Page 11

I’m going crazy.

I’m missing time. Waking up in different places, not remembering how I got there, feeling as though things aren’t quite adding up, but no one else seems to think anything of it. Everyone is acting as they normally do, which makes me wonder if it’s all just in my head.

When I’m on my way to class, the brain fog seems to fade, and I start to feel more like myself again.

It’s a cold, gloomy day. Every so often it seems like the sun is trying to peek out from behind the clouds, but it’s as if a supernatural force prohibits it from doing so.

I manage to get through the day, somewhat comprehending what was being said to me. I still feel a little out of it, but I at least took a lot of notes to refer back to later.

The scrape of a shoe has me glancing over my shoulder, and my heart plummets to my stomach. Demonic eyes blink back at me as a guy strolls unhurriedly behind me. Dark wisps of hair fall across his forehead, and his hands are sunken into his pockets.

Another vampire.

Not wanting my back to him, I slow down and step off the path. His cheek twitches as he watches me for a moment, but much to my relief, he continues down the path. I stay where I am, eyes trained on him, until he is out of sight.

The hairs on my arms are standing as I brush off the eerie feeling that being around one of the monsters brings me. I don’t know why all of a sudden I seem to be running into them often, but I don’t like it. Each run-in leaves me confused – I was always told that a vampire will attack first, think later, and yet I’ve now been close to two, and neither of them has made a move against me.

I’m on high alert as I get to the end of the car park. After a long assessment and feeling confident I can’t see him, I head toward the bus stop. Exhaling, I lean back against the metal, feeling tired. I’m always tired, it seems.

The squeaky brakes of the bus pull me from my thoughts. As I step away from the shelter, goosebumps erupt over my skin. I look over my shoulder to see the pale boy walking behind me, hands dug deep into his pockets still, eyes locked on mine. His skin has a smooth, marble-like texture, but that’s not the giveaway. It’s the black eyes that tell me he’s a vampire.

Lifting my chin, I stare back. Did he follow me here?

‘Ladies first,’ he murmurs, gesturing to the bus as it pulls up in front of me.

Swallowing, I turn, climbing up the stairs, my hands moving to my pockets, fingers curling around the blades I have in there. I take a seat near the front and clench my jaw when he takes the seat opposite me. He has superhuman speed, he does not need to take the bus.

‘You so much as raise a finger in my direction, I’ll stake you in the heart,’ I mutter in a low voice, one that no one but him would be able to hear.

His brows raise in surprise, and much to my annoyance, he looks impressed at the threat. It angers me that vampires stroll around town, acting as though they are like us. They’re not. They’re cruel, ruthless, and cunning. They don’t deserve to be treated as anything other than the monsters they are, since they enjoy draining innocent victims of their life.

I flinch when the man gets up, the leather seat behind me squeaking as he sits. I twist, glowering at him.

‘What is it that I can smell on you?’ he whispers, leaning toward me, his eyes darkening. ‘It’s fucking potent.’

‘Magic,’ I hiss, hand tightening around the hilt of the dagger.

‘But you are not a witch,’ he continues, and with the way he looks, and talks, I wonder if he is a new vampire. ‘Why do you smell like this?’

My heart thumps as fear climbs in my throat. That girl from the party, the one who weirdly looked like me, also said something about the way my blood smells. I have lived here for a long time and never had a vampire approach me, and this is the second one in a week. What is going on?

I train and I train, but nothing truly prepares you for one. I feel a drop of sweat slide down my back, and the vampire tilts his head, surveying me.

‘I can kill you,’ I snarl. ‘I’m trained for it.’ Leaning forward, I meet his gaze. ‘So back the fuck off.’

‘I’m just trying to have a conversation with you.’

‘I’m not interested.’

‘Are you always this hostile?’ he asks, looking genuinely curious.

‘Only to murderers,’ I seethe, my jaw ticking.

‘How do you know I have murdered someone?’ he questions. ‘Your kind always does. It’s in your nature.’

‘That’s a bold assumption.’

The bus comes to a sudden stop and I jump to my feet. The vampire stays where he is, watching me. I back down the aisle, eyes glued on him as I edge down the steps and leap to the ground. I bolt down the long gravel road that leads to my house.