have to want the help, dear. I can’t help you if you won’t let me.”

           “All I need is for you to explain why my boyfriend went into the bathroom and never came back out. Was it something supernatural? Just tell me, I can handle it.”

           “Rafael, you have to first remember everything about that night. You’re only focusing on the argument and Damien going to the bathroom. I need you to remember.”

           “That’s all I do remember.” Without thinking, I blurted out, “It happened so fast.”

           Her eyes widened as she asked, “What happened so fast?”

           “What?”

           “You just said it happened so fast. What are you referring to?”

           “I…I don’t know.”

           “Can you try to remember? Close your eyes and try to remember.”

           I closed my eyes and after trying to remember more about that night, I blurted, “Look out, he’s got a gun!” I had no idea why that came to my mind nor did I know why I blurted it out, but it came from my memory.

           “Who has a gun?”

           “I don’t know. I just remember it. I’m not even sure if it’s from that night.”

           “Try harder to remember.”

           “I am trying! I don’t understand what this has to do with my boyfriend disappearing.”

           “He didn’t disappear, Rafael. If you try harder to remember, you’ll understand what happened.”

           I closed my eyes again and tried harder to remember that night. All that I could remember was hearing someone say that a man has a gun. Feeling like my session with Ms. Breaux wasn’t going anywhere, I stood up and told her, “Thank you for trying, but I should get going. It’ll be dark soon.”

           “Rafael, you’re lost and I may be the only person who can help you.”

           “You’re not helping me! You won’t even tell me what happened to Damien! I need him. I need to see him or at least hear his voice one more time before I…”

           She stood up and asked, “Before you what?”

           “I don’t know. I don’t know what I was about to say. What’s happening to me?”

           “The answers are all right in front of you. You have to realize it for yourself. That’s the only way, Rafael.”

           “Isn’t there some other way?”

           “No. Well, there may be another way to help you remember.” She grabbed my hand for a quick second and then asked me, “You know of a place that’s special to you and Damien, don’t you?”

           “Yes.”

           “I want you to go to that place and on the way there, I want you to think about Damien. Think about him and only him. Try to say everything you’ve ever wanted to say to him on your way to the special place.”

           “Why?”

           “This may be the only other way for you to learn the truth. If Damien is your one true love, this will work and you will be provided with all of the answers you seek. I guarantee it.”

           Needing to learn the truth, I hurried out of her house and then drove to Smithfield Creek, the place where Damien first told me that he loved me. The whole way there, I thought about that day and all of the time we spent sitting on a bench by the creek. When I arrived, I made my way down by the creek and sat down on the bench. Tears filled my eyes again and when the first one dropped down onto the bench, I felt someone’s presence behind me. I turned back to see Damien standing there.

           “Oh my God!” I jumped up and moved around the bench to hug him. The moment I felt his arms around me, I began sobbing uncontrollably.

           “I’m here, baby,” he said to me. “I’m here.” He pulled back and wiped my tears. “Look at you. You look just as good as you did the last time I saw you.”

           “I feel like shit.” I laughed and told him, “You look great.”

           “Baby, I don’t have a lot of time so I want you to focus.”

           “A lot of time? What do you mean? Damien…”

           “Rafael, something happened that night and…”

           “Yeah, you disappeared after going into the bathroom. Now that you’re back…”

           “I didn’t disappear, baby. Do you honestly not remember?”

           “Remember what?”

           “We were arguing and then I went into the bathroom.”

           “And you never walked back out.”

           “No, I did walk back out. Baby, I walked out and you…” He got choked up but kept his composure as he looked into my eyes and continued, “You were gone. You were gone and there was nothing I could do.”

           “No, I wasn’t gone. Baby, you never came back from the bathroom.”

           “Remember, Rafael! You have to remember, baby.” He placed his hands on the sides of my face and repeated, “Remember, baby!”

           I closed my eyes and didn’t see anything, but I did hear something. I heard gunshots and screams. I reopened my eyes and told Damien, “He’s got a gun. I remember hearing that and then gunshots and screams. Baby, what happened?”

           With tears filling his eyes, Damien gasped and told me, “I went into the bathroom and I heard the gunshots and the screams. I came back out and you…you were gone, baby.”

           “What do you mean? What do you mean I was gone? I don’t understand.”

           “Close your eyes again and focus. Focus one last time for me, baby.”

            I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. When I reopened them, I was no longer standing out by the creek. Damien was still standing in front of me but we were no longer out by the creek. We were in a cemetery. It was then that I felt this incredible sensation in my stomach. I’d never felt anything like it before in my life. Slowly, Damien stepped to the side and when I looked down at what he’d been standing in front of, I saw the truth. Carved into a headstone was my name, my date of birth…and the date that I’d died; August 25, 2015.

           “This messed up white guy barged into the bar that night,” Damien explained to me. “He had an AR-15 with a bump stock attached. He killed you and thirty-two other people within the span of a minute before pulling out a pistol and killing himself.”

           “No,” I said while shaking my head. “No, that’s not possible. I’m not dead.”

           “You are. Baby, your spirit has been lost since that night. You haven’t been able to remember because you won’t allow yourself to remember. You have to remember it so that your spirit can finally leave this earth.”

           “This makes no sense. If I’m dead then how am I here talking to you?”

           “I’m not really here, baby. My body is at home asleep right now. This part of me, the part that’s talking to you right now, is only going to be here temporarily. Once I wake up, this whole thing will feel like a dream and that’s if I can even remember it.”

           “No, that can’t be.”

           “I’m sorry, baby. I love you so much, but it’s time for you to go to a better place. You have to because staying here is only going to get more confusing and darker for you.”

           “But Ms. Breaux…”

           “Ms. Breaux can’t help you cross over. She tried to get you to remember what happened. Baby, let me help you remember. I’ve already told you but you need to remember it. Come here, baby. Let me hold you.”

           I stepped closer to him and he wrapped his arms around me. It all felt so real. He was so warm and he smelled like he always smelled, a scent of shea butter and Dove men’s body wash. I rested my head on his shoulder and when I closed my eyes, I remembered it all. I remembered the argument. I remembered him saying he had to use the bathroom and walking away from our booth. And then I remembered someone saying a man had a gun and I heard the screams. I never even got to see the man before a bullet struck the back of my head and came out through my forehead, making my face completely unrecognizable. I did die that night three years ago. I’d died and completely forgotten about it.

           I reopened my eyes to see that Damien was gone. However, I still felt his embrace and warmness and I could still smell his scent. I looked back at my grave and after gently touching the headstone, a bright light beamed down from the night sky. I pulled out the photo of me and Damien to look at one last time and then dropped it at my grave before walking to the light. The closer I got to the bright light the better I began to feel.

           “I love you, Rafael,” his voice whispered into my ear even though he was no longer with me. “I love you, baby.”

           “I love you, too,” I said to him as I entered the light. “I’ll always love you, Damien.” I closed my eyes as the bright light immersed me and took me away forever.

[Disclaimer]: Pictures used do not reflect the sexuality or personality of people in the pictures. They only serve as visual examples of the characters.

© D.A. Morrison 2018

***this story is a continuation of a story I posted last year for Halloween called “Bad Séance”***

          I never got over what happened to Alton. My friendship with Wade deteriorated and my relationship with Denny ended not long after the incident happened. For a whole year, I went to many different therapists but none could explain what the hell happened. They wouldn’t diagnose me with any mental disorders nor would they explain how Alton could disappear the way he did. I tried my hardest to move on but I couldn’t. It didn’t matter how much time went by or how successful I was in my career, I had to get Alton back. I never stopped searching for answers, and my search one day led me to a house of devil worship.

          “If you’re here to spout your Christian beliefs,” said some old white guy the moment I walked in, “please just go. I’ve already had to call the police on three people today. The crazies always come out on Halloween.”

          “Sir, I’m here because I saw your ad in a laundromat,” I told him as I stepped further into the building. “My name is Cedric and I need your help.”

          He stopped reading a paper and looked up at me to ask, “Are you a true believer in the Almighty Lucifer?”

          “I am.”

          “And why do you believe in him?”

          “Because…he took my friend last year.”

          When I said that, the man rolled his eyes and quickly said, “Leave.”

          “Sir, I am not lying to you. The devil took my friend and I need to communicate with him now. I need to do some kind of deal or something. I’m willing to even trade my own life. My friend didn’t deserve what happened to him.”

          “You need to leave before I call the police.”

          “Please! You have to help me! If you’re a real worshiper of Lucifer then it’s your obligation to help me get in contact with him.”

          “Okay; tell me something, how exactly did Lucifer get your friend?”

           It was Christmas Eve and I was a little upset because I wasn’t going to be able to fly home to Oakland to spend the holidays with my family. My job was going through a hectic merger and I was basically working through the holidays. As if I wasn’t already stressed, my good-for-nothing ex-boyfriend Gabriel showed up at my place that morning. I hadn’t seen him since earlier in the year when he took his stuff out of my house. We broke up two days after Valentine’s Day because I found out he was cheating. So, when he showed up at my house unexpectedly on Christmas Eve, I was on the verge of punching him in the face.

           “What are you doing here, Gabe?” I asked as I stepped outside and pulled my door up behind me.

           “It’s cold out here,” he said. “Can we go inside and talk about this?”

           “Talk about what?”

           “I need a favor from…”

           “Nope, nope. Hell no. Get the fuck out of my yard.”

           “Wow, really? That’s how it is, Jerrod? We spent three years together. I used to live here with you. We should at least be able to talk like two mature adults.”

           “Oh, you’re an adult now? That’s funny. Last time I checked, a mature adult doesn’t fuck around with some piece of trash he met in a club and then proceed to fuck that trash over and over again for three months.”

           “Are you done? Because all this animosity towards me is pointless, Jerrod.”

           “You know, you have some nerve coming here and asking me for a favor after what you did. And you’re trying to make it seem like I’m the fucking bad guy here when you’re just a nasty ho who sticks his dick in anything. I bet you enjoy being a total top now, don’t you? I bet you hide the fact that you were vers and got fucked by me when you hook up with the loose booty bottoms you fuck around with now, huh?”

                                             Me (Jerrod Hamilton)

           He sighed out loud before admitting, “I’m here because I still haven’t told my family that me and you broke up and they’re expecting you to be with me tonight and tomorrow. I know I fucked up but I can’t tell my parents, brothers, aunts, uncles and cousins that I fucked up the one good thing in my whole life. At least not during the holidays.”

           When he said all of that, it was like my heart stopped. I assumed he told his family about us a long time ago. As angry as I still was with him, I understood why he hadn’t told them. Gabriel wasn’t as successful as his brothers and other family members. He’d gotten in a lot of trouble when he was younger and was in the Army for a while before being dishonorably discharged for multiple drug possession violations. When we were together, I worked hard while he could barely keep a job. He was more focused on partying with his friends and smoking weed than being responsible like me.

           “I can’t believe you,” I said to him as we entered my house. “You should’ve told them a long time ago, Gabe.”

           “I know,” he said. “But you know how much they like you. Everybody is always asking me about you and I know once I tell them we broke up they’re gonna automatically blame me.”

           “Well, it is your fault that we broke up.”

           “You just love kicking me while I’m down, don’t you?” He shook his head before asking, “Will you come with me to my parents’ house tonight for the Christmas Eve dinner and tomorrow to spend Christmas with them? I already saw you can’t fly to Oakland this year to spend it with your own family so I know you don’t have anything planned.”

                                               Gabriel Hudson

           “No. Gabe, I can’t.”

           “You can’t or you won’t?”

           I rolled my eyes as I explained, “I don’t feel comfortable lying to your family like that. They’re nice people and it would be wrong.”

           “So, you’d rather ruin their Christmas by revealing that me and you aren’t together anymore? That’s messed up.”

           “No, what’s messed up is you coming to my house trying to lay a guilt trip on me!”

           “All I’m asking is for you to pretend like you don’t hate me for two days. Are you telling me you hate me so much that you can’t even do that?”

           “I don’t hate you.”

           “You act like you do.”

           “Well, I don’t. I just don’t see any good coming out of us lying to your family, even if it is just for the holidays.”

           “My brothers are all married and they have kids. They’re successful and happy; meanwhile, I’m a fucking failure. Everybody always says you’re the best thing that ever happened to me and it’s true. I ain’t shit and I’ve accepted that. I’m not asking you to take me back because I know you’re done with me. I’m asking you to do this because I want to experience one last holiday season where my family doesn’t see me as the failure that I am. Please, Jerrod. I’m begging you.”

           As angry as I still was with him, I didn’t want to be the reason why his family’s holiday season turned sour. I also couldn’t stand to see how heartbroken he still was over our breakup. I shouldn’t have felt sorry for him but I couldn’t help it. It also didn’t help that he was still so damn cute. After thinking about it some more, I took a deep breath and exhaled loudly and then told him, “Okay.”

           His face lit up as he asked, “You for real?”

           “Yes. I’ll go with you tonight and tomorrow. I do still love your family. Their holiday shouldn’t be ruined just because me and you couldn’t make our relationship work. Besides, your mama makes the best turkey dressing in the world.”

           Immediately, he threw his arms around me and hugged me. “Thank you so much, Jerrod. I owe you big for this. You got a good heart and I knew I could count on your love.”

           “Yeah, yeah.” I pulled back from the hug and told him, “We can hold hands but absolutely no kissing on the lips. I’m not taking any pictures with you also. And do not put your hands on my ass like you used to do. You’re not my boyfriend anymore so you don’t get to touch me there.”

           “Damn, alright. Is there anything else?”

           “Yeah, try to remember I’m doing this for your family’s sake. Do not read into it because I do not want you back and I never will after what you did. You’re lucky I have a weak spot for your family. Now, it’s time for you to go because I have work to do.” I rushed him back out of my house and after closing and relocking my front door, asked him, “What time are you picking me up?”

           “Seven-thirty.”

           “Okay, I’ll be sure to be ready by then.”

           Before walking to his car, he stopped and said, “I know this is only for today and tomorrow, but I just want you to know that I missed you.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and nervously added, “I’ll see you tonight.”

           As I watched him leave, I quietly admitted to myself, “I missed you, too.”

           Gabriel’s family always had a small dinner on Christmas Eve that didn’t involve the full family. It was usually just his parents, his brothers, his brother’s wives and his nieces and nephews. The full family would usually show up on Christmas day. His parents’ home was like the perfect place to be for the holidays. Even for me, it always felt like home. Since my family lived all the way in Oakland and I lived in Pittsburgh, I rarely got to spend the holidays with them. For that reason, I used to look forward to spending that time with the Hudson family.

           “Remember what I said,” I told Gabriel as we climbed out of his car. “No kissing on the lips and no touching my ass. There’s no telling where your lips and hands have been lately.”

           “You have my word, baby,” he said back.

           “Baby?”

           “My bad, I didn’t mean to say that.” He grabbed my hand as we made our way up the walkway to the front door. He opened the door with his free hand and together, we entered the house.

           “That better be Gabe and Jerrod,” his mama called out from the kitchen.

           “It is,” said his brother, George, as he stepped out of the living room. He hugged Gabriel and then he hugged me before saying, “Everybody was waiting for y’all to show up. Come on.”

           We took our coats off and followed him into the living room. We spent the next thirty minutes saying hey to everybody and sharing hugs. I thought I’d feel uncomfortable lying to Gabriel’s family about our relationship status, but it actually came to me naturally because of how close I truly was to them all. His mama was especially happy to see me and I was happy to see her. Once everyone got over the excitement of seeing me and Gabriel together, Gabriel pulled me away so we could go talk upstairs in his old bedroom.

           “They don’t suspect a thing,” he told me as he pushed the door up. “Thank you for this, Jerrod.”

           “I didn’t only do this for you,” I reminded him.

           “I just hope they’ll understand when I tell them me and you are broken up after Christmas.”

           “When exactly are you going to tell them?”

           “I need to do it before New Years because that’s not as big of a holiday as Christmas. I just know they’re gonna throw it up in my face once I tell them. They wouldn’t be wrong. I was the one who blew it.”

           “Gabe, there’s no reason to beat yourself up today. No one knows right now and everyone is happy.”

           “I know, but I can already see how they’re gonna treat me. I don’t have a successful career and I live with friends instead of having my own place. The only thing I had going for me was my relationship with you. I’m a fucking loser without that.” He sat down on his bed.

           “Gabriel, you are not a loser. I actually don’t think they’ll take it that hard on you once you tell them. Just leave out the fact that you cheated.”

           “Nah, I won’t do that.”

           “Why not?”

           “Because I hurt you and I’m not taking the easy way out. I love you too much to make it seem like you did anything wrong.”

           When he said that, I stared into his eyes and asked, “Why did you cheat? You’ve never given me a clear reason. You say it had nothing to do with anything I did. Is that true?”

           “I did it because of my own selfish reasons. It really didn’t have anything to do with you, Jerrod. I promise. You are the most put-together person I’ve ever known. You took a chance on me and even though I don’t understand why you did, I loved you for it. I still do. Cheating on you was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made and knowing that I can’t make it up to you hurts.”

           I grabbed his hand and told him, “For tonight and then again tomorrow, we get to pretend like it all never happened.”

           “True.” He smiled and asked, “Remember the first time we met up after talking on Jack’d for days about sex?”

           I laughed as I answered, “Yeah. I kept getting an attitude with you.”

           “Shit, you were straight up mean as fuck to me.”

           “I was bitter over my last breakup. I never told you that but that’s why I had an attitude.”

           “Damn, that explains a lot. I made you laugh and we hit it off on that first date. I’ll never forget it.”

           “Me either.” I looked around his room and then asked, “I bet you spent a lot of time in here growing up, huh?”

           “I sure did. I was always grounded for doing dumb shit. My dad would always ask me how come I wasn’t more like my brothers? Why did I always stay in trouble? I swear if I wasn’t so bad, everyone would’ve had a problem with me being gay. It was like being gay didn’t matter because I stayed in trouble. I guess it’s good that they accepted me though.”

           “See, you had it easier than me. My family made a big deal about it.”

           “Really? You never told me that. Your folks seemed nice the few times I’ve been around them.”

           “They’re cool with it now but they weren’t when I came out back in high school. Me and my dad argued constantly. My mama cried a lot. It took a long time for things to get back to normal and in many ways, things still aren’t normal with my family. It’s not like how it was before I came out to them.”

           “Dang, sorry about that. You know, there’s a lot you never really talked to me about when we were together.”

           “I do tend to keep a lot bottled inside. It’s one of my flaws.”

           “You call that a flaw? Jerrod, I swear you’re too hard on yourself sometimes.”

           “I could say the same about you.”

           “Yeah, but I need to be hard on myself. I’m a screw up.”

           “Just because you’ve made some mistakes doesn’t make you a screw up. I really don’t like seeing you beat up on yourself like this. Contrary to what you think, I don’t hate you. I don’t want to see you suffer in any way.” My phone vibrated in my pocket and I pulled it out to see I’d gotten a text from one of my coworkers.

           “Who is that, your new boyfriend?”

           “No, it’s a coworker.”

           “Jerrod, you can be honest with me. If you’re with someone else, I can handle it.”

           I showed him the text message and repeated, “It’s a coworker.”

           “Oh, my bad.”

           “I’ve actually been too busy to date lately.”

           “Too busy to date? What about sex?”

           “What about it?”

           “Have you been too busy for that, too?”

           “If that’s your way of asking me if I’ve had sex since we broke up, the answer is yes. But it was just one-time hookups and only a handful of them.”

           “It’s been the same for me.” He shoved his hands into his pockets, which meant he was nervous about something. “So uh…you ready to go back downstairs?”

           “I am if you are.”

           He grabbed my hand again and we went back downstairs. As he went into the kitchen to help his mama, I sat in the living room and talked with his brothers and dad. I told them about how great Gabriel was doing and how happy me and him were. I knew it was wrong to lie, but I didn’t want them to suspect anything. When dinner was ready, everyone went into the dining room and sat at the big table. I sat beside Gabriel and we held hands during the prayer. What happened next was something I’ll never forget.

           “I can’t do this,” Gabriel said as he stood up from his chair, causing all of the small chatter to stop immediately. “This is messed up and I can’t believe I let it go this far.”

           “Son,” said Mr. Hudson. “What are you talking about?”

           “Everything isn’t fine between me and Jerrod. As a matter of fact, there is no me and Jerrod anymore. I…” He got choked up as tears filled his eyes. “I messed it up. I cheated on him and he found out and dumped me two days after Valentine’s Day.” When he told them that, they all gasped at the same time. “Just like always, I took a good thing and I ruined it. And then to make it worse, I begged Jerrod into coming here tonight and pretending like everything is fine.”

           “Gabe,” I said as I stood up. “It’s okay.”

           “No, it’s not okay. This whole thing was crazy and I am so sorry for even thinking I could do this to my family. It’s embarrassing and I shouldn’t have even asked you to do this.” He turned his attention back to his family and told them, “I know I’ve never done anything right and I know y’all have been disappointed by me over and over again. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m scared to death that I may never get my life right. I’m sorry.” He moved his chair out of the way and hurried out of the dining room.

           “Well, that’s unfortunate,” said Mr. Hudson.

           “That boy will never change,” said Gabriel’s brother Gary. “He’s twenty-six and still acting like a damn eighteen-year-old!”

           “I’m sorry everybody,” I offered. “I went along with this because Gabe wanted you all to have a happy holiday season, and I did, too.”

           “We’re not blaming you, Jerrod,” said Mrs. Hudson. “We know you did nothing wrong.”

           “That’s not exactly correct. No, I didn’t tell Gabe to cheat on me but I could’ve handled the situation better. And he loves you all so much and he stresses about making you all proud. I never took that into account when I broke it off with him. If you all would excuse me, I need to go have a word with him.” I left the dining room and looked for him around the house. I finally found him sitting out on their back patio steps.

           “You ready to go?” he asked as I approached him.

           “That’s not why I’m out here. Gabe, why did you tell them like that?”

           “Because it felt wrong lying to them. And it felt wrong making you lie for me. I don’t know what the fuck I was thinking.”

           I sat down on the step beside him and said, “You were trying to spare yourself the disappointment you knew you’d get from them once you told them the truth. That’s understandable.”

           “I bet they’re in there right now calling me a screw up, huh?”

           “Gabe, they only want what’s best for you. And so do I.”

           When I said that, he looked at me and asked, “You do?”

           “Yes. I’ve been thinking and maybe I didn’t handle everything the way I should have. You’ve always been under pressure to prove yourself to your family and I didn’t take that into account.” I took a deep breath before telling him, “I think we should start talking again.”

           “Really?”

           “I do. This doesn’t mean I’m ready to try being in a relationship again, but I do want to talk to you and spend time with you again. I miss you, Gabe. I miss us being friends the most.”

           “I miss that, too. But I still hurt you and I know you’ll never get over that.”

           “All I can do is try. I want to try. I can start by telling you that I forgive you.”

           Tears filled his eyes as he asked, “You do?”

           “Yeah. And I want you to know that I don’t see you as a screw up. I don’t see you as a troublemaker or a cheater. Gabriel, I see you as the strong and confident man you’ve always been. Now, let’s go back inside and discuss this like adults with your family. I’m sure once they know everything, they won’t talk down on you. You ready to go back inside?”

           “I think so.” He wiped his tears and said, “I know I’m ready.”

           “That’s what I wanna hear.” I gave him a hug and a kiss on the lips before standing up with him. As we were about to go back inside, it started snowing. I smiled and told him, “Merry Christmas, Gabe.”

           He put his arm around me and softly replied, “Merry Christmas.”

[Disclaimer]: Pictures used do not reflect the sexuality or personality of people in the pictures. They only serve as visual examples of the characters.

© D.A. Morrison 2017

           Everyone was fascinated by new student Lex Moreaux, but no one was as fascinated as me. In just a few short weeks, he’d become the most desired by at Morrison Heights High. There was something so mysterious about him and I was destined to find out what it was. He had a thick island accent and told us all he was from Barbados but his accent didn’t sound like any of the Bajan accents I’d heard before and I’d heard many since I had family in Barbados. I think the thing that really captivated me—as well as others—was his eyes. When he looked at you; it felt like it was your first time staring into someone else’s eyes, and everything around you just stops. He made me feel a certain way that I’d never felt before, and that’s how I knew what he really was.

           “He’s not gay,” my best friend Zora told me as we ate lunch. “I think you’re picking up on friendly signals, Riley.”

           “Friendly my ass,” I said with a light laugh. “Zora, the way he looks at me…”

           “He looks at everyone like that.”

           “No, there’s something different in the way he looks at me. There’s something…else there. I can’t really explain it. It’s like he knows something about me that I also know but I’ve never told anyone about.”

           “What, that you’re a virgin?”

           “No, not that.”

           “Then what are you talking about?”

           “Nothing. It’s nothing.”

           Not a second after I finished my lunch, I pulled out one of my notebooks and wrote a letter to Lex. I didn’t care how it made me look, I had to see if my suspicions were accurate. So, I wrote him a letter telling him to come to my house that night since my mama would be working overnight at the law firm she worked for. Immediately after lunch, I stuffed the letter in his locker. I didn’t have any classes with him, so I had no idea when he’d get the letter.

                                               Me (Riley King)

           In between fourth and fifth period, I passed by him in the hall and since I’m an aspiring photographer, I raised my camera to snap a pic of him. He quickly looked at me and I could’ve sworn I heard him whisper in my ear, “no.” His mouth didn’t move but I distinctly heard him tell me, “no.” Not wanting to reveal my intentions too early, I decided to play my part and hope that he’d get my letter and come to my house that night. I could’ve been wrong, but there was truly only one way to find out.

           “Mama, I’m fine,” I told my mama over the phone. “It may be Halloween night, but it’s still a school night.”

           “I just keep worrying,” she said over the phone. “It’s only been a year since my brother was killed and…”

           “Mama, I’ve made my peace with Uncle Ricky’s death and I think it’s time for you to do the same. There’s nothing that any of us could do.”

           “I don’t think I’ll ever get over it, Riley. Ricky was my little brother and…you remind me so much of him. And the way he died, I just…”

           “His death is a mystery that will never be solved, mama. It could’ve been a freak accident for all we know. I miss him but we have to go on with life. Besides, there are far worse things than death.”

           “What?”

           “Nothing. Mama, I gotta go. I need to finish my homework and then make myself something to eat before bed.”

           “Text me before you go to sleep. You know I’ll worry if you don’t.”

           “I know, mama. Goodnight.”

           “I love you.”

           “I love you, too, mama.” I ended the call and just as I put my phone back in my pocket, I heard the sound of footsteps on the kitchen patio outside. I smiled as I made my way over to the door and opened it quickly, startling Lex.

           “How did you know I was out here?” he asked with a smile.

           “What made you come to this door and not the front?” I asked back.

           He looked me up and down for a little while before saying, “I got your letter and I’m here. Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

           “I already did in the letter.”

           “Yeah, but I like to have verbal confirmation before entering someone’s house. It’s rude not to.”

           “Lex, you can come inside.” I stepped back and let him into the kitchen. After closing the door, I turned around to see he’d already unzipped his shirt and had pulled his sweatpants and underwear down, exposing a thick dark chocolate colored uncircumcised dick. My smile grew bigger as I told him, “Wow, I’ve never seen one in person other than my own before. Nice.”

                                                  Lex Moreaux

           “So, you are a virgin?” He rubbed his hands together and said, “I like virgins. There’s nothing like fresh blood.”

           “Well, you might as well pull those pants and boxer briefs back up because I’m not giving up my virginity tonight.”

           “Then why did you want me to come over, sexy?”

           “To get payback!” I reached into a nearby drawer and pulled out a crucifix I’d placed there earlier.

           He quickly pulled his pants up and backed away, shouting, “Keep that away from me!”

           “Hmm, that’s strange. Why on earth would you be afraid of a crucifix?”

           I got closer to him and he backed into my refrigerator so hard that it made the glass of holy water I’d sat on top turn over and pour on him. That’s when he began screaming and burning. He dashed out of the kitchen and I followed, but when I made it into the living room he wasn’t in there. He hadn’t left the house because the front door was still closed and locked, and none of the windows were broken. He couldn’t leave if he wanted to. I’d hung crucifixes on the doorknobs and above each window.

           “Lex, you might as well come out now,” I called out as I picked up the wooden stake I’d made to kill him with. “You’re probably what, two hundred or three hundred years old? You’re a grown ass man, not a teenager.”

           “Let me out of here,” he called out from upstairs.

           I slowly began ascending the stairs as I told him, “I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. You see, one of your kind killed my uncle last year and he knew you were after him. He knew for years and he prepared. I don’t know how you got him, but you won’t get me.”

           “I didn’t kill your uncle. That was another…”

           “Another what? Vampire?” I laughed as I continued, “I’m here, Lex. Come and get me if you think you can beat me. Come and get this virgin blood!” I made it to the second-level of the house.

           We had four bedrooms and a bathroom at the end of the hall. I knew he wasn’t in the bathroom because of the big mirror, and demons like him hated having mirrors around. He wasn’t in my room because I’d rigged a trap for him in there. That left either one of the guest rooms or my mama’s room. I headed towards my mama’s room but just before I got to it, he burst out of one of the guest rooms and grabbed me, making me drop my wooden stake in the process. He pulled me inside and threw me to the floor.

           “You let me out of this house or I’ll kill you,” he said to me as his fangs descended.

           “Tell me something, Lex,” I said as I stood to my feet. “What is that stuff that you put all over your body so that you can walk in daylight without burning to a crisp? My uncle told me you pieces of shit have a weird scent and I figured it has to be whatever it is you put on your skin to walk during the day.”

           “Let me out of this house, now!”

           I hurried over to the guest room closet where I’d placed another wooden stake and he dashed out of the room. I was really getting tired of all the running and hiding, so I decided to kick it up a notch. I used the pocketknife I’d used to create my stakes to cut my palm so that I’d bleed. I held my hand in the air and he appeared in front of me out of thin air.

           “This is what you want, right?” I asked. “You want my virgin blood?”

           “I want out of this house!” he shouted. “I’ll spare your life if you let me leave.”

           “You’re not getting that. The only thing I can do for you is put you to rest the way your peers did my uncle last year.”

           “There are more of us. I’m not the only one. You know that. If you kill me, more will come here. And I promise you, they will be much stronger than I am.”

           “You’re already here. You said it wasn’t you who killed my uncle, so you fucks are already here!”

           “Let me out!”

           “No!”

           He grabbed me by my neck and started choking me. I dropped the stake, but I had one last trick for him. I reached into my back pocket and pulled out the mini spray bottle of holy water I’d put there just in case I ended up in his grasp. I sprayed it in his eyes and he went crazy. I took advantage of the opportunity and bent down and picked up the stake. I stabbed him in the back as fast as I could, hoping to puncture his heart from the back but missed. He smacked me hard, knocking me to the floor.

           “You motherfucker!” he called out as he reached back and tried to pull the stake from his back. “I’m gonna rip your heart out!”

           “Don’t bet on it,” I said as I got back up and kicked him as hard as I could in the face. His back hit the wall, pushing the stake in even further, causing him to cough up blood.

           I picked up the other stake I’d dropped in the hall and stabbed him in the chest with it. Still, I missed his heart because I couldn’t get it in deep enough. I punched him and kicked him as hard as I could all the way back up the hall towards the stairs. I’d been training for a whole year for that moment and I wasn’t going to let him get me the way my uncle had been killed. When he lunged in and tried to bite me, I bit his neck instead and ripped a huge chunk out of his neck with my teeth. I then pushed him back and kicked him hard in the chest, pushing the stake in further. This time I got his heart.

           “No!” he called out as he fell down the stairs.

           I walked down the stairs and watched him as he deteriorated into a bloody mess on my mama’s beige carpet. I smiled as I told him, “Nice try, but you lost!” I spit on his remains before grabbing my phone and calling a twenty-four-hour cleaning service.

           Uncle Ricky told me all I needed to know about vampires and he told me that I’d be a special target since I was still a virgin. I knew now that I’d killed Lex, others would come for me. Honestly, I didn’t care. They were all in for a fight. Because I wasn’t going down easily. My uncle fought them and had the courage to face them head on. Like me, he was gay and a fighter. One day, I’d end up face to face with the vampire that killed him. I looked forward to it. Even if I died, at least I’d die fighting.

[Disclaimer]: Pictures used do not reflect the sexuality or personality of people in the pictures. They only serve as visual examples of the characters.

© D.A. Morrison 2017