My Billionaire Ex Is A Vampire

Milk breathers

“I love Ben!” I repeat to myself, not sure if I need to convince myself of this or not.

“No sh!t Sherlock?” exclaims Chris. “You’ve been head over heels over him ever since you met him. I remember how you fretted because he’s a professor and hoped it was okay since he’s only here for a few semesters. What makes you less sure now?” Chris asks, looking at my building nervousness.

“He has some power or something over Sean. I don’t know how or why. He says he’s not a vampire, but I have no idea if he’s human or not. I don’t think he is human by the way he speaks.” I take a big breath before continuing. “Also he used some kind of mind trick on me yesterday and I’m not sure how I feel about it.”

“He did what?” Chris’s eyes are full of worry as I take their glass to take a swig from it, not having time to clean up the one shattered over the floor. “Tell me what he did,” they prod.

“He made me speak when I was contemplating if I wanted to tell him something that worried me, or not. And he said he kept hearing my thoughts because they were so loud.” Everything gushes out of me like a dam has broken. “When I asked him if he’s done any mind control thingy before he said he had, but claims he never forced me into anything abusive. But how do I know he’s speaking the truth? How do I know he hasn’t used this power to make me forget doing things I would never agree to?”

After my outburst we sit in silence for the longest time, changing who’s drinking from Chris’s glass. When I get up to start cleaning up the broken glass and the spilled drink, Chris steps up to help. When we have cleaned it all, we open up a new bottle of sparkling wine. Not bothering with making Sangria, we just want to enjoy the bobles.

“I guess you just have to figure out whether you trust him or not. There is no way for us mere humans to know for sure. At least I think so,” Chris ponders.

“Yeah, I guess so you’re right,” I sigh then glance back at Chris who looks almost scarily calm. “So why aren’t you running away from me or wanting to call a psychiatrist on me, or something? Why do you even believe what I tell you?”

“You remember a few years past when I came here scared sh!tless? You asked if I had been raped and didn’t believe me when I only shook my head.” I nod to let them know what they talked about. Chris had been a crying mess and I’ve seen enough transphobes in action to know the danger Chris is in only by being themselves. So my mind went straight to the worst that could have happened.

“Yeah, I was at this party,” Chris begins, dragging me out of my mind. “...where a vampire sat feeding on several of the guests in a full 0rgy. Aparently it’s a very seggsual thing to be fed on by a vampire.” Chris rolls their eyes at this.

“At the time it scared me, but Ben knew the vampire in question. We talked about what vampire’s are and how some are safe to be around, others not. This one is safe if you can avoid all the STDs from humans around him. Casanova...” Chris nods to confirm it’s THE Casanova as he continues to speak. “...is well fed by volunteering humans.”

“Do you know what kind of creature Ben is?” I ask Chris, only able to focus on Chris’s knowledge and everything I don’t know about vampires and what not.

“No, I asked at the time, but he said he didn’t want to answer and to keep anything not considered normal a secret for those who don’t know anything about vampires and other myths. There could be consequences if I told anyone.” I gasp at the last part Chris tells me. Would Ben hurt Chris if they told anything?

“No, no, no! Not like that Lorena. Don’t be stupid.” Chris rebukes, then laughs. “I would have made you leave him if it was like that. You know that, don’t you?” Well, put it like that, it’s true. Chris would never abandon me to someone he knew was a bad seed. They could only mention the code ‘red flag’ and I would have left Ben in a jiffy.

“No, he explained that the witchburings came about because of the wrong people knowing of other humanlike creatures roaming the world. And he told me worse things than burnings could be a consequence if the secrets came out in the open again. I wanted to tell you, but to quote Ben: ‘If everyone tells one or two people, how long does it take before everyone knows?’ And I couldn’t argue against that argument.”

“Have you met any vampires since?” I ask, suddenly qurious at their experience again. “How are you able to cope with this knowledge?”

“Yeah, I’ve seen Casanova at several parties. I’m not interested in being drained of my blood though, so I leave if they are doing their thing out in the open. You remember the party half a year ago or so when I suddenly wanted to leave? Last time you went out I guess.” I nod to let Chris know I remember. Chris wanting to leave came out of the blue for me, but we ended up having a good time dancing at a bar not too far away.

“I saw him entering the party with his teeth out for all to see, so I figured it was best to leave before anything more happened.” I take a big sip of my wine again to absorb all the information Chris is relaying my way. This is making scrambled eggs off my brain and I feel a headache coming my way. I don’t think it’s the alkohol. It might not be helping, but it’s not the reason for it.

“How do you cope at all? I can barely get my head around this nutella glass of crazy.” Noticing my wine glass is empty and the same with the bottle I start to look for the next bottle while Chris answers.

“Well, I figured if I could live my life safe enough without knowing anything then I should live like I never knew anything. But also time has passed for me. Not to mention it’s not my ex who is suddenly proclaiming me as their Beloved,” they shrug and I guess they are right. It has all happened in a matter of days. I need some time to get all of this processed.

“Do Ben know about Sean proclaiming you as his Beloved?” Chris suddenly asks, and I feel my face go white. What will he do when he finds out? Will he give me up and let Sean take me as he wants? Or will he be angry about it, and fight Sean over me? He's never been overly jealous before, but this Beloved-thing seems a bit more than a fvckstick wanting to flirt with me.

“No, I don’t think so.” I answer. “I haven’t told him myself, but maybe Sean has? Should I even tell Ben?” I examine Chris for clues, but they seem as clueless as me. “Could Sean lie about something like this? Or maybe be wrong?”

We both become silent for a while, and get drunker by the seconds. Maybe opening the third bottle of wine wasn’t such a good idea after all? I stumble to the bathroom with the biggest bladder ready to explode. I lean against the black tiled wall when I sit down on the toilet, regretting all the wine and wondering what I should do. Suddenly I jerk up when Chris enters the bathroom by ramming the door to the side.

“I know! Let us put Sean to the test!” they yell out, followed by banging on the wall from Mr. Harris. We both ignore the craptastic neighbour.

“What are you thinking about?” I ask Chris. “How and what are we testing?” I dry myself and go to wash my hands next to where Chris is sitting on the counter.

“Well, you wondered if it was a way to know if it’s true that you are his Beloved and I was thinking on how to test it and I remember that Vampires are awfully jealous when it comes to their Beloved,” everything is broadcasted with such speed I can barely hang on any word at all. “So what if I called and said some things to him to see how he behaves and yeah, let’s see how he reacts!” Chris almost looks gleeful and I cannot do anything but tap into that vibe of theirs. They have always been my Energizer bunny!

“What a terrible idea! Let’s do it!” is my gleeful answer. Chris gives me a bright smile then slumps down a little.

“But I don’t have his number anymore. Do you?” they ask.

“I do, follow me!”

“Just got to pee first. Can you..?” Chris doesn’t like company in the bathroom, so I leave with a wave.

“I’ll make more Sangria from the rest of the wine. We need to dilute it if we are going to wake up Monday,” I call back to them.

“Or ever again for that matter!” Is the retort I hear from the other side of the door.

Back in the kitchen I start on a new Sangria. We are out of fruit, so it’s just going to be juice and wine this time. No matter, we might be too drunk to know the difference anyway.

“So where is your phone Lorena? Let me facetime him without you on the camera. Okay?” Chris says when I have finished mixing up the drink.

I fill up our glasses and hand over my phone to Chris. Then we sit down on the sofa and I laugh a little to myself remembering what Ben and I did here on this sofa a few days ago. No need to tell Chris. We c***k our glasses together then they push the call button. Only two rings in, Sean answers the phone like he’s out of breath.

“Lorena, is that you?” he asks, filled with hope.

“No, it’s Chris.” The other side goes silent for a second, giving Sean the time to look at who’s calling.

“Rebekka? Is that you? Wow, you have changed!” Sean’s outburst makes Chris a little rigid in their movement.

“Not as much as you from what I hear,” Chris’s voice is full of sarcasm. I can see being dead named affects Chris strongly, even if Sean hasn’t been here the last few years. Some of our old so-called friends haven't reacted in an acceptable way. Sometimes I wish those milk breathers would grow up! I guess the fear of rejection is seeping in again. I’ll explain this to Sean later so that Chris doesn't have to.

“Yeah, I guess so. Lorena has told you everything?” It’s a rhetorical question. He knows I tell everything to Chris sooner or later.

“She has and I wanted to call you to tell you to leave her alone,” is said by closed lips. The determination on Chris’s face tells me they are on a mission to find out about this Beloved thing.

“I, I, I wish I could, but she’s my Beloved, my true love, my one and only. My, my, my…” Sean’s voice becomes softer, but firm. “She’s mine.”

I look at Chris and something about them changes. The determination to follow through starts to leave their body and my eyes are met with an unsure gaze. I can see they are warning me that coming now is the true test, but Sean has already shown a sign of whatever Chris is looking for. Now we just need to make sure.

“She’s mine,” the words are almost silent as Chris utters them, but it’s clear that Sean heard. We both jump as he roars in anger and we hear something breaking in the background. We sit there in shock as he smashes everything around him calling out my name in agony. “MINE!” he yells out. I guess we got our proof, but this does not feel okay. I think both Chris and I regret this phone call. I didn’t think the result would be a big overreaction like this.

“Sean,” I say and everything goes pin-drop silent on the other end.

“Lorena?” Sean asks.

“I’m sorry Sean.” Chris gives me the phone and I see Sean crying with hope in his eyes. I also see a gash across his face like he just hurt himself in his rage.

“I’m sorry. I wanted to know about the Beloved thing and we figured out we should test it. I never meant to hurt you Sean. I didn’t think you would react so strongly.” Suddenly sober I study the man in my phone. “It’s all so strange. I cannot wrap my head around it!” I cry to him.

“It’s okay,” Sean says as his eyes brighten with even more hope. A hope that I’m not sure I can meet.

“No, it’s not,” I sigh. “You know I’m not sure what to do in this situation. Ben is…” I can’t finish the sentence.

“I know.” He takes a big swallow of air before he continues. “Please Lorena, come away with me for ten days. Let us get to know each other again. Then you can decide. Please don’t make any decisions now, give me those ten days. If you don’t want me,” his voice hitches. “If you don’t want me after ten days I promise to leave you alone. I promise to never bother you again after that, but give me a chance first.”

His voice sounds sincere, but I keep shaking my head avoiding his gaze. How can I do that to Ben? It feels like cheating only talking about it. And if I go without talking to Ben about the mind control thing then I know I will lose him forever. I don’t think I’m ready for that. Before even talking to Sean I need to see if I can trust Ben again. And if I do trust him to be my boyfriend I cannot go on a romantic vacation with my ex.