Unraveling Mathias by Marisa Maichel (reading women TXT) 📕

"I...I had no idea," I said. "You're really paying for everything?" She nodded.

"Most of our money goes to her," she sobbed. "I've lost count of how many times my card has been rejected for one reason or another." I kneeled beside her. Coffee growled at me, but I ignored the tiny tyrant.

"Sarah, if I'd known, I could've helped."

"You've helped enough. All of the money you've given me...everything...it's gone. All of it is gone. I've had to sell a bunch of clothes recently." I kissed her.

"If I'd known...I'll have to tell Mother and Father."

"No! Don't tell them!"

"Sarah, I have to. You're family now. That includes all of you. Whether you just need your clothes washed or the whole house needs remodeled, we'll help you. And that help includes money issues."

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. "Sarah? Can I come in?"

"Sure, Mom." She wiped her eyes on her blanket.

Alicia came in. "I've called Bubbe and Zayde. They'll be here in a week. And...I'm sorry about yesterday. That won't happen again. I love you." Then she scurried away.

"What happened yesterday?" I asked.

"I told you, she threatened to throw out my book collection and my old Barbies." She blushed.

"Why are you embarassed?" I asked. "You should never be embarassed with me."

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"Don't apologize unless it's necessary. I still need to call Mother."

I turned and dialed the phone. I heard her get off the bed and felt her wrap her arms around me.

"Hello?"

"Mother, it's Reese. We have a problem..."

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

The last two days of school flew by. Between finals and studying and cleaning out our lockers, there was barely time for anything else. Half of Sarah's things had to be stored in my backpack. I had to have a talk with her about self-control.

Indeed, the afternoon after the last day of school, Sarah's mother said that she was going to a rehab facility at the end of the week. And if she didn't go, Mother would make sure she did. So would Alexander. And me. Sarah deserved better, and so did Sabine.

Father deposited more money into Sarah's account, and told her that it was for her, not for anyone else. He had also added both her name and Sabine's name to the family payroll. Alicia, he said, needed to get sober first.

They had lost health insurance, so Mother helped Alicia get insurance for herself and the girls. The house was cleaned from top to bottom (except for Sabine's room), and Alexander put new carpet in the basement.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked as I handed him a nail gun.

"Because I care about Sarah and Sabine," he said. "She's like a daughter to Marina, therefore, she's like a daughter to me. I know that I haven't been kind to her in the past, especially when I first met her, but I'm going to change that."

"Alexander," I said, "How old are you?" He smiled, but didn't answer at first.

"I was around when Atlantis was," he said. "Your grandfather is my first cousin. We were among the first Vikings. My father was the chief of our little tribe. Your grandfather and I were friends in our younger years. He was the first one I ever changed, in fact."

"And Denmark?"

"That's where we're from. So the first vampires are not from Italy or Romania, but rather, from Scandanavia."

I pondered this. I was a second-generation natural-born, and my grandfather was one of the first human vampires. Food for thought.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN- GRANDMA AND GRANDPA

We all waited in the living room for Sarah's grandparents. Sarah kept checking her phone for the time. The week had been busy, with everyone working their asses off to make the house presentable.

Finally, the doorbell rang, setting the dogs off. Alicia answered the door.

"Hello, Mama, Dad." She hugged each of them as they walked in. They were a tall/short couple. The man was tall, while the woman was short.

"Where is my dumpling?" the man asked in a thick Israelite accent.

"I'm here, Zayde," Sarah said, hugging him. "Hello, Bubbe."

"Hello...Sarah, what happened to you?!"

"That's a long story," she said. "Come inside."

Her grandparents walked inside and noticed me. They looked from me to her.

"Hello," I said. "My name is Reese Emerson." I held out my hand. All of a sudden, the woman started yelling in Italian. Both my Sarah and Alicia tried to calm her down to no avail. I heard the words "monster" and "shame" mixed in with Italian and Hebrew. Sarah looked like she might start crying again. I wrapped an arm around her and kissed her. Her grandmother gasped.

"Reese, these are my grandparents, Gianna and Benjamin Abraham. Bubbe and Zayde, Reese is my boyfriend." They stared at me.

"I think we need to sit down," Mother said. They looked at her. Benjamin muttered "succubus" under his breath. I frowned. Did they know? I looked at Mother, who was frowning.

"We need to talk," Alicia said.

An hour later, we had explained everything, including Alicia's drinking problems.

"Of course we will stay with you, Sarah," Gianna said, clutching her granddaughter's hand.

A few hours later, Alicia was off to rehab and Sarah and I were at To Bean or Not To Bean. She was sipping tea, and I was sipping water.

"I'm getting another job," she said. "I'm going to work at Pon's."

"The bookstore cafe?" I asked.

"Yes, as a barista. I have some experience working in the restaurant business."

Right; Sarah had worked as a waitress when she was trying to pay off a debt.

"Will you still work for my father?"

"Yes, but only on weekends. I talked to him about it."

"What do you need another job for?"

"Reese, if I'm going to stay in school, I need money. Cosmetology school is still expensive."

"What else?" I asked. She bit her lip.

"I'm applying for scholarships. Los Angeles School of Fashion-"

"Hold on-Los Angeles?"

She turned pink and nodded. "I hate the cold."

"But Sarah, I can't move to California!"

"I know, I know. The sun issue. But this is my choice, and for good or for worse, my decision."

"Your mistake," I spat. She frowned. I softened. "Please, Sarah, don't move away from me. I wouldn't be able to handle it."

"It's not for another year or two," she said. "Plenty of time to figure out where this relationship will go." My jaw dropped.

All this time, I'd pictured us getting married and having several kids. Apparently, she had other ideas. My angel was thinking about moving away. Which also meant that she was willing to break up with me. Well, I'd put a stop to that.

CHAPTER NINETEEN - EVAN

Well, it wasn't going the way I'd planned. Two weeks later, and she still wanted to move to Los Angeles. We were now in June.

I paced angrily outside one day, when I noticed a movement in the woods. I sniffed; I smelled another vampire. A young male. He smelled like....

"Evan."

He came out of the trees, looking worse for wear. I had not spoken to him for a couple of months. He was still adjusting to vampire life and trying to complete his schooling online. He also looked like he'd been crying.

"Evan, what happened?" I asked.

"Reese...I'm sorry, I didn't know where else to go...I'm such a mess...Reid broke up with me."

"I'm sorry," I said after a pause. He buried his face in my chest and started sobbing. "Would you like to come inside? It's hot out."

He followed me inside, where I warmed up some blood for him. Toby looked at him curiously until I whispered for him to avert his eyes. Anakin wove himself around Evan's legs.

"When did you get a cat?" he asked.

"Cats," I corrected, "And it's a long story. I'll tell you later, if you really want to know." Before long, all of the kitties made their presences known. Only Belle stayed back, watching Evan timidly. Even Shadowfang jumped onto the table (against my father's wishes) and lifted a paw to introduce himself. Mishka rubbed her face on my ex-boyfriend's leg, briefly licking it.

"You have a lot of cats," Evan noted.

"Yep, we do." I told him all about finding Shadowfang and my father and uncle coming across a lone mother cat with a litter of kittens in Denmark. I told him about how Shadowfang could speak, but only in our minds, and only to those he deemed worthy to reply to his cryptic wit. The big cat glared at me when I said that.

Next, I told him about Rouge and how we were losing Noah. He didn't know anything about fairies, and thus had no insights as to her plan. I even told him about Mathias and Ambrose. Again, he had no insights, although he seemed a bit peeved when I told him about Ambrose.

He told me about Reid Lockhart, his now ex-boyfriend. Reid was a vampire who had come from a large, rich family. Apparently, Reid and Evan had gotten into a fight about Evan's jealousy and his feelings for me. Evan blamed himself, because it was similar to the fight we had that led to our breakup.

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

"No, it is," he said, sighing. "It's completely my fault. I should have known better. I've always been the one dumped. I should know better by now. No one will ever love me."

"Evan, don't be ridiculous," I chastised him. "I loved you."

"But you dumped me."

"Uh, you dumped me, remember?"

He lowered his head. "We dumped each other."

"Evan, you have no idea how much I hated myself afterwards."

"And you have no idea how much I hate myself right now."

"Don't hate yourself. Hate me and Reid all you want, but don't hate yourself. You deserve better than me or him."

"Then why are you still dating Sarah?" I raised an eyebrow, and he lowered his head again. "Sorry. You deserve her. She really is a great person." I could tell it was hard for him to say that. He was still jealous of her. Why, I had no idea. She had treated him better than most new partners would treat their lover's ex. Maybe that's why he was tense. He was jealous, but she treated him well, like she would treat any other person.

More proof of how good she really is.

I introduced Evan to Peter and Dean later that night. I had not seen or heard much from them other than when they went out to hunt. They still were not speaking to each other. I also introduced him to Stephen. I thought about introducing him to Mathias, too, but decided against it. Father would kill me if I even attempted to go into the dungeons without him.

I called Father, and he said that Evan could stay. As it turned out, I didn't have long to wait for drama to unfold.

It happened that night while I was asleep. I was having a nightmare that I couldn't remember. Something about Sarah turning into an eight-tentacled, eight-eyed monster. I sat up when I heard the yell. I tore the blankets off and ran downstairs.

"Uncle Soren, what happened-"

"Stay back, Reese!" He shoved me back, causing me to fall on my ass. I was quickly picked up by Grandfather, who pushed me back into the utility room. He and my uncle ran into the basement, pausing by the door that led to the dungeons. I noticed with grief that the piano smashed. I'd recently found out that I had talent in that area.

"Reese, get back!" Father cried, pushing me back. "Soren, what the hell happened?!"

"Mathias escaped!"

"What?! How?!"

"I swear, if I knew, I'd have fixed it already!"

"Reese, what's going on?" Evan asked, coming up to me.

"Evan, go wake up Spencer and Dimitri."

"We're here, Prince Reese," Dimitri said. "Excuse us." Evan and I let all four guards through. Toby looked the most irritated.

"Reese, go back upstairs," Grandfather said. "You and Evan will stay in your room until further notice."

"What about Sarah?"

"I highly doubt that she's in danger. She's got guards of her own in