Page 4 of Dear Mr. Vampire

There was a brief silence between us as we finished off our first glass and we took turns pouring ourselves another.

It was late when we finished eating the Chinese food I had delivered. I missed hanging out with Morgan. I missed so many things from my old life. If you’d asked me to predict the future, I would’ve never guessed I would be in this situation. I fled my seemingly perfect life because of a man. I had never dated a Mexican, and if I live through this nightmare, I will never date another one. I’m over it and for now over dating at all.

We both drank wine until we were both between tipsy and drunk as a skunk. Morgan could drink me under the table, around the table, and on top of the table. After two glasses of wine, I was a giddy, giggly mess. I was a featherweight and my bright skin friend was a heavyweight.

After trying desperately to learn TikTok dances we were too old to master, we sprawled out on the couch to watch the classic vampire movie Blade. Morgan loved Wesley Snipes, and I just didn’t get it. She thought he was fine, and I tried to never have any thoughts about the man. I had many things in common with Morgan, but our taste in men wasn’t one of them.

I should’ve stopped drinking. By the end of the movie, I was three sheets to the wind. Morgan was getting there. She had the stomach of an Irish sailor.

“Hey, didn’t you tell me there were a lot of old people in this building?” There she was with her random questions.

“Pretty much.” I shook my head up and down.

“Are there any cute guys?”

“Cute guys?” I tried to think about her question. But it wasn’t looking good for me. I was at the intoxicated stage where I was going to repeat the words that were said to me. I was probably going to slur them as well. I knew myself.

“Yes, any cute ones in your building?” She repeated.

“Not any cute ones, but there is that one weird guy that lives in the basement. I guess it’s a basement apartment. It’s below ground.”

“Basements are below ground.” She smarted.

“Right, but it’s on the other side of the building. His apartment has a black door, and he’s down there with the storage spaces and the laundry room.” It seemed that I knew a little too much about my strange neighbor.

“What’s weird about him?” Morgan asked.

“He only comes out at night.” Something I found quite peculiar.

“Maybe he works the night shift.”

“I don’t think so. There’s no set time. He just only leaves his apartment at night.”

“Ohhhh, hell, he’s nocturnal. He must be a vampire.”

That was a leap, but I went with it. “One morning I left to go to the gym at five in the morning. It was still dark out and I saw him in the entryway. He didn’t see me. He had red paint all over him.”

“Red paint.” Morgan’s gray eyes bulged. “Child, that was blood. He’s a vampire. You live in the same building as Edward Cullen.” Morgan was somewhat excited about her wild declaration. My bestie was a vampire fan, just like me.

“He’s a little bit cooler than Edward Cullen. He’s more like Angel from Buffy.”

“Oh well. Maybe you should shoot your shot.”

“He’s White.” It tackily came out of my mouth because I always forgot Morgan was biracial. “I’m not shooting shit.”

“Girl, stop.” Morgan chuckled.

“You see what happened the last time I dated outside my race. I’m sticking with the brothers. At least I’ll know what I’m getting.”

“You trippin’. My dad is White, and he’s awesome.” That was true. “I didn’t say marry the vampire.”

“Well, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying let’s have a little fun.”

Her idea of fun was too mischievous for me. She was White passing, which came with White privilege. The things she could get away with, I couldn’t even think about. Sometimes she would forget that we weren’t the same. It wasn’t her fault. But I wasn’t too drunk to do anything that would get my Black ass in trouble. I knew better.

Morgan hopped off the couch. She strolled over to my little workstation by the window that faced the courtyard and the street. I watched her rummage through the hodgepodge of things on my desk. She grabbed an ink pen out of my gold rhinestone cup. Opening the printer’s drawer, she grabbed a single piece of the white copy paper. She trotted back over to me.What was she up to?

---