Bloodlust (The Blood Series #1)

Chapter 3

My head is spinning. I keep seeing visions of Nathan Blood and it's slowly driving me insane. The biology test before me is as blank as it was when I got it. There just isn't enough room in my head for biology when I'm busy worrying about the great mystery that is last weekend.

I wonder if I should go to a hospital. But if I do, they'll call my parents and then they will find out that I've been out all weekend. I have a feeling that I've told one parent that I'm staying with the other one for the weekend and then snuck out to do God knows what with God knows who. And if I get busted for that, not only do I get in trouble but my newly divorced parents are going to have a fight of the century. Also, I got Amy tangled up in this. My mom would throw a fit and poor Amy would be on the receiving end of her wrath just because she helped me. I may not be Amy's biggest fan but she was really sweet to me this morning. I don't want to throw her under the bus.

So it's settled then. If my amnesia doesn't get worse, I'm not going to a hospital. But if it does, then I'll just have to come up with an amazing lie. I rarely lie so my parents would probably believe me. But what would I say? And then again, I can't tell them where I was last weekend. So we are back to square one. I tap my pencil against the desk feeling frustrated.

"Fifteen minutes, everyone", our biology teacher Ms Reyes calls out and I jump a little.

Oh God. I'm going to fail. I can't have an F, my 4.0 GPA will drop like a hot potato. Okay, come on, Haley. Just think. You know these things. You've been in class for this and you have actually listened unlike most people. I wait until my breathing evens and then start writing. It's not my best work but it'll have to do.

I'm the last person to return the test. Just as I'm about to leave, Ms Reyes calls me back. "Haley?"

I look back. "Yes, Ms Reyes?"

She looks at me with worry written on her young face. "Is everything okay? You seem a little preoccupied." 

I nod a couple of times as if that could make me seem more convincing. "Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm fine. It's just been a little stressful weekend."

"Is everything okay at home?"

I think fast and reply with an almost truth: "My dad's girlfriend is pregnant."

It's not a lie. I could be upset about that. Except that I'm not. Not right now, anyway.

Ms Reyes' eyes light up with compassion. She's one of my favorite teachers, even if she teaches biology which is my weakest subject. But she cares about her students and tries her best to make biology interesting. "I see. Do you want to talk to someone about that? You're always welcome to talk to me. Or I could notify the school nurse and have her get you an appointment with a welfare officer."

No way I'm talking to some shrink (well, sort of) about Amy's pregnancy. I try to smile as reassuringly as I possibly can when I say: "No, thank you. I think I'll be okay. It was just a huge bomb, you know?"

She smiles politely. "Yes, of course. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help."

"Yes, thank you, Ms Reyes. I'll keep that in mind."

I get out of the class room and run right into my best friend Andrea. "Hey stranger", she says jokingly but I cringe. I do feel like a stranger. Everything I used to know feels unfamiliar. "You've been ignoring me all weekend. What's up?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you. I lost my phone and just found it this morning."

"Um, okay..." I can tell she isn't sure if she believes me or not but doesn't want to fight so she lets it go and instead asks me what I did on weekend. I mumble something about studying and then quickly put the spotlight on her. She blabs on about her fun weekend with her boyfriend Callum. She met his parents and they had a jolly good time. I'd give a lot to have had her weekend. It sounds so normal.

I try to ignore it but I get this weird feeling of being watched but every time I turn to look, there's no one there. I guess it's just my own guilty conscience messing with my head.

"So, tell me all the gossip. I hate that I couldn't be here on Friday. Who gets a flu in August, honestly?" Andrea flips her hair in annoyance. Oh, that's right. Andrea wasn't in school, she was sick. So she can't fill in the blanks, either.

But maybe someone else can...

"Troy!" I call out and nearly run to my boyfriend. As soon as I reach him, I wrap my arms around him and plant a kiss on his lips. I try to lose myself in the kiss, I try to forget what I've done. Troy's lips feel different though, he's surprised that I'm kissing him. Why is he surprised? We've been dating for two years, he should be used to it by now. Then terror washes over me. Oh God. What if he knows? What if he knows what I've done?

"Haley", Troys says. He gently separates us and then he ushers me away from his friends who are all looking at me funny. Do they know? my frantic mind wonders before following Troy to an empty classroom. There he turns to look at me, brown eyes hesitant as he leans on the teacher's desk. "So, uh, Haley, are you, uh, feeling okay?"

"Yeah. Never better", I chirp. He keeps staring at me and I give up. I've never been very good at hiding things from him. "No, not really. The thing is... I can't remember anything since last Friday."

Troy's head snaps up. "Anything?" he stammers. "I mean, what's the last thing you remember?"

"I remember sitting in the cafeteria. Jody was telling me about her date with Hugh and then... puff."

"Jody? So after talking with Jody in the cafeteria, there's nothing? That's all you remember?" he presses me on.

It sounds a little like he's afraid that I'll remember something he doesn't want me to. I tilt my head to the left and ask incredulously with my brow raised: "I tell you that I have... an amnesia of sorts and you want to know about Jody's date?"

"No, no, I just want to get the whole story. You know me. I'm all about the details."

The ice rising in me melts. Yes, I do know him. He's kind and intelligent and loves doing analyses. Just as he's doing now and here I am, snapping and doubting him. I should be ashamed. "I'm sorry for snapping at you." 

"It's okay, Hales. You know I love you, right?" he asks suddenly with unusual urgency in his voice. His eyes look desperate as he waits for my response like he needs to hear me say it.

I oblige happily and say: "I know. I love you too."

He pulls me to his arms and rests his chin on the top of my head, breathing in my scent. Something is bothering him, I can tell. He's not exactly an affectionate kind of guy so an 'I love you' from him is really rare. Even if I want to pretend that everything is okay and nothing's wrong, I can feel a wall between us. Whatever it is, I just hope he's okay.

It's obvious that Troy doesn't know where I spent last night or he'd be screaming at me right now so me cheating on him can't be the reason why he's acting so weird. I need to find out what happened last Friday. It appears to have been quite an eventful day.