“Besides a little bit of fatigue, it’s like I’m a new person. My bruises and lacerations are gone.” I looked where my wrists had been sliced and all that was left of them was a little red line that I was sure would disappear by tomorrow. “I guess you could say it’s almost as though I’ve been reborn in a sense.”
Reborn could mean many things. It could mean the glass that was half empty for so long had finally been filled to the brim, overflowing itself with happiness and love, completely full of life and vitality. Or, it could mean the entire opposite. You have woken up with your world turned upside down; heartbroken, depressed, and utterly alone in a tornado of unexplained feelings, like you have lost everything you ever felt completed your existence. Mine was the latter of the two.
“You have until the end of the school year to prepare your parents, as well as yourself, for our move that will be taking place shortly after graduation.”
“What do you mean our move? What’s going on?”
“Mon Chéri, Hanover is not the place for us to be anymore. Too much has happened here, and even just one minute person like Gretchen knowing our secret is a danger to us all.”
“Are you serious? I can’t move away; my parents will kill me!”
“You can and you will. I know you don’t want to, Adelay, but we need to reside somewhere where your gift can be nurtured and flourish in a place where the paranormal and the unknown is nothing out of the ordinary. You have a lot of power in you and will learn to use it to its fullest in time. You resurrected a vampire last night without even knowing what you were harboring in your body. Imagine the possibilities once we know that power's fullest potential? You have angel’s blood coursing through your veins, and it didn’t even stem from your lineage. You were chosen randomly to receive this gift and now you get to reap the benefits of a higher power. It chose you for a reason.”
“My father has a college fund already put aside for me for Dartmouth. He expects me to go to school where he is teaching.”
“Well, there’s been a change of plans. With last night’s destruction of the cemetery and the burning of Gorman’s historical tomb, senses have been spiked within the locals. There surely have been a few complaints, setting the town on extreme high alert especially given all of the recent murders.
“Police are going to be on the lookout now for anything out of the ordinary. We cleaned up our mess the best that we could, but there’s no hiding the aftermath of a fire or possible prints from the body. Once a missing report gets filed, they will issue a warrant to search the morgue.”
My heart wrenched, knowing Xander was the body since Dalton’s prints were probably long gone from the system if they had ever even managed to make it there.
“So, what am I supposed to tell them? Hey Mom and Dad, I am suddenly not with Davin anymore, but I am madly in love with his brother, and we’re eloping to God knows where? Sayonara to my education, and I’ll see ya when I see ya!”
“Let us figure out the details. There’s still some time for us to get everything in order.” Eli winked at me as though he had just softened the blow.
I was speechless. Every thought I had was jumbled into one huge ball; I wanted to scream! I had to get out of here now.
“If you’ll all please excuse me, I’m going to go gather my belongings...” Davin looked up at me for a brief second before looking back down at his folded hands on the table equally as fast. “And go back home while I still can. I need to get away from all of this madness for the time being. My whole life has been turned upside down within twenty-four hours.”
I thrust my chair out and stormed away, uncaring if anyone followed. Truthfully, I hoped they didn’t.
Passing by Constantine’s bedroom upstairs, the smell of apple blossom overpowered the long dark hallway. I had almost forgotten that weird woman lived in the house as well. Her door was slightly ajar; so, naturally I couldn’t resist veering into the mysterious bedroom that I had seen once through Davin’s memory.
She was seated daintily at her vanity, brushing her auburn hair in perfectly even, controlled strokes. Thirty seconds must have passed before she caught me watching her from the deserted hall. A smile fashioned on her pursed, ruby red lips while she watched me through the reflection in the mirror while continuing to brush her silky strands.
Something in that forced smile made me want to smack the falseness right off of her face. Since the first day I had met her, she had given off a vibe that she didn’t want me around Davin that he seemed to chalk off as not wanting to expose them to anyone; however, if there was something I was always good at, judging someone’s character or hidden agenda was it.
I knew she not only wanted to satisfy his thirst for blood, but also satisfy his every aching desire, and with me out of the picture, nothing was stopping her now. It made me disgustingly jealous, knowing that he needed her to live humanely in society yet didn’t need a damn thing from me anymore. I smiled back, quickly retreating to Davin’s room to collect my things.
Angrily grabbing my duffle bag from the floor, I began tossing in all of my toiletries inside, purposely leaving the crystal perfume bottle exactly where it stood. I didn’t need anything to remind me of him, being with his brother would be reminder enough. Taking one final glance over my shoulder before closing the door to all
