Unraveling Sarah Cresley - Marisa Maichel (general ebook reader TXT) 📗

asked. Her cheeks pinked.

"I've said too much already." She doubled over.

"Sarah, tell me what's wrong," I said.

"No, I can't tell you. It will ruin everything!" Tears started flowing down her cheeks.

"Okay, I'm sorry I upset you," I said. I hugged her and held her. "Sarah, please stop crying."

"I can't...can't tell you...it's too dangerous...I shouldn't have gone along with it...now I'm paying for it..." Not knowing what else to do, I went to get her mother.

"Ms. Cresley?" I said. She smiled at me.

"I told you, call me Alicia. What's the matter?"

"Something's wrong with Sarah. She's babbling, and she's not making any sense." Faster than I've ever seen her move, Alicia zipped up to Sarah's room. She held her and whispered things to her.

"It's not your fault, sweetheart," she said.

"I...I think I'll go," I said. "Tell her to call me later."

"Will do. Thank you for telling me, Reese."

"You're welcome. Sarah," I tipped her head up. "Promise me you'll be okay?" She nodded vigorously.

~~~~~~~~~

I left, confused and frightened for her. I wondered if I'd done anything. I ran as fast as I could back home, where Father was looking through a cookbook.

"Learning to cook?" I said teasingly.

"I'm trying to figure out how to make those skewers Alicia made. They were interesting, and I would have liked them had I been human. I did not expect you to be back so soon."

"Something happened with Sarah. She started talking, not making any sense. She mentioned that she had a secret, something she couldn't tell me. Then she held herself and started rocking back and forth. I had to get her mother to keep her calm."

"That's odd. Well, you did the right thing." He closed the book in frustration. "Have you seen your uncle? He owes me two hundred dollars."

"For what? And no, I haven't seen him."

"We had a bet, and he lost. Damn him. He always backs out when he knows he lost. By the way, your grandfather called me ten minutes ago. He said he's back in New Jersey and will be here soon."

 

I took off my clothes and crawled into bed. I needed a nap. Pretty soon, Father joined me. I growled at him, and he growled right back. I hate it when he decides to join me when I want privacy. I rolled out of his arms and he protested by whimpering.

"I need privacy, Father," I said.

"Privacy is what you shall get after I have been satisfied that you are all right."

"Father, I'm fine-"

"No you're not. Child is unhappy. Must make him better."

"Father, you're doing it again."

"My apologies. Stay in my arms, Reese. You're safe there."

"Father, I was never unsafe."

"Bullhockey. Do you remember what happened to your van?" Oh...I had forgotten. I snuggled up to him, keeping close to him. He purred in satisfaction and happiness. After a few minutes, I tried to get out again. He growled and tightened his grip.

"Father, I'm okay," I said. He made a noise in his throat and buried his nose in my neck. My scent calms him.

"All right, I shall leave you now. Promise me that you're okay."

"I'm fine."

"Good enough." He left me to mope.

~~~~~~~~~~

And mope I did. I constantly thought about Sarah. She had penetrated the interior of my cranium. Of course, she was always on my mind now. I scoffed at my own weakness. Then I scoffed again at myself.
Only hatred makes one weak. Love makes one stronger.

As much as I tried to tell myself this, I still felt weak. I was always weak around her. I had been somewhat weak around Evan in the beginnings of our relationship. I held my stomach in worry. I sat up and grabbed a pencil and songbook. I started writing lyrics.

"I know...that...you're...not...damn." I couldn't think of any other words. "Sarah...what would Sarah say?" I asked myself. "She would ask me if I was all right, then she would do all she could to make me feel better. She wouldn't try too hard, she'd give me space if I needed it."

I have to figure out what her secret is. I thought, this can only end badly. I was her boyfriend now, though. Boyfriend? Yes, I liked that word. I needed a break from thinking and worrying. I needed warm blood. Or a coffee, isn't that what humans say? I needed a shower.

Since I'm so tall, showers are the best option for me. I have a large bath, but it's still too small. I'm cramped whenever I try to use it. As I gave myself a good scrub, I thought about her and her secret.

What was it? Was it truly terrible?

"I know you're keeping something from me...please tell me...I promise I won't tell anybody...." That was as far as I got before I got a knock at my door. It was my grandfather.

"Your father told me what happened. Are you all right, Reese?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," I told him.

"I'm sorry I could not be here for you; I was out of state, or I would have been here sooner. Where is your uncle?"

"I don't know, I haven't seen him in a few days." My gut twisted as I realized this. Where was he? I sniffed the air; his scent still lingered. Grandfather realized what I was doing and realized the same thing.

"He has not been here," he said. "Not in the past few days. I wonder if your father knows his whereabouts?"

"Soren?" Father said, hearing us and coming up. "He's looking at houses in the area. He wants a permanent residence here. So he can stay close to Reese," he added bitterly.

"Mordecai, your brother loves you," Grandfather told him. "I know it may not seem like it, but he does."

"And he sees Reese as his own at times. I keep wondering if he's satisfied with only one son."

"You are afraid he will take Reese from you. That was one of my fears too, when you were young. I was afraid other adult vampires would steal you from me. I saw them as rivals. I promise you, Mordecai, no one would dare take Reese from you."

"I'm seventeen," I argued.

"Hush, you're not helping," Grandfather said. Father growled and sat beside me, pulling me next to him.

"I see enemies everywhere these days," he said. "Just the other day, I was forced to kill a vampire for coming too close."

"Did you burn him?" Grandfather asked.

"No, but I scattered his pieces. Dimitri needs to have the guard round them up." Dimitri was the head of the royal guard, and he protected each of us on occasion.

"How do you know he was a danger?"

"Father, I could hear his grumblings and feel his thirst a mile away. Then I smelled him, and he smelled like an enemy. He caught Reese's scent, and that's when he started preparing to attack."

"My scent? How did he not catch yours first?" I asked.

"I was...hiding. You know that I am somewhat psychic, right? I saw him coming." Oh. I had momentarily forgotten my father's power to see flashes of the present. Father wrapped his arms around me and made a noise that came from within his throat. "My little one is safe," he mumbled into my hair.

"Mordecai, where is Soren again?" My father froze as he got a vision.

"He's coming home," he said. "He's also helping me with inventory."

"Inventory? For what?" I asked.

"I've yet to tell you. I am opening several stores in town, including one that sells movies and music and another one that sells books. I hope to open up more stores selling different things next year."

"Why?" I asked.

"To keep up the facade that we are human. Can you imagine the pandemonium if your classmates knew what you consumed?"

"Some of them would be impressed," I said, thinking of Jody.

"Maybe, but most of them would be disgusted. Will you tell Sarah your true nature?"

"In time, if she'll stay with me."

"I think you are smart to hold off on that. We still do not know her very well."

"You don't know her very well," I retorted. "I know her."

"Son, you are fooling yourself. No woman is perfect. Neither are men, but that's another story. You are blinded by your affection for her."

"Father, I love her!"

"Hush. You do not know what love is."

"I've admired her from afar for two years."

"Two years?" He and Grandfather shared a look. Grandfather spoke up next.

"Why have you not told us about her?"

"I was afraid she would reject me. Look at her, and look at me! She has so many other admirers as well, I don't know why she'd choose me."

"Do not debase yourself, grandson. If she does indeed have many admirers, there will be competition."

"Yes, but after what happened to her, her reputation could take a hit," Father said. "Of course, I'm on her side, and I believe that Michael Nales hurt her, but few other people may believe her."

"They have to! He could have got her with child!" I cried.

"Unfortunately, rape is very much a stigma, even today," Father informed me. "Few people are willing to discuss it."

"I will kill Nales," I vowed.

"We will discuss his punishment another time. You've gotten yourself worked up. Have you eaten today?"

I gave my father a look.

"I mean your natural food source, son."

"Father, the human food stuffed me to my limit," I told him.

"Human food?" Grandfather asked quizzically.

"Sarah's mother Alicia invited us over to thank us for speaking on behalf of her daughter. There was ham, and chocolate, and vegetables, and meat on skewers."

"That does sound filling. Are you restless, Reese?"

"I am a bit tired." As I said this, Father tipped my head up and I was forced to look into his eyes.

"Go to sleep," he commanded, and I was out like a light.

CHAPTER EIGHT- MISTAKE

It was after school one day when I was walking to my van alone. No one was around; everyone had already gone home for the day. I had decided to stay a couple hours longer to work on a project with my lab partner in my science class. Unfortunately, his name was Evan Byrd. He kept trying to flirt with me, and I kept rejecting his advances.

"Reese, come back to me," he said, cornering me inbetween our vehicles. "I miss you like crazy."

"Well, I don't miss you," I told him roughly. "Get the hell out of my way."

"Not until you admit it!"

"Admit what? That you're a fucking psycho? Get over it, Evan, I'll never be fully attracted to you."

"You said 'fully'. Which means you are attracted to me on some level. I heard you're dating Sarah. Why would you go with that bitch? You know she faked her rape. She's a stupid heifer, and you deserve better than that!"

I saw red, and lunged at him. He let out a blood-curdling scream. I buried my teeth deep in his neck and savored his blood for a few minutes. By then, I realized what I had done.

"Fuck!" I didn't know what else to do, so I called Father.

"Hello? Reese, what happened?"

"Father, I...I did something...I majorly screwed up..."

"Where are you?"

"At the school."

"Stay there, I will be there as soon as I can." Meaning he would flit, not drive a car.

~~~~~~~~~~

He was there sooner than I had anticipated.

"Reese, what have you done!" he cried when he saw Evan's still form on the ground, oozing blood. "Quickly, get him in the van." He grabbed his shoulders and threw him into my backseat.

"Father, what should I do?"

"Get in the passenger seat. I'll drive you home." I did as he asked, and he drove us back to the house as quickly as possible without breaking the law.

"How did you know what happened?" I asked him.

"I didn't. You sounded frantic, though, and that worried me. How did this occur?"

I told him Evan's words and actions and why I reacted the way I did.

"In that case, I don't blame you. This little shit's gone too far. Unfortunately, one of us will have to change him."

"He's not going to die?"

"No. I know he irritates you, but letting him die would be wrong. I was also seventeen when I changed