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

"Father-"

"No arguing. Go to sleep now." He carried me over to the bed and tucked me in.

~~~~~~~~~

I had been sleeping for about four hours when I heard a noise downstairs that jolted me awake. Thinking it was Father, I rolled over and covered my head with a pillow. Then I smelled a familiar smell. For a moment, I couldn't place it. It was musky and earthy, with floral undertones. I sat up and slowly got out of bed.

I headed downstairs slowly. Sensing possible danger, I grabbed a pocketknife from my nightstand drawer. My gut twisted as I grew closer to the smell. One more turn, and a tall vampire stood right in front of me.

The vampire in front of me was tall, muscular, and good-looking. He had long black wavy hair that reached his shoulders, bright blue eyes, and a large, crooked nose. His skin was pale and smooth, yet hardened, as though he'd seen too many years. Simply put, he was Alexander Nicolai.

"Hello, Reese," he said to me. "You're coming with me." He grabbed my arm. He had a deep, aged voice.

"Hold on," I said. "I don't know who you are, and why should I come with you?"

"I think you know who I am," he said after a moment. "And the reason why you should come with me is because I'm your real father."

"My father is Mordecai Emerson," I said.

"Obstinate boy." He pulled me along anyway.

"Stop this. I'm not your son!" I cried out. He lifted me up over his shoulder and started to carry me away.

"ALEXANDER! PUT HIM DOWN!" My father's frantic voice cut through the air. Alexander turned around. He set me back on my feet.

"You," Alexander growled when he saw my father. "You've interfered for the last time. If I had known there was a child, I would have done this years ago."

"He's mine!" Father cried. "Look at him; he has my eyes and hair!"

"His hair looks nothing like yours! He clearly gets his hair from me."

"You idiot, Marina has hair as black as night. He gets his hair color from her. He's clearly mine. Now release him, and I will not kill you today." Alexander set me down gently. He crouched and started circling my father. My father also crouched, and began circling his rival.

"What's going on?" I asked Grandfather.

"I will explain it to you later," he snipped. "Stop this, both of you!" Father glanced up at him. "There's only one for sure way to settle this. A paternity test."

"We all know what it will say," Father growled. "'Reese is Mordecai's son.'"

"False. It will say 'Reese is Alexander's son.'"

Father snarled at him. He wrapped his arms around me in a protective embrace. "MINE!"

"Alexander, you have a son," Grandfather said.

"If it hadn't been for that...thing, I would have another," Alexander replied. Father growled and started smelling me.

"He's bruised," Father said. He glared at Alexander. "You hurt him!"

"I did not mean to-"

"Even now, I would be a much better father than you, Alex."

"Don't call me Alex! How would you like it if I called you Mordy?"

"Gentlemen," Grandfather broke in, "Not in front of Reese. He's innocent in all this."

"He's a vampire," Alexander argued. "He's not innocent."

"He drinks bagged blood. But his diet is not important. Alexander, it was a long time ago. Can't you forgive Mordecai?"

"No! Absolutely not! He stole my son from me!"

"HE IS NOT YOUR SON!" Father cried. He nearly crushed me.

"Father...my ribs..." I spoke up. He immediately loosened his grip.

"My apologies, sweet one."

"See? You're the one hurting him now," Alexander said. "You cannot even be gentle when you're trying to protect him." He bared his teeth. "All of this is your fault," he told my father. "If you had not taken my mate from me, none of this would have happened!"

"Reese would not have met his mate either," Father said. Alexander rolled his eyes.

"I don't care about that little girl."

"Well, I do," I said. "And if you truly loved me, you would at least give her a chance."

"Don't speak to me in that manner, you little shit."

"Good boy," Father said, kissing my cheek.

"Don't encourage it, Mordecai," Grandfather said. "Soon enough, he'll be saying that to you." Father ignored him and jumped onto a tree branch with me still in his arms.

"Must protect offspring," he said. "Keep him away from that...from him."

"Father, I'm safe."

"No, you're not." He cradled me like a baby. "My sweet, beautiful, intelligent boy. I can't live without you."

"Give him to me!" Alexander leaped toward us and grabbed me around the waist. My father kicked Alexander in the stomach and held me back. He handed me to Grandfather, who checked me for injuries and kept me at a safe distance from Alexander.

Father held Alexander in a headlock. Alexander punched him in the stomach and threw him off. He bared his teeth at Father.

"Fine. I will submit to a paternity test. If it says that he's mine, I'm taking him with me," he leered.

"If he isn't yours?" Father asked.

"I will admit I was wrong and let him stay with you."

"Do I have a say in this?" I asked.

"No," Father and Alexander said at the same time.

"It's best to let them work it out," Grandfather whispered in my ear. "And besides, Alexander, Sarah said she would give her child to you."

"The child is human, and it's not the same," Alexander said. "I don't care if it is a boy, it's simply not the same."

I felt faint. I collapsed onto the floor. Father panicked.

"Reese!" He and Alexander were both at my side in seconds. "Reese, baby, stay with me!" Alexander lifted me into his arms. Father hissed.

"Will you shut up? He needs me!" Alexander exclaimed.

"What he needs is rest! I'm his father; I know what's best for him!" Alexander dropped me and held my father in a chokehold. Father elbowed him in the stomach and kicked out of his grip. He lifted me up gently.

Having had enough, I went into my bedroom and slammed the door. I started writing a new song that I called "Her Lipstick On Me".

"She knows that I love her. She knows that I know that she loves me. Her eyes sparkle in the moonlight, they call out to me. She's so bright tonight, and so pretty, and I need to be close to her." That was as far as I got before I heard footsteps and then pounding on the bedroom door. "Come in."

Father came in, flanked by Alexander, Grandfather, and Uncle Soren.

"Whoa, is it my birthday?" I said sarcastically. Grandfather flicked my ear. Father sat on the bed and rubbed my legs.

"Whom do you choose?" Alexander asked.

"I'm sorry?"

"Choose one of us, Reese," Father said. I gaped at him.

"Are you serious? Are you fucking serious? You're my father, you're the only one I'll ever have." Father smirked at Alexander, who frowned. "What is this, a love triangle? Get the fuck out of my room." Father frowned at me.

"Why are you so hostile?" he asked.

"He's a teenager, Mordecai," Uncle Soren said. "Like I said before, welcome to the world of parenting teenagers. You should have already had enough experience to know that this was bound to happen. One day, he cannot get enough of you, and the next, he'll be telling you to get out of his room and leave him alone. And I mean all that literally."

"You have all raised teenage boys. I have not," Father pointed out. He leaned over and tried to read what I'd written in my songbook. I shut it quickly. He frowned. Alexander moved closer to me, and Father hissed at him.

"Please go," I begged. "I need some time alone."

"Of course, Reese." Grandfather bowed to me and left the room. Uncle Soren also left after a look from Father.

"Reese, please tell me what the matter is," Father said.

"All of this is the matter."

"All of what, sweetheart?"

"All of this." I pulled my knees up to my chest. "If I hadn't gotten involved, none of this would have happened."

"Don't do that. Don't blame yourself or act like a martyr. None of this is your fault. I'm very sorry that you were caught in the middle, and I blame myself."

"Hypocrite," Alexander piped up.

"Shut your mouth, Alex."

"Don't call me Alex!" I heard a creak, then Evan opened the door. Alexander glared at him. "Who the hell is this?"

"Alexander, meet Evan. Evan, this is Alexander," I said cautiously. Evan and Alexander glared at each other for a moment, then Alexander huffed and refocused his attention onto me.

"Reese," Evan spoke up, "I got my memory back." I stared at him.

"How?"

"I don't know. One minute I was sleeping, then I saw...it's not important. Anyway, I remember everything."

"Evan," I said, "I am so, so sorry. I didn't mean to attack you." Father left the room, as did Alexander. To give us some privacy. Evan flitted forward and kissed me. For a moment, I closed my eyes. I pulled him closer and deepened the kiss. I growled as my belly tightened. I hadn't been kissed in so long. The last person who kissed me was Sarah, and her feelings about me were still on the fence. Sarah.

My eyes shot open and I pulled away quickly. Evan looked hurt.

"You don't need to breathe," he said.

"No, but I...I just can't. I'm sorry, Evan, I just can't." He looked sad.

"If she wasn't in your life, would you?"

"I...yes. If I didn't know her, then yes, you would be the one."

"What does she have that I don't?"

"For one thing, she doesn't use stupid cliches. She's super smart, and so innocent, and kind, and pure, and beautiful." Evan burst into tears. "Evan, please don't cry. I'm sorry." I buried my head in my legs. "This is all my fault. I should never have let my feelings control me. But Evan, you still have another soulmate."

"I have only one soulmate, and that's you, Reese."

"No, I...I was once told that each person has two possible soulmates, which are chosen based on their sexuality, beliefs, and faith. You have another soulmate, I swear. His name is Reid Lockhart. I...I can find him for you. I'll do anything to make this right."

"The only thing you can do is kill me. Either kill me or admit that we're meant to be."

"No, Evan, don't start that. I know I screwed up."

"Drink from me," he said, spreading his arms wide. I gave him a horrified look.

"Evan, are you crazy?! Do you think I'm that sick?" He started crying again. He sat on the carpet and sobbed, rocking back and forth. Feeling terrible, I sat beside him. "I'm so sorry. If I hadn't bitten you, this would not have happened!" Then I started crying. As much as I fought it, I could not stop the flow of tears and the cracks going through my heart. My lamenting brought Father and Alexander into the room, who fought each other to get to me.

Alexander "won", and he celebrated by holding me and saying "Hush, little one. It's all right, it's all right." Father growled at him. Alexander rubbed my back. His soothing motions calmed me enough to go over to Evan.

"Evan, I don't know what to do anymore. I've offered to find Reid for you, and I've done everything I could for you when you were human."

"Go to hell!" Evan snapped, backhanding me and jumping out the window, shattering the plexiglass. Shocked, I laid on the floor for a moment. Alexander lifted me up and stroked my hair. Father had gone after Evan.

"Are you all right, little one?"

"I-I'm fine. Alexander, hold me."

"Of course, son. As long as you need me to."

When Father came back, he looked angry.

"He's mine," he said to Alexander.

"Zip it, Mordecai. He's mine as well. I love him just as much as you do."

"You just met him!"

"If it wasn't for you, he would be mine."

"Wait a second," I broke in. "Just this morning, you were saying that I was yours." Alexander looked ashamed, and so did Father.

"We did