Unraveling Mathias by Marisa Maichel (reading women TXT) 📕

Dimitri did my homework for me. He said it was easy to copy my handwriting. Easy As. Sarah stopped by when she could, but she was still on bedrest on doctor's orders, so she couldn't see me very often. We talked on the phone every day though. I missed her terribly. She told me that I'd get sick of her if we lived together. I had to disagree.

I was given fresh blood every night. My victims were willing, allowing me to bite them and drink from them a certain amount. One pint to two pints. Always different people. All of them interested in becoming a vampire.

One night, I felt another presence. An arm around my waist. Cold breath on my neck. Soft breathing. Ambrose. I stayed still, not moving, still pretending to be asleep.

Finally, I was allowed to leave. The first thing I did was meet Sarah at her home. She was reorganizing her closet.

"What're you doing?" I asked.

"Putting some of my old clothes in storage. I won't fit into them for a long time." I wrapped my arms around her. I gave her belly a playful pat, moving my hands downward.

"Watch it," she said, moving them back up."Are you cured?"

"I will be. My family needs to return a few favors, turn some people, hand out the cure, and then I'll be cured."

"And then we can have sex again?"

"If that's what you want."

The doorbell rang, and the dogs started barking. Sarah went down to answer it.

"Where's your mom?" I asked.

"Probably in bed. She always sleeps these days." Glen Crow was at the door. Sarah's nose wrinkled. "What are you doing here?"

"Coming to see you," he said, offering her a rose. She took it. I wrapped my arm around her.

"She's taken."

"Glen, I choose Reese," she said. He snarled.

"Do you really think I'll take that as an answer?

"I find it ironic that you're here the day my boyfriend gets out of the hospital."

Glen frowned. "I had no idea, I swear, Sarah." Sarah turned bright red and mumbled an apology to me.

"It's not your fault," I told her. She buried her face in my chest. Glen's fists clenched.

"Sarah, look at me," he commanded. When she didn't, he grabbed her chin an forced her to look at him.

"Hey, watch it!" I slapped his arm away. "Don't you dare touch her!" Glen's frown deepened.

"You, me, bloodsucker. Tonight."

"No-" Sarah began, but I cut her off.

"Fine with me. I could use some action."

"Reese, if you do this..." Sarah said. "I'll...I'll call your father!" I looked at her in horror.

"You wouldn't!"

"I would!" She had never made such a frightening threat.

"A daddy's boy, huh?" Glen mocked.

"Shut up, Crow."

Needless to say, Sarah texted Alexander, who arrived, pulled Glen outside, and punched him in the face. Mother was right behind him, and she kicked Glen in the stomach.

"Why, Sarah?" I said.

"I'm not risking your safety because of me," she said.

"You are worth everything," I replied. Alexander had Glen in a chokehold.

"Do...not...go...near...my children!" he snapped. "Or I'll break your neck!" Glen slid out, then ran toward the woods.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was time for the six-month ultrasound. Of course, Sarah asked me to go, along with Mother and Alexander. We were taken into a room where a male nurse stared at his clipboard.

"Dr. Volskey will be with you a minute," he said. "You're here to refill birth control?"

Shock. Pure shock.

"Um, no," Sarah said.

"You realize that condoms aren't one hundred percent effective?" the male nurse said rudely. I saw that Alexander had allowed his fangs to grow.

"Gee, I wish you'd said that to Nales," Sarah said sarcastically. Finally, the male nurse looked up.

"Oh...um...sorry. I'll just...um...go now." He ran out the door. A minute later, a woman came in.

"Sorry about that," she said. "I'm Dr. Volskey." She was tall and pretty, with black skin and brown coils in a short ponytail. "How are you today," Sarah?"

"I'm okay," she said.

"Any complications? I need to take your blood pressure." She took Sarah's blood pressure and told her she was at a good weight (Sarah scoffed). "No, you are! Your weight is perfect! Now, are you ready?"

She took us to a room filled with machines. Sarah laid down on the bed, and Dr. Volskey smeared a clear gel on her stomach. The machine clicked on, and we could see a form. A heartbeat, a head, arms, legs.

"Do you want to know the sex?" Dr. Volskey asked.

"Yes," Sarah said.

Dr. Volskey's grin got bigger. "It's a boy!"

I heard a scream. Mother was literally jumping up and down, hugging Alexander. I looked at the screen. I was going to be the stepfather of this little thing. I'd never really given much thought to its...sorry, his...development, other than Sarah's comfort and health. I looked at my future son. He seemed to be looking back at me. He turned slightly, causing a movement.

"Would you like pictures?" Dr. Volskey asked.

"How many can you print?" Mother asked.

"The most I can print is four. Coming right up."

We all left with pictures in our wallets. Sarah, of course, posted a picture of the ultrasound on Facebook.

My son. That evoked a strange feeling in me. Even though he wasn't biologically mine, I stil felt...accomplished. Almost complete. I just needed to graduate high school and marry Sarah, and I'd be complete.

It was simple. I loved my stepson.

"I want to name him," Sarah said later that week, as Mother cooked her dinner.

"As is your right," said Alexander.

"Cirino."

Alexander nodded his approval. "A vampire name. It means "like the sun". What do you think, Marina?"

"I think it suits him," she said, putting a plate with a steak and fruit salad in front of Sarah. "Eat. You and he both need protein." It was strange, thinking of the baby as a him instead of an it.

Sabine came from downstairs. Sabine had also taken to staying at my house, due to Alicia's unpredictability. It was almost like they'd started to move in. Sarah even kept some clothes in my closet. Alicia was getting worse. She had almost lost her job that day.

She had walked up to a random house, opened the door, and then tried to sell it to the owners when they got home. Now she was on unpaid suspension, and starting to lash out at the girls and the dogs. I was glad that Sarah was calling me or Ariella instead of Mother, because if she called Mother in tears...Alicia wouldn't live for much longer.

Mother loved Sarah as if she were her own, and she was starting to think of Sabine that way, too. Sabine loved Mother; everything from her accent to her taste in fashion.

"You guys have an awesome basement," Sabine said as Mother put a plate in front of her. "Your uncle and I played air hockey for half an hour."

"I'm glad you like it," I said. Sabine had also taken a liking to Uncle Soren. She enjoyed playing games with him and quizzing him about past basketball players.

When dinner was over, Sarah and Sabine went home.

CHAPTER TWELVE - GHOST

I was at work when I got the call. We were swamped, and even Father was in the store, helping customers. It was me, him, and Richard. Sarah hadn't been scheduled, and Father couldn't bring himself to call her. Besides, she'd already made plans with Ariella, Lauren, and Britain.

"Hello, Emerson's Electronics. We sell, buy, and trade DVDs-"

"I know, Reese."

"Alexander? What happened?"

"Sarah and Ariella are in the hospital. Neither of them will speak, and both of them are extremely stiff."

"I don't like that."

"Not that kind of stiff, you stupid boy! Oh, sorry."

"Whatever. What hospital?"

"Which one do you think?" he snapped. "Be there as soon as you can."

"That was Alexander," I told Father.

"What did he want?" he asked, scanning merchandise as fast as a human possibly could.

"Something happened to Sarah and Ariella. They're at the hospital. He wants me there."

"Tell him to stick a cane up his-"

"Mordecai, there's a customer who wants to speak to you," Richard cut in.

"Anyway, you can go anytime you want, Reese. Richard and I will handle this."

"Are you sure?"

"Son, she's your mate, and she's hurt."

I didn't need to be reminded twice.

I was taken to a small room. Sarah's eyes widened minutely when she saw me. Her mouth was open slightly, and she wasn't moving. Neither was Ariella. Her mouth was also hanging open slightly. Uncle Soren was there, trying to coax her into talking.

"My love, please speak to me," he said. Ari didn't even shake her head. I grasped Sarah's hand.

"Sarah, if you can hear me, squeeze twice." She squeezed twice. "Is something in your mouth or throat?" She squeezed twice. "Can you speak at all?" She squeezed once. "Baby, what happened?" I asked. She couldn't answer, and I cursed myself for being stupid.

The doctor came in. "Hello, I'm Dr. Lapoit," he said. "And you are?"

"I'm Sarah's boyfriend," I said. "This is my uncle."

"I am Ariella's boyfriend," Uncle Soren said. Dr. Lapoit looked taken aback. Uncle Soren looked at least thirty five.

"I'm Sarah's mother," Mother cut in. "Can you please just tell me what happened to my baby?"

"That's what we're trying to find out, ma'am. Stella, get me a flashlight and a tongue depressor." Dr. Lapoit worked on Sarah first. "Open your mouth as much as you can for me, sweetie." Her mouth opened minutely. "A little more. That's it...what...oh, my god. It's a fork!"

"A fork?" Alexander snickered. "They swallowed forks?" Mother smacked him on the back of the head.

"Be nice, or I'll shove a fork down your throat," she threatened.

Dr. Lapoit looked in Ariella's throat. "You both swallowed forks? How? Stella, get Dr. Foster in here. We need a laryngoscope for both girls."

Stella produced a laryngoscope fairly quickly and Dr. Lapoit put it in Sarah's mouth. Another doctor appeared, Dr. Foster, I presumed, and took a look in Ariella's throat. They put more devices in their mouths.

"Come on," Dr. Lapoit said.

"Careful, or it'll go into her stomach," Alexander quipped, smirking.

"Hey, Alexander? Shut up," Uncle Soren said.

The curtain opened, and Alicia walked in. "What happened?" she asked. "Baby, did you have another seizure?"

"There's a fork in her throat," Alexander explained, still grinning. "Ariella's, too." Alicia looked put out.

"How?"

"That's what we're all wondering," I muttered. Alicia looked like she wanted to go over to Sarah and embrace her.

"Sarah, when that thing gets out of you, I promise to cut back on the booze."

"Why not cut back anyway?" Alexander snapped. "You have more than one daughter, Alicia." Mother glared at him.

"Be quiet. At least she's trying."

Finally, after a few more minutes, the fork came out of Sarah's mouth, then Ariella's.

"Can you speak?" Dr. Lapoit asked.

"Yes," Sarah said. "Thank you."

"Of course. How did that happen?"

"I think I would like a mocha," Ariella said.

"I fancy a cup of mango tea," Sarah replied.

"You make really good tiramisu, Ms. Cresley," Ariella said.

"Thank you," Alicia said. "But I told you, call me Alicia." The girls looked at each other.

"We might as well tell them," Ariella said. They looked back at us. "We saw the ghost of Michael Nales." I stood, shocked.

"A ghost? Bullcrap," Alexander said. "There's no such thing as ghosts."

"Don't be close-minded," I snapped. "Truth is, I've seen him, too. I was at the city library, though, when I saw him."

"You believe us?" Sarah said hopefully.

"Of course. I should have told you sooner, but I didn't want to scare you. I haven't thought about it in a while, though. What were you doing when it happened?"

"Practicing kissing," Ariella joked. Inappropriate thoughts flashed through my mind.

"Be serious," Uncle Soren chided. "What were you doing?"

"We were eating the tiramisu that Sarah's mom made us," Alicia said. "When he came out of the TV."

"Wow, how unoriginal," Alexander drawled sarcastically.

"Hey, don't blame us," Ariella said. "We're the victims."

"To what, exactly?"

"Alexander, shut up." That last statement came from me. He glared at me. I squeaked. If I was anyone else, I'd be either dead or extremely hurt for saying that to him. He had yet to kick Uncle Soren's ass, which is the only reason