Bailey Spies

 Stephen stood at the window of his dark room looking out over the yard. He could see sunlight beginning to peak through the trees and knew it would soon be time to disappear into his coffin for a day of sleep. He also knew he was far too angry to sleep. How did his world turn upside down so quickly? First George appears out of nowhere and now Lee was back? Stephen reached for an old bust on one of his bookshelves, wrapped his hand tightly around it and hurled it angrily at the wall. It shattered into pieces on the floor. The raging vampire looked down at the results of his anger and felt no better. Lee was dangerous and things would not be ok until he was gone. 

 He remembered the last time he had seen Lee. He had barely been able to control his anger that day and without Mary there, would have broken way more than a little statue. Lee had effectively ruined his life and now he was back for more. Who was going to be the victim this time? Darby? Or innocent little Bailey? She was too new of a vampire to defend herself and naive enough to be taken in by Lee's radical ideas. 

  As if he had summoned her with his thoughts, Stephen took one more look outside and noticed Bailey sneak through the shadows and crouch behind a bush near to where George and Lee stood talking. He sighed and shook his head. 

 "That dumb girl is going to get herself killed and I want no part of it," he decided, closing the window shade. He stepped over to his coffin, climbed inside and closed the lid. 

  Bailey crouched behind the bush doing her best not to make a single sound. The sun was coming up slowly but surely and she knew the two vampires would only be there talking for a few more moments but anything she could learn about Lee was better than nothing. 

  "Stephen is never going to let you stay here. You have to know that. I'm sure I can convince Darby to let you into the guest house but that can only be temporary," George was saying. 

  "You and Darby seem pretty cozy in there," Lee responded, with an emphasis on "cozy." 

   "I would hate to disrupt that."

   "I'm sure you would," George said, not sounding sure at all. 

   "What about the new kid? Bailey? She seems fun and unattached." 

    Bailey felt her face flush red. No one had ever described her that way before and especially never an attractive man. 

   "Maybe we could find a place in the city together. I could show her all the best hunting spots and some secluded spots for...other activities."

   Bailey's eyes widened as she heard this and she desperately tried to stop her imagination from running away with her. 

   "Lee, stop messing with the poor girl and just tell her you know she's listening," George's voice said. Bailey gasped and tried to get up to scurry away but fell backwards onto her butt. Within a second, Lee was standing next to her staring down and she couldn't decide if she was scared or thrilled. He smirked at her and his piercing brown eyes made her feel safe and in danger all at once. 

  "I-I'm sorry to have spied on you. I just wanted to know who you were and Darby wouldn't tell me anything."  

  "She probably never will," Lee admitted. "But I'll be happy to tell you anything you'd like to know. Maybe inside though, since it is starting to get bright." 

  Bailey looked up at the sunlit sky and hissed quietly at the pain in her eyes. 

  "We can go to the guest house," George said, moving into the shadow of a tree. "Darby may not be happy you're back but I know she wouldn't want you fried. At least not on your first day." 

  "How kind of her," Lee sassed. He bent his arm at the elbow and offered it to Bailey. 

  "M'lady if you would be so kind to accompany me to the guest house. I do believe I owe you a story.

You Shouldn't Be Here

 Justin walked through the front door and shut it gently behind him. He put his keys and phone down on the table next to the door.

 "Drew? You home?" he called out. There was no response. Walking down the hallway he saw the door to Drew's room was open and the light was on. 

 "Drew?" he said again, poking his head into the room. It was empty. 

  "That's weird," Justin said to himself. He shrugged and was about to walk away when he saw what looked like a note on the bed. Walking over, he leaned down to pick it up. The words were all in black ink and looked like they had been scrawled out quickly by someone in a panic. Justin frowned as he read the note out loud: "You shouldn't be here." 

  He turned it over in his hands. The other side was blank. There was no signature, no explanation, just those four words staring up at him. 

  "Is this some kind of weird joke?" he asked the silence, hoping Drew's voice would respond. There was no answer. He put the note down on Drew's pillow and sighed. 

  "Maybe Ethan is in on this," Justin said, walking back to the front room to retrieve his phone and text his other roommate. Before he made it back to the table, something on the couch caught his attention. He turned and stared at it for a second, then chuckled. 

  "Alright, how many of these am I gonna find?" he said to himself. He leaned over and picked up a piece of paper identical to the first with the same ominous message, "you shouldn't be here." 

  "What a waste of paper," Justin said to himself, walking back to Drew's room to collect the other note and throw them both away. As he stepped in the room he reached his hand out for the note on the pillow but stopped short. 

 "I know I put it right here," he said, looking down at the pillow that was bare except for a dark blue pillowcase. He looked all around the room, on top of the desk and under the bed but found nothing. 

 "Am I losing my mind?" he questioned. He walked over to the small trash can that sat next to the window, crumpled up the note from the couch and dropped it in. 

 "Whatever. I don't have time for this. I'm hungry," Justin decided, walking to the kitchen. He stopped in the doorway and stared at the scene in front of him. The door to the fridge was wide open and on the counter was a cutting board with two pieces of bread, one of them half covered in mayo. 

 "What in the world is going on today?" Justin said, exasperated. He slammed the fridge door shut and stepped over to the counter looking down at an open container of lunchmeat and a half made sandwich. 

 "I guess I'm having a sandwich," Justin decided, slapping a few pieces of ham and a slice of cheese onto the bread. He closed up the lunchmeat container and put the bag of cheese slices on top. Opening the fridge door, he was about to put them on the shelf but what he saw there made him stop.

  Laying on the shelf no longer in a ball but still crinkled, was the note. "You shouldn't be here."

"This is impossible," Justin said, closing the fridge without putting the food away. He mindlessly set it back down on the counter and walked out of the kitchen staring straight ahead. 

  Making his way back to Drew's room, he stood over the trash can. Taking a deep breath he hesitantly peered down at it and his heart skipped a beat. The can held an empty soda bottle and a chewed up piece of gum. But no note. 

 "Alright maybe I just need to clear my head," Justin told himself, running his fingers through his hair. He could feel himself starting to sweat. He walked into his room and flipped on the light. Peeling off his dirty work clothes, he walked over to his laundry basket to throw them in. 

  "What in the hell...?" he swore, looking down into the basket. At the bottom was the crumpled note staring up at him. "You shouldn't be here." 

  "I don't know how Drew is doing this but it's not funny," he muttered to himself through gritted teeth. Dropping his clothes in a pile on the floor, he reached into the basket and pulled out the note. Tearing it into little pieces, he crumpled them all into a ball and shoved it into the trash can. 

  "Alright, your prank is over," he called out to the empty house. "Wherever you are, Drew, you can come out now. You got me." 

  He waited for a few seconds but nothing happened.

 "If he was trying to make me feel like an idiot, it worked."

  Justin put his clothes into the basket and walked into the bathroom. He turned the shower on to as hot as he could take it and stepped in. The hot stream of water felt soothing as it cascaded down his back and over his shoulders. 

  "Maybe I overreacted," he thought to himself as he soaped up his loofah. "Drew was just blowing off steam with a dumb prank. I'll just think of a way to get him back." 

  Justin finished his shower and turned off the water feeling much better. He reached for his towel and wrapped it around himself. Stepping out into the steamy bathroom, he stood in front of the mirror. 

  "Wow, I guess it's not over yet," he sighed, feeling his shoulders tense up again. Four words had been carefully written in the condensation on the mirror. "You shouldn't be here." 

   Justin grabbed the hand towel and started to wipe away the letters 

   "Drew just won't stop with this," he griped, wiping and wiping in circles. As he continued to wipe the mirror, he noticed what looked like a small black dot forming in the center. Every time he made a circle with the towel, the dot got bigger and bigger. Justin yanked the towel away from the mirror but it was too late. The black dot continued to grow and grow until it was the size of his face. 

   "I don't think Drew is doing this," Justin admitted, taking a step back. He began to feel a slight pull coming from the mirror and the black dot continued to expand. Justin tried to take another step back but the pull was too strong. He reached around frantically for something to grab onto but the black dot pulled him forward and slammed his body against the sink. 

   "Drew! Ethan! Anybody!" he yelled, flailing helplessly. The black dot was now the size of the entire mirror and was swirling violently while pulling Justin toward it. He felt himself being lifted off his feet.

    "Help! Somebody help me! I'm getting-" 

  Justin never got to finish his sentence. In one instant he was enveloped by the black dot, the mirror returned to normal and the house was once again silent. 

    It was getting dark as Ethan walked through the door. 

  "Hey guys," he called out, assuming both Drew and Justin were home since their cars were outside. He was greeted by silence. 

  "Well that's weird," he said, looking down at Justin's phone that still sat on the table by the door.

   "Whatever. Guess I have the place to myself for a while."

   He walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge to grab a soda. 

   "Oh sweet. Free sandwich," he said, picking up the ham and cheese sandwich from the cutting board. He saw the ingredients still sitting on the counter and shrugged deciding to put them away later.

    Collapsing on the couch, he kicked off his shoes and reached for the TV remote. With the push of a button it came to life. Ethan hit play on his favorite show and then frowned as the screen went black.

   "What on earth?" 

 The screen crackled and made a buzzing noise and then went silent. Ethan stared in shock at the screen as four simple words appeared across it: "You shouldn't be here." 

Lee is Back

  "Who is Lee? What do you mean he's back?" Bailey asked, looking back and forth from Darby to George. 

  "Don't worry about it, I'll take care of this," George said with a sigh, standing up and walking to the door. Bailey knew he didn't want to be followed but she had no intention of staying inside. Darby stood next to her also ready to follow George. 

  Before any of them could move a muscle, they heard Stephen bellowing as loudly as possible from the door of the house. 

 "Well we are in for it now," Darby said exasperatedly. "Why did you bring him back here?" she asked accusingly. 

  "Yes it was totally on purpose," George shot back. "I wanted to reunite with you and piss off Stephen at the same time and what better way-"

  "Will you guys shut up and get outside before Stephen kills us all?" Bailey snapped. They both stopped and stared at her for a second, then individually agreed she was right and followed her out the door silently.

  The first thing they saw was Stephen standing in the doorway looking furious and a dark figure in the shadow of a tree. 

  "I knew he was here," Stephen yelled at them. "I could smell him from miles away. None of you better invite him into this house." 

  "What's wrong, Steve? You're not happy to see an old friend?"

  "Don't ever call me that," Steve snapped back. "And we are not friends."

  "Ah don't be like that. Our past is water under the bridge. Don't hold on to old grudges." 

  "Lee, why are you here?" George interrupted the yelling match. The figure under the tree turned to face him and took a few steps into the fading moonlight. Bailey could see he had a dark complexion like George and was almost as tall but something about him made her nervous. 

  "I followed you here, little bro," he said with a smile. Bailey thought he had a nice smile that seemed to take the edge off his harsher features. 

  "I meant to what end? You know Stephen doesn't want you here and frankly I'm not sure I do either. We have an inconspicuous presence in this town so far and we don't need anything messing that up." 

  "And what makes you think I'd ruin that somehow?"

  "Well the hair raising scream we all just heard would be a start," Darby cut in. "You're lucky all the neighbors didn't hear." 

  "Hey a man's gotta eat," Lee defended himself, patting his stomach. Darby rolled her eyes. 

  "You all still got that creepy dungeon in the house where you keep your food?" Lee wanted to know. Bailey gasped as she remembered Thomas in there wasting away and imagined him making the same horrific scream she had just heard. 

   "Oh well. Who is this little gem?" Lee asked, stepping even closer to where the three vampires stood and staring intently at Bailey. 

   "That's Bailey, she's a new vampire and you're going to leave her alone," Stephen commanded from his place in the doorway. Lee ignored him and extended a hand running the back of it down the side of Bailey's face. She felt a chill go through her and shrunk back away from his hand. 

  "And how did you come to know these find people and Stephen?" Lee asked, turning to give Stephen an evil smile.

  "Um Darby...she found me and turned me into a vampire," Bailey stuttered, aware she sounded like a child who didn't know how to speak in front of adults.

  "Aw look at that, Darby. You finally gave my little bro the child he's always wanted." 

  "Alright that's enough," George announced, stepping toward Lee and grasping his arm. "Let's take a walk and you can tell me what you're actually doing here." 

    Lee didn't put up a fight but followed George back into the shadows until they disappeared behind the house. 

   "George, when you come back he better not be with you," Stephen shouted, then went inside and slammed the door as loudly as possible behind him.

   Bailey stood looking after them replaying in her mind the feel of Lee's fingers against her face.

  "I know what you're thinking and I'm gonna tell you honestly you need to stop," Darby said, coming up next to Bailey. 

  "Oh so it's ok for you to swoon over George but I can't enjoy the touch of a handsome stranger for two seconds?" Bailey snapped, folding her arms. 

  "No that's not what I'm saying. Enjoy the touch of whoever you like. Just not Lee." 

  "You just want to be the only one here who's happy," Bailey countered. 

  "Come on, Bailey. You know that's not true," Darby said, almost pleadingly. Bailey looked at her earnest face and softened her glare a little. She had never seen Darby look his concerned for her before.

  "I know how Lee seems. He's outgoing and friendly but he's also dangerous. I don't want to see you get hurt." 

   Bailey stared at the ground for a long minute. Was Darby right about this seemingly pleasant new vampire? Would he actually hurt her? 

  "It's about to be light out. I'm going back to the guesthouse," Darby announced. "I hope you'll think about what I said and if you don't want to take my word for it, ask Stephen." 

  With that Darby turned and walked briskly back to the guesthouse. Bailey watched until the door closed behind her. The first rays of sunlight were starting to peak over the horizon and she needed to get inside. Hopefully George and Lee had found a safe place to talk away from the light. 

  Once again the image of Lee's big kind smile flashed through her memory and she felt like Darby had to be wrong. Besides, how could someone related to a person as sweet as George not be just as congenial? 

  Bailey knew she needed to go somewhere out of the light before the sun began to rise more but she was torn. Darby had told her to ask Stephen about Lee but maybe she should go right to the source.