Beyond the Evening Twilight

Chapter 5

      I was sure that everything had been a dream, the night before, the phone conversation, all a dream.  Sliding my hand along my shoulder, then to my neck, my fingers brushed something that made my stomach sink.  Small holes placed in the side of my neck.  I gasped rather loudly and the two sleeping girls awoke in frenzy.  I apologized to them, and they groggily accepted it.  As they started to come out of their sheepish daze, I decided that it would be alright to talk.
“My head is killing me.” I said rubbing my forehead.
“I should expect that it would after all that partying you were doing last night.” Came the voice of Punk.  A wash of confusion had once again come over me.
“Really?  Partying?”  I said trying not to sound too lost.
“Yeah Angel, you were dancing with all the girls after convincing them to put in some of our techno.”  Courtney added.
“You didn’t seem to be at all like your usual self, and wow, after we came upstairs, that kiss-“ My eyes widened and I choked on the invisible force of air.
“Kiss?”  I coughed.  “What kiss?”
“You really don’t remember, do you?”  Punk sounded rather unsure of her question.
“No, not at all, now spill!  What did I do?”  My mind was full of questions mixed with confusion and disbelief.  Punk had explained to me that after retiring back to her room, I had backed her into a corner and thrust her arms firmly against the wall.  Then proceeded to kiss her gently, passionately.  She had said that it was one of the strangest happenings that had ever existed.  Though she did not object to it, which made me wonder about her.  At this point, I was very confused.  Kissing girls was not something that I usually did, but it seemed to be happening more and more as of late.
         As the day progressed, the sun rose in the sky.  We had all become famished, so we had decided to eat.  I was still trying to get my mind around last night, that strange woman, the kiss; I just couldn’t do it.  My stomach groaned in pain but for some reason the thought of food made me nauseous.  Any small noise or bright light made my head pound, it felt as if I had been drinking heavily all night and had a hangover.  I squinted my eyes slightly and looked to the girls sitting at the kitchen table.
“What’s wrong Angel?  Aren’t you going to eat?” Punk said.
“No, I’m good…not hungry.”  I said, half-mumbling.  Punk starred at me in confusion but finished whatever she was eating.  I was absolutely miserable.  I misinterpreted my misery as my mind telling me that I needed a cigarette.  Reaching into my pocket, I fiddled with the slightly crushed, deformed, cigarette box and grew impatient.  I stared pleadingly at Punk; she knew what I was gesturing.  We walked to the door and I routinely put on my black boots.  Punk and Courtney again, waited patiently.  The front door had opened and the sunlight warmed my unusually cold face.  My eyes stung from the bright sunlight and I squinted.  I reached into my pocket, and pulled out a pair of thin, rectangular framed sunglasses.  I pushed them to my eyes and stepped into the chilly, mid-day air.  We walked deep into the woods until the house was no longer visible.  I pulled out a cigarette, placed it in between my lips, and cupped my hand around the end.  The lighter flipped open and a flame emerged, enveloping the end as I drew the smoke into my lungs.  A calm feeling had overcome me as I watched the smoke disperse into the air.  I watched peculiarly as the two girls shook.
“What’s the matter?  You guys cold or something?”  I said humorously.
“Yeah!  Aren’t you?” was the girls simultaneous responses.
“Nah, not really.”  They stared at me in near amazement.  Surprisingly enough, despite the cold temperatures, I was at a comfortable level.  I tongued my canines and found them still at their abnormal state.  Though, I had decided to keep things quiet.  At that very moment, my cell phone rang.  I jumped.
“Jeez, a little on edge are we?”  Said Courtney as she flinched slightly.  I answered my phone cautiously.
“Hello…?”  There was a brief pause and I started to worry.
“Hey Hun-“ It was the familiar voice of my mother.  “Just wanted to call and tell you that I will be there shortly.”  We talked for a bit and concluded our conversation.  I put the half-length cigarette out on a tree trunk and pivoted on my heel.  We all walked back to the house together and awaited my mother’s arrival.  The small red car pulled into the gravel driveway and came to a stop.  I said my good-byes and climbed into the backseat.