บท 12: The suspicion

I was hiding behind a tree beside a green meadow grasping the bark painfully hard. A couple was cuddling in the middle of the field. The man was smiling and looked at the woman as if she was her entire world. He lifted her hand and kissed it slowly on the backside. She giggled and gave a small peck on his cheek.

Both of them were so happy and content, but I wasn't. My chest felt heavy and I felt like dying. I wanted to cry so badly, so I cried.

I cried for their happiness.

I cried for my misery.

I cried for this cruel fate.

--<>--

"Mel!"

"Hm?" My eyes opened up to the call and landed on Jason. I was lying on my back and faced towards him. He reached out a hand which I grasped and pulled me up. Doing so, I felt cold on my cheeks and realized that they were wet. Had I been crying?

"Are you ok?"

"I think so." With my arm, I wiped off the tears. When I was looking around, I realized that I had no idea where and how I had gotten there.

"What happened? Where are we?"

"We should be near Eveline's house, although I am unsure why we were lying outside. I was unconscious until a little while ago." Jason scratched his scalp and said.

My memory was a bit blurry. Fragments of the day were mended together in my mind. I recalled the graduation ceremony and the invitation to the party. At the party, Sasha left me alone and I encountered Jason. We decided to go for a stroll, but what happened afterwards? Why couldn't I remember?

"I am so confused. Didn't we need some fresh air? How did we end up sleeping on the ground? "

"No idea."

"Wait a second, what time is it?" I wondered while searching for my phone in my bag. Luckily I hadn't lost it.

"10.31 pm. I estimate that we left the house before 9 pm." I answered my own question.

"So, we shouldn't have been sleeping here for long." Jason concluded.

"Still, we are not that far from the party. Thus I am quite surprised that no one has found us." He continued.

"Please, I bet everyone is dead drunk by now. Even if they found us, they probably wouldn't be sensible enough to wake us up." The remarks left me before I could stop them. I immediately regretted my words, since Jason frequently visited clubs and parties. He might have taken offence by my prejudice.

"I guess you are right." Jason didn't seem bothered, which eased my worries.

"Shall we go back? I doubt we could solve this puzzle now anyway." He suggested and put his hands in his pockets.

Both of his hands were in his pockets? Didn't he hold a beer bottle before? I looked around but couldn't find it.

"Yeah, sure." Maybe he threw it away during our walk.

As we made our way back, Jason attempted to hold a conversation with me, but soon gave up. I was too distracted by my own thoughts to bother at that moment. The lingering sadness from my dream was still present. Even if I couldn't remember the faces of the couple, I still felt like cursing them as if they had truly wronged me.

I suddenly remembered the first time I cried in my sleep. It was at the hospital after the incident with the vampire...

Wait a second, vampire?

I stopped in my tracks.

Vampires had the ability to manipulate memories. Could Jason and I have encountered a vampire?

I raised my hands to feel my nude neck and shoulders, but felt nothing.

"Mel, what's wrong?" Jason's concerned voice caused me to face him. With a quick scan, I could ensure myself that he also lacked signs of being assaulted.

Maybe I had been overthinking? I frowned.

"Nothing. Let's go."