Vampire Girlfriend: Tatiana 2 (rough draft)

The boys had been heckling me ever since I returned to the garage that night. It was all good fun, of course. But this was really a first for any of us. Me, Henry, Jimmy, and Reggie had all been brought up in the same house. A house our maker would never allow women to set foot into, not even to feed off them. Faulk and Jones were the only two who had any sort of interaction, and even they admitted it was brief.

“You’ve only ever been with guys,” Jimmy jabbed at me. “How are you gonna even know what to do with a lady? Let alone the tall drink you’re chasing.”

“She’s just like anybody,” I scoffed at him. I was covered in dirt and grime from cleaning under the hood of her car. I was getting it ready for when the part came in. “I’ll treat her like I would anyone else.”

“Yeah, but aren’t women vamps supposed to be...you know?” Henry kind of trailed off on his own thoughts, hoping someone else would finish him.

“What are we supposed to know?” Reggie threw back.

Henry grimmaced. As the youngest of any of us, he had the least experience with anything to do with the real world. Our maker changed him when he was fifteen, which had prompted me leaving the house, taking him, Jimmy, and Reggie with me.

“You know like, extra mean?” Henry looked so embarrassed.

I wiped my hands clean then patted his back. “That’s what the maker wanted you to think. Lady vamps are just like us.”

Reggie had a look on his face like he wanted to agree. “But don’t they grow teeth...down there when they get changed?”

“Seriously?” Usually silent Faulk spoke up. “You’re a grown ass man even if you don’t look it. Be ashamed of yourself.”

Reggie bristled and became defensive. “Hey! I never met no lady vamp before. I barely met any lady aside from my mom. And I wasn’t exactly interested in that area of her!”

“Boys,” I hushed them all. “She’s a woman, that’s it. No difference, nothing.”

“You still haven’t answered me,” Jimmy said with a shit eating grin. “How do you know what you’re doing with this one? You’ve only ever been with us and men. I didn’t even know you swung that way, Boss.”

“I swing lots of ways,” I laughed. “Sometimes I like to get pushed on the swing. I don’t care who swings me.”

There was some laughing and hawing around the room while we went about cleaning up the garage for the day boys in the morning. I caught Henry on the side, looking distracted by the door of Tatiana’s car.

“What’s the matter, kid?” I asked him. “You’re supposed to be sweeping.”

Henry shook his head. “Just thinking.” He looked shyly at me then back into the car. Poor kid was a waif, had been favored by our maker for looking so helpless. It made me realize how the maker had preyed upon young boys, and they only seemed to be getting younger. I had to get Henry out, but I was too late. The maker had changed him, and it had changed me forever. I had to get those kids out of there. To me, Henry was more son than brother.

“Just thinking about what?” I leaned against the car with him. “Not worried about no girls, are you?”

Henry laughed. “I don’t think that’ll ever be an issue with me, Boss. But-” He hesitated to speak. “What if this lady vamp wants you to like...I dunno, go with her or something.”

“You think I’d leave you guys unattended?” I ruffled his hair. “No way! I’d be far too worried.”

Henry smiled, but he still seemed anxious. I placed my hand upon his shoulder and looked into his eyes. “Listen to me, kid. We’re family. The six of us. I ain’t leaving my family, no matter who comes into our lives. Even if she asked me, I don’t think I could leave you guys behind. So don’t worry about that.”

Henry’s smile grew a tad and he nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay!” I gave him a shove. “We’re done for the night. Go get cleaned up and we’ll head down to the bar.” I went into the back bathroom to wash my hands, and when I came out, Tatiana was standing at the garage door.

“Hey there,” I murmured with surprise. “I thought you had a show tonight.”

Tatiana smiled as I approached. She was wearing pink pants and a red gingham shirt. “A local church group is picketing at the gate, no one can get in, so I thought I’d find you.”

I was excited to see her, especially in the outfit she had on. She looked amazing, and it really showed off her legs. “I was getting ready to take the boys out.”

Tatiana walked into the garage. “I’m sorry, I can go back if you’re busy.”

“You can join us. Might do them some good to be around you,” I chuckled. “We’re going down to Old Murphy’s. It’s a bar. They like the pinball machine there.” I cleared my throat and slicked my hair back again. “There’s also the bowling alley, or the roller rink too. But it’s easier for us to find a meal at the bar.” I felt like I was rambling on and on mindlessly, but she still smiled and listened.

“I see,” she said with a knowing nod. “I don’t mind helping you with your dinner plans.”

“Well uh, you see, the bar is kind of a uh...men’s place.” I glanced back as Reggie and Jimmy were coming out from the apartment above the garage. They whistled when they saw Tatiana.

“Hello, legs!” Reggie wolf howled.

“Want me to gut ‘em?” I asked her.

Tatiana just smirked. “Nonsense.” She picked up an empty can and chucked it, nearly hitting Reggie who caught it. “That was me purposefully missing,” she warned him.

Reggie dropped the can. “That hurt,” he whispered to Jimmy.

“I can hang with the big boys,” Tatiana replied, but I could sense a timidness to her voice. “I just wanted to spend some time with you, Eugene.”

“It’s weird to hear you called that,” Henry said as he came down to join. He glanced to Tatiana nervously, standing close to my side.

“Well, what do you call him?” Tatiana asked.

“Boss,” Henry shrugged. “That’s what he is.”

It was silent for a moment, an awkwardness hung in the air between them and Tatiana. I wonder if they all had the same fear that Henry did that Tatiana was going to take me away from them.

“Fellas, let's be gentlemen here,” I said loudly. “Let’s see what the lady wants to do. Her evening has been ruined, let's be polite.”

There were grunts and scoffs from the boys, but they made no move to argue. Tatiana fidgeted and she shook her head. “The bar is fine. Really. I don’t mind.”

“It’s a rough place,” Reggie chimed.

“To be fair,” Faulk spoke again. This was a rare night. “They let Henry in, it’s not the worst place in the world.”

Tatiana smiled gratefully. “Maybe we can go to the roller rink after that?”

“The roller rink?” Jimmy snickered.

“Why don’t you guys go ahead to Old Murphy’s,” I suggested. “I’ll take Tatiana to the roller rink.”

“Don’t you need to find a meal?” Tatiana asked.

“I’ll be fine,” I chuckled. “And these guys know how to take care of themselves. I feel like theyre trying to scare you.”

“You make us sound awful,” Reggie scoffed. “We’re only trying to scare her a little bit.”

“Maybe the roller rink will be fun,” Henry peeped. I don’t think he wanted to leave me alone with her. “We could go there too. Right, guys?”

The others reluctantly agreed, if only to follow along with Henry’s motive. The roller rink was a lot of couples, which I could tell added to the aggravation of the guys. But once they found there was also a pinball machine there, they started to get out of their grouchy moods.

“They’re protective of you,” Tatiana said as we put on our skates.

I had to laugh. “Yeah, well, I think they find you to be a threat.” I whispered this to her, hoping the others wouldn’t hear.

Tatiana glanced towards them swarming the pinball machine. She stood up on her skates and rolled out to the rink in silence. I followed after her, trying to catch up. I wasn’t used to roller skating. In fact, I’d only done it twice before so I wasn’t sure on my feet. I rolled towards her, lost balance and crashed on the ground.

“Boss!” Henry yelped.

“I’m fine! I’m fine.” I scrambled, hoping Tatiana hadn’t seen, but she had. I picked myself up, smiling like it had all been planned. “For laughs,” I brushed it off.

“You can skate, right?” Tatiana asked. “I thought since you suggested-”

I laughed loudly to cut her off. “I mean, it’s not something I’m used to. But I can do it. I just gotta stretch and limber up my legs,” I said this unsurely.

Tatiana and Henry both looked oddly at me. “Here, give me your hand. You can hold onto me for balance,” Tatiana offered.

“I’ll be fine.” I still took it. As we rolled out, she kept a firm hold of me, and I was grateful for it. I loved wheels, my cars, my motorcycles. So why couldn’t I make these work for me? I tripped and skittered, making myself look like a mess in front of the most graceful woman to ever move her body.

“Easy now, easy. You’re thinking too much about it. You have to let yourself let go.” Tatiana kept me from busting my ass several times. Eventually I was able to skate around with her without so much jerking and jolting.

“You’re so good at this,” I huff.

“We had a show a while back where we decided to try and skate,” she chuckled. “I really loved it so I kept up the practice. I have my own pair back home.”

“You can just do everything can’t you? Dancing. Skating. Being beautiful.”

She started smiling so I could see where her mouth unhinged to the back of her ears. “I was training to be a ballet dancer when I was changed,” she murmured. “I’d always loved dancing, and I was good at it. I so wanted to be the best, I got lured in by this school.”

“Don’t tell me,” I huffed.

“The school was ran by a vampire, of course,” she scoffed.

I shook my head. “My maker pretended to be a home for runaway boys.” I glanced over to the guys, noticing that Reggie was already off with some guy. “But really, he was a pervert.”

“So was my maker,” Tatiana drifted. She squeezed my hand tight as we became silent. “That’s why I am so grateful for the carnival. Mr. Faire and Coraline helped me, took me in when I was cast out. They could help you too.”

I looked at her and smiled softly. “I couldn’t join. Not without them. I’m the leader now. I’m Boss. I promised them I would never leave them. They need me.”

“They could come,” she urged.

I furrowed my brow. “As nice as that offer is, we’re happy here. We’ve worked a long time to get here and to have our business. I don’t think they’d be ready to give it up.”

Tatiana drooped, looking away as we came to a slow crawl and eventually stopped by the wall. “That doesn’t leave much time.”

I placed my hand upon her back. “Then we’ll just have to use it up as much as possible. It also doesn’t have to be goodbye forever.”

Tatiana’s eyes floated about the room. She focused on happy couples out on dates, admiring them, imagining herself as them. I placed my hand back in her’s. “No sense in wasting time here. Teach me to skate.”

She chuckled. “There really isn’t enough time for that,” she teased.

I told the guys to take the car back to the garage and I would walk Tatiana back to the carnival. The night was beautiful and the sky was lit up with stars to show me my eternity again.

“Back when I was with my maker, I used to try and sneak out on nights like this so I could stare up at the sky for hours. It made me feel safe, made me feel guarded.” I stood there still, keeping ahold of her hand. “I never understood how afraid I was until Henry came into the picture.”

“I was always afraid,” Tatiana admitted. “It didn’t matter where I was, I always had this fear gnawing at me.” We began wandering off the path. “The carnival was the first place I ever felt a sense of calm. I just want everyone to know that feeling.”

I smiled at her. “When did you first come into the carnival?”

“Five years ago,” she murmured. We sat down on the ground under a tree. “I had been removed from the school and I was hiding out on the street, burying myself in the graveyard at night. Coraline found me. She took me in, gave me a safe place to sleep. Then Mr. Faire offered me a home for eternity. I’d never had that before, so-” Her voice drifted and her eyes became distant. “But even then, I had this strange feeling of loneliness.”

“My maker said vampires are meant to have mates. They’re not meant to be alone.” I felt almost bitter at those words. “I don’t want to think it’s true because he said it. And yet-”

Tatiana smiled softly at me. “Do you get lonely, even with your boys?”

“Sometimes. Reggie and Jimmy are together, so are Faulk and Jones. And Henry is still technically a newborn of sorts.” I sighed heavily. It felt nice to talk to someone like this.

Tatiana leaned against me, and her sweet smelling hair fell upon my shoulder. “How young is Henry?”

“Barely five years made. He’s the reason I ran. He’s like my son.” I smiled to myself, thinking about how much we’d been through together. He was a young man of twenty, but he’d keep his baby face forever. I’d probably always see him that way even if he did age.

“Not like,” Tatiana corrected. “He is your son. I thought he was.”

“You did?” I asked her. “But I am not his maker.”

“Blood doesn’t need to be shared to make a family,” Tatiana replied. “Mr. Faire taught me that. He considers everyone at the carnival his child, his family. He loves everyone.”

“He sounds bonkers,” I chuckled.

“Sort of.” Tatiana put her arms around me. “But I adore him.”

I tilted my head up, closing my eyes as she touched her lips to mine. Her kiss felt soft but urgent. I leaned into her, placing my hands around her face as the urgency grew. I could feel her body call out to mine, but it was becoming early and we both had to return somewhere safe before light.

I stayed with her, too late to go home now. Her tent was outfitted with a coffin, so I shared it with her for the day. The closeness was welcomed, having her beside me all night, not being alone, it rejuvenated my spirits greatly.

My welcome home was met with anger at my disappearance. I was fussed at for not alerting them and making them worry all through the day. I was then mocked mercilessly the rest of the evening, teased and tormented gleefully for my little sleepover. It was their way of working off the stress I caused them. Which was understandable.

“I’d never been so scared,” Henry told me. We were working on Tatiana’s car since the part came in that afternoon.

“What?” I laughed. “C’mon, you knew where I was.” I ruffled his greasy hair. “I wasn’t going to go anywhere.”

Henry shoved my hand away and fixed his hair back. “I didn’t know that,” he huffed. “You may have been with her, but you could have gone anywhere!”

I tried to coax him but he stopped me.

“This is different for us! It’s been us since we left the maker and we’re all protective of each other. We’d be riled up if it was anyone of us. This woman, this carnival, it scares us. You’re our Boss, you’re our rock. If we lost you-”

“Hey, hey, kid!” I grabbed hold of his shoulders and Henry put his arms around me, hiding his face against my chest. “Careful, it’s messy. You’ll get your pretty face dirty.” I rubbed his back gently, letting him have his fuss. “I’m not leaving you, kid. I’m just enjoying the company of someone I like. She’s beautiful and amazing, but she could never make me leave you.”

Henry’s arms tightened around me.

“If someone wants me, then they’re going to be stuck with all of you losers too. I promise you that.” I chuckled. “You’re my family. Ain’t anyone going to make me let you go.”

Tatiana’s car was ready by that evening, but she didn’t get away from the carnival in time to come get it. She came by the next evening instead, looking so pleased her car was running like she was used to.

“How about we go for a drive?” She asked me. “Just the two of us?”

I smiled at her. “Okay, but I’ll have to come back home before light or else the boys will shred me alive.”

“I take it they didn’t like your sleepover?” Tatiana asked as I got into the car.

“Not one bit. They were mad as hornets.” I waved to the guys as we drove off. “I’ll be back!”

“You better!” Reggie yelled.

Tatiana drove us for a while, eventually taking us down a scenic path. We came out to an overlook where there were a couple of other cars parked. I had to laugh. “I see your plan, young lady.”

“Oh, I had no idea this was here.” She snuggled up close to me.

I tilted my chin up, smiling at her as she placed herself upon my lap. “You didn’t? Why do you sound like such an awful liar then?”

Tatiana kissed me, pulling up my shirt and running her hands over my bare skin. “We don’t have much time to argue that.” She kissed me hungrily, her long tongue meeting mine. I moaned against her lips, pressing my body into her clutches. It’d been a long time since I had done this song and dance. I’d barely allowed anyone to touch my skin, to kiss me so hungrily. The need was there, but the desire to share it with someone had been restrained.

Being with Tatiana allowed me to open up, to allow my desire to run free. Frustrations became untangled in her arms that night. Both of us working out knots and soothing one another’s tensions as the night went on. Cars came and went, but we remained there.

I breathed deeply, gazing out the windshield as naked Tatiana laid on top of me. “We need to go soon,” I said hesitantly.

“I know,” she groaned. She sat up, looking down upon me. “It’ll be so hard to say goodbye now, knowing how well we work together.” Her fingertips swept over my lips.

“You’ll know where to find me, at least.” I caught her hand and kissed her palm.

“But for how long? Eventually you’ll have to leave, start a life somewhere else. How will I ever find you?” She whimpered.

I sat up, kissing her and pulling her hair into my hand. “I’ll write. Surely there is a way my letters will find you.”

“It sounds kind of crazy, but I’ll show you what to do.” She smiled sadly at me. “I really can’t convince you to come with me?”

I sighed heavily, picking up my clothes from the floor. “Not yet. Not now anyways. Our paths just crossed too early in life, you know?”

She nodded, glancing back out the window at the night sky before us. “Well, maybe down the road they’ll cross again. And one of us will be ready.”

I looked into her eyes as she gazed at the sky. I saw the stars in them and all I could do was smile.

It was true, our lives weren’t ready to meet up just yet. I was still helping my boys to grow and heal, to run away from our pasts. Tatiana was doing the same with the carnival. Once our wounds were healed, then we would be able to join together on the same road.

The letters thing was a bit weird at first. Tatiana told me to leave them under a piece of furniture. Usually a bed, but a wardrobe would do. The letters were always gone within a day, and a new one usually in its place.

I wasn’t ever very good at writing and I found it hard to get things out at first. Her letters were always so sweet, full of heart and yearning. She spoke of the same loneliness I felt without her. It helped me to see that vampires really did need mates. Just not the way my maker made me think they did.

Much like she said, after a few years, me and the TV Boys decided to pack up and move. We didn’t age, didn’t change, and it was slowly beginning to get noticed. I sent her my new address, showed her a photo of the new shop. She told me she had adopted a child, a little boy she said that reminded her of me. Apparently, we had the same look in our eyes, and the same dark hair. Although his was natural, which she joked about. Eventually I stopped dying my hair and let it go white. There didn’t seem to be as much need to hide it anymore.

“I understand now why you said you couldn’t leave the others. You saw them as family, as your own children. I never fully grasped how that could be until I adopted my child. I could never leave him, never ask him to uproot and leave what makes him happy. I’m sorry if I caused discomfort during our first meeting. Take your time to give your family what they need. I’ll wait for you.” It made me happy to see those words, to know she understood that joy and patience.

Not long after, I received a letter that wasn’t from Tatiana. It was actually from terrifying little Coraline. “The carnival is coming, and I know it is near you. We will arrive at midnight Thursday. It would mean the world if you could come and greet Tatiana there before the shows begin. And if you can, some rides need repairing. It’d be nice if you could lend a hand and fix a few things for us while you’re here.”

Her letter made me laugh, but it also sparked something inside me. It was time, our roads had finally met back up.

Of course I went, finding her in her dressing room. Only thing was that she wasn’t alone. There was a young boy with her. He had dark hair and was playing with a knife, somehow balancing the blade on his finger.

“This is my son,” she told me. “Seraphimo.” She brushed his long hair gently.

I stepped up beside the young boy, who did indeed remind me of myself when I was a child. “Finally good to meet you, young man. She warned me about you.”

“Good,” Seraphimo replied with a twinkle in his eye.

I smiled at him then stepped aside with Tatiana who kissed me. “It’s been so long.” She cupped my face between her palms. “I missed you.”

I nodded, leaning into her touch. “I missed you.”

She kissed me again. “I’ll send Seraphimo to Mr. Faire. We don’t have much time.”

“We don’t?” I smiled at her. “I talked to Henry and the boys, we agreed it’s time. Reggie and Jimmy want their own home. Henry has found someone.” Her eyes widened and she cupped her hand around her mouth. “It’s time, Tatiana.”

Tatiana wrapped her arms tightly around me, squeezing me until it felt like my eyes might bulge. I moved into the carnival, taking up repair work which was sorely needed. They were adding rides beyond the merry go round to the carnival, and my services were in high demand. Much like Coraline had requested of me.

I kept in touch with Henry and the others, using the same method of writing as I did with Tatiana. I stayed with the carnival for much longer than I intended, but time slipped away. Time moved so fast sometimes I never saw it.

One day, in hopes of slowing time down, we found a roller rink near the carnival’s current stop. I still sucked, but luckily Tatiana was as graceful as ever. I wanted to make her happy, to relive one of our earliest moments together. I fell a lot, so when I toppled over once she was laughing.

“C’mon, Boss, give me your hand,” she giggled.

Seraphimo was holding onto her leg for support, but he also knew what was about to come. I took her hand alright, but I also put a ring onto her finger. She screamed, Seraphimo fell down. We all started laughing. But she accepted my proposal. We got married at the carnival, and  invited all the TV Boys to it. They all came, and Henry was my best man.

Seraphimo was a great kid, I was proud to call him my son. He had a gift for knife throwing, but didn’t have the skills for dance like his mother. We at least shared that. I watched him grow up, and when he neared his teens, I grew terrified. I didn’t want him to run away like I had, or Henry had.

“Dad, why would I do that?” He scoffed at me. “I love it here.”

I’d never loved where I had been at his age, so it was a shock to me to learn that not all kids felt that way. Not only that, but I’d never had a father who made me feel that way. I was so scared sometimes I forgot that Seraphimo had me.

“Everything okay?” Tatiana caught me one night looking up at the sky. “Looking for eternity again.”

I shook my head. “No, just realizing something.” I pulled her down beside me. “I don’t need to find eternity anymore. I have it with me.”

Tatiana smiled and laid her head upon my chest. I’d waited for this moment for so long. To finally feel at peace. To finally let go of my past. I had a future, I never dreamed it was possible.