A Touch of Scarlet

42

I slip into a loose black & white striped tank-dress, pull on a long silver necklace with a simple turquoise pendant dangling from it, and step into my white sneakers.
After quickly combing out my previously messy brown hair and brushing a coat of mascara onto my lashes I open my bedroom door and step into the hallway.
I make my way out into the living room and take a seat across from a texting Reece and a newspaper reading Nate. "Are you reading the newspaper?" I ask Nate incredulously. "Yes I am" he replied simply without looking up, "it amuses me to read what interests the humans of this century".
"Hey does Valentina need her room back?" I ask curiously, "because if she does I'm happy to move back into Carter's guest room". "No that's your room now Lydia, besides Val can have Reece's room if she wants to move back in" Nate answers.
At this Reece looks up at Nate with a look of warning in his gaze.
"No that's crazy, Reece doesn't need to share his room" I reply, at this Nate looks over to Reece and they exchange a series of expressions. "Sorry to interrupt you two love birds but could you include me in this 'conversation'?" I ask jokingly. Nate gives Reece one more hesitant glance before looking to me "Reece wouldn't be sharing his room he'd be giving it over completely" Nate says. "Well- wait. Why would you give it over completely? Are you going somewhere?" I ask Reece in confusion.

I watch as he looks to the floor in the hopes of avoiding my gaze,
"I uh- I'm moving out to re-join Aspen's circle for a while" Reece states.

"Wha-what why?" I ask in shock.
"I um-" he starts but Nate cuts in, "this is the time when I say that 'I think someone is calling me from the other room' but considering that no one else is here at the moment I think I'm just going to go with 'I gotta go pee" and with that he stands up and walks into his room, shutting his bedroom-door behind him.

"Listen Lydia I just need some time away to get myself together", "why can't you stay closer to us? Is it me? Is that why your running away?"

"I'm not running away", "but you are leaving because of me?" "Well no- I'm leaving because I think we all need some time to figure everything out".

"But I need you around" I argue. "No you don't, you need Jordan", "I need the both of you".
"No you Lydia, I'm giving you what you want", "and what is it that I want?" I ask challengingly.
"You may not know it for sure yet but you want Jordan. Because Jordan, whether I like it or not is your vampire mate", "and I'm giving you a straight path that'll lead you right to him, and all I ask, is that you leave me alone so that I can have the chance to get over you".

I sit cross legged on the couch, across from Reece silently.

How are you supposed to answer a statement like that?

"So your going to just show up at Aspen's door and ask her if she'll take you back?" I snap.
Reece watches me silently for a moment or so before replying, "no I uh- I've already sorted it all out with her".

"Oh you have? So this whole time you've been planning to leave us?"

"It's not forever, just for a while so that I can get my life together ... well so that I can figure out what it is that I need to get together".

"Well if this is really what you want" I start, "then I'll support you completely" I say my voice just above a whisper.

"Thank you" he replies quietly, his tone quick and swift, "I really will miss you".

I hop up off of the couch and walk towards him, taking a seat alongside him on the other couch.

"I'll miss you too" I say as I lean sideways putting my arm around his shoulders in reassurance.

"I'll miss you too" I repeat under my breath.

⋆⋆⋆

"Dammit where is it" I mutter under my breath as I quickly flip through my chem 11 textbook in search of a certain loose paper.
"What are you looking for?" A familiar female voice comes from above where I sit in the school library.
"I uh- I can't find my research paper for chemistry" I sigh, "well where have you looked?" The girl asks.
"I've checked my locker and every textbook incase I forgot it in something ... but nope it's not anywhere" I state in annoyance.
"Did you back it up on a computer?", "Yes but I don't have the time to run to my friends apartment to get it-" I explain but then cut myself off as my eyes travel up to the other half of my conversation.
I take in her curly black hair, white & grey baseball-tee tucked into a pale-blue denim miniskirt, topped with a pair of black converse.

"Elliot" I state unsurely, "Lydia" she replies.
I watch her silently, unsure of what to say, due to our last encounter; when she took me to an archery range that ended with a bleeding girl. Then me saving the girl but in doing so revealing my vampirism to Elliot, and then me walking out of the building in a moody state.

"So Nate came by my house-" Elliot starts, "and over the period of a couple of long hours told me everything".

"Oh" I reply, "yeah so I'm still trying to process it all, but I'm getting more used to the idea". "What idea?" I ask, "the idea of me dating a vampire, because you guys are all going to stay physically the same ... so I'm not sure what that means for me and-" she rambles but I cut her off.

"Whoa, whoa wait. What do you mean; 'the idea of you dating a vampire?"
"I promised Nate that I'd let him tell his brother and friends first but because your my friend too I guess your kind of fair ground..." She pauses.
"Nate and I are dating" She states suddenly. I watch her with wide eyes, "oh wow um ... congratulations? Congratulations!"
"Thanks" she replies shyly.

Wow Nate and Elliot: a couple.

"So you've kind of been having a tough time outside of school" she states: changing the subject.
"Um not super tough ... just sort of very, very different?" I reply,
"different, that's one word for it" she says in amusement.

"So you wanna go back to the archery range and shoot some arrows?" She asks sarcastically. I automatically send her a look of warning.

"Too soon?" She asks, "too soon" I agree with a small smile.

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Authors Note:

Hey everyone thanks for reading this far! After this chapter there's just one more to go before the epilogue is posted.
I've started writing a story (completely unrelated to 'A Touch of Scarlet') would you like me to post the synopsis in its own update? Or not share it at all until the first chapter itself is posted: sometime in July?
If yes, then would you like it posted before or after the epilogue for 'A Touch of Scarlet' is posted?
Please comment your opinion as well as if you'd be interested in reading it.
I will do whatever the majority vote is :)