Unraveling Selena by Marisa Maichel (black female authors TXT) 📕

What is wrong with me?

Despite all my knowledge, all my experience, I let the enemy of my love kiss me.

I was on cloud nine, as it has been said before, for the rest of the day. I was disgusted with myself, but it also felt good. Her parting words stuck with me.

I love you.

To know that I was loved by the enemy was comforting to a point. Of course, there was also a chance that she had lied to me. There was always that possibility. Or it could have been the truth, and I was truly loved by Scarlett Hart, the ex-most-popular-girl replaced by Sarah Cresley, the sweet one, the one who was smart, but never bragged about it or showed off. The kind one, the one who helped at the food bank or the animal shelter occasionally on weekends. The cheerleader, not just a school cheerleader, but a cheerleader for all her friends and family.

I chastised myself for letting it happen. I loved Sarah. I always had. But now I was noticing things that I had ignored before, things that turned me on to Scarlett. She was a thief. She was secretive and manipulative. Could I live with that? Absolutely not.

Did I still love Sarah? Absolutely.

So why were my thoughts turning to black eyes instead of green ones?

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

I got some news about Other Reese’s whereabouts.

“His father said he’s still in the area,” Father said during a family meeting.

“His father?” I asked, curious.

“Of course, son. Who do you think helped me save you?”

“I…assumed it was Torrance.”

Father’s eyes darkened. “Him. Oh, yes, he led me to you, but I had him arrested and am having Spencer and Toby torture him for information.”

“Dad!”

“I do what I think is best, Reese Mordecai Emerson,” he said firmly.

“I know, but it’s not right! He saved my life!”

“I said I was torturing him, not killing him. I’m well aware that he saved your life.”

“So let him go!”

“Reese is right,” Grandfather said. “Torrance has been tortured enough. Call off the session and have the guys take him to the guest house.”

Father’s nose wrinkled. “Other Mordecai has been most helpful,” he said, changing the subject. “Even with the baby.”

Everyone made a disgusted face.

“Enough about that,” Grandfather said sternly. “Other Mordecai will be distinctive to us because he has a bit of facial hair, a five o’clock shadow.”

“That’s helpful with blond hair,” Louis retorted.

“Shut your mouth,” Uncle Soren snapped. Louis glared at him but clammed up. “I’m still angry with you.”

“I already said I was sorry,” Louis said. “You didn’t act mad then.”

“It was my fault, not his,” I said, referring to the situation how I got kidnapped by Other Reese.

“I can’t believe either of you went out at night with a killer vampire on the loose! I thought you boys had more sense.”

“Now you shut it, Soren,” Grandfather said, standing up. “The boys have learned their lesson, and they have been punished enough without your temper getting the way!”

Uncle Soren stood up and faced his parent. They stood glaring at each other until Father spoke up.

“Another thing: where the fuck were you when all this was happening, Dimitri?” He scowled at our head guard.

Dimitri stood out and uncrossed his arms. “I was away,” he explained. “Hunting.”

“You know damn well that there’s plenty of blood here!”

“We can’t stop the guards from hunting, Mordecai!” Louis said.

“Uncle Mordecai,” Uncle Soren growled between gritted teeth.

“I don’t give a shit!” Louis shouted. “The whole thing was Reese’s fault, anyway! The guards need to eat, too!”

“The people of North Hampton have already noticed- “

“Who gives a damn, Mordecai?! Not me! Humans suck! Vampires suck! My life sucks!”

“Shut up, Louis!” Uncle Soren yelled at him. “Not everything revolves around you! You’re acting like a child!”

“Oh, geez, I wonder where I get it? You’re the bastard that knocked up my bitch of a mother and then fucked the first girl I ever cared about!”

“She chose a werewolf over us! Get over it!”

“You know very well that I can’t get over it! I’m still hurt over Meiko, and that ended months ago!”

“Ariella was a lying bitch who deserves to die!”

“You didn’t say that when you stuck your fat penis in her!”

“I am so tired of everyone calling me fat! I know I’m heavier than I should be, but so what? A lot of people are, not just me and humans!”

“The whole human race sucks!” Louis shouted back. “I wish they’d never been created!”

“Then you wouldn’t be born, you stuck-up, selfish brat!”

“Oh, I’m the selfish one? Take a look in the mirror, jerk!”

I was silently crying. This whole thing was my fault. I’d been saying that to myself a lot lately.

“Reese, go upstairs,” Father gently said, giving me a small hug. “This didn’t go as planned!”

I heard Uncle Soren and Louis shouting at each other even in the shower. Sometimes I hate having advanced senses.

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

The next day was met with silence. Uncle Soren and Louis didn’t even look at each other except to shoot dirty looks. I hated it. I started to wish that Other Reese had just killed me already. But then, that would tear the family apart, and it would still be my fault.

I got a glimpse of Other Mordecai talking to Grandfather and Father. He looked almost exactly like Father, except with more facial hair and a round belly that he kept touching. I thought I saw it move slightly, and Other Mordecai winced.

“Reese, come here,” Grandfather said. I went over to my father’s side.

“Mordecai, you know who this is,” Father said. “You gave birth to him.”

Yikes, too much information.

“Of course,” Other Mordecai said, studying me. “He looks exactly like mine and Alexander’s.”

“Alexander’s?!” Father looked horrified. “As in Ambrogio Nicolai?”

Other Mordecai nodded. Father looked like he might faint.

“People have been marrying their cousins for centuries, Mordecai,” Grandfather said. “Get over it.”

“First of all, it’s not the cousin part that disgusts me. Secondly, who in the hell would Marina be?”

“Women in our universe are planetarily separate from men,” Other Mordecai said. “Women have their own means of getting pregnant without men, just like men have gotten pregnant without all your science or fanfiction junk.”

“Science fiction and fantasy,” I said. Other Mordecai smiled at me.

“He definitely has a better attitude than mine. You have raised him well.”

“That doesn’t mean much coming from you,” Father snapped. I frowned at him.

“Don’t be a jerk, Father. He’s got a point.”

“Point or not, his Reese tried to kill mine. Why?”

“It’s my fault, really,” Other Mordecai said.

“That’s comforting.”

“Mordecai!”

“Alexander and I haven’t been getting along, and it’s rubbed off on our son. Then he and Sawyer broke up, and then Alexander lost his temper on him more than once, and it got ugly quickly. I wish that my husband was here with me, but he clearly doesn’t love any of us as much as I thought he did.” Other Mordecai rubbed his belly as he spoke. He winced again and looked down at it. “Little one here is thoroughly excited by all of this. He keeps hurting me.”

“I still don’t understand how, if he dies, Reese dies, but if Reese dies, he doesn’t die,” Louis said.

“It’s his soul,” Uncle Soren said. “He’s beyond caring about himself or anything else. Reese does care deeply about us and the rest of his friends and family. Basically, Other Reese’s soul is dying.”

“That explains his stench,” Father said. “I came across him. He looks almost exactly like him except for a little beard. He clearly hasn’t shaved in a while. Our Reese shaves all the time.”

“A beard would be pretty awesome,” I said, rubbing my hairless chin. “You know what, I might grow one.”

“Girls like stubble,” Louis teased. That made my thoughts revert to Sarah and Scarlett. I again chided myself for wanting to kiss the enemy again. I was out of my mind to even contemplate it.

I needed some blood. I fixed myself a glass and gulped it down in seconds, pausing briefly to enjoy the powerful flavor. As soon as I was full, I went over to the living room and turned on the TV. I switched to the news.

“Two teenagers were found dead this morning, their bodies drained of blood. The girls were students at Martin Luther King Jr. High School, both of them sophomores, and both of them were seen on camera stumbling and slurring their words, likely from alcohol.”

“Vampires in the area,” Uncle Soren said. “They didn’t do a very good job of hiding the bodies. That means they’re careless. We have to be careful.”

“Their breaths were fresh,” Louis said. “And both of them were wearing tampons that were bloodless. That means that they, like some other girls I know, dipped their tampons in vodka and stuck it- “

“Thank you, Louis,” I said. “Too much information.”

“How do you know, anyway?” Uncle Soren asked.

“Because I went to the morgue and asked the coroner. She explained it to me.”

“You knew there were vampires in the area?” I asked. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Because this coven is huge, about ten members. The leader is a big male who doesn’t tolerate other alpha males.” He looked at his father. “I came across them when I was hunting. I stayed hidden for the most part, but I think a small female may have spotted me.”

“Thanks, Louis,” Uncle Soren grumbled. Louis gave him the finger.

I took a deep breath. I needed a break. I needed to play my guitar. I went up to my room and started strumming my acoustic. I started singing. I think I’m a good singer, but my shyness prevents me from singing in front of others, except in my past choir classes. I started singing to Sarah’s Song, a written piece that I’d never sung before.

I was ready to take a break when I decided to work on the rest of my homework. I finished math first, then began working on my Greek gods assignment. I had chosen to write about Demeter, the goddess of fertile fields and greenery. Her daughter, Persephone, was married to Hades, and would only see her mother for six months of the year. Thus, spring and summer. When her six months were spent with Hades, it was fall and winter.

I wrote until I had a sizable paper, then wrote the conclusion and signed my name. I started looking at the different colleges I’d applied to. I’d yet to get an acceptance letter, though I hoped for one very soon. I knew I wanted to study music, and that was it. I’d also decided to try take a writing course. I’d write both fiction and nonfiction. I had already started a journal about my life. I tried to journal a few times but found it repetitive.

Sarah journaled, and I wanted to show her that I was capable of deep thoughts as well. Maybe I’d get it published.

I thought about what I would write if I decided to write a novel. Maybe I’d write a vampire book. A nonfiction. Maybe I’d interview a Slayer, humans, Elves, or werewolves who killed bad vampires. My father would lose his head if I talked to a Slayer. So would Uncle Soren, given his expansive history. I wondered what would happen if Grandfather knew. He’d probably freak out, too.

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

Something about Sarah was irritating me lately. I started noticing flaws that bothered me, even though they never bothered me before. I wasn’t a big fan of Disney, and she was like a Disney princess with a Tim Burton twist in that she was with me.

I was also annoyed with Scarlett, for being so appealing. I wanted to break her neck. The inner war in my heart was tearing my brain apart.

Sarah’s obsession with fashion. Her need to be coddled every time something happened. Her need to be saved. The fact that she was still human and wasn’t ready to be turned into a vampire. There were a few things that I reminded myself of.

She liked reading as much as I did. She drew and sang excellently. She was very