Little Hidden Darknesses

I woke up with my arm splayed across Alejandro’s chest and my right leg intertwined with his. The covers lay bundled by my feet, exposing my body to the brisk morning air. I held my breath as I peeled away my fingers, one by one, only to huff again when realising my leg was stuck, trapped beneath his. Lean, somewhat hairy and radiating with heat.

I twisted my foot and slid it out, slowly, gently, careful not to wake him up and expose us both to yet another awkward situation. Especially after what had happened last night.

Can I touch your face? Seriously, Eira? The mere thought of it made me cringe. Made me feel stupid.

Except nothing I said or did last night could ever compare to how I felt when I tried to stealthily scoot away from Alejandro on the bed, only to glance up at him, right into his eyes. Wide open and blinking at me – a sight fit for a horror movie, or maybe a bad romcom.

I couldn’t decide which was worse.

Alejandro grinned in amusement. “Good morning,” he said with a distinct chuckle in his throat.

I jerked and scrambled off the bed, my hand automatically pulling down my t-shirt to cover my legs. Not that it mattered anymore. He had already seen it all: my too-long leg hair, the cellulite around my upper thighs, and the cloud-shaped birthmark below my left hip.

“What the hell?” I snapped, but my voice was still to raw to properly convey my revulsion. Not revulsion, but shock and horror and confusion. “How long have you been watching me?”

“Uh,” he replied with a yawn, “since the sun came up.”

“And you just lay there like a creepy psychopath?”

Alejandro shrugged. “Well, I didn’t want to wake you up. You’re kind of cute when you sleep.”

“Whatever. Your breath reeks,” I spat before his compliment so much as registered in my mind. Once it did, I felt even more embarrassed than before. Did I drool? Snore, perhaps?

With my luck, I did both. Maybe even farted. The perfect combination to chase away guys.

No wonder I had been single all my life.

I couldn’t even accept a measly little compliment. That, and I had never gotten a manicure before, never professionally coloured my hair, and owned a total of zero pairs of yoga pants. Heck, I didn’t have an Instagram page to flaunt my non-existent curves on.

Alejandro sat up and scratched his back from behind his head. “You don’t smell too fresh either, you know.”

A moment passed in which we just stared at one another, each waiting for the other to respond.

When neither of us did, however, we shared an awkward laugh, followed by me narrowing my eyes at him. His own eyes were all red and puffy from just having woken up, and his hair stood in all directions. Maybe if I wasn’t so worried about the Vinsants, also slightly annoyed about him having watched me sleep, I’d have wanted to cuddle him.

Maybe.

Always maybe.

I strode around the bed to the window, but not without playfully pulling on his feet. “Get up,” I said as I opened up the blinds. “Today’s the day.” And the fog seemed to agree.

It had retracted beyond the trees, giving way to the sun, allowing it to wash everything outside in bright-yellow light. The deck. The parking lot. The cemetery beyond it.

“Is it all gone?” Alejandro asked as he got to his feet and stretched his arms above his head.

I caught sight of him in the window’s reflection, and nearly forgot what he had asked me. His shoulders seemed particularly rounded this morning, and his chest more open.

“All clear,” I replied with my voice stuck in my throat. “Now if only it stays this way until tonight.”

“Hey, hush up,” he warned me. “You might jinx it.”

“Ha! The only way I’d jinx it is if I said it to the Vinsants’ faces.”

“You never know,” said Alejandro as he approached me by the window, “they might have ears all over the place. Birds. Insects.” A pause. “Maybe they can hear through the fog?”

“I doubt it.” Only because I couldn’t.

“Either way, what I saw last night wasn’t normal. The rest of town needs to know the truth about them.”

I nodded without saying anything in reply. My lower lip slipped in between my teeth and I chomped down, considering his words. He was right, whether or not he really meant it – really believed it, for that matter. The Vinsants, whatever they were, had to be exposed.

“Do you really think they murdered him? You know, my father?” Alejandro asked, much to my surprise. As easy as he made the question sound, the answer proved rather complex.

Even after everything that had happened, I still had little proof. No proof, in actual fact. The Vinsants glowed in the fog, sure, and possessed a way of manipulating the town, but murder? It all came down to the feeling in my gut. To how securely I believed in my mum.

“After yesterday, I’m sure of it.” I glanced sideways at Alejandro, who merely stared out the window. For a moment I felt compelled to snuggle up against him, right under his arm, but the desire passed once a shrill voice cut through the tranquil morning air.

“Alejandro!” Mrs. Perez called out. “¡Alejandro, respóndeme!”

“My mother,” said Alejandro, mostly to himself. “It sounds like she might need help.” He broke away from the window and made a line for the door. He unlocked it, yanked it open, and stormed out onto the deck. His bare feet slapped against the wood like flippers.

“¡Mamá!” he replied, and Mrs. Perez – still in her silky nightgown and with her hair in large, pink curlers – revolved around toward him. “Mamá, what’s the matter? What happened?”

I left the room just as she reached her son. With her hands on his cheeks, she brought his face closer and pecked him on the forehead, her lips muttering something inaudible.

“Alejandro, estaba muy preocupado,” she said with teary eyes and quivering, trembling lips. “I was terrified when the fog came yesterday. I had no idea where you found shelter.”

A pause.

“Or whether you found shelter at all.” Mrs. Perez grinned as she brushed back her son’s hair. Except whatever relief she exhibited promptly vanished once she noticed his lack of shirt. And my lack of pants. And the both of us having emerged from the same room.

Alejandro’s eyes widened along with his mum’s. One could tell what she was thinking, even without her saying a word. “Oh, mamá,” he explained, “it’s not what it looks like.”

But Mrs. Perez nonetheless freaked out. The corners of her mouth curved down as she shook her head sideways, an index finger pointed straight at me. “No, no, no, I won’t have this.”

I tried to get a word in, but she spoke over me.

“You two didn’t –”

“No, mamá,” Alejandro repeated, “I promise. We were trapped together because of the fog.”

“Nothing happened, Mrs. Perez,” I tried to add, but my lack of pants didn’t help my case.

“Mamá?” Alejandro enquired.

After a minute’s uncomfortable silence, Mrs. Perez adjusted her sleeping gown and set her jaw. She skimmed Alejandro and I for a final time, then said through stiff, pursed lips, “Whatever happened, I’m glad my boy’s alright. Now, get dressed before anyone sees you.”

She spun on her heels and openly shivered. As she walked off, she added, “I don’t want rumours to spread around town.”

Honestly, I didn’t either. Especially not on the day of the festival. The one day I was supposed to go unnoticed, remain invisible. And with the whole missing boys situation, I reckoned my cover was already blown. I couldn’t afford to make things worse than they were.

“Alejandro, come!” Mrs. Perez ordered when she reached their front door and he hadn’t moved.

“See you later?” he asked before he set off.

I nodded. “Remember the plan. If all goes right, everything should be cleared up by tomorrow.”

“Right.” Alejandro squeezed my left shoulder, then smiled and strutted off. He briefly glanced back, but I had already turned and only saw it through the corner of my left eye.

I sighed as I entered the room, now a void of even more memories. More prospects of what-could-have-been. My mum could’ve stayed. Fernando could’ve run away with her. I could’ve worn longer pants. Alejandro and I could’ve ... could’ve what? I shook the notion from my mind, collected my bag by the dresser and retreated to my own room.

The deck warmed the bottoms of my feet, a slight comfort in an otherwise unwanted situation. If only Alejandro was beside me now, ready to brave the horrors that awaited in my room. I swallowed a heavy lump as I turned the knob and allowed the door to give way to an expanse of shadows. Even with the blinds drawn, everything seemed in place.

In fact, I wouldn’t even have known the Vinsants had been here had I not seen them last night.

No, that wasn’t true.

The was one thing that would’ve tipped me off: a rose-coloured note in the centre of my bed.

I dropped my bag on the floor by the mirror and approached the note. My arm felt heavy as I raised it and reached out, my fingertips grazing the note. Even at an arm’s length, it reeked of roses. Of sweet, sweet sugar and a pinch of something I couldn’t exactly place.

Something old.

Something that reminded me of Lilith. Yes, the note had been spritzed with her perfume.

A threat, maybe?

I frowned as I unfolded it, my eyes hungrily, curiously skimming the note’s contents – eight perfectly smooth, perfectly rounded words in blank ink. Come to the mansion. Alone. Don’t tell anyone.