Bloodlines

CHAPTER EIGHT: DROWNING POOL

       for an entire week, it remained quiet. i went to school like normal. chloe just returned from her week-long paris vacation. i stood by my locker when i saw chloe talking to sahara. they were clearly talking about the obvious bandage on sahara's neck. chloe's face went from concerned to red with rage. she angrily walked towards me.
        "you frail little freak, what the hell did you do to sahara!" she yelled, shoving me against the locker.
        "i didn't do anything, i was the one who found her!" i yelled back. chloe shoved me again. sahara then came to break the fight.
         "chloe, chill out!" sahara screamed. the entire hallway went quiet. "lucy and her friends were the ones who found me, where were you?"
          chloe was out of words. she put on a massive open mouthed bitch-face and angrily walked away. her long wavy blonde hair slapped my face.
         "i'm sorry about that" sahara apologized.
         "hey don't be sorry, you didn't do anything wrong" i said, "did you, um, tell her?"
         "no! of course not" sahara said, "like i said, your secret's safe with me" sahara winked at me.
         "thanks."
         "but lucy, it's been a week. you still haven't told me anything. i almost died and i'm still afraid to sleep at night" sahara said, "you have to fill me in on something"
           "i know. i'm sorry i haven't been able to explain" i placed a strand of hair behind my ear. "but you have to trust me. i'll tell you everything you need to know. we'll protect you i promise"
         i walked to english class. indi, alex, and raven seemed to appear out of nowhere.
         "hey luce, you okay?" raven asked.
         "we heard something happened between you and chlorine" alex mentioned.
          "yeah, it's cool" i shrugged off, "everything's okay"
         "did sahara tell her we were vampires?" indi asked.
         "no, she just said we were the ones who found her" i clarified, "she defended me"
"that's good news!" indi said, "now please don't tell me this comes with a but"
"but, she doesn't like being kept in the dark, we've got to tell her something"
"what would we tell her?" alex asked, "we practically came out of the closet to her"
"she nearly died alex" i reminded her, "if i were in her shoes, i'd probably want more answers" i bit my tongue. "maybe i should tell her the vampire killed my dad"
"you're ready for that?" raven asked.
"i don't know, let's just do our work" i said, pretending to work.
after class, the girls and i walked to our lockers. as indi, alex, and i were talking, raven was staring at something.
"ray?" i called. raven snapped out of it and looked at me.
"yeah?"
"you staring at daniel cayden again?" indi winked at her. daniel was a junior and was a few inches shorter than jeremy. he had a dark russet skin tone, short brown hair, and brown eyes. raven had a huge crush on him since freshman year.
"why don't you just talk to him already?" alex asked, pulling raven's hand.
"no way, hell no" raven whipped her hand back, shaking her head.
i rolled my eyes. "he's a nice guy, ray. just go up there and talk to him. he's got dimples!"
jeremy then snuck up behind me and hugged me.
"hey beautiful" he said. i got butterflies as soon as he said that. i turned around and kissed him.
indi interrupted our kiss. "jeremy! you're friends with daniel right?"
"yeah, why do you ask?"
indi looked at raven. raven mouthed the word 'don't'. then indi looked back at jeremy.
"we were just-" indi was then cut off by daniel walking towards us.
"jeremy! game after school?" he said, "i'll kick your ass"
"you say that all the time" jeremy laughed. jeremy then put his arm around me. "this is lucy"
"hey" daniel waved.
"and this is indi, that's alex, and this is raven" i mentioned. daniel waved again while looking at raven and smiling. his familiar dimples showed whenever he smiled, which always gave raven butterflies.
jeremy then grabbed me, held me close to his body and kissed me. his hands were on my back, he kept going lower. i pulled my lips back from his.
"hey, we're in school" i winked.
jeremy turned to daniel. "hm, how about a rain check on that basketball game?"
daniel laughed. "well, i'll see you guys later" he gave raven one last look while he walked to his class.
         "i should go too" jeremy said, giving me one last kiss before he went to class. i turned to the smiling indi and alex. i nervously adjusted the black beanie that was a little too big for my head. raven was completely frozen.
          "he's into you!" indi told raven, hitting her on the shoulder.
          "you're teasing" raven said.
          "oh come on ray, you guys teased me for a year when i had a crush on jeremy. look what happened" i advised.
"alright! i'll think about it" raven finally said.
        during lunch, the girls and i sat in the table next with freddy. he was practically glowing when we showed up.
          "hey girls"
          "hey freddy" the three of us simultaneously said.
           "i know it's been a week, but can you guys tell me what else happened that night at the hospital?"
            "well, we were about to leave, then the vampire turned up again, and we got our asses handed to us" alex explained, "need i say more?"
          "the vampire also effortlessly turned into a bat several times" i said, "guess it's true, vampires can turn into a bat"
            "when i sensed the energy at the hospital and at the bridge, it was similar to the four of you. meaning, this vampire was turned not too long before you guys were turned" freddy revealed. 
           "a newbie vampire? well, he sure knows damn well what he's doing" indi commented.
         the five of us felt our phones ring. it was a message from sahara. it read:
'pool party at my house tomorrow afternoon at 1 o'clock. if you're coming, call me.'
       it was odd that sahara was throwing a pool party not too long after being attacked by the vampire. either she's crazy or she really wants answers.
        "hm, a week ago she almost died. now she's throwing a pool party?" raven said.
         "i guess everyone has different coping mechanisms" alex said.
          "and we are definitely going" indi commanded. "we could really use some high school fun"
          "we have an eternity of high school parties" alex stated.
          "exactly! we should enjoy every minute of it" indi was excited about the idea of the four of us being stupid teenagers forever.
          the words eternity and forever hit me like a punch in the stomach. i didn't even think about the fact that being vampires meant that we were immortal. therefore, we could not die unless we spontaneously combusted in the sun or staked in the heart. but i couldn't think about the fact that my mom, freddy, jeremy, could be long dead while i'm still sixteen years old. i nearly shed a tear at the thought.
        "so what do you say? are we going to this pool party or not?!" indi asked.
        "i'm down" alex said.
        "so am i" raven added.
        "i'll go too" i shrugged. "and freddy you can come too" freddy smiled like a puppy getting its treat.
          the next day, i put on my black bikini under my regular clothes. i texted jeremy to see if he was gonna join. he confirmed he would. when i walked out of my room, i saw my mom and a man sitting at the dinner table eating sandwiches.
"lucy!" my mom said, putting down her sandwich. "i've told you about jason, right?" jason. so this was jason.
"you've mentioned" i confirmed.
"jason, this is my daughter lucy. lucy, this is jason"
"ah, this is the famous lucinda you've spoken a lot about" jason said, acknowledging me. jason was my dad's height. he had silver grey hair and blue eyes. he seemed to be about my dad's age too.
"nice to meet you" i simply said. i wasn't prepared for this meeting. this all just happened.
"um, mom, i was gonna go to sahara's pool party today"
"hey, i'll drive you" jason offered.
"i think that's okay" i declined, "i could take the bus"
"please, i insist" jason said. i looked at my mom, who gave me a nod. i decided to just give in and let jason drive me.
"i'll be back" jason told my mom at the door.
jason and i walked out the door and to his car. he owned a black '70 dodge challenger. i had to admit, it was a hell of a car. jason may actually have some taste. i got in the passenger seat, and we've been driving for about five minutes in complete silence. i didn't know what to say to him. i pulled out my headphones, intending to listen to music on my ipod until jason started talking.
"i apologize for raining on your parade in a way, but i wanted to take the chance to get to know you" jason said.
"it's okay. i just didn't expect to see you"
"i care about your mother, and you. you also have a striking resemblance to your father" jason said. "i was really close with him in high school. it killed me, hearing the news" i looked at jason.
          "sorry, i didn't mean to-"
          "we all have to move on at some point right?" not wanting to talk anymore, i put on my headphones and listened to music.
        a few minutes later, we arrived at sahara's house. less people were there than i expected. i guess i came a little early. indi, alex, and raven stood on the sidewalk waiting for me
i got out of the car and turned to jason.
"thanks for driving me" he nodded, and i shut the door. he then drove away and i walked up to the girls with a sigh.
         "who was that?" raven asked
         "my mom's boyfriend" i bluntly stated. the girls cringed.
"at least he has a nice car" alex commented.
"how are you feeling?" indi asked.
"i don't know, i didn't really expect it"'i shrugged. "why don't we go inside"
         i walked up to sahara's door and knocked. i waited awhile and the door opened, revealing sahara. her dyed-red hair tucked under a purple swimming cap. she wore a matching purple bathing suit.
"hey sahara" i tried to sound as innocent and human as possible.
"hey girls, you came!" sahara exclaimed.
           "yeah we couldn't miss it" i said.
           "well, hope you have fun" sahara said. i tried going inside her house but couldn't. it was like an invisible wall was blocking the entrance.
           "what are you doing?" sahara asked, confused.
           "you have to invite us in" i explained embarrassingly.
"well uh, the four of you, come on in"
the four of us walked inside and went to the back of the house where sahara owned a pool. we took off our regular clothes, revealing our matching bikinis. except indi, who wore a crimson red one to stand out. i reached into my bag, took out my pool mattress and inflated it.
"lucy, bogie on your six o'clock" alex warned me. i turned around to see chloe. her yellow bikini really complimented her olive complexion. her hourglass body also looked really good in the bikini, which made me feel a little jealous. she crossed her arms and looked at me with disgust.
"so you came" she coldly stated.
        "are we really gonna do this right now? why don't you just back off" i tried walking away, but she stopped me.
          "not until you tell me what happened to sahara's neck. what type of dog would go straight for the neck? at least, why go for the side of the neck?" chloe kept taunting me. "you and your pack were the only ones who saw her like that"
        "shut up chloe" raven said.
        "sweaty palms raven, am i making you nervous?" chloe looked back at me. "you did it, i know it"
        "maybe you've been watching too many movies" i said.
         "one day, i'll figure out your little secret, i guarantee it" chloe shoved me and walked away.
          "i'm really starting to think telling sahara the truth was a bad idea" i admitted to the girls.
         "don't let chlorine get to you" indi said, "she's just a snob who wants to get a rise out of you"
        "it's not her though, chloe and i were friends before you know that" i said, "it's my fault she hates me. you guys know why"
         "that was a mistake lucy, it wasn't your fault either. chloe was just at the wrong place at the wrong time"
          "i was the one involved, and he was too"
          "we're here to have fun, okay? let's have it"
         a little while later, more people came and now it felt more like a sahara party.
          i laid on my pool mattress while alex was doing backflips in the water. raven wasn't in the water yet.
         "raven, get in already" i told her.
         "looking for daniel?" alex teased.
         "do you think he'll come?" raven asked.
          "of course he will, now hop in, you'll look hot once you get a little wet" i winked. "aaand he's on your three o'clock" raven turned her head really quickly and saw him. he was walking towards her. raven jumped in the pool.
         "hey" daniel waved. raven smiled at him. "i was wondering if maybe you wanted to go out some time"
        raven was left speechless.
        "she'll definitely go out with you" i spoke for her and smiled.
         "great! maybe friday night?" he asked. raven nodded.
         "great! enjoy the party" daniel walked inside sahara's house to change into his swimming outfit.
          indi swam towards us after seeing daniel speaking to raven.
        "what did i miss?"
        "daniel just asked raven out on a date" i said smugly.
         "that's good!" indi exclaimed.
         "that's not good, i completely froze"
         "don't worry ray, we'll help you not be so shy"
        i was drinking a can of coke when i saw jeremy come through the screen door in his red swimming trunks. i nearly spit out my drink in awe. he was so hot. his eyes looked even bluer since the sun was out. they were as blue as the water. he noticed me and even thought my heart doesn't beat anymore, it really felt like it was beating fast. he walked up to me and i got out of the pool.
        "hey" he smiled at me. my mouth was still open and speechless.
        "oh, um, hey" i smiled and played with a strand of my hair. jeremy grabbed my face and kissed me. i smiled almost too hard.
         "i'm gonna go grab us some hot dogs" jeremy winked at me and went to the grill. i turned to the girls, holding my arm nervously.
           "now who's the frozen one?" raven teased. i rolled my eyes at her. i saw sahara walking and i caught up with her.
"you really weren't kidding when you decided to throw a party days after you know"
"yeah well, after learning about the v-word and learning you were one of them, i need a buffet of normal before i say goodbye to the world i once knew" sahara chuckled.
"fair enough, but chloe's onto me" i mentioned.
"don't be scared of chloe. i thought you two were friends once, what happened?"
"long story"
"am i gonna have to work for that one too?"
"i'm just trying to wrap my head around everything. don't worry, freddy is trying to figure something out"
"freddy's a vampire too?"
"no, he's a wizard" sahara looked at me like i was lying.
"you're kidding right?" i shook my head.
"i'll add that to the list then. vampires, wizards, what's next? werewolves?"
"let's hope not"
"well, once you guys figure it out, you owe me an explanation"
             "will do"
jeremy then came back with the hotdogs. he handed one to me and i smiled at him,
showing my faint dimples.
         "yummy" i took a bite of my hotdog, "thank you" i muffled.
he then gave me a long kiss on the mouth and called me cute. once again, i was speechless. he giggled nervously, then i did the same. he seemed so confident, but i could still hear his heart race faster than a machine gun. after finishing his hotdog, he jumped in the pool. he patted the water, gesturing me to come inside.
          "i'll be there in a sec" i turned around to see freddy, in his blue and green bathing suit.
"where are the girls?" freddy asked.
"over there" i pointed to the corner of the pool.
"there's something important you guys really need to hear"
           the five of us sat in the table, waiting to hear freddy's news.
           "i went back to the woods where the couple died" freddy started.
"and?" i said.
"the energy wasn't the same as the one in the hospital or the bridge" he revealed, "i believe there's in fact two different vampires going on a killing spree"
          the revelation made my heart drop to my stomach. the thought there was more than one evil vampire running around hurting innocent people made me wanna cry. these vampires could literally be anybody and i wouldn't know.