Scars

"Come on Ev."

Kat slipped off her flip flops and wiggled her toes into the cold sand. Everything was different at night. The water in front of her was black instead of its usual blue, the sand shadowy grey. The moon was a waning crescent that only barely illuminated the scene. Of course Kat knew that Evelyn's enhanced sight meant they saw the night world as bright as the day, and the day world as unbearably bright. She turned back to her friend. Evelyn stood in the shadow of the bushes at the edge of the beach, their eyes glowing despite the dim light. Those eyes saw everything. They saw her. She was never afraid of what Evelyn was, nor even of the word: vampire.

Evelyn was between living and dead, between man and woman, and Kat, who had always felt between worlds, was drawn to them. Kat's father was Polish, her mother half black and half Indian. This was a fact she had grown tired of explaining. Everywhere she went, people looked inquisitively at Kat's cinnamon skin, almond eyes, and curly copper hair. Confusion set in as they tried unsuccessfully to put her in a box. There was no culture or continent where Kat felt as though she belonged. She was an outsider in a sea of faces that were unlike her own. Evelyn's face was more different than most, impossibly pale, with high chiseled cheekbones and a wide set jaw, and of course there were those eyes. Despite Evelyn's strangeness, or perhaps even because of it, Kat felt as though she could belong by their side.

The light was too dim for Kat to make out Evelyn's expression but the vampire's stiff posture telegraphed apprehension. Kat laughed. It was so odd for a vampire to be afraid.

"Come on!" She called again, beckoning her friend toward the water. "It's ridiculous that you never learned to swim."

"You think me ridiculous, Katarina?" Evelyn asked, taking one purposeful step towards her. They were dressed in black. They were always dressed in black. Kat teased them about that sometimes. Whenever Evelyn finally trusted her enough to tell her that they were a vampire, Kat planned to tease her even more about the black. It was such a vampire cliché. Still, she had to admit, Evelyn looked handsome in their button down shirt and slacks. She almost hated to have them undress.

Almost.

Kat smiled and pulled her sundress over her head, revealing her new bikini. She suppressed a shiver as a night breeze blew across her body.

In a flash Evelyn was by her side. They moved too quick for a human. Though Evelyn had never officially told Kat that they were a vampire, lately they had been making less effort to hide their true nature. Evelyn's touch was warm tonight. Kat's research told her that body heat meant Evelyn had fed recently. On what or who, Kat tried not to think.

"If you're cold," Evelyn said. "We should not go in the water."

Kat smiled. "Oh, we're going in" Kat playfulling unbuttoned the top button of Evelyn's shirt. They pulled away, shielding their chest with their hands.

It occured to Kat that Evelyn wasn't afraid of the water, they were afraid of being seen.

"The beach is deserted, Ev," she said gently. "There's no one here except me."

Evelyn nodded and slowly unbuttoned their shirt. Kat suppressed a gasp to see Evelyn's chest for the first time, their perfect white skin mutilated by wide, jagged scars. Vampires tended to heal quickly, so the scars must have been old, from before Evelyn became one of the undead.

"I should have warned you," they said.

"Warned me of what?" Kat asked. "There is no part of you that I could see that would make me run away."

"If only that were true," Evelyn said. They stared out over the water as though pleading with the waves.

"It is," Kat insisted. "I see you, Evelyn. I see all of you."

Kat unclasped the thick gold-plated bracelet that she always wore on her left wrist, the one she liked to say made her feel like Wonder Woman. She had planned to wear it even in the water. Instead, she tossed it to the ground next to her discarded sundress and flip flops.

"Look," Kat said. She held up her wrist to reveal her own scar, from her failed suicide attempt when she was sixteen years old. She had tried to slit her wrists and chickened out when the pain and blood had terrified her. She had been young and stupid and hurting deeply. The bracelet never really made her feel like a superhero. It was just there to hide the hideous purple worm that marred her wrist. The scar that was there forever to remind her of her darkest moment.

"Katarina," Evelyn whispered.

"We are more alike than different," Katarina said. "I want you to see that. I feel.."

Before Kat could say more, Evelyn closed the gap between them, kissing her passionately, hungrily. It was as though Evelyn's self-restrained facade burst like a dam under the pressure of their passion. Their hands ran through her hair and over her body. Kat melted into their embrace. It was as though she was the vampire, trying to quench her insatiable thirst. She had never wanted anything or anyone as much as in that moment. She could lose control, and live forever on this night, on this beach, in the arms of a vampire. For the first time in her life, Kat was exactly where she belonged.

Evelyn pulled away first. Though Kat felt that they both wanted more. Instead, Kat watched Evelyn's controlled facade returned. They seemed reserved, distant. Then Evelyn's eyes became playful, the corners of her mouth twisted upward in the slightest grin. Kat knew then that they had opened a door that would never again be closed. It was real. She was falling in love with a vampire.

"Well then," Evelyn said, unbuttoning their pants. "Let's go swimming.