Chapter 7 and 8 of Heart Beat

Chapter 7
Is everyone paranoid, or is it just me?

We looked at each other grimly. He nudged me forward and I ran towards my friends. Ethan had his arms around Tam’s shoulders and everyone’s face was glowing. They had obviously gone to watch a great movie. When I was close enough to them, I looked to where Forrest had been but he was already gone, as if he had been merely a shadow.
I wore a smile on my face and pretended that everything was great.
“Hey guys, sorry about missing the movie. I went for a walk with Forrest and I didn’t realise how late it was.”
We continued to walk towards the parking lot.
“No problem, I was just worried that you might not have a ride home.”
I noticed that Brady was holding Ashley’s hand. Looks like we have another couple in our midst. I wonder if they’ll make it past a week. It was past midnight and the moonlight made everything look eerie.
When we made it to the parking lot we stopped in front of Brady’s car. Everyone said their good byes and Brady and I sped off in the car. When he pulled up in front of the small house it had started to rain.
“Thanks for the ride Brady.” I told him as I unbuckled my seat belt.
“No problem.”
“Are you going to be home tomorrow?” I asked him. “I might stop by your house.”
“I’ll be there. See you tomorrow.”
“Good night Brady” I told him as I got out of the car and ran inside.
I didn’t look back but I heard the engine roar as the car sped off.
My mum wasn’t waiting for me, I didn’t expect her to. She knew that I could take care of myself and had to wake up early for work.
I passed by my room and took off the jacket and placed my handbag on my desk. Then, I went to the bathroom to wash my face from the make-up.
I didn’t want to risk waking my mum up so I walked back to my bedroom slowly, in the dark. When I was in my room I closed the door and switched on the small lampshade on my bed-side table. It lit up the room slightly, just enough for me to be able to find my pyjama and change.
“Had fun?” Chloe made me jump, I hadn’t realised that she had been awake.
“Sort of.”
“Did the date with Brady get awkward?”
“No! It’s not that...” I could usually tell my sister anything but for the first time I hesitated. “... Forrest stopped by and it was kind of weird.”
“How weird?” She asked curiously.
“Oh I don’t know Chloe. Never mind.”
“Fine!... but seriously, how was your date with Brady?” She asked being an ideal sister and trying to get on my nerves; it was working.
“Shut up Chloe! It was not a date!”
“That’s what you say...:”
After that I got into bed and had another weird dream. It was a different type than the ones I usually had.
I was sitting on the swing, in my back porch. It was night time but there wasn’t any moon or stars. I didn’t know how but the place was still lit up and I could see. The night was dead and there wasn’t even a breeze. There was a small cat somewhere in the darkness, where the light did not reach. I always knew things in dreams that I shouldn’t, but then again, it was only a dream. I felt a sudden urge to touch the tiny creature. I got up from the swing and walked into the darkness. I found that even though the night seemed more intense in this part and I felt colder I could still see the shape of the cat. It started to walk away but I followed it. I tried to call out even though a cat wouldn’t pay attention. I had no voice. I shivered and stopped walking. The cat kept on walking till it was out of sight. I just stared in the direction that it had disappeared…
My eyes shot open and I looked at my window. The sky had a pink tint and was full of wisps of clouds. The street was still being lit up by street lamps. There again was the little cat, staring intently at me. My room was on the second storey and there wasn’t even a tree. I wondered how it could be staring through my window. I didn’t have time to think because the next time I blinked it was gone. Did it fall down? I didn’t hear it land, but people say that cats always land on their feet. Maybe I had just imagined it. Lately I’ve been letting my imagination run wild. How many wacky things could I imagine before I went crazy?
I sighed as I put on my indoor shoes. I wasn’t going to be able to fall back asleep. I wondered what time it was so I looked at my alarm clock. It was still six. I hadn’t used my alarm clock once this school year. I didn’t have anything to do so I set it so that it could start waking me up at seven. That would give me enough time to prepare for school. Most of my neighbours would start leaving for work at seven. I had nothing to do so I started to get ready to go to Brady’s house.
I wore an old black tracksuit and arranged my hair in a high pony tail. As I washed my teeth I heard my mother wake up and prepare for work. It was already seven. The neighbourhood had begun stirring as all the people woke up and started to prepare for work. When I was done from the bathroom I went downstairs.
“You’re up early. Did you have fun yesterday?” My mum told me with a perky grin on her face.
I smiled at her and got out a bowl and some cereal.
“Yeah it was great. I couldn’t sleep. I’m going to Brady’s house for a while.”
As I talked, my mum poured milk into my bowl of cereal and my sister came downstairs. My mum made herself a cup of coffee and drank it slowly. When I finished my cereal I told them bye and hurried outside. The sun was shining faintly. In Youngsville it would be considered a good day. My car was parked in front of the house.
“Leah!” I heard someone shout my name.
I turned my face to see who it was and I saw Evie running towards me. Evie was a well-rounded, short woman with short curly hair in the shape of a bob around her face. She was Neil’s mother and worked as a nurse at the hospital.
“Good morning Evie.” I told her as soon as she was a few paces in front of me.
“I’m so sorry to ask you this on such short notice, but would you mind taking care of Neil? I was supposed to have the day off but they called me in.”
Evie was a bit over-protective of her son and preferred not to leave him on his own. Neil and Brady go along fine so, what the heck, the more the merrier.
“Sure.”
“He’s getting ready at home but I have to leave or I’ll be late. Thanks Leah.”
She hurried past me, got into her car and sped off. I walked back into my house to find Chloe in her PJs.
“Hey Cloe, I’m going to Brady’s and Neil’s gonna be there, do you want to come?”
“Yeah sure.” She said as she sped off to get ready.
A few minutes later she was done and we walked to Neil’s house, which was only two houses away from ours. The door wasn’t locked so I went inside. The door led to the kitchen.
“Neil!” I shouted.
I saw him go down the steps two at a time.
“Good morning Leah, Chloe. I’m sorry that my mum asked you take care of me. I’m sure you have better things to do then hang out with me but she wouldn’t listen.”
“It’s no problem at all.” I told him.
A couple of minutes later we were in my car.
“Where are we going?” Neil asked me.
“We’re going to Brady’s house.”
The two boys knew each other; it was hard not to know everyone in this small town. Neil’s face lit up.
I parked my car in front of the house. Brady’s car was in the driveway and his dad’s car was nowhere to be seen so I concluded that his father was at work.
I walked to the door and knocked twice. Brady’s mother opened the door for me.
“Good morning Leah and Chloe, hey Neil, haven’t seen you in ages. How’s your mum?”
“She’s good, thanks.” He told her.
“Is Brady up yet?” I asked her.
“You know very well that he never wakes up before noon. I swear, he’d probably sleep through a massacre.”
“That’s ok. I think that I’ll manage to wake him up. C’mon guys.”
I climbed the stairs and walked into the last room on the left on the long corridor. Brady’s door was open so I crept quietly inside. They were two paces behind me, shadowing my every move.
Without any warning, I jumped on him.
“Brady wake up!” I screamed, my mouth close to his ears.
He jumped up with a start and looked at me. He grinned as he realised that it was me.
“Oh, it’s just you. I thought there was a fire or something.” He grabbed me and threw me off his bed. “Why in the world did you wake me up? It’s like six in the morning!”
I got up from the cold floor and sat down on the edge of his bed. “C’mon Brady! Get up.” Neil urged him.
I doubted that Brady could fall asleep again.
“Fine. Go wait for me downstairs. I just need to change.”
We went downstairs and sat on the sofa. We didn’t have to wait long before we saw Brady coming down the stairs in an old T-shirt and a pair of jeans. He sat down between me and Chloe.
Brady’s mother walked into the room.
“Kids, I’m going out and I’ll be home late. Will you be alright on your own? There’s some food in the oven.”
“We’re just gonna hang out here. Take your time we’ll be home.” Brady told her.
“’kay then, bye kids.”
I saw her walk out of the room. I took off my shoes and rested my head on the cushion. Neil took of his shoes and lyed down on the big carpet.
“Did you guys just come to my house to sleep?” He asked us perkily.
“Yup” Neil answered.
“Suits me” he slumped onto the other sofa whilst Chloe Stretched on the sofa and put her head on Neil’s lap.
After a couple of minutes of silence, I got bored and I thought about something fun we could do. Inspiration hit me. I perked up from my position and jumped on my feet. Neil and Brady were a bit startled from the sudden movement.
“Hey guys, did you know that today was national spook day?”
I knew it sounded lame but scary stories were never boring.
Neil stood up next to me, pushing Chloe off him and she landed on the floor.
“Really?” he asked, a huge grin spreading across his face.
“Hey!” Chloe exclaimed from the floor.
Neil laughed and pulled her onto her feet.
They knew that I had made it up on the spot but they seemed to like the idea.
“Yup, we should do something for the occasion. We wouldn’t want to be disrespectful.”
“You’re right, we wouldn’t. What shall we do?” Chloe was getting into the mood as well.
“I have a couple of scary stories. But they might scare you two babies.” I told them.
Brady snorted. “We’ll see about that. Do your worst.”
“Wait guys” Neil told us. “We have to create the right mood. Do you have any candles?”
“Yeah, I’ll go get some.” Brady hurried out of the room and returned a couple of seconds later with a dozen or so red candles in his hand.
I walked over and closed the curtains whilst the boys lit up all the candles. I made extra sure that no light could come trough any holes. The room was in complete darkness but there was a circle of candles in the middle of the room. I sat down next to them inside the circle of candles. “That’s better” Neil was satisfied by the amount of spookiness this darkness radiated. “Who wants to say a scary story first?”
“I have a good one.” I told them but I paused before continuing so I made sure that I remembered the whole story. “One night a young girl, Emma Johnson, is on her own at night, in her desolate country house. This was fine with Emma, especially since she had her faithful dog, Scout. All her friends had gone out for a party but she wanted to spend the night at home. She made herself something to eat, and sat down at the kitchen table. She scanned the radio for her favourite station; she was surprised to hear a news bulletin declaring that an avenged murderer was on the loose. It advised that people secure all windows and doors as a safety precaution. With her dog by her side, Emma locked the front and back doors. She went from window to window, and locked each of them one at a time. She reassured herself that she would be fine with her trusty dog. So, Emma had a pleasant, peaceful evening, and finally decided, around eleven o'clock that it was time for bed. She climbed the stairs to her bedroom, and slid under the big, warm blanket on her bed. Before closing her eyes, she reached her hand down under the bed, and allowed her dog to lick it- she did this every night, because it comforted her. Before she fell asleep she heard someone whisper, in a sing-song voice: “I’m coming…” She took no notice and decided it was her imagining things. She allowed herself to drift off to sleep. A short while later she awoke to the sound of a scratching noise at her bedroom window. She eyed the window, and saw a strange figure, staring at her, holding a long bloody blade. The man’s face was the only thing visible. He wore a hungry expression and she saw him lick the bloody blade clean. She reminded herself that the whole house was locked and she was safe. She stuck her hand under her bed and felt her dog's slobbery tongue cross over the palm of her hand. She looked at the window again but the figure was gone. Creeped out, she sighed and tried to go back to sleep. Once again, she heard someone whisper, in the same sing-song voice, “I’m on my way.” She didn’t have time to think about it because she drifted off to sleep. An hour or so later she sat up in bed. She had heard footsteps in the hallway, and crept out of bed to see if it was possibly just her parents returning from their party. Seeing nothing, she returned to bed. As she was about to stick her hand under the bed, she heard a drip, drip, drip, followed by some footsteps. She walked downstairs into the kitchen and secured the taps. That surely wasn't the source of the drip. She crept upstairs and climbed into bed. There was something sticking at her at the side, she was too tired to check what it was and move it. "This is silly," she told herself "I'm probably just imagining things." She stuck her hand under the bed, and felt the dog lick her hand. “I’m going to kill you.” The voice sang. She ignored it again but an hour later she awoke again. A little mad at this point, she jumped out of bed. The dripping wasn't coming from the kitchen so it must be from the bathroom. She crept along the side of the hallway, and walked into the bathroom. She groped along the side of the wall with her left hand, looking for the light switch. She flicked the light on and gasped. There, hanging from the shower rod was Scout-skinned-a pool of blood had formed on the bathroom tile with a continuous 'drip, drip, drip' as the blood from the dog hit the ground. His skin lay in a pile in the shower. She ran to her room, screaming. She saw footprints on the floor next to her bed. There was a bloody knife on her bed. She looked at the window and realised that she could see her pale reflection. She looked like she was standing outside and gasped. There hadn’t been someone outside; it had been someone’s reflection. Something on the wall caught her eye; written on the wall was a message in blood..."Humans can lick too…"
“That wasn’t even spooky!.. actually it was rather disturbing. Anyways, my turn. It’s not really a story, more like a legend. Do you know of the creatures they call night walkers?” said Neil
No one moved so he continued. “In the olden days, there was an old town infested with inhuman beasts that fed on human blood. It is said that they were scared of the sun because it burnt their skin. They fed during the night and their favourite were human children. They also had inhuman powers; they could lift up cars, run like lightening for days without getting tired or even walk through fire without even a scratch on them…”
Did he just say walk through fire? My heart accelerated. I continued to listen. “…they had the palest white skin and it was as cold as ice. They had the most shocking eyes and their beauty drew their prey in – “
“Neil!” I almost screamed but my voice wouldn’t go above a whisper. “What were the creatures?”
He looked confused by my expression. “Some called them night-walkers or blood-suckers but in our time we would call them vampires.”
It took me an extra second to talk. I kept on remembering all the things that Forrest did; rescuing me from the fire, stopping the glass from falling, the feel of his pale, cold hands in mine. Could it be possible?
“Vampires?” I muttered. Okay, I’m officially getting paranoid.
“Yeah Leah, vampires. Haven’t you ever heard of them?” Chloe asked me.
“Lee-Lee, are you okay? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.” Brady sounded really concerned so I couldn’t help but wonder what my expression looked like. I guessed it was of total shock and realisation. I couldn’t bring myself to talk; all I could do was keep on repeating the word in my head. I felt Brady take hold of my arm and walk me over to the couch. There was an annoying mumbling. I realised it was me. Shoot! I had been repeating the word out loud. That snapped me out of it.
“Guys, I’m okay but I have to go. Brady can you please take care of Neil and Chloe and drop them off at home at about five.”
I didn’t wait for their reply. They just stared at me as I rushed out the door practically colliding into Brady’s mum. I didn’t apologize as I normally would have; I just had to get out of here. I needed to go to where this all began. School? No, that’s not it. Then I remembered the biology trip. The mysterious guy in the forest. The guy who had kissed me, I blushed at the memory. I couldn’t walk anymore and I collapsed on the wall, practically panting, what was wrong with me? I couldn’t drive all the way to the same place; I don’t think I’d even be able to find it. I just had to go somewhere. I don’t know why but I had a feeling that if I went there I would find the answers I needed. I used up what little energy I had to get up and drive off in my car.
I got out of the car in a hurry and walked into the puzzling world of green and awkward noises; the forest. I hadn’t realised how much time had passed. I kept on walking getting deeper and deeper into the forest. The sky was a dark grey even though it wasn’t going to get dark anytime soon; a storm was coming.
I saw something moving at the corner of my eye. I jumped and followed. I wonder who it could be wandering here. I walked closer and closer until I realised who it was.
Forrest. I gasped. I hope he hadn’t heard me but he just kept on walking and I kept on following unreasonably. What was wrong with me? I was following someone who I thought was a vampire! And something was definitely wrong with me if I’m even considering him being a vampire! He stopped but didn’t turn around.
“Why are you following me?” I head him ask without turning to look at me.
“Why are you ignoring me?”
“It would be better if you stayed away from me”
“Better for whom?”
“Don’t you get it!? I’m dangerous and I will hurt you!”
He did a sudden three-sixty and was facing me, glaring.
“I don’t think you can.”
“Do you still think I’m human?”
He ran so fast that he became a blur and grabbed a huge boulder and lifted it up using two fingers. The boulder looked heavier than any body-builder could even lift.
“No, I don’t think that you’re human. I know what you are and I’m not scared. I don’t care! I don’t want to stay away from you, no matter what you are.”
“I don’t believe that you know, you would be too scared, too revolted...”
“There are other emotions that over-power fear!” I almost shouted at him.
He scoffed. “Tell me Leah, what do you think I am?”
His voice was composed, unnatural. Fear still layered his voice, like he was scared to find out my answer. His voice stung me and his face was full of anguish and pain but I couldn’t understand why. I mean I could, but not completely.
The gates of heaven opened and it started raining fiercely. I could only hear the gushing of water around me and on my face. I was soaking but I didn’t care. My clothes darkened and my hair flattened against my face in a matter of seconds.
I didn’t reply. I couldn’t voice it. Maybe if I didn’t say it, it wouldn’t be true. When he saw that I was hesitating he ran next to me and had me pressed up against a tree, his arms outstretched, palms flat against the side of my head. I was caged and my heart beat accelerated.
He leaned his head towards me and whispered into my ear.
“I’m a vampire, Leah.” His velvety voice rung in my ear.






















Chapter 8
Logic is Useless

I wanted to say that it wasn’t true, that he was crazy but it made sense and with Forrest, I was done trying to reason things out.
His face was inches away from mine and I could still smell him even though the rain should have washed all traces of it away. He still smelled of everything possible and it almost made me lose my focus but I fought back. The rain was still pounding and I could hear the thunder.
“You’re not scared of me?” He asked. There was an eerie darkness around him that swallowed him completely.
“No” I lied.
“You are. I can feel it. Your pulse is rushing and I can see it in your eyes.” Just like I could see the torment in his. “I don’t know why I keep on doing this to you.” He pulled away from me. “I shouldn’t be here.”
He started to walk away again.
“Why do you keep on doing that? Coming back and just leaving again.”
I was close to tears. I wanted to know more than anything and it felt as if my whole life depended on it. Why was he there when I needed him but disappeared the next… that wasn’t true… I always needed him.
“Because I can’t stay away from you… because I love you, but I keep on putting you in danger…” He looked down, ashamed.
He started to walk away but he was too far away and I couldn’t stop him. I couldn’t let him slip away, not now, not when he said he loved me.
“Why do you leave when I want you to stay?” I asked him.
Tears started to flow down my cheeks and I couldn’t make them stop. My tears merged with the rain water but I could still feel them on my cheeks, falling freely from my eyes.
“I’m dangerous. You have no idea how hard it is for me not to hurt you. Not to kill you. I thirst for your blood but I can’t leave you. If I stay… I could kill you.”
“I’ll take that chance, I will risk it. I love you more than you could know.” I have no idea why I said that but it was true. My crush wasn’t an unreasonable infatuation, it was love. I had known that, deep down, but I had tried to ignore it but I had always known it. He froze when he heard me say that I loved him. I didn’t have any more strength left in me. I fell onto my knees and sobbed quietly. The rain covered everything. My face fell towards the ground and I saw the patterns the water was creating in the already soaking soil. The rain hadn’t ceased and I couldn’t even hear myself cry.
I felt a freezing hand touch my chin and raise my face and raise it towards his.
“Don’t cry Leah. If you really want me, I’ll be here. As long as you want me, I’ll be strong.”
The tears stopped falling and I looked into his eyes. He looked into mine and I was mesmerized. The rain subsided to a slow patter and then stopped completely. I got up from my knees but his hands never left mine.
We smiled at each other. There was nothing else to say. I wasn’t scared, not anymore, the loveless storm was over and now the sun felt like it was shining. What could I say to him without sounding like a complete idiot? I was just happy to be here holding his hand. But then curiosity over-rode me.
“What were you doing out here anyways?”
“I was going to eat” He told me looking in the distance.
“Eat…?” My voice trailed off as I realised what he meant.
He pushed me against the tree again. He was so close…
“You’re scared again.” He told me. He pulled back and I heard him laugh. A wind-chime sound that kept on ringing in my ear.
“My family and I aren’t like normal vampires. I guess you could call us the freaks amongst those who are already freaks. We feed on animals, it’s not very satisfying but it’s a choice we’ve taken to hold on to whatever humanity we have.”
I let out a sigh of relief. I hadn’t been scared for myself; I had been scared for whoever could have ended up as prey.
“So there are vampires who feed on humans?”
“Yes. Not everyone wants to live like us but human-eating vampires don’t hunt anywhere close to this town.”
“Why not?”
“Well, because my family won’t allow it”
I smiled at him. It was easier to talk about mythical creatures than I thought it would be. What a weird day. Looks like I’m in love with a vampire – creepy. Something was bugging me at the back of my mind.
“How old are you?”
I heard so many stories about vampires who were thousands of years old and I wondered how old Forrest was.
“Nineteen” he answered promptly.
His answer caught me off guard but it still wasn’t the answer I was looking for. I allowed myself to get side-tracked from my original question to ask another one.
“What do you mean nineteen?”
He sighed
“I was turned when I was nineteen. I’m only pretending to be sixteen so my family could live here longer. The younger we start out in a place the longer we can stay there. Zane and Gretchen are actually in their early twenties” he explained.
Early twenties? I decided that I should ask him a more direct question, if I wanted a direct answer.
“What year was it when you were turned?”
“I’ll tell you later some other time, this isn’t the place” he told me with a hint of teasing in his voice. He grinned, obviously enjoying my curiosity.
“Do you want to come with me to the beach? I’ll tell you there if you want.”
My face lit up instantly.
“Definitely.”
We walked quickly and found ourselves walking away from the forest and towards my car in a few seconds. I reached for my car keys but when I got them out his hands had already snatched them and he was holding the passenger seat open for me. I didn’t hesitate as I climbed into the car. I wasn’t exactly sure where the beach was. He climbed into the driver’s seat and we were speeding down the streets in no time. There were barely any light to see so I wasn’t sure where we were going and my sense of direction is horrible so I trusted him to get us there.
“What about your car?” If we were going with mine his had been left there.
“I didn’t go there by car.”
We continued to drive in silence.
I stared ahead the rest of the time, at the darkness that was the only thing visible. I turned my head to look at Forrest but he was looking at me, with an expression close to awe. The speed meter read close to a hundred and twenty miles per hour.
“You’re going to kill us! Watch where you’re driving!” I almost screamed.
My heartbeat was going faster and I was scared. He could probably walk away from any accident but I couldn’t. What the extra flow of blood pumping through my veins did to him, it showed in his eyes… pain. I had to calm down.
“Do you think that I would drive like this if I wasn’t so sure of what I was doing? Speed comes second nature to me and I don’t need eyes to see what is coming. Trust me.” He was sure of himself.
Despite all odds, I still trusted him and I just focused on getting my heartbeat regular again.

My heart was still at the verge of climbing out of my chest. I scrambled out of the car but I moved to fast and I stumbled. Forrest was there to catch me before I fell, again.
“Thanks-“
“-Are you okay?” He sounded worried.
“Yeah, no broken bones. See” I twirled so he could see that I wasn’t lying. “Just a bit dizzy”
He grabbed my hand and guided me through the endless number of trees. We walked until the trees just seemed like a never-ending maze of darkness. There was a light breeze in the air. There was no light, no moon to even show us the way, but Forrest’s hand in mine guided me. A strand of my hair was caught in the wind. The moon seemed to come out and I could see a bit better.
“There are the steps now, be careful.”
We descended the stairs quickly and we stopped at the mouth of the dark cave. He let me pass before him and this time I didn’t hesitate. I waited for him and when he came he grabbed my hand and continued to guide me. He moved the rock and this time I didn’t have to wonder why he could move it.
It was the second time that I came to this beach but I was still amazed by the sheer beauty of it. The white sand was smooth as I walked to the palm tree. We sat and I rested my back against the large trunk.
When we settled down I tried again.
“How old are you? Really.”
“I don’t know” he told me solemnly. His face was shadowed by the past.
“How can you not know!”
“It doesn’t matter, Leah.” but it was important to me. No matter how much I tried it seemed like he would never be able to let me in. “I want to know!”
He hesitated before continuing. He looked at my expression, probably determining if it would truly matter.
“I can’t remember a lot of when I was human; just flashes. All I know is that sometime in the late 1960’s I ran away from my home and went to Northern Carolina. I must have gotten hurt pretty badly because the next thing I remember is feeling immense pain. I thought that I couldn’t be alive. The pain was too much and when I woke up I was like this.” He didn’t stop for a breath. It felt like he had been keeping everything inside and now that he started, he couldn’t stop. A dark cloud covered his face.
“I’m sorry that you can’t remember anything else.”
“It’s okay. Gretchen said that human memories fade, they become blurred until they’ve been forgotten, and once you’ve turned it doesn’t really make a difference. ” He seemed to be more and more willing to talk, almost as if he didn’t mind.
“Tell me about your parents.” I told him, trying not to give him a choice. I really wanted to find out everything I could.
“They’re the best kind of people, dead or alive.” His tone turned lighter and his expression better. “My mother, Alaih, she’s…Erm… weird, even for a vampire.” He smiled at me and took my hand in his, like it came naturally. I could feel him tracing the patterns on my hand. “She can know if something good or bad is going to happen-“
“A psychic?” I interrupted.
“When you say it like that you make it sound like a carnival side-show.” He chuckled. “Sort of. She says that it’s like she can hear what the stars are whispering to each other, she doesn’t understand everything of what they say but she always manages to feel whether it’s something good or something bad. She’s a wild spirit but she’s the heart of the family.”
“What about Nicholas?” I asked him, intrigued by his family.
“If Alaih’s the heart then Nick is the body. He keeps us together. We would probably fall apart without him; it’s hard having such a big coven living as one. The fact that we drink animal blood helps, the wild vampires that drink human blood, loose most of their humanity and fight. They are usually go about in small covens of twos. Nick is the artist of the family.”
“They sound wonderful-” I told him
“-They are” He cut in
“And you love them.” It wasn’t a question. I could see it in the way he talked about them.
The moon had come out and it seemed bigger and brighter than usual. I loved the salty taste that this place gave me. It wasn’t a normal taste, it was different. I was leaning on him. Our hands still entwined. I straightened my back to look him in the eye.
“What does Alaih see about our future?” I asked him seriously.
“What do you mean?”
“What have the stars told Alaih? About us… a human falling in love with a vampire. She must have seen something.”
He looked away from my eyes and focused on the calm waves coming in. He hesitated before answering.
“She doesn’t like what she sees. The stars are against it but no one’s future is fixed, it can cha-“
“I don’t care what she sees.” I interrupted him before he could continue. I didn’t want him to say things like that.
He looked me in the eyes. “Then, for you, I’ll defy the stars.”
I smiled and leaned against his shoulder.
Everything happened so fast. I was leaning on Forrest one second and the next he was on the other side of the beach. He seemed to shimmer and glow until it wasn’t Forrest standing there; it was a big majestic cat.
I didn’t know what to do, I was gripped in fear and I couldn’t move. What the hell was going on?
I didn’t know what I was doing until I found myself inside the cave; I was running away. I was completely blind without Forrest to guide me. I stood still for a moment and there he was. Forrest arms were around me hugging me close to him. I felt safe.
“What happened out there?” I asked him.
“I… I lost control. I couldn’t stop it.”
“Th- that was you?” I was astonished. I accepted that vampires existed but this? It was like a fairytale... or a seriously disturbed nightmare.
“Vampires… we have special abilities. Super strength, super speed, extra hearing, extra vision, we can see in the dark and we can also shape shift into an animal. It depend on what kind of person you are.”
“You can change into… animals? Like any animal?” I was still a bit shocked.
“No not any. Every vampire can change into a different animal. There are twelve possible animals that a vampire can be. A feline, a canine, a rodent, etc… they’re similar to that of the Chinese zodiac. Though dragons don’t actually exist and cats are included. Covens of some animals have died out, like those of the pig.”
I guess that this wasn’t something weirder than a vampire.
It was something I was going to have to get used to.
“Kind of like the legend of vampires turning into bats?”
“Where do you think that legend started from?” He asked me with a grin on his face.
Legends are probably based on true things. But that brought me to a question that I just had to ask, for the sake of my sanity.
“Do you sleep in a coffin?” I asked him cautiously
He just looked at me in astonishment and then burst out laughing.
“What? What’s so funny?” I asked him. He just continued to laugh.
When he could control himself he answered my question.
“Vampires don’t sleep.”
I just stared at him once again. My brain had so much to process it was going to burst.
I looked at my watch. The time had passed too quickly. It was almost eleven. Forrest caught me looking at my watch.
“I should take you home.” He told me.
“But I don’t want to go back yet.”
“And what will we do when your mum sends a search party for everyone?”
I just kind of “hmphed” to show that I admit defeat but it didn’t mean I had to like it.
* * * * *
He parked my car in front of my house. I turned to open the door but he was already there holding it open for me.
“I don’t want this day to end…” I told him as he walked me to my door. He was so close to me. My heart started to do funny things.
“Then it won’t” He told me and grinned. “…not yet.”
He opened the door for me and when I turned around to tell him goodnight he was already gone. It was like he had turned into the darkness and vanished.
I walked to my mum’s room and she was in bed watching TV.
“Mum, I’m home. I’m gonna wash and I think I’ll go out back. The stars are out tonight and they look amazing.”
“Okay, hun. I’ll see you in the morning. “
We didn’t have school tomorrow so my mum didn’t object. She was half asleep anyways so she probably didn’t understand half the stuff I said.
I walked into the bathroom and had a quick shower.
What did Forrest mean when he said that my day won’t end yet? That guy was so mysterious. I wore plain purple pyjamas and walked to my room. I was just about to grab the blanket to go outside, when I heard a light knock coming from my window. I held my breath and waited for Chloe to stir but instead I found her bed empty and untouched. She was thankfully sleeping over at a friend’s house; it would have been hard to explain tonight if she had woken up.