Under The Moonlight

Chapter 17

tw: slight self-hating thoughts

Mei wasn't able to stop herself from leaving home early that Friday night three days after she broke down over a stupid phone call. It had been three days since she called them, broke down and abandoned them without giving any explanations. Three days since they last held contact.

After her mother's call, the vampire had turned off her phone, ignoring the device through the night. She didn't think of explaining anything to Cas at the time because her mind was too busy fighting back the thoughts that came along the conversation with her mother. They followed all day long, blurring her mind just like spilled water on a mixing palette, mashing all the colors together in an irreparable flowy substance. She was a piece of paper that was being drawn on, only to be scratched off, stabbed by graphite, crumbled and thrown away in the trash. Mei felt useless, confused, dizzy, stressed, terrible.

When she woke up the next day, Mei realized the great number of messages she had received from Cassey. Reading them, the dread increased. Mei had been horrible to Cas! She had called, in the middle of the night, panicked and left them hanging, no explanation whatsoever, ignoring them for the rest of the night.

For hours, Mei thought of a good explanation, an excuse, a reason to apologize for her behavior and redeem herself, but words never came.

The greater the time awaiting the answer, the greater the pressure, the greater the risk of failing. After 3 days, her body took control her over her mind, making Mei go to the café for a confrontation.

Surprisingly enough, her mind was currently empty. Well, not empty, blank. Not blank, foggy. A white fog covered her inner senses blocking away the thoughts that raced insider her head. They were there, yes, but hidden. Hidden in a way you couldn't see them coming until you hit yourself with them.

Mei got to the café at 8pm. More people than you'd expect at the hour, but it wasn't that crowded. As she walked towards the waiting line, Mei did her best to distract herself looking at the surroundings instead of looking ahead where Cassey would await. She saw some fae, a group with five or six of them sharing together three cupcakes. They were probably dryads, barely a meter tall. A couple of human-like beings sat on another table not far off, one of them drinking a dark red liquid, which closely resembled blood. An old man was drinking tea alone in the background while reading a newspaper.

And then- Cas. Mei saw them before they saw her. Today's outfit was a dark purple long-sleeved shirt under a white t shirt with some drawing, hair up in a half braid, yellow and pink crystals on the necklace. She was attending a customer, but the minute they looked up, her eyes widened at the sight of Mei.

They turned to another of the baristas and said something. Mei was too far away to hear it. The other barista looked at Mei, then at Cassey again and nodded. Mei gulped. Cas got around the register zone straight up to Mei.

The vampire was expecting anger, frustration, a demand for explanation. What she wasn't expecting was what came out of Cassey's mouth.

"Hey Mei. How are you holding up?" They asked, her tone calmed, sweet, with a sprinkle of concern. No negative emotions to be spotted.

"I- I'm good. Thank you for worrying," Mei replied, suddenly relieved. The white fog that covered her mind started to clear, "Look, sorry for what happened the other day, I didn't mean to-"

"Shhh, no need to apologize. It sounded like you were going through a rough moment, idk if an anxiety or panic attack. So chill, alright?"

Mei stared deep into Cassey's grey eyes. This didn't seem real. They were too good. It didn't make sense. Was this a dream?

"So... you're good now?"

"Yeah, yeah, I am," Mei nodded.

"Great," Cas's smile was warm and welcoming. This truly was confusing, "Look, would you want to talk about what happened? I'll get if-"

"I'd rather not," Mei interrupted them, "It's- it's long. A long story. I... I promise I'll tell you, I truly do, but not here, not now. Sorry."

"Again, no need to apologize. Whenever you need, no matter the time, you can always call me if that's what you want. Understood?"

"Mm-hm," Mei hummed, "I think- well, baby steps. It's long, but I want you to know because I feel like I owe it to you. Look, uh- this Saturday- I mean, tomorrow, I'm free, maybe we could- I don't know, go the park or something, a quiet calm place, and then I could tell you the first part? You had Saturdays free as well, right? I- I honestly want to tell you, but it's a very long story, I just don't know where to start and if we go there, out, maybe it can go better if we have more time..."

"Sounds like a plan to me" Cassey smiled, "This Saturday we go to the park. Sounds like a nice date! I bet it'll be great."

"Great," Mei agreed.

They both felt silent, just looking at each other. It was nice. Being with Cassey was nice. It was weird. It was so good it almost felt wrong. There was a chance it was. But- well, maybe, just maybe, this was a chance of being happy again. To finally healing. It was stupid, possibly naïve, although not impossible. Mei opened her mouth again to speak-

"Cassey!" Another barista, one with dyed blonde hair and bright red lipstick, yelled, "Cassey, get back here to work!"

"Oh come on Brittany, leave me alone for five minutes!" Cas yelled back, turning their head around to look at her coworker, "When you go off with your boyfriend I ain't go yelling you to come back. It's not like we're making out in the breakroom like a certain someone I know about does. We are just chatting!"

Brittany's face turned red, and she furrowed her frown, "Yeah, whatever. Just make sure you don't distract yourself too much."

"You ain't my manager Brit. Now shut up, I'm talking to my girlfriend, be back in no time."

After this, Brittany huffed and continued to attend costumers as if nothing had happened. Cassey sighed, a frustrated grin on her face, "Gods, I hate that bitch so much-" They mumbled.

"Girlfriend?" When Cas looked down, she was faced by Mei's glowing eyes, "So... we are officially dating? I'm your girlfriend?"

"I- I mean, yes? Yeah, I think so. That sounds good to you?" Cassey smiled, her cheeks turning red as well.

"Yes," Mei nodded with a newfound happiness she didn't believe she could experience with such a rush. It had been some time since genuine serotonin was created on her brain.

"Nice. Now, um- well, as much as I'd like to spite Brittany, I'll have to go- ya know, back there," They pointed over to the register, "Come on, let's go take your order. The usual?"

"Please."

Cassey walked back to the kitchen, coming back again minutes later with a cup of black coffee for Mei, who had sat down on a table not far away from the register. They set it down in front of Mei. Then, they bent down and whispered something on her ear.

"This one's on the house," They smiled, before giving her a kiss on the cheek and walking away.

Mei looked down at her coffee, feeling flustered as she picked up the cup and brough it to her lips. She wondered if it was only the hot steam that came out of her food what made her cheeks feel warm.