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

"I will relish his pain. It will taste delicious. I may even drink your blood." He let go of my throat and punched me hard in the stomach. I doubled over, curled up on the carpet. I sat up. Alexander loomed over me. "Make sure she keeps her promise, or she'll die, Reese."

"Don't hurt her!" I begged.

"Relax, I have not harmed her, and will not harm her...yet." He walked out of my room, cackling like a villian. I stayed where I was until Father came zooming in a little while later.

"Reese!" He picked me up. "Are you hurt? Did he defile you?"

"He just squeezed my throat and punched me in the gut," I said. I told Father about my conversation with Alexander. When I mentioned my line about him seeing my dead body on the floor, Father whimpered and nuzzled his nose into my shoulder.

"Oh, baby, I'm sorry I left. I was only gone for a few minutes to check on something, and I never thought he'd come back here. He knows he's been banned from communicating with you and entering my territory. This is my fault."

"Father, it's not your fault," I said. Father snarled.

"He touched you, Reese. He strangled you. If I'd been focusing on my visions instead of the damn store, you would have not been hurt." He had a vision?

"Father, you would not have gotten here in time anyway. He was bound to come after me again." His eyes widened.

"That's it, I am not letting you out of my sight again! Even when you're at school, I will stay a mile away, maybe in the trailer park. I...I need to hunt. Will you come with me?"

"Father, I'll be fine. Uncle Soren is here, and besides, I'm also hungry."

"So, hunt with me." I thought about it. He had been asking me if I thought I was ready for a real hunt. I nodded in agreement.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The human was clearly drunk. He reeked of terrible beer. I started walking down the same sidewalk he was, about ten paces behind him. Father had shown me many times before how to properly stalk the prey. The human spun around. He glared when he saw me.

"What the hell do you want, kid?" he slurred. "I got enough problems."

"You have enough problems," I said. "Use proper grammar. And I want nothing from you. You stink like crappy beer." He swung a fist at me, I ducked, and that's when Father leaped on him. He put him in the sleeper hold, and dragged him into a stinking alley full of dumpsters, where I pierced the skin in the man's neck and drank my fill. The flavor was more intense than bagged blood.

Of course, I could taste the booze as well, but whatever. As soon as I was finished, I licked the area, making sure it healed properly. Father and I leaped onto a roof, where Father called for an ambulance to help the drunk man.

"That was intense," I said after he finished the call. He smiled at me.

"Good job, Reese. I'm so proud of you. We do need to practice on stalking, but otherwise, you did well. Good boy."

I felt enthusiasm at my parent's praise. As soon as the EMTs carted the man away, he and I ran across rooftops and landed on soft grass. We began the walk home. It was already growing dark. Father insisted on carrying me home, which I allowed him to do.

When we got home, I brushed my teeth and went to bed.

My dreams were filled with a pair of eyes, a pair of eyes which were a beauitful shade of green. I could stare into those eyes for hours, studying them. Her eyes were a spring meadow, full of life and activity. You could see simply by looking into her eyes that she was a lot more intelligent than she gave herself credit for. Of course, I always knew that, especially when she told me about her past. I woke up thirty minutes past midnight and sent her a quick text.

Reese: Would you like to go to the mall with me tomorrow on Saturday?

Sarah: Yes, I would like that. See you tomorrow around one?

Reese: Perfect. I will see you then.

~~~~~~~~~~

Of course, I arrived twenty minutes early. When she arrived, she looked fantastic in a pair of hip-hugger jeans and a flowy cream top. She was holding onto her purse, which was now pink and covered with studs and bows, tightly.

"Hello, Sarah," I said, straightening up.

"Hi, Reese," she said, sitting beside me on the bench. "Where shall we go first?"

"Where do you want to go first? Do you still have some of the money I gave you?"

"Only about fifty bucks. I spent the rest on my debt, and I've kind of been saving it. Do you want me to pay you back?"

"Absolutely not," I said, horrified. "That money was a gift for you, Sarah. I will buy anything you want today, how's that sound?"

"Oh Reese, I can't let you do that. Are you willing to come into Victoria's Secret with me?" she asked. I winced.

"As much as I love lingerie stores, I'd rather not. I'll give you some cash to spend in there."

"I was kidding, Reese," she said, smiling. I smiled back.

"I'd feel better if I gave you some cash, anyway. No, no guilt. I want you to want for nothing, my love."

Indeed, I spent ten minutes waiting outside Victoria's Secret until Sarah came out with two large bags. I took them from her, despite her protests.

"You are pregnant," I reminded her. I was tempted to peek inside the bags, but I resisted. We went to Wet Seal next, where I gladly went in and secretly bought several clothes for her, along with some clothes she said out loud that she wanted.

"So...Alexander," I said as we walked past the food court. Sarah stopped and looked hungrily over at Taco Bell.

"Can we get some nachos first?" she asked.

"Of course," I said, following her. We got a dozen tacos, two plates of nachos, one topped with jalapenos, and a Diet Pepsi for her and a water for me. Before I knew it, Sarah scarfed down her plate of nachos, the one with jalapenos, and six tacos. I offered her my share, but by then she was full, so we decided to save the rest for later. I got a bag and some boxes and we put the rest of the food in those.

Next, we visited Hot Topic, and Sarah picked out several outfits, makeup, and buttons. She still refused to talk about Alexander.We went to several stores, and my bank account was several hundred dollars lighter by the time we were finished, not that I minded. We put all the bags we could fit into the trunk of her car, and we had to put the tacos and several bags in the backseat.

"It's been a while since I had a real shopping spree," she said. "I can't thank you enough, Reese."

"Alexander," I reminded her. Her smile disappeared.

"Oh. Him," she said, making a face. "He's such a pervert. He likes to rub my belly, which I don't mind, but he also tries to touch my breasts. In another life, I might have fallen in love with him, but since I have you, I don't need another guy in my life, which I think he wants. Anyway, my mom doesn't like him, but Sabine thinks he's cute." She giggled.

"You should have seen her trying to flirt with him. It was the funniest thing ever, a fourteen year old trying to flirt with a guy in his forties." In his forties...right. I grasped Sarah's hand and pulled her into me.

"I will speak with him," I said. My angel's smile wavered.

"Reese, it's not that big a deal," she said.

"It's a huge deal, especially since he tries to touch your breasts. That action is reserved." She smiled at me again.

"You're cute when you're all protective, you know that?"

"I'm completely serious. He shouldn't be touching you at all!" My anger seeped through, and it frightened her. She took a step back, eyes widened in fear. "I'm sorry, Sarah, but it's true. He shouldn't be even talking to you about anything other than the baby and your pregnancy." Her eyes widened even more. I frightened her again. Whimpering slightly, I pulled her into me.

I put my chin on top of her head and smelled her hair. She smelled like gardenias and strawberries today. Of course, she always smelled like gardenias. Her scent soothed me, calmed my nerves. If I had a beating heart, it would have been pulsing beyond control. I kissed her gently. Someone shouted "Get a room!"

I lifted my face and growled slowly at him. I went back to kissing her after a few seconds. Our kiss was cut short when she pulled away.

"Not here," she breathed. "Follow me home." She went to the driver's side of her car and got in. I went over to my van and started it up.

I followed her to her house and helped her bring in the bags. We put everything except the tacos in her room.

"Reese," she began, turning around, before my lips crashed into hers. I pulled away briefly so she could breathe.

"Relax," I said. "I'll put your clothes away. Where do you keep your jeans?"

"In the closet," she said, looking dazed. "Behind the sweaters."

I opened her walk-in wardrobe and grabbed some empty hangers. I put all her new clothes away. She sat on the bed, reading a book. I noticed with amusement that it was a vampire book. She kept glancing at me over the book.

"How come I never see you eating?" she asked. I froze.

"I'm never hungry," I said.

"Everybody gets hungry sometimes." She and I looked at each other.

"Will it make you happy if I ate one of the tacos?" I asked.

"Yes," she said. I laid beside her and wrapped my arms around her. "Would you prefer it if I had a heart attack?" My eyes widened. She grinned at me. "Exactly."

"That's not funny," I growled. She smirked.

"I know, but it was so worth it. Your face was priceless." I grumbled in irritation. Her face fell. "What did you just call me?"

I looked at her confusedly. "I didn't call you anything."

"I think you should leave," she said.

"Sarah, what's wrong? I promise you that I didn't call you anything."

"Yes, you did. You called me a bitch."

"Sarah, I would never!"

"Just go, Reese."

~~~~~~~~~

I wondered if it was over, and how she could possibly think that I would call her any names. I went up to my bedroom and sulked. Why did she think I called her that? Was it because of my grumbling? I should really keep my mouth shut, especially around her. If I'm not careful, I could wind up revealing more than I intended to.

Father came into my room, and I hissed at him. He briefly hissed back, baring his sharp fangs. He sat on my bedroom and patted his leg. I went over to him and sat on his lap.

"Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" I snapped.

"I saw what happened with Sarah," he said, ignoring my sass. "Are you all right, Reese?"

"No. How could she think-" I was cut off by my cell phone pinging. I had a text message from her. It was a picture of me. She had drawn a picture of me. The guy in the picture had my long hair, my large nose, pointed chin, and my lips. Her text message said the word "sorry" and nothing else. I looked at Father, confused.

"She regrets sending you away," he said. He tilted his head. "That is a very nice picture. I had no idea she had that artistic ability." He purred and smoothed my hair back. "You need to cut your bangs. And I noticed that your account balance was a few numbers lower. How much did you spend?"

"I don't know. I took Sarah shopping."

"I thought you hated shopping."

"I do, but she was in heaven when we went to the mall. Her wardrobe is