blood-borne

5. acquainted

I was a little more at ease when I awoke the following morning. I had a general idea of what to expect at school now, and I was becoming more familiar with the building. I was thankful to find a small group of friends that I was already comfortable around, it made things go much smoother.

As my aunt pulled into the parking lot, a downpour of rain came crashing down from up above. I stayed put in the car for a minute to see if there was a possibility of it slowing down or coming to a halt long enough for me to get inside, it never did. I stepped out of the car and into the rain. I threw my hood up over my head and slung my backpack over my shoulder.

"I love you. Have a wonderful day, Hail." Aunt Kate smiled.

"I'll try. I love you, too. Be careful driving home." I replied.

I closed the passenger door, and speed walked to the entrance of the school. I went inside and directly to Jade's locker.

Evan had met up with her today. They were currently lost in their own world. He had her pressed against the locker, making out with her. I shook my head, backed away and bolted down another hallway. Unsure of exactly where I was heading, but hoped it would come to me as I moved.

I walked past the library doors, but stopped once I heard a pleasant, familiar voice.

"Good morning, Hailie." His smooth velvety British accent greeted me.

"Morning, Rory. Are you up here by yourself?"

He nodded. "I enjoy the quiet. This is usually where I like to spend my mornings. Mrs. Phillips, the librarian, allows me to come here to study or do homework before my first hour. Or I usually help her with computer issues, or restocking the shelves with books. I assume she's running behind today."

He invited me to sit with him. I went through my backpack and pulled out some of my homework. Rory took several glances here and there, making sure I was on the right track and there weren't any mistakes on my assignments. This, I was expecting.

"We need to correct a couple of things. Other than that, you've definitely improved." He smiled, picking up my textbook. He guided me through some techniques to solve the questions more easily. He encouraged me to try some on my own. I found it funny, I ended up receiving a tutoring session from Rory after all. And it wasn't as bad as I imagined it would be. Although, I caught him glancing at the wounds on my neck from time to time, letting me know that the rain had washed away the makeup I applied.

"I'm impressed, not one question wrong. You're a fast learner." Rory complimented.

I smiled proudly. "I can't take all the credit. I had a great tutor."

Rory returned the smile, interlocking eyes with me.

My face flushed red. I glanced down at my cell phone to check the time.

"Oh, we should probably get going. Class starts soon."

Rory walked me to my locker. I hurried and collected everything I would need for my first two classes and my gym uniform. I locked my locker, then Rory and I went our separate ways.

The locker room was dark, cold, and bare. It gave me the creeps to say the least. I was guessing I was going to be late because I had the entire room to myself. I changed hastily, then hurried and applied more makeup to my neck. Then made my way to the gym.

I entered the gymnasium, beating the final bell by seconds. I sighed, catching my breath. I joined Jade out on the floor.

"Hey, I didn't see you this morning. I thought you were going to be absent again today. Where were you? Were you just late getting here? Oh no, you didn't get lost, did you?" Jade bombarded me with questions.