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

I watched a movie, then read for a while. I studied Mythology and Folklore, then worked on an essay for European History. I created my own ink farm and ranch for Biology. Horses over here, cattle and dogs and a vegetable garden. Wild onions, mint, peppercorns. I studied the anatomy of milk thistle.

We were going to dissect fish in a few days, and I was not looking forward to it. I hate the odor of fish, and combined with my superior sense of smell, it was going to be hell. Then we were going to study yeast. Specifically, yeast infections. Oh, joy of joys.

My father pulled me away from my homework (that's a first), insisting on cuddling with me. Then we got into a wrestling match. I playfully nipped his shoulder. He growled and affectionately nibbled my ear. I rolled on top of him and pinned his arms behind his back. He rolled over and twisted his arms around. He pecked my nose. He grabbed me around the waist and held me still.

"I win," he said triumphantly.

"Just wait until he wins," said a nasty familiar voice. Father hissed and jumped.

"Get behind me," he said as we faced Alexander. "What are you doing here? I banned you from seeing him!"

"You banned me from communicating with him," Alexander sneered. "And I'm here because he wasn't at school. Sarah's wondering where he is, and so was I." Father pulled me into his arms. He nearly rebroke my ribs with his protectiveness.

"Sarah's arm is fully healed also," Alexander said. "The cast has come off."

"The cast came off a week ago," I said.

"Yes, but her arm was not completely healed. She knows her mother is having monetary problems and so she pretended it was."

"What...I told her I would take care of the bills. How could she lie to me about that?" I wondered.

"Did you have sex with her?" Alexander asked.

"A long time ago," I replied. "I've made sure to be extra gentle with her since, especially since she's carrying another life in her belly."

"I would have thought you hated the fetus," Alexander said.

"The fetus is innocent in all this. It's not his fault that his father is a raging maniacal piece of shit."

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO SPEAK WITH HIM!" Father cried, and I wondered if he was yelling at me or Alexander. Probably both of us. He shielded me with himself. "ALEXANDER! LEAVE! NOW! BEFORE I BAN YOU FROM SEEING SARAH CRESLEY AS WELL!" Alexander rolled his eyes.

"I told you, I don't care about her," he said.

"You're lying," I said. "You want her for yourself! You've thought about bedding her!"

"I'm not going to lie, I've thought about fucking her. But that's all she is, a possible good fuck and the biological mother of my future child."

"You're lying," Father said, coming out of a vision. "You care about her more than you're saying or letting on. A good bedmate, yes, but your mate? Absolutely not. Reese's mate."

"My mate? Possibly," Alexander said. I saw red and rushed at Alexander. Father grabbed me around the waist.

"Control yourself, Reese. He's trying to aggravate you on purpose. Relax, son. Calm."

"Your son or my son?" Alexander said, smirking. Then it was me holding Father back.

"It doesn't matter," I said. "We know who my mother is."

"Of course it fucking matters!" Father snapped. "Let go of me, Reese!" He spun around and put his teeth on my neck. Not enough to pierce the skin, but enough to make me stay still. It was the kind of bite one uses for a feisty mate or a mischievous progeny. When Father was satisfied with me, he turned back to Alexander, only to get punched in the nose. He was sent flying through my window.

Spencer and Toby went over to him. Father got up and started yelling incoherently at them. When Dimitri appeared, Father grabbed him around the neck and slammed him against the garage door. I leapt out the window to try to calm Father down. Landing perfectly on my large feet, I touched Father's shoulder. He grabbed me around me neck and pushed me up against a cherry tree. When he saw that it was me, he let out a howl of distress and rage.

Where are Grandfather and Uncle Soren? I thought desperately. I noticed Alexander had leapt down and started running toward the woods. I ordered Spencer and Toby to follow him, which they complied to, and ordered Dimitri to track down my grandfather and uncle. My father tore a full-grown flowering dogwood tree out of the ground and started tearing it apart. When it was dust, he started working on the driveway, tearing up the concrete and crushing it like a...well, like a vampire crushing concrete.

He was in full rage mode. Spencer and Toby came back, carrying a very unhappy Alexander between them. Father's eyes were completely red now, and his eyes became slits. When he saw Alexander, he tore off Alexander's head and kicked it like a soccer ball. It landed somewhere in the woods. Alexander's headless body collapsed.

Was Father satisfied? Nope. He turned to the treehouse where I used to play when I was younger. He started tearing it up. I was more worried about him than the treehouse.

"Reese, get back!" I was beyond ecstatic to hear my uncle's voice and see him. He pulled me back. "There's no telling what he'll do when he's like this!"

"Whose head did he tear off?" Grandfather asked.

"Alexander," I replied. "He kicked it into the woods." Grandfather ordered Spencer to find Alexander's head while I launched into an explanation of what had happened earlier. My uncle slowly let me go.

"Mordecai," he said. My father kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying back. He landed against a white oak, shattering it. Then Father turned to me. He ran toward me and grabbed my head. Then something hit him.

"Reese," he said, his eyes turning yellow again. He let go of me. "Oh my God." Then he took off. Grandfather grabbed my shoulder to prevent me from going after him. Spencer came back, carrying Alexander's head. Alexander's expression was one of shock.

"Put him back together," Grandfather ordered. "Reese, go inside and wait in the library. I must find your father before he hurts himself. Soren, stay here and watch Reese."

My uncle carried me upstairs to Father's bedroom instead. He ran into the library and got me a book.

"Read," he ordered. "Dimitri, stand guard. I must find my little brother and help him."

~~~~~~~~~

They were gone for a very long time. Eventually, I couldn't stand it anymore. I set the book down and headed out.

"Master Reese, Master Soren and Master Eilief-"

"Can't tell me what to do. Stay here." Even though Dimitri was older and an adult, I was still his master, and he nodded and stayed put.

I went out. I started smelling the air, looking for my father's scent. I tracked him to the edge of the creek that fed the lake, where he leaned against a tree. He had been crying. He turned around.

"Reese. You should not be here. Go home."

"Not without you," I said.

"Reese, I...I almost killed you. I nearly ripped your head off. Leave me be."

"It was an accident. Besides, you already tore off Alexander's head."

He blinked. "I did?"

"You don't remember? He tried to take off, and Spencer and Toby caught him. Then you tore his head off and kicked it away." He grinned weakly.

"At last, my revenge. It still does not change the fact that I hurt you. I'm a terrible father. Maybe I should have let your grandfather take you away."

"I don't want to live with Grandfather. I want to live with you." I sat beside him and leaned against him.

"I must remember to promote Spencer and Toby. Perhaps a position in Denmark?"

"Reese." Father and I turned around. Uncle Soren and Grandfather slowly approached us. "I told you to stay home," Uncle Soren said.

"Go fuck yourself, Soren," Father snapped. "And I'm sorry I kicked you."

"Mordecai, watch your mouth," Grandfather said.

"Apology accepted, little brother," Uncle Soren said. "Not that your kick affected me much."

"Boys, be nice," Grandfather said. He looked at me. "See what I have to deal with on a daily basis?"

Father buried his face in my shoulder. "I'm so sorry," he said. "I am so, so very sorry. I can't tell you how sorry I am. Please forgive me on the grounds that I care too much."

"Of course," I said, and kissed his scalp.

"We must go back," Uncle Soren said. "The guards have begun puttting Alexander back together."

"Why?" Father asked, looking up.

"As irritating as he is, he is our cousin," Uncle Soren said. "And if it wasn't for him-"

"If it wasn't for him, Marina would be mine, and she would be here for Reese!" Father snapped. Uncle Soren and Grandfather took that as their cue to leave. When they were gone, Father buried his face in my shoulder again. "This is all my fault. I lost my temper, nearly killed my boy, the love of my life, and lost my mate a long time ago. Now she has another, and she's happy without me. All of this is my fault. I should have left well enough alone. But she was so beautiful...and I fell in love with her quickly.

"Why shouldn't I have? She's an amazing woman. I just wish she would have stayed. I fought so hard for custody, I didn't mean to push her away completely. If she was here, she'd know what to do. She would have a plan, and she would carry it out like the princess she is. Now my boy has his own princess, and she's even more beautiful, which I never thought was possible."

"You really think Sarah's beautiful?" I asked.

"Son, she is one of the most beautiful women on the planet. Possibly the most beautiful. She is a classic beauty, yet she's not at the same time. Her features have their own uniqueness and grace. She looks like no other female on the planet, woman, girl, princess, or queen."

I was suddenly proud of Sarah and the fact that she was mine. I looked at my phone. I was looking for text messages,and noticed the time. Ten in the morning?

"Father..." I looked at him. He suddenly looked guilty.

"Curse modern cell phones. I may have fudged the time on all the clocks in your room. And the oven. And the microwave."

"Why?"

"I wanted you to stay home today so I could cuddle with you and make things up to you. Instead, I ended up making things worse. I don't suppose sorry would help?" I got up and walked away in disgust. He didn't follow.

~~~~~~~~~~

I handed in a late slip to the secretary and headed to class. After finding out in was only ten in the morning, not noon, as I had originally thought, I went to school after hastily forging a note in my father's handwriting. The secretary said she'd take care of it, and I headed to Biology.

"What's the reason for your tardiness, Mr. Emerson?" Mr. Lima asked. I handed him my "father's" note. "Oh. Well then, go ahead and join your partner. We're doing a lab on the computer. Clarissa can explain it to you."

I joined Clarissa Brawn at the computer. She nodded at me and explained the assignment. We were labeling the parts of a fish. Everything from the scales to the gills to the organs and bones. Suddenly, I smelled my father. I looked up. He was up there, talking to Mr. Lima. He was dressed in a button-up shirt and khakis. His hair was brushed and tied back into a ponytail. He looked at me.

"You're Reese's father?" Mr. Lima said out loud. My classmates looked up. Some of them stared at my father. A couple of the girls had dropped jaws. Yes, yes, I know that my dad is good-looking. Beautiful, even. For his actual age.

"I will be working here soon," Father said. Oh, gods, please, no. I will die of humiliation. Why did he want to work here? He had a job.