I Can See Right Through You
By Kelly Link, first published in McSweeney's Quarterly Concern
When a washed-up, middle-aged actor famous for portraying a vampire travels to Florida to proclaim his love to his co-star and best friend, he tells a story about a haunted bungalow that causes the horrible secrets of their past to resurface.
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Plot Summary
Will is a 45-year-old actor famous for having played a vampire along with his friend, Meggie. When an embarrassing sex tape of his leaks, Will visits Meggie on the set of her investigative reality tv show centered on ghosts. Meggie and Will have had an on-and-off relationship for the last 20 years, but despite their trouble in the romantic department, Meggie is the one ex that Will's ever had whom he keeps contact with. Despite his current marriage to another woman, Fawn, Will hopes to rekindle his romance with Meggie and try things again. Meggie's in Lake Apopka, Florida, shooting an episode of her television show tracking the disappearance of a couple who visited a nudist colony in the 1970s. One of the crew members, a girl named Juliet, is missing, but nobody seems too concerned yet. Will surprises Meggie in Florida; she welcomes him with open arms. However, it's not long before Will meets Meggie's latest boyfriend, Ray. Will's well-aware of Meggie's long string of boy toys, all of whom resemble a younger Will. Will chats idly with Ray while waiting for Meggie to show up, warning him that he'll be out of the picture before long. The cast and crew of Meggie's television show decide to incorporate Will into the episode because of his fame. For the ghost story section of the show, Meggie asks Will to share a story. He tells the story of the haunted bungalow he used to share with Meggie on Venice Beach; however, he does not reveal all of the facts. Later, Meggie asks Will if he'd be okay featuring in an episode where her crew visits their old bungalow. Will refuses, claiming that they would get arrested if the world found out what had happened there. The haunting had begun after Will and Meggie slept with a young fifteen-year-old girl who was so adamant that they bite her in an homage to their vampire movies that she slit her wrists with glass from their door. Later, the girl killed herself, and her spirit lingered in their house before they separated and moved out. Downtrodden, Will flirts and sleeps with Pilar, one of the crew members. He takes Pilar's phone and texts Fawn a horrible string of insulting texts, which Meggie learns about the following day via a phone call from Fawn. Shooting wraps up, and Meggie says goodbye to Will before getting in the car with Ray. That's the last time that Will ever saw Meggie again. Eventually, the girl, Juliet, reappeared, but Meggie was lost forever. Will was blamed, but no evidence could be found that he'd done anything. In the press, Will repeated that it must've been Ray; however, no traces were ever found of any person like Ray, leaving Meggie's disappearance unsolved.
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