Lights flashed in the windows and I looked over to see it was Michael and Sam, pulling in on his bike. Paul, Laddie and Marko all entered the room and I flinched away, "they're here." Paul stated. I looked over at the time on my clock to see it was half-past two in the morning. Oh I was so incredibly dead.
Wait a minute-
"Oh god, ok, you need to leave. Now. You and Marko, Paul, Laddie, all of you." I said frantically, looking down to what I was wearing. Someone had dressed me; but it was a respectible pair of black tights and my Ramones t-shirt. I looked over to my chair and saw Dwayne's jacket draped over it. What I figured was a normal speed was much more faster than any speed on Michael or Dwayne's bike.
I was starting to freak myself out, but I handed it to Dwayne, pushing it to his chest. "We can talk about this later-" I told him, and he shook his head, "Sophie, I don't want to keep hiding - your brother needs to know. Both of your brothers need to know." He said, his hand curling around mine. Now I wasn't so sure he was talking about just what had happened tonight.
I wanted to give in, I really did, but I just couldn't. "Dwayne, are you nuts? You want me to tell my brothers that the reason why I left them at the boardwalk was because I was lured down to the beach by Laddie so he could feed on me after I fell into water while we were playing around and was stabbed by a sharp shell, Laddie drained me, and then you turned me into a vampire?" Even it sounded crazy to me in my own head, and it actually happened to me.
"Sophie?!" I heard Michael's voice call from downstairs, angry, worried, it was mixed as he hurried up the stairs. I looked at Dwayne, pleading with him. "Please, Dwayne, please - just, later. Please, we can talk about it tomorrow night." I promised and he sighed, walking over to me and kissing the top of my head, wrapping his arms around me. "Alright, alright. Make sure you get some sleep Sophie; believe me you'll need it." He said, pulling away.
And he was gone just as the door whipped open to reveal my two fuming brothers.
"Where the hell were you?! You had us worried sick, Sophie!" Michael exclaimed, running over to me and nearly hugging the life out of me. Something was different about him. I could smell Sam's blood and hear it racing a mile a minute, but it was different with Michael. It was almost like his was frozen on the spot. "You're different..." I whispered, though it was more so to myself. However, Michael still heard me.
"What are you talking about? Sophie, where did you go? Are you drunk? Are you high? Who were you with?" He was asking a million questions, pulling himself away from me to look at my face. He pushed my cheeks in with both hands, widening my eyes with his fingers and waving his hands in my face. "How many fingers am I holding up?" He asked me.
I smacked his hands away, "I'm fine, Michael. I got into it with some surfer chick down by the beach and was asked to leave the boardwalk for the night." I lied smoothly, right to his face. "Dwayne saw me walking off and gave me a ride. The security guard wouldn't let me go find you guys before I was kicked off." I lied. Now it made me wonder how Dwayne managed to get here with me on his bike.
Sam pushed past Michael, wrapping his arms around my middle and I winced. His blood was rushing fast through his body, I could hear his heart beat in my own ears - he was warm, radiating as the liquid I so craved coursed through him. "You scared me, Soph, don't do that." I felt horrible. While they were searching for me, worried out of their minds, I was against my will being turned into something out of one of Sam's horror comics.
It took me a moment to hug him back, but when I did, the door burst open to reveal my grandfather and my mom. Both with angered looks on their faces, and my mom never got angry. "Sophie Isabel Emerson, I can understand Michael staying out late until God knows how late in the night - however you? I expected you to be responsible. Set an example for Sam." I couldn't look her in the eye as she tore my head off, and all the different heart beats and different scents of blood were making me dizzy.
"Michael Sullivan- I expected more of you. You are supposed to be the big brother, setting the best example you can for Sophie and Sam - and what do you do? Stay out until the early hours of the morning, sleep all day, give attitude and just are plain disrespectful. Samuel Cole, you don't get off the hook so easy either. You know better; why do you choose to follow in their footsteps when you know it's the wrong thing to do? Steal your grandpa's car? Not even call?" The tone in her voice was enough to split us all down our backs.
"No going out tomorrow night. Your punishment while I am at work tomorrow is to stay home and clean this entire house top to bottom, do I make myself clear?" She snapped and the three of us flinched, responding in unison. "Yes ma'am." She stormed out of my bedroom with a quiet good night. My grandfather stood there, looking at us with disappointment on his face. "I don't shame your mother for letting it out on you all. You deserve it at this point." He said, turning around and closing the door behind him.
My mom was pissed more than ever at me, my grandfather disappointed, my brothers a little bit of both. I felt like I was having Stockholm Syndrome - wanting to resist, but falling in love with Dwayne; the vampire that turned me. I sighed, running my hands through my hair. I wasn't tired in the slightest, and I knew I was going to be tomorrow during the day. But I was supposed to clean as punishment with my brothers.
Michael shook his head, "I'm going to my room." He said, walking out of my room not saying another word. I knew he probably hated me now, and it only put an even heavier weight on my heart. "Don't listen to him, Sophie, I'm glad you're safe." Sam was such a good kid, and he hugged me once more - this time I could actually hug him back - and let go so he could go to his room. He left me after we exchanged goodnights, and I was alone in my room once more.
I walked over to my vanity, looking at myself in my mirror. I was much paler, almost ghostly (though to be fair, I wasn't very tan to begin with), and my eyes were darker. However, when I looked closer, I saw that it really was just that my pupils were extremely dilated. I picked up my shirt, running my fingers over a faint pink line across my stomach. It was outlined with smaller, deeper pink lines that could only be from Laddie.
I felt terrible for pushing him away as I had; he couldn't help himself. It was in his nature to do this type of thing - he needed blood and I had it. You can't wave food in front of someone who's starving and expect them not to eat it. It's improbable. I pulled my shirt back down, rubbing my bare arms as I walked over to my bed.
I climbed in, throwing my comforter over my face and I noticed a change in the scent. It was thick and familiar, green apple and exhaust. The lavender on the sheets was my own, that I knew, but the others that permeated the linen was Dwayne's. I wanted to wrap myself in it, it was like an itch I couldn't scratch. I had only knew this boy a month and already he had me wrapped around his finger.
All I knew was that I needed to figure out what I was going to say when I saw him tomorrow night.
