Conflagration

"And if I say hell no?" I had no intention of going anywhere with anyone.

"We're just going to check something." The more prominent man murmured something ambiguous, which made me even more concerned about the situation.

"Check what? I don't need any doctor appointments." I don't ever get sick, and even if I did, I doubt it would be life-threatening.

The other man began to speak in a calming manner. "I'm Oscar, and this is Theo. Judging by the fact that you're sleeping in a motel in the middle of nowhere. I have half a mind to believe you need a place to crash for a while, right? We can offer you a quick place." Oscar would shift his eyes from me to Theo. "She's obviously wary of us. Let's all be friendly here."

"But if I don't agree to have this check-up, I wouldn't have anywhere to stay, right? No thanks, I'm fine on my own. I don't need pressuring offers." The vagueness of what they want is too much for me to agree to. So me accepting whatever weird shit they got going on is a no go on my part.

"Regardless of whether you agree to my offer, we'll give you somewhere to sleep and something to eat." Oscar gave me a gentle chuckle. His offer sounded like heaven if I'm being honest with myself. I haven't had a place to call home since… I can't even remember.

I looked to my side, staring at a random dip in the wall. "I don't know. I'll think about it after I get out of this place." I eventually made a half-assed decision and fell onto the motel bed. If I was going to be trapped here, I might as well get relaxed.

Oscar merely laughed. "Fair enough. We'll give you a ride too."

Theo sighed. I couldn't tell if it was from disapproval or exhaustion. "I don't know why you can't just say you'll come along."

"Sorry if I'm not sure I want to follow a bunch of vampires to god knows where." I replied immediately with a scoffed tone. It's a miracle that I'm even thinking about it, but I'm just desperate enough that I'm practically losing my mind.

"I get that, but… If we're going to be putting all this effort in, I at least hope you think about it more seriously." I sat up to look him in the face as he spoke. He didn't give off a hostile tone but more of a pleading one.

I only nodded, not knowing how to respond to his gentleness. I eventually laid back down on the bed even though I was in a position where I should be more cautious, but instead, a feeling of comfort overcame me.

I stared at the popcorn ceiling forcing myself to remember.

Remember my father's salt and pepper hair. The way his smile creased…

╭┈┈┈┈╮

I stared at the dining table in silence. My eyes refused to look up at my father at the other end. The long breath that escaped his mouth almost caused me to crumble into tears. "If you wanted something, I would have bought it for you" He finally decided to break the silence that had almost been strangling me. "Why did you feel the need just to take it? Is it the friends you're hanging out with?" I sprung to my feet with a yelp to his quick accusation. "No! I did it because I wanted to." I wanted to prove I was wild, not because of pressure, but because I wanted to seem interesting.

╰┈┈┈┈╯

As a phone rang and buzzed fiercely beneath me, my eyes widened, and Oscar yanked it off the side of the bed, immediately answering it. He began to speak before retreating to the bathroom for more privacy. When I awoke, I'd find myself wrapped in a blanket that hadn't been present before my rest. I turned over to see Theo leaning against the wall near the bed, silently. "How long has it been?" I couldn't remember when I dozed off.

"An hour." He lifted himself from the wall and walked to the end of the bed, where he sat precisely next to my feet. As if trying to hide my body, I pulled the sheet higher.

"Did you guys rent this place out for the night?" I tried not to appear uncomfortable as I continued the conversation.

"Yeah" His comments were brief and lacked the vigor he had spoken with previously. After pulling a pack of cigarettes from his side pocket and lighting the tip, he took a deep drag.

I've always been curious as to why vampires smoked. Does it make them feel at ease? "You have another?" I haven't smoked anything in a long time. I believe I stopped when I was roughly 23 years old. But now that I know it does not affect my health, I may as well abandon my sobriety.

Before raising the pack in my direction, he glanced at me. I bent forward and began crawling to get closer to him. I took the one that protruded from the stack and placed it into my mouth. I leaned up close to him and waited for him to light it. He took a few minutes. I couldn't tell why since my eyes were closed. Then he stroked my chin with his finger, tilting my head forward and lighting the cigarette.

I moved back to the top of the bed and took a drag from my cigarette. If I'm being honest, it tasted like nothing, but it did help me unwind. "That takes me back." I hummed to myself.

"Should you be smoking?" I could feel him watch me as I blew the dark clouds into the sky.

"One won't kill me." I chuckled as I repeated the cycle of sucking and blowing onto the butt of the cigarette. This situation gave me an exciting feeling of warmth. We were having conversations, taking naps, and now sharing a cigarette. Regardless of them being vampires and not in the most pleasurable situation, especially with the constant yelps coming from behind the walls.

I could still feel Theo staring at me when I looked to meet his gaze. He would open his mouth, giving an expression as if he wanted to ask me something until we were interrupted by Oscar's loud volume. "Hey Theo, they're waiting in front for us. Let's end this thing" As he entered the room, his words started to fade out. "My bad didn't know y'all were talking."

Theo got off the bed and snuffed his cigarette out on a wooden nightstand. "Nah, we're done. You wait here." He pointed at me directly as he spoke, indicating he was talking to me.

"I get it," I would reply with a neutral tone as I looked up to the ceiling. Theo sighed before making his way out the door. The second I knew they were out of sight, I quickly stood to my feet and tiptoed to the bathroom. I collected stacks of toilet paper and tossed them into a garbage can with ease. Then, I placed it in the middle of the room. My cigarette, which was still light, provided the last touch.

These wouldn't be enough to start a major fire, so I rummaged in the bathroom cupboards and discovered a tiny bottle of rubbing alcohol. I dashed over to the small flame that had ignited and began to stroke it with all of the remaining alcohol. I even sprayed a little around the room before kicking the trash can over.

This should have been enough to divert the vampires' attention away from my disappearance. They were kind, but I'm not sure I could trust them to keep me safe.

I ran to the bathroom window and grazed my hands along the edges to find the handle. The room gathered more smoke, and I quickly pulled the window up then climbed through the small hole.

I landed flat on my back after falling from a great height before rising back to my feet and starting to sprint off. I looked at the smoke exiting the little window from behind me.

My jog was cut short as the backs of three vampires appeared in front of me. I tried to come to a complete stop so quickly that I fell on my ass. They must have heard me because one of them turned in my direction. "Seems like one got out."