Bad Taste (Part I) // Colby Brock

16 - Colby

          I followed her because I was going to kill her. I waited, patiently, in my bedroom until I heard her saying 'fuck off' to Tara and leaving. It was their way of saying goodbye, I had learned very quickly. She was a bitch even to the people she liked. And then, once she was in her car, I ran out of the house so fast nobody would be able to stop me. Tara was calling for me, desperately trying to stop me with words from committing the act she'd brought upon Rebecca. It wasn't too hard to keep up with Rebecca's car even staying in the shadows. She'd waited until it was late to go home, so the streets were mostly empty anyway and I could zip through without being seen by any humans. When she parked outside an apartment building, I hid behind a randomly-placed tree across the street and listened. I heard her every footstep — she made them loud as usual, despite nobody being around — until she made it to a front door and keys jingled.

Her apartment wasn't too high up, which meant that once she was inside and in the other room, I could easily launch myself onto her balcony and hide in the darkness. And that's what I did, waiting for a good time to strike. She came out of her bedroom wearing only a long t-shirt, and my heart clenched in my chest. She made herself a tubbed, microwaveable lasagna — just to eat something, then curled under a blanket on the couch. This wasn't the bitch that I knew; this was just a normal girl living her normal life. Except, she wasn't normal at all, because once she was settled, her lasagna tub discarded on the coffee table and her arms wrapped in the blanket, she looked extraordinary, like nothing I'd ever seen before. Those big, perfect curls lay framing her face like she was a model and drifted down her back on top of the blanket, hinting at what was beneath. Her face was so transfixed on the screen; so immersed in her show.

I suddenly didn't want to kill her. I suddenly wanted nothing more in the world than to have the strength to get off of this balcony and leave her be, even if she pissed me off when she came to the house, even if everybody knew I hadn't killed her even though I said I was going to. And then she fell asleep, and those wants got worse inside of me. She just looked so innocent, so angelic, so beautiful. How could I kill her? How could I have even considered it? As I thought about it now, I imagined sinking my teeth into her neck. Mm, yes, that did still feel good in so many areas of my body. I was lusting for her blood, not for the satisfaction killing her would give me.

But then she made a small, cute noise, and I was longing just for her instead.

I shook my head, literally shaking the thoughts from my mind. In the process, I got a little clumsy. My body lost balance just for a second on the railing of the balcony and I almost fell, if I hadn't clamped my hand around the metal. My rings collided and it echoed. Rebecca gasped, shooting straight up. My body froze as I hung off the side of her balcony. I stared at her through the bars, watching the way she watched me unknowingly. There was no way she could see me, but I realised that others might have been able to. As I scanned my eyes around the black windows, I heard Rebecca moving around in her apartment thought nothing of it until she opened the balcony door.

Silently, I dropped down to the balcony below. Rebecca walked to the railing, staring out into the darkness. Anxiety was creeping its way through my body as she looked up, searching for me — not me, but if she looked down here, that's what she would find. Acting fast, I climbed back up onto her balcony behind her. What had come over me? I didn't know. I had just panicked and this was the safest place. But now that I was so close to her, I could smell her blood. My body wanted her in too many ways to count. But, right now, the strongest was lust for her blood, and to hell with me did I want it so badly. My throat burned for it.

Was this the moment I would kill her? Go through with my threat to Tara? I had to, didn't I? Otherwise she wouldn't take me seriously anymore. If I killed Rebecca, it would be the last of my torment of having to deal with her... so why did it feel like the beginning of the end of me? I wouldn't kill her tonight. That image in my head was too potent, seeping into every part of my body like a nerve. It felt wrong to want to kill her, even if I did want that; for my reputation, my sanity, my thirst. Yet, despite all of that, I was taking a small step back to prepare to leave.

The breath I had been holding automatically released, and then every other breath froze again. It was too loud. Much too loud. If Rebecca hadn't hesitated for that quarter of a second that she did, she would have seen me and I would have had to kill her. But she did hesitate, and I jumped into the balcony below in silence. She took a long time to do anything. I wondered what she was thinking up there, why she had heard something so clear behind her. What could she be thinking? Nothing logical, I was sure.

If I stayed here any longer, I was afraid of what else would happen, but I also couldn't bring myself to leave, even as she went back inside to answer her phone, which I hadn't even noticed. I jumped up to the balcony to watch her growl into the phone. I recognised Tara on the other side, worrying that she was still alive. If I hadn't come and seen her sleeping, she would be dead, but my excitement to end her life had ruined my plans, and I was sure that her angelic face had been the trigger of my change, my humanity rearing it's head for a moment. The next time I came to kill her — the thought still despised me — I wouldn't hesitate like tonight.

Rebecca was staring into the darkness again, lost in her own head. I wanted to know what was going on up there. I couldn't imagine anything more riveting... except maybe my teeth piercing her neck... and her blood... and mm.

Just then, Rebecca walked for the balcony. I launched myself to the balcony one over, hiding behind the wall in the darkness. I just listened to her. She walked out, stopped, and searched the area, I assumed. I thought she would go back inside and give up again, but this time, she spoke, and my heart dropped and pounded at the same time — even though it wasn't even beating in my chest.

"Colby?" She sounded unsure of herself, like she thought she was being stupid. All I could think was, why my name? Had my threat to her safety been so severe, deep down, that she had actually considered I was on her balcony? What did she think I was? Shouldn't I find these things out, go digging so that I knew if she had figured out the secret or not? It seemed impossible to guess... The next thing I knew, Rebecca was inside throwing a mini tantrum at herself, so I learned that the anger wasn't just at others, but herself, too. This tantrum wasn't a 'kick a whole in your wall and set your car alarm off' sort of tantrum, though, rather a sulk like a child would carry out. She went stomping into her bedroom and flopped onto her bed — I heard the sheets billowing out around her before she pulled them over her.

I thought that this night was over, then, but it was far from it, because moments after Rebecca's breathing evened out and her heart started beating softly, she groaned. And then she said my name.