Soulless (Book #2 of Hunted)

I'm Not A Vampire

Phoebe suddenly jumped up from the floor.

"So what d'you wanna do today?" she asked. I shrugged sulkily.

"Sit here and think about how much my life sucks," I answered monotonously. She sighed loudly.

"Cheer up Missy Morbid Pants. Everything will turn out fine! Trust me. All vampire stories turn out fine. The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod and The Twilight Saga both had happy endings," she said animatedly. I looked at her with sad eyes.

"Those are books. This is life. Life doesn't have happy endings. Life is messy and cruel and more often than not the bad guys win," I muttered. Phoebe groaned and grabbed my arm. She hauled me up off the floor with surprising strength for her stature and got all up in my face.

"Turn that frown upside down before I do it for real," she hissed. I turned my head to the side.

"Fine. I'll turn my frown upside down as soon as you brush your teeth," I said. She laughed.

"Sorry!" She trilled and she suddenly disappeared into thin air and I could hear the sink going in the bathroom down the hall.

I sighed and went to my closet. I picked out my The Vampire Lestat band tee and a pair of slashed up skinny jeans. Oh my sweet Lestat. Are you the only one who shall never leave me? I kicked off my pajamas and got dressed.

A few moments later Phoebe came back dressed in hot pink skinny jeans and an off shoulder neon green top that was so bright it made my eyes hurt. She hopped over to me and breathed in my face. "Better?" she asked.

"Minty fresh," I assured her. She grinned.

"Great! Now what are we gonna do today for realz?" she asked in a whiny voice. I shrugged.

"IDK, Pheebs. What d'you wanna do?" I asked. She sighed loudly and absentmindedly picked my bed sheets up off the floor and set them on my bed.

"I know!" Phoebe suddenly exclaimed. She looked at me with a giant smile on her face.

"What do you know?" I asked as I adjusted the hem of my The Vampire Lestat shirt. She jumped up and spun around in the air.

"We should go down to the lake," she said happily; as if she were proud of herself for coming up with an idea of what we should do today. I suddenly felt tears burning in the back of my throat. The last time I was at the lake I was with Zane. The memory of my last time there was stained with blood. I clenched my fists in anger. I refuse to let bad memories keep me from one of my favorite places in town!

"Sure. Let's go," I said a bit louder than I had meant. Phoebe jumped up again.

"Yea!" she squealed. "I'll get my bathing suit!" She ran back to her room. I sighed and sat down at the foot of my bed. I wasn't bringing a bathing suit. It was only seventy-one degrees out and clouds cloaked the sky. It was going to rain today without a doubt.

Phoebe came back in a lime green bikini (which coincidentally matched the neon green shirt she just had on. Phoebe has a lot of bright green clothing articles) and a magenta sarong tied around her waist. She made a sour face at me. "Where is your bathing suit?" she asked severely. I shrugged.

"I don't plan on swimming." I answered tonelessly. She sighed and set her hands on her narrow yet somehow shapely hips.

"Do you know the best way to get over a crappy break up?" she asked. She sounded like an article in a teen mag.

"Who said anything about Zane breaking up with me? Zane didn't break up with me! He just left that's all! It's like a long distance thing...only we don't talk to each other and I have no idea where he is. I'm still his girlfriend...I think," I babbled hysterically. She held her hands up and took a step back.

"Okay! Chill! I was just going to say that we could invite Nate to come along. He's the only one who knows about this and isn't a super hero. It might be nice to have someone normal to talk to about all of it," she said calmly. It was a very sensible plan. Almost too sensible to come from Phoebe's head. I looked to the ceiling uncertainly and pursed my lips in thought.

"I suppose it wouldn't be completely awful if Nate came too. He needs to get out more anyway; get some color," I said finally. Phoebe laughed out loud.

"Yeah! A glass of milk has more of a tan than that boy does!" She lapsed into a fit of laughter. I smiled but couldn't quite manage a laugh. All this talk of Zane kind of had me down. Especially since I knew he was killing again. UGH! Stop thinking about him, you idiot! I jumped up off the bed and stretch my arms towards the ceiling.

"Okee dokee! Let's go! You call Nate and I'll get the car started," I said cheerfully. Phoebe smiled at my over cheerfulness and skipped out of my room. I followed her as she raced down the stairs, grabbed the phone off the hook just around the corner, and plopped down on the couch. I shook my head slowly and couldn't help but wonder where she got all her energy from. I grabbed my car keys from the hooks and opened the front door. Phoebe jogged after me and I heard her conversation with Nate over the phone.

"Yeah, we're leaving right now." she said.

"Okay, I'll ask Asher if I can borrow his truck. And by 'ask' I mean take it without permission and make up some excuse later," was Nate's reply. Phoebe giggled girlishly.

"Great. Just don't in too much trouble with your brother," Phoebe said before she hung up.

"'Kay! Let's go!" she said with a bright smile. I smiled back at her and walked out the door. Phoebe followed me and pulled the door shut. I locked the door and walked over my car. Phoebe was already in the passenger seat. I got in the car and started it. Phoebe immediately reached over the center console and turned the radio onto the rock station. I'm Not a Vampire by Falling in Reverse was on. That's just typical.