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

"Yes, I would. Thank you, Sarah."

CHAPTER ELEVEN - FINDING

Her appointment was the first official ultrasound. I held her hand, Alexander sitting across the room. All of our eyes were fixed on the screen. The doctor, a plain young male, rubbed some gel on her abdomen and turned on the screen. Her stomach was still flat; she wasn't showing yet.

Alexander looked intrigued as he stared at the screen.

"What's the gender?" he asked.

"It's still too early to tell," Dr. Bronson said. "Which one of you is the father?"

"I am," I said before Alexander could interject.

"That's nice of you, Reese," Sarah said. "Actually, the real father is not in the picture."

"Oh, I'm sorry for your loss," Dr. Bronson said.

"Actually, I will be the father if all goes according to plan," Alexander broke in. "Don't look at me like that, Reese. You know it, I know it, and she knows it." Dr. Bronson looked uncomfortable. Sarah gave Alexander The Look. He ignored her.

Dr. Bronson kept the device moving. "Well, it looks healthy overall. Keep eating healthy, keep up an exercise routine, and take good care of it. I would not recommend strenous or sudden movement." He printed a picture and gave Sarah a few copies.

We left feeling accomplished. I wrapped one arm around her waist. I spun around and kissed her. The kiss was unbelievable. I needed more of her. I pulled her close to me. I easily enveloped her- she is so much smaller than me. She pulled away slowly, causing me to whine and growl.

"Stay," I commanded.

"I have to get home. My mother will want to see me," she said.

"And my father will worry about me," I realized. "I'll see you later, Sarah. I love you." She kissed my chin and got into her car. A black cat ran out from under it.

~~~~~~~~

"Where were you?" Father asked, stamping on a cigarette.

"Sarah had an ultrasound," I said. "I went with her."

"Reese, I specifically told you not to communicate w.l nith her anymore-"

"Why shouldn't I?" I asked. "Just because your relationship with Mom didn't work out, doesn't mean that mine will not!" He looked hurt at my words. "Father, I don't care if you hate her or not, I'm not going to stop seeing her."

"I don't hate her," he said. "I hate what this love is doing to you." I glared at him in disgust and started up the stairs. He grabbed me around the waist and pulled me up to his chest. "I waited so long for an heir," he said softly. "Now that I have him, I'm afraid I'll lose him." He put my head under his chin. He carried me up the stairs and into his bedroom.

He buried both of us under the covers. "You were with Alexander as well," Father said. "I don't trust him around you." He rolled me onto my side and positioned himself over me. Angry with him, I rolled over and tried to get away. He whimpered and tried to hold me down. I growled at him, baring my teeth. He growled back. I rolled over again and slid out.

My father glared at me, and I glared at him. I went into my room and shut the door. I started formulating a plan. First, I would kill Nales. Then I would buy a house where Sarah and I could spend eternity. Somewhere on the beach. Someplace where I could keep her safe forever. Maybe get a dog or a cat. I thought about the black cat I had seen earlier, and wondered if it was an omen. Then I chided myself for being superstitious. It's a cat, not a katana.

I smelled Father coming. I rolled over onto my side, facing the wall, and pretended to be asleep.

"Reese, despite what you may think, I don't dislike Sarah," he said, sitting on the bed. "I just don't want to see you get hurt again." I rolled over and glared at him. "Don't look at me like that. I'm only looking out for you. I'm trying to protect you."

"No, you're trying to prevent my happiness," I said.

"You're being ridiculous," he said. "I'm trying to prevent...it's not important."

"I am so sick of everyone saying that!" I cried. "Of course it's fucking important! First Sarah, then Evan, then Soren, now you! What the hell is it that you're so afraid of?" He sighed and looked sad.

"I'm afraid I'll lose you to yourself," he finally admitted. I was suddenly even angrier.

"That's it? You think I'm going to kill myself? Even if I wanted to die, I have reasons to live. You, Sarah, Grandfather, Louis, and even Evan." He looked frightened.

"Reese, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. You're right; it's my own fault. All I wanted was for you to be safe and happy." I knew it was painful for him to say this.

"It's not your fault, Father." Even so, I rolled over onto my right side, facing the wall again. My father left, trying to control his emotions. My head felt like it had been split. I looked at the picture of Sarah's fetus, and pretended it was mine. The most we had ever done was kiss and explore each other. I hoped she was okay.

~~~~~~~~~

I awoke to the sound of "Betrayed" by Avenged Sevenfold. I'd changed Ariella's ringtone to that after I caught her with Uncle Soren. I growled at being awoken from my nap and answered it gruffly.

"Hello?"

"Reese, can we talk? I know you're still steamed about what you saw...."

"About what? Do I even matter to you?"

"Reese Emerson, haven't you figured it out by now? You're one of my best friends. Yes, I was weak, and I care about Soren, but I care about you more." I was touched by her words. I was still mad, however.

"Okay, what do you want?" I asked.

"For us to fix this and move on."

"Is my uncle there with you?" Silence on Ariella's end. "Put him on." Instead, she hung up. Pitiful, I thought. I shook my head and went back to sleep.

When I woke up, Father was laying beside me. I rolled away from him, eventually falling on the floor. I cursed and picked myself up. Father looked down at me.

"Are you all right, Reese?"

"I'm fine. What the hell? Why are you in my bed?"

"I couldn't sleep. I needed to be close to you. To ensure your safety."

"Enough about fucking safety. I'm a vampire for Odin's sake!" I picked up my dresser with one hand. "I can pick up a baby elephant. I have super sharp incisors." I let my fangs grow just to prove my point. I even let the bottom fangs grow. "I can shatter a sequoia. I can break chains, crush an apple, tear a phone book to shreds, break a bowling ball, tear out the veins of my opponents, swallow a television set."

"I know you can," Father said. "But compared to older vampires, especially ones that are at least as old as I am, you are a mere baby." I hated being called a baby. I gave him a filthy look and went out to grab a snack.

Uncle Soren was sitting there, taking sips from a cup.

"Ariella's been crying," he said. "She misses you. I'm sorry if I betrayed you. I need your trust back."

"Maybe I overreacted," I said. "I'll call her back in a few minutes." I warmed a glass of blood and drank it quickly. Then I called Ariella.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Ariella, I want to be friends again," I said. "I have no friends other than you."

"I accept your apology. Do you accept mine?" she replied.

"Yes, I do," I said. "Would you like to get together sometime soon? I have something I need to tell you."

~~~~~~~~~

We agreed to meet at Ari's favorite coffee shop, To Bean Or Not To Bean. She was already sitting in a booth, eating a chocolate chip muffin and drinking a vanilla latte. I got a regular hot black coffee and sat across from her.

"Sarah's pregnant," I said. She looked blank for a moment.

"Huh? Did you finally do it?"

"No, no. It came from Nales." Realization flashed across my friend's face. I explained about the ultrasound and Alexander.

"So he and your father have a history?" she asked.

"Yeah. They hate each other. My father wants to 'protect' me from him." She sighed and looked at her phone.

"Reese, did you unfriend me on Facebook?"

If I could blush, I would have. "I...yes, I did." She frowned and refriended me. "I'm sorry, Ari."

"Whatever," she said. "How's Soren?"

"I don't know, I haven't seen him in a while.

"Huh. Neither have I. I hope he's okay."

"Ariella Spears, I guarantee that he's okay," I replied. I sipped the black coffee and almost choked on the bitterness. I got up and added creamers and sugar. As I sipped on it carefully, I thought about what to say next. "My father's worried about me," I said. "He's afraid that Alexander will 'steal' me from him."

"How is that possible?" my best friend asked.

"He already tried once. Threw me over his shoulder and started to walk off with me."

"Reese, how much do you weigh?"

" A little over two hundred pounds. Why?"

"Because it's odd that he would throw you over his shoulder. He'd have to be really strong."

"He's got muscles," I admitted. Probably a warrior in his human life. My stomach twisted as I realized that I knew next to nothing about Alexander himself. Nothing about his human life or how he became a vampire. I needed to learn all I could about him.

"Hello, Mordecai," Ariella said cheerfully. I turned around. My father was standing behind me.

"Give me a little warning next time, would you?" I said sarcastically.

"Don't sass your father," he said, sliding in beside me. "I've had a hard day. I've decided to open some new businesses, and getting the licenses and permits has been hell."

"You never told me you wanted to open a business," I said.

"Yes, I did. I clearly remember it. I was lecturing you on the importance of eating right." That's why I didn't remember it. I had been tuning him out. He rubbed his stomach. "Reese, Ari, have you eaten yet? I'll buy."

"Thanks but no thanks," Ari said, holding up her muffin.

"Reese?"

"Whatever." He flagged down a good-looking blond waitress and ordered three sandwiches. She batted her eyes at him and tilted her head when she talked to him. Gross, I thought. I did not need to see that. He flashed her a dazzling grin and she let out a high-pitched giggle. Repulsive.

My stomach flipped when I saw who walked in next. The Beautifuls. They all ordered mochas and lattes and sat in a booth.

"Ignore them, Reese," Ariella said. Unfortunately, they noticed us. Our sandwiches arrived, and they commented on how fattening they were.

"He's totally cheating on her," Rachel Griffin said, tossing back her red hair. Angela giggled and Scarlett chuckled.

"Everyone knows Ariella's secretly in love with him," Scarlett lied. Stupid bitch.

"Reese, stay calm," Father said, putting his arm around my shoulders.

"Who's that, his boyfriend?"

"Nah, that's his dad."

"He looks too young to be a dad."

"Apparently, he did something to Reese's mother, which is why Reese exists."

"What a waste of a life!" Now Father was angry. He threw a vicious look their way. They turned back to their drinks and shut up for literally one minute. Angela fiddled with her ring. Honey braided her hair. Scarlett and Jordan started talking among themselves. Rachel tossed her hair back again.

"Daddy," I said, trying to soothe him.

"Sarah's right," he said. "They are bitches."

"Scarlett's controlling them by using fear," I said. "She's the puppeteer, and they are her puppets." Ariella chewed on a piece of her hair. "Ari, do you know what I'm talking about?" I asked.

"Yes," she said. "You're not the only one who's gotten closer to Sarah. I can't believe we weren't friends before this. Anyway, she thinks it was Jordan who told on them."

"Jordan?" I was in disbelief.

"You know what Mason said about Jordan wanting everything Scarlett has. She's the real sneak."

"Why did she tell you this and