Mallory is Seth's better half. She has gentler manners and arguably more of a conscience - but that isn't to say she is any less complicated. Every time Seth gives into his impulses, it is Mallory who shoulders the guilt. Unless she's busy indulging her own vices.
Wednesday 31 August 2011
Friday 26 August 2011
5. A Private Dance
"I'm worried about Billy," Mallory says. The two of them are sat at a tiny table, close enough together that they could almost be on a date. The neon-lit stage before them easily shatters that illusion.
"You sound like his mother," Seth replies. After a moment his scornful expression softens. "But I think I know what you mean."
The girl on stage winks at them before blithely removing her sequinned brassiere. Mallory smiles politely, then turns in her seat to face Seth more fully.
"Have you seen the marks?”
Tuesday 23 August 2011
Interlude: Seth's Playlist
Nothing gets under your skin like music. And for me, nothing helps me get into a character's head better than a song - something they would listen to, something they feel a connection with. Seth, one of the main characters in Vampire Love Songs, inhabits a sleazy underworld of addict anonymous groups, dive bars and cheap hotel rooms. The first video in this playlist, a cover of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" by H.I.M., perfectly encompasses the trash and pleasure of such a world:
Friday 19 August 2011
4. Brandy Alexander
Tired of being on the heights I deliberately went to the depths in the search for new sensations. - "De Profundis", Oscar Wilde
They call him Billy, and lately that's what he's been calling himself. At first it was a novelty; like going on holiday. Bleaching his hair and getting himself inked had been the first step in creating distance from his old self, running into Seth and Mallory that night had been the second. So when Seth jokingly first christened him, he didn't bother to correct him. Now, Billy seems just as good a name as the one he had before.
2. Happy Hour
Her dress was ruined. It hadn't cost much, and it was hardly as if she didn't enjoy buying new clothes, but still. Was it that hard not to get blood everywhere? Seemed to Mallory that Seth never spilled a drop of vodka, but when it came to the red stuff he became a dribbling child. She never could stand messy eaters.
"Calm down," she told her reflection. She knew this was just one of those moments that transpired in a relationship, where every single thing her husband did, and the way that he did it, felt like it was done with the sole purpose of driving her crazy.
1. Rehab
"My name's Seth," he begins, the same three words week on week. “And I'm an addict.”
"Hi Seth," the group echoes around him. Like a choir. A cult.
“It's been eight months since I slipped,” he continues. “And it's not been easy. Especially when the temptation to give in is just about everywhere you look.”
A few heads nod appreciatively; it's the same for all of them. Seth knows that if most of them didn't have the group to come to each week, they'd not stand a chance. Strength isn't stopping, of course. It's not starting again. That particular pearl of wisdom, which he spied somewhere on one of the many posters adorning the meeting room, makes him wish he had a cigarette.
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