Dark Heart by Bethanie Marsh (the read aloud family txt) 📕

It was a Monday when I found out that he was dead. Three people knew before me. My mother, Mary (My older sister) and my father.
“Please, you can’t be serious” I said, tears running from my eyes.
“I’m sorry sweetheart, but he’s gone. He was found dead yesterday morning.” my mother said, holding me in her arms.
“Why didn’t you tell me? He was my best friend.” I sobbed.
She went to carry on, but I ran to my bedroom. I couldn’t deal with this. Dean was dead. My best friend. One of my only two friends. As I fell onto my bed crying, I wondered if Katrina that Dean was dead. His death was abrupt. Nobody knew why he was dead, they’d just found him dead in the morning.
The door knocked and as I looked up, Mary walked in looking melancholic.
“You okay Alexis?” she said, her blue eyes screaming the fact that she didn’t care.
“Go away, Mary” I said, putting my face to my pillow.
I heard the door shut and her walk down the hall. Finally! I was always being harassed by my family. I was just so happy to be alone, allowed to mourn my friend. But I didn’t get to, because Katrina rang my mobile.
“Hello” I said, answering the phone.
“Oh my goodness Alex! Have you heard?” she said, the sorrow sounding in her voice.
“Yeah, I heard just now. I’m really upset” I said as a tear ran down my face.
“The funeral’s on Saturday. Are you going to school today?”
“No. I’m going to stay home. I really don’t want to go to school.”
“Nobody blames you. Do you want me to come over?”
“No” I said quietly “I really want to be alone”
“Okay then. I’ll speak later. Bye” she said as she hung up. I chucked the phone down and cried into my pillow. I just couldn’t believe my best friend was dead. Gone. I looked up.
“Come in, mum” I said and she walked in looking confused.
“How did you know I was there?” she said slowly. As if I wouldn’t have know she was there. I’m a psychic. It’s weird, I’m not a proper one, I sometimes see people in dreams before I meet them in real life, sometimes I predict things, sometimes I can tell where somebody is and I can read thoughts from time to time. Yeah, I’m a freak.
“I just guessed.” I said. Of course I won’t tell my mum. She’d send me to a shrink.
She seemed to dismiss it. “Are you going to school today?” she asked and I shook my head. “Okay” she said “Your dad’s in work today and I am so you’re home alone.”
I nodded and she left. Leaving me alone again.
Ten minutes passed and I was completely alone and happy about it. I really wasn’t bothered by the fact that I was alone. I looked at the clock and it was 4am. My family wakes up early. Really early. Mary had gone to her friends house and my parents gone to work. With nothing to do, I decided to go for a walk.

Walking around. Walking around. Nothing to do. I turned around, hearing a noise. They’re after me! They’re going to send me back! Run! Get away!

I run away from the sound of shouting. Away from the insane asylum. Away from them trying to catch me. I turn and he’s there. Tomas. That’s what I call him. The doctors say they can’t see him. They’re lying. They’re wrong. They’re so wrong. He is there. He tells me what to do.
“Moses. Somebody needs help! Help her!” he says, pointing down the road. I run and see a girl. Black hair, blue eyes, tall. Dying.

I know she’s dying. A vampire can tell when somebody’s dying. I know she’s dying. I can sense it. She’s ill, but she doesn’t know it. I run to her and grab her arm.
“Get off!” she shouts and I quiet her with a hand over her mouth. She starts to struggle.
“I’m trying to help you!” I say but she keeps struggling against my grip. A scream escapes my hand and I push my hand harder over her mouth. She starts to scream more, but it’s quiet. I won’t get a chance to change her if she keeps screaming.
Suddenly, she stops moving and goes limp. I shake her, but she stays limp. Her eyes are blank. What have I done? What have I done to her? I’ve killed her! I was trying to help! What do I do?! I see some light left in her. I can save her. I bend over her and drain most of her blood, as much as I can without making the light disappear. It’s the light of life. When it’s gone, that’s it. No coming back. I have to save her. I slice my wrist and hold it to her mouth, letting gravity guide the blood down her throat. Please work. Please work.

She takes in a breath and starts to shake. It worked! I put her down on the floor carefully and leave. The new vampire can’t be with me, I’d get her killed. She’ll stay there until she wakes up.

Nothingness. Sweet nothingness. What was happening? I’d been attacked, that much I know. He’d suffocated me, but I don’t think he knew that he was. Could I blame him? No. I didn’t blame him. Should I seek revenge? I don’t want to. It wasn’t his fault, and I know to forgive. Death was peaceful. No sound, no sadness, no fear, nothing. It was amazing! Just quiet.
Thud.

All I heard was a thud. What was going on? This couldn’t be right. Wasn’t I meant to be seeing a bright white light right now? Wasn’t I meant to be waking up as a baby or something? Surely something was wrong. My fingers started to tingle and I started to feel very warm. Okay, something defiantly wasn’t right. I heard a noise that was sort of a mumble… or was it my imagination? It couldn’t be, there it was again! Why couldn’t I hear it properly?! Alexis?

I heard a male voice in my head say, or at least I thought it was in my head.
Yes?

I thought back.
You want to live, don’t you?
Yes I do. I don’t want to die.
Okay, but you need to do something for me. Can you do what I ask you, Alexis?
Yes. I’ll try.
You have to wake up, Alexis.
What?
Wake up, Alexis. Wake up. Wake… up…

I gasped and sat up in the darkness. I felt the cold floor beneath me, but… this wasn’t concrete. I looked down and noticed I was sat on laminate flooring.
“Okay. So, I’m dead. Brilliant…” I said sarcastically to myself. I looked around the room I was in, expecting to see Jesus or God or a saint but the room was empty. Maybe it’s purgatory? Maybe you have to wait here for a while before you can go to heaven?

No. That couldn’t be it. I’ve never done anything bad in my life. I’ve never even lied! I’m what my mother calls the perfect child. I do as I’m told, I’m very tidy, I never talk back, I’m hardly ever ill, I’m a grade A student and I never ever lie.
I’m the opposite of Mary really. She never does as she’s told, she never puts things away, she’s flunking Maths, Science, Welsh, French and English and she’s always trying to skip school. She spends most of her time faffing around with that stupid long blonde hair of hers and texting her friends. I’m not trying to be mean, but she isn’t even that pretty. She’s short and slightly round which isn’t exactly model quality. I have friends, just not like she does. With that phone of hers, she’s never away from her friends. She’s always using the phone to talk or text them or she’s out in town with them. I’m glad I’m nothing like her.
“Is she awake yet?” a voice said and I jumped a mile. I looked around the dark room for somebody but the place was still empty.
Suddenly I realised something. The room was pitch black. There wasn’t a window or door to be found and there wasn’t a light fitting, but I could see everything like I was outside on a sunny day. Dude! I think… I think I’m tripping…

This wasn’t real, this couldn’t be real. Euch, my head hurt. I stood up slowly and realised I was really

hungry! When was it I’d last eaten? What was the time? Where could I find food? I needed food! As I thought of food, I felt something against my lower lip, so I raised my hand to my mouth and touched my teeth. What the fudge is that?!

Where my normal teeth had been, was now a pair of long, razor sharp, what I could only describe as… fangs.
I laughed nervously and said, “Okay! Ha, I am definitely tripping…”
“I think I just heard her say something, she must be awake.” the voice said and, shockingly, I started to cry. The tears ran slowly down my cheeks at first but then they came faster and I started to sob loudly. Where was I? Who was that