Unraveling Sarah Cresley by Marisa Maichel (best summer books .txt) 📕

father, who doesn't want me to start hunting until my eighteenth birthday next October. (I was born on the first of October.)

I thought about how I would explain my diet to Sarah. And if I'm hungry, could I resist the temptation to drink from her? I would definitely try for her and my sake. I haven't been dating her long, and I've known her and liked her longer. I did not want to scare her, especially not now.

Mike Nales was still in the back of my mind. I thought of different ways of ending his life. I smiled at the prospect.

"What's with that shit-eating grin?" Father asked, smirking.

"Nothing."

"Don't say nothing. You're happy about something. Tell your father."

"I'm picturing the death of Mike Nales."

"Oh, Reese, what am I going to do with you? Although I wouldn't mind ending the little shit myself. Did you see the way he looked at you when Sarah was testifying? He enjoyed your pain and hers. The little fucker needed a longer sentence."

"Father, do you advocate for rape victims?"

"That's one of our plans; an organization to help the victims of rape, both female and male. This experience has taught me much, and I hate that you had to be involved, although I'm proud of you for sticking up for her."

"I think this experience changed me in more ways than one."

"Indeed. You seem more involved in life, you show more emotion. You were not happy, yet you were not depressed either, which concerned me. I'd rather you be happy than depressed, but any emotion is better than no emotion."

"Anger is better than misery."

"That's debatable. Although I'd prefer it if you were not miserable either."

"Father," I said, "I'm not sure how I'm feeling. I feel like I can no longer live without her. Even thinking about her now..."

"You're in love, my boy. It will continue to ignite all sorts of emotions in you. Excitement, angst. Half the time you'll wonder what she could possibly see in you."

"I wonder about that often."

"Indeed. Your love will only grow for her."

"When will my love stop growing?"

"Never. Love is infinite and unconditional," Father told me. I knew he was right. How I loved her...I wondered if that had any bearing.

There are different kinds of love. Love between two lovers, love between two friends, love between a parent and child, and love between siblings. I had no idea what love for a sibling felt like, since as far as I knew, I had none. My only real friend besides my father is Ariella.

Father held me tightly.

"Stay here, baby boy," he said.

"Father, I'm not in any danger. I'm safe, especially with you around."

"Exactly. I must protect my spawn. My sweet little boy. Do you remember when you used to let me hold you?"

"I wasn't seventeen and I didn't weigh over two hundred pounds."

"Your weight and age mean nothing to me. I will continue to hold you until the day I die."

"I object-"

"Remember when I used to be your hero?"

"You're still my hero."

"That feels good to hear, Reese."

For a long two hours, we just cuddled until I fell asleep.

CHAPTER SEVEN- DINNER AND FAMILY

Sarah's mother Alicia asked myself and my father to dinner. Father insisted I dress up, so I chose a black button-up shirt and black jeans.

"At least wear a tie," Father said.

"Father, it's not a formal occasion."

"I suppose you're right. However, I'll not have my son be underdressed. It's better to be overdressed than underdressed."

I quietly agreed with him and tied a tie crookedly. I untied it and tried again and again, until my father finally tied it himself. He was wearing a suit, and his hair was combed and tied up into a ponytail.

When we arrived, Sarah was waiting on the porch, wearing jeans and a casual flannel shirt. I gave my father a dirty look, and he flicked me on the nose.

"It's not my fault," I told him.

"Be silent. I had no idea. You can take the stupid tie off." I happily took it off while he took his off and tied his hair back into a bun.

I tried to kiss Sarah on the lips as I approached her, but she moved her head and I got a mouthful of hair. Father chuckled.

"My mother's just finishing up," Sarah said, leading us into her house. She led us to the dining room, where her sister was sitting, messing around on her phone. Her mother Alicia had set out five plates. There was a rich ham in the center of the table, along with mashed potatoes, green beans, bread rolls and butter, cooked carrots, beef and vegetable skewers, and glasses of water and a bottle of wine.

"This is too much," Father said.

"We can't thank you enough for what you did for Sarah," Alicia said, coming into the dining room, setting a molten chocolate lava cake on the counter.

"Where are the dogs?" I inquired.

"They're outside. Spunk is not used to strangers," Sarah said. "And Coffee gets overexcited and will try to knock food over. She'll make a mess." We all sat down, and the girls started serving themselves. Father and Alicia made conversation, discussing the new healthcare laws and whether or not open or concealed carry should be enforced.

The dogs barked, and Sarah and I talked about some new guy in our class from Kansas.

"He's kind of average," I said.

"I think he's nice-looking," my girl argued. I immediately wanted to end the conversation. I can't possibly be jealous of a guy we barely know. "His name's Travis Kinney and he's supposedly a big basketball star."

"I've never really cared about sports," I said.

"I kind of do. I was a cheerleader once. I always enjoyed the power of chanting and moving around."

"Why do you not cheer anymore?"

"I was having problems with some of the girls and that stupid clique kind of drove me away until none of the squad were my friends anymore." Her confession seemed to relax her, as if a weight was literally off her shoulders. I noticed that my father and her mother had ceased talking and were looking at her with interest. She blushed at being the sudden center of attention and ducked her head.

"I got an A in Science," Sabine informed her mother.

"That's good. Sarah, what are your grades like?"

"They're good," she said. Little conversation was made after that.

I ate the human food until my belly was as tight as a drum. I noticed Father looking a little green. Neither of our stomachs is used to human food, much less rich ham and chocolate. I enjoyed the ham, and even the chocolate, but I hated some of the vegetables I was given, perhaps because I'm naturally a hematophage. Even Sarah looked a little sick, and she was definitely more used to this kind of nutritional fare. I sipped some water, and nearly threw up.

"Are you all right, Reese?" Alicia asked me.

"I'm fine," I lied.

"He's probably full," Sabine piped up. "You kept the fat in when you cooked the ham, Mom."

"The fat is the best part," Alicia argued. "Do you agree, Mordecai?" Father started to look uncomfortable.

"It was very good, Alicia," Father said. "Thank you for inviting us. I'm afraid I must be going, though. Reese, do you want to ride with me?"

"I'll call a cab," I said, for Alicia and Sarah's sake. Actually, I would run, or at least try to.

"Very well. Alicia, may I speak with you privately?" Father asked. I gave him a horrified look. He chuckled. Kill me now.

"We can talk in the family room." With that, she led him away.

"So, is Reese your real name?" Sabine asked.

"Sabine!" Sarah snapped.

"Yes, Reese is my real name," I said.

"I always thought Reese was a girl's name." Sarah put her head in her hand.

"Reese is a unisex name," I corrected Sabine. She formed a shit-eating grin on her face.

"Have you and Sarah kissed yet?"

"Sabine!"

"Uh," I crooned. I was a little uncomfortable now.

"It's okay if you haven't," Sabine continued. "Lots of couples I know haven't kissed yet. My best friend has a boyfriend and he hasn't kissed her yet, but she says he will soon."

"When Sarah and I kiss, I'll let you know," I bluffed. No way I was going to tell her that we had in fact kissed. Sarah's cheeks were even more red now, making her look even more beautiful, which I did not think was possible. She buried her face in her hands.

"It's okay, Sarah, he likes you," Sabine informed her. "He said "when" he kisses you, not "if"."

"Sabine, leave the poor guy alone," Alicia said, coming into the room. "Reese, your dad said that he'll wait for you at home. He also told me to tell you to call him when you're leaving."

"Reese, want to go see the dress I made for this year's spring dance?" Sarah asked, breaking the awkwardness.

"Yes," I hissed. She took my hand and led me upstairs. I heard Alicia ordering Sabine to help her put the leftovers away and clean the dishes.

"What do you think of the dress?" she asked nervously. It was a dark green shimmery tea-length number. (Yes, I know the correct terms for women's clothing. One must do so to keep up with Ariella.)

"It's very pretty," I said, which was the truth. She sat on her bed, looking thoughtful.

"Yeah, but sometimes I feel like it's too short. I'm not especially fond of the way my thighs look." She blushed. "Sorry, you probably don't want to hear about all my insecurites."

"I didn't even know you had insecurites," I said, sitting beside her. "I think you look utterly amazing. Your legs are muscular and curvy. Your ankles are thin and sexy." I buried my head in my chest. "I have no filter around you."

"I don't around you either," she said. "But yeah, I'm not really fond of my legs. Actually, the only part of my body that I truly like are my eyes. Did you know green is one of the rarest eye colors in the world? And so is your eye color."

"I knew that," I said. "Actually, the rarest eye color in the world is violet. What's also rare is the chimaera look; where two eyes are different colors."

"I like violet eyes. I once knew a girl named Rouge, and she had red hair and violet eyes."

"That's interesting. What's she like?"

"Eh, she's kind of a beeotch. Not very nice or smart, but whatever. She's got two older sisters and three younger sisters, and they're all okay. They all have either red or blond hair and she's the only one with eyes like that."

Frankly, I didn't care about this Rouge person, but she was someone that clearly caused emotion in Sarah.

"What has she done to you?" I asked.

"She's just not very nice. She moved to our middle school in the beginning of seventh grade, and caused a lot of problems. She was the kind to break up friendships and single people out and torture them. When she met Scarlett, though, she had met her match. Rouge was making fun of Rachel Griffin's hair, which makes no sense, since they're both redheads, and Scarlett totally tore her down. She called her a bully and a bitch and told Rachel she was beautiful. The thing is, though, Scarlett was being fake. She doesn't think Rachel is pretty at all.

"When we got to high school, Scarlett insisted we give each other makeovers, and she used each one of us to show something that was not right or whatever. The mole on Honey's face, Angela's nose, Rachel's freckles, all sorts of crap. Of course, she used herself as the model of perfection. Even Jordan is not that mean, and she made it with Mike behind Scarlett's back."

"Say that again?"

"She and Mike did it behind Scarlett's back while they were dating."

"That's what I thought you said. That's interesting." I rubbed my chin. "Jordan's not all she seems, is she?"

"No, she's not," Sarah replied. "I think she's a lot more sneaky than she lets on. I think she's the one who blabbed our secret."

"What secret?" I