That's About It

Oh, I do so live my home life. *cough*. After another lunar cycle, Mona's pretty much on her own. That's one less thing for me to worry about. But then Jackie turned into Sally Sullen lately. Humans. You can't live with them, you can't live without 'em... Ok, maybe I could, but animal blood is about as tasty as saltines. Without the salt.

So Jackie the Sullen. Seems she's not to keen on Mona's new nightlife. Well, as far as I know, she doesn't know that Mona's nightlife involves human snackage three nights a month. But still, Mona's the girl Jackie went through hell and back again to save when she was still human and even after becoming a mongrel. And after all those life-changing events? Jackie discovers that Mona is still Mona. Shallow, vacuous, and quite frequently, boring as all get-out.

So is this the limitations of love for Jackie? When the sex turns non-existant and the need to be needed no longer exists? I'm thinking, maybe, yes. Mona doesn't need Jackie the Protector anymore. And either they f* like bunnies all day long while I'm asleep (I'm doubting that) or they have a nonexistent sex life. No matter how you look at it, Jackie's downhill spiral pretty much hit rock bottom.

And you're thinking - wow, Jade, you are sooo perceptive for the living dead and all. Yes, this I know. Of course all of THIS I know because Jackie told me. Maybe it's signalling an end to her sullen streak. But the other night after work (my work, not hers. She's stil struggling through college after all this), I come home, and she's sulking all alone in the dark.

"Where's your girlfriend," I asked, tossing my jacket on the kitchen chair. Not that I needed a jacket, even in the zero degree weather. But walking around after midnight in just a t-shirt raises a few eyebrows. Including the cops, who get a sick thrill out of busting the undead.

Jackie turned her light blue eyes at me. Yeah, I could see them in the dark. She'd been crying. "She's not my girlfriend."

Big news flash there, babe. "Whatever. Where's Mona?"

Jackie the Unhearing continued as if I hadn't said a word. "She hasn't been my girlfriend since you changed her."

Great. Time to play toss the guilt. Here's another newsflash. I left guilt behind after the first hundred and ten years of being undead. "You asked me to Change her, so I did."

"I don't mean that. I mean when you had sex with her after that. And I had to watch." Her voice trembled as she spoke. 

Well, now I had an idea what she was talking about. "Sorry." No, that's not guilt. I was sorry. And a little grossed out, if you have to know. I mean sex with Mona? bluck. "Not that it matters, but I thought it was you."

A frown creased her pale brow. "Me?"

I shrugged. Not the conversation I wanted to have right then. "Changing someone  rattles the senses. And up here." I pointed to my head. "Combine that with a few pints of morel-juice complements of Mona's genetic makeup, and I hallucinated."

"But why me?"

Her question was innocent enough. But the fact that she was clueless about my attraction to her didn't exactly encourage me to fess up. "Just one of the great mysteries of life, I guess."

"Because Jade's in love with you." Mona. Shit. Who knew she was even in the house? Well, okay. I should have known. But I was tired, dawn was approaching, and Jackie threw me a curve ball. Anyway, Mona stepped out of the second bedroom, dressed in all black. She'd been taking that whole Creature of the Night thing to heart. Living the Goth life lately.

I wasn't exactly speechless, but I kept my gob shut. After a few centuries of drama, you learn to let the other folks talk first after a bomb like this drops. So I waited. And waited.

Jackie glanced back at Mona and then at me. "Can you?" she asked, adressing me. "Can you even feel love?"

It wasn't meant to be sarcastic, but the question pissed me off anyway. "Can you even understand what love is?" I retorted. "In all those vast twenty years of your life, have you ever felt the touch of romantic love?"

She looked back at Mona for at time. "No, I suppose not."

S-s-s-slam! Okay, I didn't see that coming. Neither did Mona. A low whimper escaped her lips before she tore out of the apartment with preturnatural speed.

"Congrats," I said.

"What?" Jackie's eyes lingered on the now-open front door.

I kicked it shut. "It's about time you bought yourself a backbone."

Jackie didn't respond, but she stared at me with those questioning eyes, like she wanted me to elaborate on Mona's statement. Elaborate? Yeah, pretty much, that would be a no freakin' way. So in a slick twist, I flipped the conversation back on Jackie. "So now what are you going to do?" I asked.

Slick.

 "About you or about Mona?"

Well, maybe not so slick. "About yourself," I replied.

She looked out of the patio window,at the dark image of neighboring buildings against the lightening morning sky. I really needed to get some sleep.

"Move out, I suppose. Go back to my parents," she said.

Move? Out? It hit me like a Mac truck. We'd all been together for so many months now that I hadn't thought ahead at all. Well, maybe I'm not much for future planning anyway. Still, paint me unawares. "You don't have to, you know," I said. Lame. But I didn't want her to leave.

She unfolded herself from the sofa and stood up next to me. I came maybe to her collarbone. Tall, gorgeous, and butch. It makes the heart go aflutter. Well, it would if I had a heartbeat. She stared down at me for a time, a bemused expression on her face. Then she walked past me to the second bedroom.

"What about Mona?" I asked.

She turned back to me and shrugged. "Don't know, don't care." Then a smile lit up her face. "I don't, you know? I don't care anymore." Her rejuvinated sense of self barely penetrated my wall of shock. I sat on the coffe table, listening to the sounds of her packing as the coming dawn turned darkness into gray shadow. I had to go into my own room to sleep. Jackie wouldn't be there when I woke up again. That much I knew. If I was lucky, Mona would be gone as well.

It's been two weeks now, since Jackie left. I haven't seen her or Mona since then. Yes, I could track either of them if I wanted to. But what's the point? One knew how I felt and left anyway, and the other I didn't give a rats ass about to begin with.

Life goes on. Or in my case, death.
And taxes. Cuz even the undead have to pay their toll to Uncle Sam.