Hiding, Loving & Breaking Hearts - sarahwhitney (best novels for students txt) 📗

the dead woman by my foot and he goes pale. “What happened?” he asks.
I shrug. “She was obviously murdered after she and her husband left. In fact I wonder where her husband is now.” I say. Perhaps he’s the one who killed her…I shake my head, when I’d met them it didn’t seem that he’d do such things. I look down at the baby again and then the woman. She looked so much alike. I gasp, finally putting the puzzle pieces together. She’d had a baby and she’d wanted us to adopt it. I remember her mentioning the crying baby, but that didn’t make sense. Why didn’t she want her own child? I show Tom the child, and he looks at her. He takes her hands in his and then notices a bracelet on her wrist. He examines it and reads aloud, “Summer: June 10, 1993 – born in a summer storm.”
I gasp and say, “She was just born today than!” Tom mashes his eyebrows together, “Then why did they leave her?” he asks.
“I’m not sure, but Miranda had hinted she’d wanted us to adopt this child, so I think we should.” I say. Tom frowns slightly but nods anyway. I take the baby into the house and tell a servant to get the crib down from the attic. I take Summer into the nursery where I’d raised Jacob.


Hunter

When my dad, Darick, came home I was asleep. “Hunter! Wake up!” he barks. Abruptly I awaken. “Take this prisoner and lock him up.” My dad says. I yawn and get up, and lock the man up in a dark cell without a second thought.

15 yrs later…

Summer

I sigh in boredom and finish the last math problem, then slam my pencil down. Suddenly, I got a text saying, ‘We’re watching you!’ I stare at the text and then burst out laughing. It was a nervous laugh though. I look around carefully. I hear Kate call me to dinner. I hurry downstairs and sit down. I cringe slightly as the scent of blood hit my nose. I still don’t understand how I smell the blood or even appeal to the smell. I wouldn’t dare tell Tom or Kate though, they’d freak out. When Kate brushes by me, I inhale the fruity aroma and my mouth waters. She sets some food in front of me that doesn’t smell nearly as delicious but I choke it down to please her. After I was done, I excused myself and went up to my room. I sighed in satisfaction as the warm vanilla sugar hit my nose.
I go outside to read a book and sit under an oak tree.
James
I look at the bare walls for the billionth time. I think of Miranda and then Summer. I wonder where Summer was now and what she looked like. If she had blossomed into the beautiful flower like her mother had. What color hair she had, and if her eyes were still that jade green, that resembled emeralds. I mostly wondered if she felt like she fit into the human world, or knew something was off about her…


Hunter

I realize how hungry I am and go out to hunt. I stop by a mansion and see a young girl. ‘Perfect....’ I think. I sniff the air but catch no scent. I saunter closer and smell again. This time I smell a scent, but the scent is unexpected. It had a lilac and vanilla sugar scent. I look closer and see how flawless the girl was. She had honey blonde hair and green eyes. Her skin was golden and she had a curvy body shape. I walk closer and see she’s reading. Suddenly, a rabbit appears beside her and I snap.

Summer

I look up quickly and soon see a dead rabbit beside me and a mysterious boy. I was shaking slightly, the boy looks at me, curiosity burning in his eyes.
“What are you?” he asks.
“Do you mean, who am I?” I ask. He made it sound like I was a different species. He shakes his head.
“No, I said what not who…although it would be polite to know your name.” he says.
“Well, I’m obviously human and my name is Summer.” I say, still confused.
“You can’t be human; humans aren’t as perfect as you. I’m Hunter by the way.” He says.
“Well, what if I’m a model” I challenge. He considers this.
“You may be a model, but you don’t smell human.” He says slowly. I flinch and sniff carefully; I smell something I’d never smelled before.

Kate

I look out the window and see Summer and a boy that I’d never seen before. He seemed like Summer’s age and looked similar to Summer and Summer’s dad and late mom, flawless. I decide to ask Summer about him later.

Darick

I notice my son is gone, but think none of it. I go and visit James who is in the corner. “Hello…having a nice time?” I ask, my voice dripping with unfelt sweetness. “Well hopefully you won’t be here alone much longer; the Elders are looking into your daughter. She seems to have…umm…defied her true nature.” I say, dangling the words like fish bait. James looks at me, his eyes flash in anger. “Don’t hurt her!” he says. I laugh coldly, “I don’t make that decision, the Elders do.” I say. “And so it seems, you should’ve taught your daughter to drink blood while you still had her.” I add. James purses his lips and says, “But that’s just a natural instinct.” I shake my head with pretend sympathy, “Well, it seems she didn’t quite catch on to that.” I say. James eyes widen and he chokes out, “No!” I just shrug and then throw some food in and leave without another word.

James

I couldn’t process what Darick had said fast enough. It was like my mind was trying to work through molasses. I didn’t believe that my daughter didn’t have the instinct for blood, and that now the Elders were after her. I shake my head, if only I hadn’t Miranda…and fallen in love…I then remember how we met.

It was a rainy and gloomy day; I was working with the Elders at the time, and was a guard. I was standing on the castle walls looking around for any danger when a young lady walks up asking to see Melissa Stone, one of the Elders’ apprentices. I said that no one was allowed to have any contact with the apprentices or the Elders without being summoned. The lady introduces herself as Miranda Stone and my mind starts to spin. They were sisters, but that should be impossible! One of the rules to be an apprentice was you couldn’t have any family members that knew where you were or what you did as a job. I look at Miranda, she looked desperate for something, so I disobeyed all logic and rule and leads her inside through a secret passage way. She thanks me and goes into Melissa’s room. She had stayed in there for awhile but soon came out looking gleeful. She thanks me again and goes away. I didn’t think anything more of the incident until….
A few days later, the Elders had called to me. They explained the scenario perfectly, from what Miranda looked like to the exact time she came in and then out; I was found out. They put me on probation; I was too scared to learn my fate though and ran away. I soon saw Miranda again, this time in a park. She was sitting on a bench reading a book. I recognize her immediately and involuntarily shy away. She looks up at the sound though and recognizes me; she smiles. I return the smile and go over. I tell her how I got in trouble without meaning to and she starts to apologize.
We somehow fell in love, I don’t remember how though; it was too many years back. When I asked her to marry me, I didn’t think anything of the consequences if the Elders ever found us. Now, I regret the moment I ever set eyes on Miranda and fell in love. I feel responsible for her horrid death. Flashbacks of the death came back to me then. I sigh, wondering where Miranda would be if she were still alive.
Summer
He smelled delightful, but not the kind of delightful I was expecting. There was no burning feeling in my throat; it just left me tingling in happiness over the smell. He smelled of the ocean, salty but fresh. He laughs as he sees my surprise as I smelled him.
“Yep, you’re definitely a child of the moon.” He says.
“What? Are you saying I’m a vampire?” I ask sarcastically, not really serious.
“Yep, that’s what I’m saying.” He says, with a delvish smile. “You’re pretty smart to figure that riddle out.” He adds.
I shrug, “Whatever.” I mutter. He laughs quietly and as he inhaled and his nose twitched. He crouches down and I watch curiously, suddenly I smelled it too. It was Kate, I didn’t remember what Hunter’s natural instinct would be until it was too late. Kate comes out and in a blink of an eye, Hunter has her pinned, his fangs exposed. Just as he was about to go into his prey, I finally find my voice.
“STOP!” I scream, as tears bubble under my eyes but dissolve as quickly as they appear. Hunter pauses for a moment and cranes his neck to look at me in surprise. Kate is trembling in fear, but fiery anger danced in her eyes. “Let her go.” I say calmly, Hunter listens to me, I was slightly surprised but didn’t let that emotion show on my face. Kate gets up slowly and as soon as I was sure she was okay, I started to breathe again. “Hunter, this is my…mother.” I say, I watch as he jaw drops and I would have taken pleasure of the facial expression if not for the latest scare I just had.
“You’re mother? But she’s a-“ he starts to say.
I just give him a quick glare before cutting in smoothly. “No, she adopted me.” I say, which was the truth. He raises an eyebrow for details but I just roll my eyes and shrug.
“I’m a what?” Kate demands, anger still flickering in her eyes. Hunter shrugs casually, “You’re a lot more beautiful than your daughter.” He says flashing me a smile. I growl under my breath and make a mental note that he would pay for the comment later.

Kate
I blush at the compliment and shrug. I slowly get up from where I had been pinned and brush myself off. I then go back in the house…
A few hours later Summer comes to me asking if she could go to Hunter’s house. I was suspicious, since she only just met the boy but agree unwillingly. When Hunter finds out he smiles. I hear him murmur something but couldn’t pick out the words. My motherly instincts kick in and I can feel Summer was a bit uncomfortable by what he had said. I wonder if I made the right decision. Before I know it though, and before I could turn back on my decision, Summer and Hunter were gone.

Hunter

I sprint off as soon as Summer’s human mother leaves. I still don’t get how she’s a vampire with a human mother, and how she contains her hunger for blood so well. I shake my head to try to clear it. I had to stop thinking about Summer. When I look back, Summer isn’t behind me. I stop and run back,