New Start (Morganville Vampires)

Chapter 6

There was a knock at my bedroom door.

'No.' I said.

I could hear Michael sigh from outside.

My room was dark. It was only midday, but I had closed the curtains. My windows were open and my fan was on, cooling my room down. I was lying on my bed staring at the ceiling. Ceilings always seemed very interesting when you were bored.

'Please.' He said, and I heard him sit down and lean against my door.

'Just go, Michael.' I said.

'Liz, I couldn't tell you. They monitor the phone calls. If I told you, we could've both got killed.'

I lay on my bed, still, in exactly the same position.

'I don't want you making the same mistakes as I did. Being a vampire was the worst thing ever for me. I had no life. People tried to kill me. You must understand your agreement.'

'And I do, Michael. I know it's not going to be the best thing for me. I know that people will hate me for it, and I know that I will be stuck here. But, to be fair, it's better than what I had before I came back here.'

I heard Michael stand up and walk away.

There was another knock at my door.

'Liz, honey, let me in.' It was Eve.

I stood up and unlocked my door, then went back onto my bed.

Eve sat down on the end of my bed. 'I'm sorry about Michael.' She said. 'Hes just really protective over you. He doesn't want you doing anything stupid. He cares about you.'

'The thing is,' I began. 'he never cared for me before. I grew up alone, and he knew, and he didn't care. And all of a sudden, I've made a decision that he doesn't like, and he wants to protect me.'

When I was bullied, Michael hadn't been there. Lots of people got bullied if they didn't fit in at my school. But the others that got bullied had older brothers or sisters that stood up for the. They were there for them when they got home each night, when they were crying their eyes out. Michael says he cares, but he was never there. He couldn't help me when I needed it. He couldn't help me when I was lost, and I - and everyone else - thought I had no family at all.

'He regrets that he wasn't there for you.' Eve said. 'He wishes he could've been, but you know Morganville. He couldn't leave. He can't help that.'

My phone buzzed at the side of my bed. I picked it up. It was my old friend Helena. She was one of my only friends at school.

Hey, how's everything? Xx

'Liz.' Eve said, making me look back up to her. 'Be careful what you say.' And she stood up and walked out.

I picked up my phone, and called Helena. She answered after the second ring.

'Lizzy!' She practically screamed down the phone.

'Hey Helena.' I laughed back at her.

'Hey, how's the new school then?'

Okay, so when I left England, I had to tell people that I was moving to another school. They knew it was in America. They didn't know that I was moving to Morganville. The only thing that Helena knew was that I had a brother. That is the only thing I told her about life here.

'School's ... great' I said, and I knew I sounded unsure.

'I still can believe you moved to America!' She said. 'What's it like? Is it hot?'

I laughed. 'You need to get out more Helena. Yes, it's hot. Wait, was you talking about the guys or the weather? The weather is only warm!'

Helena laughed. 'You best come back to England with a hot boyfriend for me to steal.' She said.

'I'll try, don't worry!' I laughed back.

There was more arguing downstairs.

'I've got to go.' I said holding back tears.

'Oh, okay. Ring me soon, right?'

'Of course!' I said, but I was sure she could hear the tears by now. 'Bye.'

'Bye!' She laughed. Good. She hadn't noticed my voice changing.