PRESENT CHAPTER 8: G IS FOR GUILTY DIANA I could see her face so clearly. She was equal parts beautiful and frightening. A beast with sharp teeth and impossible speed. I stood there paralyzed, watching as she chased after the young girl who screamed in horror. Her cold hand grasped at the girl’s wrist. She pulled the girl close to her, bared her teeth and— I shot up in my bed, panting and sweating. I could feel my heart beating as though I’d just ran marathon. Another strange dream. I glanced over at Iosif’s journal which lay next to me on my bed. “I really have to stop reading you before bed,” I said to it, still clutching at my chest. The excitement of having Gualtiero in my room last night made it difficult for me to fall back asleep, so I had picked up the journal and read a few pages. In those pages, Iosif Michea wrote about his engagement party that ended in a massacre. He detailed how a vampire attacked everyone at the party, including his beloved fiancée Theodosia who was left beheaded. I didn’t know what to make of the story – if it was based off true events, or if Mr. Michea just had a very active imagination, but it clearly had an impact on me given my dream about it. It just felt so real, as if I were really watching it happen. Which of course was ridiculous because vampires do not exist. If Iosif was writing about true events, it was clear that he was mistaken about what happened. Perhaps a beast did attack his party guests, but it certainly couldn’t have been a vampire. Still, I remained intrigued by the journal and was looking forward to reading more of it later. Just maybe not before bed. I couldn’t help but notice the indent in the pillow next to mine. The proof that Gualtiero was really there with me last night, laying by my side. I ran my hand over it, careful not to flatten it and ruin its shape. I smiled to myself remembering that moment. It wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be, I mean, a kiss would have been nice, but it was still perfect because it was just so very…Gualtiero. He was so different than anyone I’d ever met before, and I found it so fascinating. I could never guess what he would say next or what fancy words he would use to say it. I could also never predict how he was feeling. Laying next to each other was certainly unexpected, unique and strangely romantic. My heart felt so warm at the memory. The smell of fresh coffee was suddenly wafting up to my room from the kitchen, snapping me out of my daydream of Gualtiero and inviting me to go downstairs. When I arrived at the kitchen, I found Anastasia sitting at the counter, a cup of coffee in one hand and her phone in the other, eyes glued to the screen. “Good morning,” I said, last night’s annoyance with her forgotten. It occurred to me that I must have been mistaken about her lying to me after all. I mean, Gualtiero showed up to my room to talk to me last night. Whatever happened when she pulled him away during the party must not have been romantic if he didn’t come to see her. I must have just been tired and grumpy to think Anastasia was lying to me. “Oh my god, Diana, you have to see this,” she said. “What is it?” I asked, pouring myself a cup before walking over to her side. On Anastasia’s phone, a local news report was playing. “The victim was identified as 19-year-old Roman Hall, a local college student who was headed home from a party last night,” the reporter was saying as Roman’s school picture flashed on the screen, followed by footage of a body bag on a stretcher, being carried off into an ambulance. “Oh my god!” I exclaimed in shock. Anastasia just watched, wide eyed and anxious. “Police report that Hall had lost a significant amount of blood and had wounds consistent with those of a large animal attack, such as a bear, yet no official cause of death has been named at this moment,” the reporter continued. “It’s crazy, isn’t it?” Anastasia said. “We were just with him last night and now he’s just…gone.” “I can’t believe he’s dead,” I said. “I guess that’s what happens when you walk through the woods drunk late at night,” she replied. “Drunk and wounded….” I said. “Gualtiero really beat him up good. This is all my fault, if I had just danced with him…” “Girl do not blame yourself. Roman was being gross with you and Gualtiero just roughed him up a bit.” “Roughed him up a bit? There was blood everywhere!” “It was only a punch to the nose. It looked way worse than it actually was. This wasn’t your fault or Gualtiero’s. It was an accident, Di.” While I knew deep down that Anastasia was right, I couldn’t help but feel some unease throughout the rest of the day. I didn’t know how, but I just knew that Roman wasn’t killed by an animal. I would bet my entire life on it. I didn’t want to admit it, but thinking back to the party, to Gualtiero fighting all of those guys so roughly, gave me chills. What if he only pretended to be calmed down when Anastasia pulled him away, but he wasn’t done with Roman yet? After all, he was intending to go at him some more before he was pulled away. My heart told me that Gualtiero wasn’t so vicious, but what did I really know about him anyway? The fact that he knew how to fight that way told me that it wasn’t his first time take people on like that. I didn’t want to believe that this guy I was so infatuated with could be a killer, but I had to admit that it was possible. Could it be that he attacked Roman on his way home from the party then stopped by my room for a rest, or to gain a possible alibi? The more I thought about him so randomly showing up at my window without even calling or leaving a text message to tell me he was coming, the weirder it seemed. I really, really liked Gualtiero, but Roman dying and my gut feeling that it wasn’t an animal attack had left me feeling so confused. And if Gualtiero was responsible for what happened, I couldn’t help but feel guilty about it. After all, it was me who brought him to the party, and I was the reason he ended up in a fight. A few of Roman’s friends had arranged a candlelit vigil for him tonight, but I didn’t feel that it was right for me to go. Anastasia went, of course. She never missed an opportunity to dress up and go out, no matter what the occasion. I stayed home and focused on continuing to sort through my parents’ things, trying not to think about Roman or Gualtiero or anything more stressful than what I was doing. My peace of mind didn’t last long, as at about 9PM, I heard the doorbell ring. I could feel my heart hammering and my stomach twist at the same time as I looked through the peephole and saw Gualtiero standing there. I swallowed a lump in my throat and pulled the door open. “Gualtiero,” I said quietly. “What are you doing here?” I couldn’t tell if I felt nervous or scared. Perhaps it was a mix of both. “I called your cellular phone, but you did not respond. I hope you did not fall ill or something?” he asked. “No, I didn’t,” I said, frowning and looking down at my phone that had no missed calls. “I also didn’t get any call from you. It must have been a glitch.” “It relieves me to hear that you’re well,” he said, flashing me his brilliant smile. I immediately moved to the side to let him in, I couldn’t help it. God, he was so gorgeous. It made it so much harder to think that he could possibly be capable of doing something so terrible. Still, I couldn’t help myself from bringing Roman up to see his reaction. “As well as I could be, given that one of my schoolmates was brutally murdered last night,” I said. “Murdered?” he said, sounding surprised. “I heard talk that it was an animal attack.” “That’s what they say, but I’m not sure I believe that.” “Why not?” I shrugged. The truth was I really didn’t have a reason to think that except for my own intuition. “I just have a feeling,” I said truthfully. “You shouldn’t think that Diana, it will frighten you. If the police reckon that it was an animal attack, then it probably was.” I stared at him curiously, not quite knowing if he was being truthful or if he was just trying to steer my thoughts away from suspecting he was responsible for Roman’s death. “Anyway, I have brought you a gift,” he said. That got my attention. “You did?” “Yes,” he replied, handing me a composition notebook. “The notebook.” The notebook? What notebook did he mean? A notebook is an odd choice for a gift, but I am not one to be ungrateful. I smiled at him. “Thank you, I’m sure it will come in handy at school.” “It is to remind you of the film you fancy most. It means I will be here for you even in your difficult moments. Coincidentally, like this one.” I stared at him in awe. His odd gift suddenly just became the sweetest one I’d ever received, and I felt at a loss for words. “Gualtiero, I don’t know what to say… thank you.” Moved by his sweet gesture, I got up on my tiptoes and planted a kiss on his cheek. Gualtiero jumped back as if given an electric shock. I also felt shocked, not only by his sudden movement but for the fact that his cheek felt cold. Ice cold. “I’m sorry,” I said, embarrassed by his reaction. Gualtiero nodded politely at my apology but stared at me with a look that I couldn’t quite place. Before he could say anything, Anastasia walked in through the door. “I should go,” he said. “Goodnight.” He nodded to us both and left in a hurry, brushing past Anastasia who never even had a chance to shut the door. “Um, hi and bye, I guess,” she said with a dry laugh. “What is his deal?” “I don’t know,” I shrugged. “I kissed him, and he got all weird.” “Wait, you kissed him?” Anastasia said, sounding somewhat incredulous. It was not at all the tone I would have expected from her at the news that I’d kissed a guy. “Yeah, but just on the cheek. He gave me this notebook and I just felt like thanking him,” I said. Anastasia peered at the notebook for a moment before moving her eyes back up to my face. “You need to be more careful, Diana.” “Why? What’s the big deal? It was just a kiss on the cheek!” “You seem to be falling for this guy and I’ve got to tell you something, I think he’s bad news.” I felt my heart drop onto my stomach. “What makes you say that?” “I was in the bathroom earlier washing my hands next to some girl. She had her phone on the counter and when it rang, I couldn’t help but get a glimpse of the picture on the wallpaper. It was a picture of Gualtiero, edited with a G and a heart emoji on it.” “What?” I said in shock. “I didn’t want to believe it, but I could sort of hear his voice through the speaker. Girl, I’m really sorry. I hate to even be telling you this right now, but I don’t want to see you fall for some player or something.” I couldn’t believe it, but I knew Anastasia wouldn’t lie to me about something like this. Is that why Gualtiero acted so strangely to my touch? Because he’s taken by another? I suddenly felt like I was about to be sick. “I’m going to bed,” I simply said. “Di…” “Seriously, I don’t want to talk about it.” With that, I left the room and headed upstairs, tossing the notebook in a garbage bin on my way out.