Bloodline and Bloodlust | On Hold

ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔒𝔫𝔢

𝔬𝔫𝔠𝔢 𝔟𝔦𝔱𝔱𝔢𝔫

Like a stream trickling down a fresh mountain; blood flows through veins. The eternal thump of a heartbeat echoes through Arabella's ears. She gulps, thirsty, her throat parched - a hot rod of iron stuck down her gullet.

She tapped her painted nails against the desk in front of her, her garnet daylight ring clinking against the plywood. She took a deep breath and focussed her eyes on the scrap of paper in front of her.

'07765784364'

Sean's phone number...

...If she had a mobile phone, perhaps it would be useful to her. A lot had changed in the last thousand years; and she struggled to apprehend such devices. She pondered her pen against the page and glanced out of the window - birds tweeted happily, and the warm sun grazed her pale skin. Ever so slowly, her breathing calmed.

"Arabella," a voice said sternly, "are you listening?"

She looked up, her violet eyes searing through her teacher's tacky cardigan. Suddenly, with venom, she snapped. "No. Should I have been?"

A few teens in her class snickered, much to Miss Hodson's dismay.

"Yes. You should have been. These classes might be essential to your future." She folded her arms, unimpressed.

Arabella took a deep breath, the lust for blood creeping back through her nose. "What a ridiculous thing to say." She smirked and the veins in her face pushed black.

She longed to stride forward and make a meal out of the woman; the vein in her neck pulsating with her frustrated heart-beat. And she definitely would have done, if not for the shrieking fire-alarm interrupting her thoughts.

Miss Hodson seemingly let go of the notion after hearing the piercing sound, she dropped her arms and let out a long sigh. With procedure, she instructed her class to form an orderly line out of the classroom, leaving their belongings behind.

Arabella left her things as directed and slowly sulked out of the room behind her classmates; she daren't get too close, for they smelt too good - and as much as she was told she was the best with self-control, this school was testing her ability to stay clean.

Once outside, the wind pulled the many scents of fresh meat in each direction - almost as if too astounded to move, she stood still, flustered in place.

It was loud. Not with voices...no. With heartbeat. Almost unbearable; the pitter-patter haunted her ears. She clutched them, desperate for the noises to stop. But where there were people, there were meals.

A cold touch to her wrist jolted her back to her senses; she flinched and turned to face her older sister, who wore a look of disbelief and worry.

"Are you stupid?" She snapped. Her bright red eyes biting through her little sister's dull gaze. With no response, Scarlet led her sister away from the crowds of students and through the car-park. "You said you could do this." She sighed, disappointedly.

As if being away from the students brought her back to the present, Arabella scowled. "Have you been watching me?"

"Yes." Scarlet barked. "And for good reason, too. If I hadn't of set that bloody alarm off, you wouldn't have an English teacher anymore."

Bella rolled her eyes. "I wasn't going to do anything..."

"Bullshit." She said. "Get in," she gestured to her Jeep and swung open the passenger door, "you're going home."

In protest, Arabella slammed the door shut. "Since when did you become my carer?"

"Since you became my problem."

Bella chuffed. "How lovely of you." She reopened the door, and begrudgingly got in. "I'll remind you that you're the one who woke us up."

Scarlet sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. She knew it was a harsh thing to say, but it was partially true. Her sister could not be trusted like she thought she could.

She closed the door behind Bella and huffed over to the other side; taking a second to recuperate her thoughts, she rested her hand on the bonnet of the car.

In her peripheral, she saw him. Standing tall in the trees beside the school, like a looming darkness. His eyes pierced through her. With a quick jolt, she got in the drivers seat and started up the Jeep.

She clutched the steering wheel and reversed out of her space.

Bella stared at the ground, unable to muster the courage to dare look up. She kicked an old plastic bottle with her boot.

"You saw him, didn't you?"

Scarlet gripped the wheel tighter, almost as tight as the dreadful feeling in her chest.

"Yeah. I saw him." She forced out in a whisper.

Turning onto the main road, she put her foot down.

"Don't tell your brother." She warned.

Bella nodded slowly. "Don't you think it's better he knows?"

Scarlet glared at her sister out of the corner of her eye.

"Don't tell your brother."

Arabella took a deep breath, and slowly met her sister's concerned eyes. "Yes, sister."