Chapter 9
The truth

I sat in the shower until the hot water ran out; even then I stayed in for another fifteen minutes. My tears were just dry sobs now, there was no water left in me to cry. I stood up and dried off. I put on some comfy pajamas and walked into my room. There was a light tap on my door.

"Andrea, it's me Helen, can I come in?" she whispered.

I got up and unlocked the door then curled up on my bed again. She quietly opened the door and closed it behind her. She pulled up my computer chair and sat next to the bed.

"What happened?" she whispered.

"He….broke…up…with me." I sobbed quietly.

"What?" she was shocked.

"Yeah, Helen, I don't want to talk about it right now."

"Okay, I understand."

I didn't speak.

"Do you want me to leave?" she whispered.

I shook my head.

"Do you want me to lay with you?"

I nodded.

She curled up on the bed next to me, holding me.

I fell asleep in my sister's arms that night. I'd never felt so comforted since the night…
I pushed the thought away. If was going to push through this, I was going to need to stop thinking about him. I woke up early in the morning. Helen was still sleeping next to me. Her phone started buzzing on the nightstand. I was curious to see who she texts, so I picked up the phone.

Lilly: You missed an ah-mazing party last night!

I wasn't aware of a party. I scrolled through the rest of the texts.

The ones I read were from last night.

Lilly: Helen, party at my house tonight. 8:00, be there!

Helen: I can't tonight.

Lilly: What? Why?

Helen: I'm hanging with my sis.

Lilly: Come on Helen, don't be lame!

Helen: I just can't, sorry!

Lilly: But Greg Livington is going!

Helen: I'm sorry, Lilly, thanks for inviting me, but I can't.

Lilly: Ugh, you're impossible. :[

Helen: Look, my sister is going through something really tough right now! She needs me and as long as she does, I'm going to be here for her. You may hate your sister, but I love mine.

Lilly: Whatever *rolls eyes*

That was the end of the conversation. Helen was beginning to stir next to me. I set her phone back on the nightstand and lied back down. She stretched her arms and smiled at me.

"How ya feeling this morning?" she asked, her voice sympathetic.

"Like someone punched a giant whole in my chest." I said, getting up.

"You really liked him didn't you?" she asked.

I turned around and nodded slowly. "I did, I do."

She didn't speak, but I could tell she thought it was foolish to like him so much.

"I know it sounds crazy," I started, sitting back down next to her. "I think I'm in love with him." I whispered.

"But you just—"

"Met him, I know. But there's something…there's something there."

I haven't really admitted it to myself yet, but I was already in love with him. I sat there for a long while.

"It's Saturday, Helen. Why don't you call Greg and see if he wants to go out for lunch or something?" I suggested.

She stared at me, worried about how I'd react to being alone.

"Don't worry, Helen, I'm not suicidal." I sighed.

She was still skeptic.

"Helen! Go have a good time!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, mom and dad are here anyway."

She shook her head. "Dad had papers to grade and mom had a case she needed to work on."

"How do you know this?"

"Cause, they came in and told me." She shrugged.

I nodded. "Well go call him!" I urged.

"Okay, but if you want me to come home, just call me. Kay?"

"Yes, yes. Now go!"

She was still wary as to go or not. I smiled and she took that as her cue to leave. It wasn't until she left the house that I realized…I really didn't want to be alone. I went over to my computer and logged in, maybe someone would be online. Anneliese signed in just as I did.

Anneliese: Hey, Andrea.

Me: Hi,

Anneliese: So, are you hanging out with Blaize today?

Me: No, not today…not ever.

Anneliese: Oh no! Andrea, what happened?

Me: He broke up with me yesterday…

Anneliese: I'm really sorry, wait…you guys were dating?

Me: He made it official yesterday afternoon, but ended it last night.

Anneliese: I'm so sorry…and I feel like a fool to bring this up, but do you forgive me?

Me: I don't know

Anneliese: Andrea, please? I know I don't deserve it, but please? I'll make it up to you.

Me: Okay, I forgive you.

Anneliese: Thanks

Me: I feel really stupid for asking you this…but would you mind coming over to hang out with me? I don't really want to be alone…

Anneliese: Absolutely, I need to get a ride with my brother though.

Me: why?

Anneliese: Uh, well my license was suspended after the whole…party thing.

Me: oh, that sucks. Sorry.

Anneliese: IT's okay, I'll be there as soon as I can.

Me: Thanks

We both logged off. I went into my closet and grabbed some sweats and a sweatshirt. I threw my hair up into a messy ponytail and didn't bother with makeup. Something told me my looks weren't being judged today.

I went downstairs and laid on the couch, waiting for Anneliese. After some time there was a knock on the door. I knew he wouldn't dare come back, but I looked out the window to check. It was Anneliese. Her bright red hair was braded down her back and she was wearing an outfit identical to mine. I opened the door and she threw her arms around me.

"These are for you." She smiled. She handed me a bouquet of daisies and a box of chocolate.

I laughed. "Anneliese, my boyfriend broke up with me, I didn't get sick."

"I know, but when a guy breaks up with me, all I want is flowers and chocolate. And of course a friend to share them with."

I looked at her; the tears began to sting my eyes. "Thanks."

"You want to cry?" she asked.

I nodded quickly and walked over to the couch. She was right behind me, sitting on the couch with me when we got there. I hugged a pillow to my chest, hoping it would take the form of the whole.

"Where's your sister and parents?"

"My parents," I started when I finally got a grip. "Are at work and Helen went out with her boyfriend."

"What? Helen went out with her boyfriend when yours just broke up with you? That's seriously breaking the sister code!"

"No, it's not like that. I told her to go."

"Still…"

"She missed the biggest party in her grade last night so she could spend the night with me."

"That's really sweet of her."

"Yeah, so I thought I'd let her go."

She nodded. "Well hey, want to watch some movies?"

"I guess…"

She got up and went over to her bag by the door. She pulled out some DVDs. "Don't worry, none of them are romance."

"Okay good." I sighed in relief.

"They're all pretty much horror movies. I made sure I got ones where the main guy gets killed." She laughed.

I didn't answer.

"That's okay…right?"

"Yeah, absolutely."

"Cool," She put the movies in.

We watched movies all day, commenting on how hot the main characters were and laughed when they died. This was just what I needed, but somehow, each guy in the movie became Blaize and the whole in my heart got bigger and bigger with each murder. I wasn't about to let Anneliese know though, she'd feel bad and I didn't want her to.

When the movies finally ended, she turned off the TV. "Well, I should be getting back for dinner. Unless you'd like me to stay?"

"No, no it's fine." I faked a smile.

She got up with me and walked to the door. "Thanks for coming over."

"No problem." She smiled.

She threw her arms around me again and hugged me. "Bye," I whispered.

She walked out, her brother pulled into the driveway. They drove away, leaving me completely alone. I went back up to my room, needing something to distract me. I put back on my comfy pajamas and crawled back into bed and began to read. Every world turned into Blaize. Nothing was keeping me distracted, so I decided to watch TV. Every channel had romance on it. I gave up and decided to try to go to sleep. My thoughts put me to sleep quickly.

I clutched my throat, the fire was excruciating. I wanted to scream, but it was as if I had no voice. I looked around the room, looking for some sort of answer. I crouched into the corner, feeling on edge. Then his voice called to me.

"I'm so sorry." Hi cried.

I didn't know who it was that was saying sorry. Then he stepped out of the shadows, looking at me. His face was twisted in pain…it was him. The one I have fallen so deeply in love with. The one that has broken my heart into a million tiny, little pieces.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry." He cried again.

Why is he apologizing? He had shown me life and the beauty of it. Then he showed his teeth…

I sat up, my breathing was heavy and my heart was pounding. What was that? It was a dream…but it felt so….so real! Then my mind drifted back to what Blaize had said in the forest. I flashed back to the words and the twisted pain on his face. "Your life has been in mortal danger from the moment I spoke to you in school."

Was this what he was talking about? Was he a…

I pushed away the thought. Now he's making me go crazy. I was never in any danger; he just said that to get rid of me. I was still confused though…why would my dreams take me to that conclusion?

I got up and walked to the computer, something wasn't right here. I went to Google. I couldn't believe I was doing this. I was spending my Saturday night googling vampires…I sighed and continued.

I typed in Vampire. IT brought me to tons of website suggestions. I clicked the Wikipedia one. I knew that wasn't very reliable, but the rest were for TV shows and movies. IT was all I had. It said that there had been recordings of vampiric cities. They have been called bloodsucking demons but the term vampire wasn't popular till the 18th century. I closed the window and went back to bed.

I couldn't help thinking about this whole ordeal. Could he really be a…vampire? They described them as having cold skin. I thought back to when he'd held my hand in the car on the way home from the bonfire…he'd had gloves on. It wasn't really cold out. Then his sister tried to shake my hand and he put an end to that. His lips were always cold when he'd kissed me…

I grabbed a piece of paper to make a check list

Cold skin- check

They also said that their eyes change color. His eyes had been blue and gold at one time...but he said he'd gotten contacts. After that, his eyes kept getting darker and darker.

Eyes change color- check

They also said that the vampires have dark circles under their eyes when they're thirsty. When I thought of it…he did have dark circles under his eyes.

Dark eye circles- check

And last, they said that vampires have angelic faces and voices.

Angelic face and voice- check

I threw the paper in the trash. This is ridiculous. Vampires are not real, it's all a myth. Just like werewolves and fairies. It was just as I started to sleep that the phone rang.

"Hello?" I answered, not bothering to look at caller ID.

"Andrea?" his voice said.

I took a deep breath. "What do you want, Blaize?"

"To talk to you."

"Well, I'm done talking."

"Please, I need to tell you…"

"I know what you are." I cut him off.

There was dead silence on the other end.

"I won't tell anyone." I whispered.

"How…what…what am I?" he asked.

"A…I can't say this over the phone." I snapped.

"Well I'll come see you…"

"NO, I don't want to see you!" I shouted.

"Please, Andrea, I'm sorry."

"No, good bye."

I hung up the phone.

The rest of the weekend was sad. I sat home on Sunday as well and the rest of Saturday night was wasted sleeping. When Monday came around, I forced myself out of bed. This day was going to be dreadful and I knew it. I didn't bother with my looks. I threw my hair into a ponytail and put no makeup on. I wore some jeans and a sweatshirt. I went downstairs sleepily. My parents sat at the kitchen table. I sat down at the kitchen table.

"You okay, dear?" my mother asked.

"I'm fine." I sighed. "Can I borrow a car to go to school?"

"Yeah, your father and I can ride together. Would you mind taking Helen today?"

"Sure."

Helen bounced down the stairs, her face beaming.

"Why are you so excited for school?" mom asked.

"Cause, homecoming is Frid—"her face fell as she looked at me. "No reason."

They looked at her suspiciously.

"We should get going, Andrea. We don't want to be late." She smiled

I nodded and we headed to the door. We got into the yellow Porsche today.

"So…do you have any classes with him?" she asked as she buckled her seatbelt.

"Just art class." I answered, starting the car.

"Well that's not so bad; you won't see him very much."

"His locker is right next to mine." I sighed.

"Ouch." She muttered.

"Mhm,"

I backed out of the driveway and onto the road. Helen turned on the radio in attempts to distract me from my thoughts. It worked at first, but songs that I knew came on, causing me not to pay attention to the actual lyrics. I couldn't get his face out of my mind. IT seemed so easy for him to leave me, but so hard for him to kiss me. I didn't understand his words. Then my mind drifted to my assumptions from Saturday evening. I knew I was right now. It doesn't make sense, but every fiber of my being is telling me that I am right. It's telling me that I assume right and that he is…a vampire.

I'd have to confront him about this. I'd have to tell him what I know. He knows I know something, just doesn't know what. He'd think I was crazy, but that's okay. Maybe I really am crazy. Maybe I lost my sanity a long time ago and he isn't really real. Maybe this whole school year has been imagined. Maybe I'm being homeschooled as I think.

Maybe I belong in an institution.

"Andrea!" Helen screamed.

She brought me out of my thoughts and back into reality. "What?" I screamed.

"You passed school!" she snapped.

I looked around, she was right. I did pass the school. I turned around and drove into the parking lot. I stopped half way in, seeing Blaize's car in the back of the lot. I continued driving so that I could park in the farthest space from him.

"Uh…why'd you park on the complete other side of the parking lot?" Helen asked.

I looked over at his car.

"Oh,"

"Yeah..." I sighed.

We got out of the car and started walking to the school. When we into the halls that divided out grades she smiled at me.

"Good luck, and don't let him get to you." She whispered in my ear as she gave me hug.

"Thanks."

We went our separate ways. I walked to my locker, finding a sympathetic Anneliese waiting for me.

"Hey." She smiled as I came forward.

"Hi," I greeted back as I opened my locker.

I grabbed my books for first and second period. I didn't want to have to make trips to my locker very often.

"He called me Saturday night." I whispered.

Her mouth fell open. "What?"

I nodded slowly.

"Wait...before or after I left?"

"After."

"Oh my gosh."

"Yeah, he called to apologize…"

She hugged me. "I'm sorry. That had to have been rough."

"Yeah, I hung up on him though."

She pulled back and smiled. "Good, he deserves it. If he broke up with an awesome girl like you…then he deserves it."

"Thanks."

"So would you like me to walk with you to homeroom?"

"Sure, that'd be great."

She looked down the hall and looked back at me, her eyes scared. "WE should go now."

"What? Why?" I looked down the hall. Blaize was walking to us as we spoke. "Let's go."

We started walking, but he was too fast for us. I wasn't able to escape him as I'd hoped.

"Andrea, can I please talk to you?" he asked. His voice was urgent, and yet depressed.

I looked over at Anneliese, she shook her head.

"Fine." I murmured.

She looked at me like I was crazy. "I'll catch up with you in homeroom." I whispered to her.

She nodded, giving Blaize a dirty look.

'I guess I deserve that." He whispered.

"That's not all you deserve." I said, walking back to my locker.

He leaned up against his and I did on mine. "What do you want to talk about?" I asked.

"Andrea, I'm so sorry for how I've acted. That was unacceptable behavior. Please hear me out?" he pleaded.

"I'm listening." I folded my arms.

"I can't talk about this in school…with people around…." He looked at the rushing students.

"Well I don't plan on going anywhere with you, so it's now or never." I hissed.

"I deserve that as well. Will you please come with me to the woods…where it's private?"

"Fine. What time?" I rolled my eyes.

"Can you follow me after school?"

"No, I have to drop my sister off at home."

"Okay, then meet me there as soon as you've dropped off your sister."

"Alright,"

I turned around and started walking to my home room.

When I got into the classroom, Anneliese waited for me. Her eyes worried.

"What'd he say?" she asked.

"He wants to talk…"

"Here?"

"No, after school. We're going for a walk."

"Okay…"

The class started up a few seconds later.

That day was pure torture. I went through all my classes, dreading what would take place after school. When art class finally rolled around, I made sure to sit in the seat farthest from Blaize. He stared at me all hour, making me feel utterly uncomfortable. I rushed out of the class room and out of the school to meet my sister. She leaned up against the car. I opened the doors and got in.

"So how was it?" she asked as she buckled her seatbelt.

"Hell, but what else is new?"

I started the car and backed out of the parking lot. Blaize was ahead of me, his eyes glued to me in his rearview mirror.

"He wants to talk." I murmured.

"What? No way? When?"

"As soon as I drop you off at home, I'm supposed to follow him." I whispered.

"Are you going to go?"

"I guess. I may as well hear what he has to say."

We were silent the rest of the way home. I pulled into our driveway and stopped.

"Tell mom and dad, if I'm not back when they come home, that I'm at Anneliese's house to study." I instructed.

"Okay," she smiled and walked into the house.

I drove until I found the dirt road that he'd turned off on. I followed the dirt until it stopped. His car was parked not far from me. I cut the engine and got out. He wasn't there so I followed the trail.

He stood near the rock that I had sat on just a few days ago. He looked over at me, his eyes defensive. They were that brilliant golden today, suddenly lighter than before.

"What do you want?" I asked my voice hoarse.

"I want to talk to you."

"About…?"

I hopped up on the rock.

"What you said…Saturday night…"

"I don't recall what I said."

"You said…that you know what I was…What did you mean?" his eyes were closed and his eyebrows scrunched together.

"I know what you are."

His eyes popped open. "What am I?"

"A…"

"A what? Andrea you have to tell me." His voice was urgent.

"Why do I have to tell you anything? I don't think I have to do anything for you!" I shouted as I hopped down from the rock. I started walking away. His hand caught my wrist like an iron lock. I turned back and gasped.

"What am I Andrea?" his eyes were burning now.

"A vampire." I whispered.

His hand let go of my wrist, letting it drop to my side. His eyes were wide and distant.

"Am I right?" I asked after a few moments of silence.

He looked down and then nodded.

It felt as though someone had punched me right in the gut. I was feeling sick and victorious at the same time. My breathing started to pick up.

"Oh god." I whispered.

That's the last thing I remember…before it all blacked out.