~Why?~

It should of killed me. They killed a quarter of our town, ripped apart families and friends. How was I different? Why was I spared? Was this a game to them? They get close to you and when they're finished move on to another victim?

"I trusted you", I yelled with tears in my eyes. "I told you everything about me, I opened up to you, just to find out you were lying to me the entire time!"

"There's more to it... I'm not the monster they say I am", it said.

Its eyes felt like they were going to burn through me, it was the gaze of a stone cold murderer.

"Do you think this is a movie, where I finally learn the truth and somehow we fall madly in love and it's happily ever after?

"I don't expect you to understand, this is exactly why I didn't want you to know."

"To know what?" I stumbled over my words, trying to come up with concise thoughts to describe my anger and fear. "That you're one of those THINGS that killed Hailey's mother, or Caras sister?"

His gaze suddenly broke, his face becoming blank, "I didn't kill them, I'm not like the rest of them. Some of us are stone cold killers and don't care for anyone but ourselves, others kill for those they love. In our lives death is a norm, our world is so different from yours. But I wouldn't ever hurt you, or your friends, or anyone in your town if I didn't absolutely need to to protect you."

"Is this what this is about? Protecting me?"

"Well yeah-"

"Then stop protecting me! People are dying because of your kind and I don't want to be a part of it anymore!"

You could see him flinch as the words I was saying started to sink in. For a moment I stopped seeing him as a monster and more as a person. I saw pain.

"If that's what you want I'll go", he said calmly. "I don't want to bring you into a life you don't want."

I said nothing back, I just stood there. I didn't know what to say. He was still the man I had started to fall for, the man I laughed with and cried with. I once had looked forward to seeing him everyday. But knowing what he is... I couldn't shake the monster hidden behind his visible features. He was one of those demons behind his facade.

He stood for a few seconds, presumably waiting for me to respond. When he realized there was no more to the conversation he turned away, and was gone within a second.

I stood there, in the dark abandoned road staring at where he once was. Then, the tears started coming. I finally had someone in my life I thought I could trust. It's felt like everything good gets soiled for me eventually. I thought about what I said, did I mean it?

I sat down on an old bench, it was cold and rusted. After sitting there for what felt like forever it started to rain. I sat there as it changed from a drizzle to a full downpour. I couldn't bring myself to move, it was as if this time, the pain had me frozen in time. The thoughts were spiraling into the same thought loops I always got into when I felt this way. But this time it was different, my entire worldview had changed. I stared to wonder what things were real that I didn't know about. Was history rewritten to hide them? How long have they existed? What other monster are out there? Have I been friends with one without knowing? Have I almost died without even knowing it? The questions kept coming; without answers I felt myself continuing to ask questions.

Eventually, I laid down on the bench. I couldn't feel the cold anymore. I couldn't feel anything anymore. I closed my eyes and let the rain hit my face. My head was spinning. I needed to rest my eyes for a bit...