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

pep rallies before, with Ariella. I never much cared for them, as they never interested me, but I knew Sarah was into them. She'd been a cheerleader in the past, but quit shortly before her sophomore year. So I would put up with it for her sake. The bell rang, signaling it was time to go to our next classes.

"What do you have next?" I asked.

"Mythology and Folklore," she replied. Huh. That was one of my classes as well, one that Father insisted I take. I walked her to her class, gently touching her hand, which was soft and cold.

"I'll see you later," I said nervously.

"Later," she said, blinking slowly. I head to Biology with the feeling that she had left me hanging. I wondered if she knew what she was doing to me. I didn't know which way I preferred it. I wondered if she even cared. I hoped she did. I did not know what I would do if she didn't. I was unsure about a lot of things.

I could not let her find out that I'm a vampire. The consequences could be disastrous, especially given my rank and title.

I hated everyone who ever hurt her. And I did not do as well on the Biology test as I'd hoped. Oh, well. Mr. Herman allowed us to go over and correct our tests for a better grade. I noticed that he was looking at me strangely. Oh, crap. I recognized that look- I'd seen it often enough on Evan's face. I decided to try and ignore it as best I could. No such luck.

"Reese, stay for a minute," he said. Cautiously, I joined him at his desk. He's tall and young, with light brown close-cropped hair and blue eyes. "How are you?" he asked concernedly.

"I'm all right," I said carefully.

"Well, if you need to talk, I'm here," he said.

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind," I replied. He gave me a smile that I think was meant to be supportive. I tried not to feel creeped out.

The day moved rather quickly, and it was soon time to meet with Sarah before the pep rally. She looked rather beautiful- she had changed into a ruffed blue shirt, a dark green jacket, and black skinny jeans. I pondered the outfit change while she took my hand.

"Are they dating?" I heard someone ask. I wished- this was only our first official date. I understood the question, though. We are not in each other's league. If I was careful, Sarah may even be mine officially. The gym was packed with students. Sarah chose a seat farther away, although it was still a good spot. The principal stepped up front and center.

"Hello, everybody," he droned in his dull voice. People up front groaned dramatically. Principal Panadero continued on by saying that he was proud to have all of us here and he hoped we would actually participate. Yeah, right. Not me.

The band began by playing the alma mater. Then the cheerleaders did a quick and unintelligible chant. About half of them were missing, I knew that much. I also knew for a fact that many of the girls who hurt Sarah were cheerleaders. They must have been suspended. They danced a quick dance that left me unimpressed. They finished their routine, and then the boos started. It surprised me to hear boos at a pep rally.

"It isn't usually like this," Sarah said to me.

"It isn't this unruly?"

"Usually not." The boos suddenly cut off as Principal Paradeno began threatening detention.

"I have never seen such rude behavior at a pep rally!" he cried. "I am so disappointed right now."

"Who cares?!" Caden Cartwright yelled from the back. "They stink!" I looked at Sarah.

"I swear, it's not usually like this," she said. "I don't know what's going on." I absentmindedly reached for her hand as Principal Panadero once again threatened detention but she shrunk away from me. I tried not to look as hurt as I felt. The dance team did an impressive number using intricate kicks and jumps next.

The rest of the pep rally went on without a hitch.

"That was interesting," I said. My girl said nothing. We reached her car in record time. "I-I want to see you again," I said nervously.

"Reese-" she began, and I cut her off with a kiss. I felt like my stomach was pounding like a heart as I tasted Sarah's lips. She tasted like the way I assume blackberries would taste. Wait, what am I doing? I broke away from her quickly and she looked a little hurt.

"Oh, my gods," I blabbered. "Sarah, I'm so sorry, I didn't know what I was doing. Please forgive me!"

"I forgive you," she said with tears in her eyes. My heart broke for her.

"I'm sorry," I said.

"It's okay," she said, but I could tell she didn't mean it. I still love you, I thought. I realized I had said that out loud and hung my head in humiliation. Why me? I profusely apologized again. "I'll see you later." I silently thanked the gods that Sarah had broken the awkwardness.

"I-I guess I-I'll see you later," I stammered like an idiot. I placed a careful kiss on her forehead before I went to my Astro. I thought about that kiss. What would happen next? Would she truly forgive me? I cursed as my van refused to start.

My sunshine was no longer safe, I knew that if started following her around, she'd resent me. I tried to relieve my stress by taking deep breaths. I jumped at a sudden noise. Scarlett was pounding on Sarah's window. I saw my girl lock her doors and give Scarlett the finger. I could do nothing because I was trapped between several cars. Scarlett started yelling and making hand gestures. Sarah ignored her and started driving.

My undead heart fell into my stomach.

When I got home, finally, after asking a complete stranger if he had jumper cables, my father immediately wanted to know how my day was.

"Unusual," I told him.

"What do you mean?" I told him about the pep rally and Scarlett, though I did not say the pep rally was a date. (I think he figured it out on his own, though.) I was not going to tell him how quickly I was falling for Sarah, or how much I already did. As soon as I managed to get away, I went to my room and laid on my bed. My thoughts were consumed by Sarah. I had to have her.

I dug my phone out of my pocket and texted Sarah.

Reese: Favorite music?

Sarah: Alternative and indie. Silversun Pickups, Melanie Martinez. You?

Reese: I like rock and metal. From Ashes To New, Alice In Chains, Breaking Benjamin.

Sarah: I like Breaking Benjamin. What's your favorite song by them?

I told her my favorite song was "Lights Out". Hers was "Diary of Jane" of course. We discussed bands we both liked. Creed, Alabama Shakes, Tenement. I enjoyed horror and suspense novels, she preferred romance and mysteries. As for sports, I did not care one way or the other; she liked everything. Her favorite movie was Twilight (blech). Still, I wondered if that was significant. I told her my favorite movie was Pet Sematary. The truth is that my favorite movie changes on a daily basis. She asked me why I liked her.

"I have so many reasons why," I said honestly. "You're beautiful, you're smart, you're nice. But the thing is, it's unexplainable why and how much I love you. I'm sorry if I'm going too fast, but it's the truth. I think I'm in love with you." Silence on the other end. "Sarah? I'm sorry."

"I should go," she said quickly.

"Please forgive me-" I said as she hung up. What have I done? I've frightened her away. I needed to call Ariella.

"Hola! What's up?" my best human friend answered. One of the things I love about Ariella is that she doesn't take offense if I don't talk to her every single minute of every single day. She has a ton of other friends and she understands when I go through periods of wanting alone time.

"I think I messed up," I said.

"Does it have to do with Sarah?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"It does," I said, and I relayed our conversation.

"Yeah, you went too fast," she said.

"It's my own fault," I said.

"Yeah, it is. But you learned. You could always try again."

"I don't know if she'll want to talk to me. There's a lot I don't know. But if I must, I must."

"You'll have to give her some time to cool down first. You don't want to scare her more." No, I didn't. If I had my way, Sarah would already be mine.

"Thanks, Ari."

"No problem, Reese." She sounded slightly hurt, though. I wondered why, since she encouraged me to talk to Sarah. I wondered if she was jealous. Having no experience with jealous friends, I didn't know. I've been jealous myself a handful of times, mostly because someone was dating or flirting with Sarah. I wondered if I would have any rivals when this was over. A part of me hoped so. I can handle rivals and enemies. No rape victim deserves any backlash.

~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 4- Assault

I ignored the curdling in my stomach when I saw Sarah next. She had a bandage on her nose, her mouth was tense, her eyes were red, as if she had been crying. She nodded at me and went on her way. I briefly wondered where the Beautifuls were. Then I decided I didn't care, as long as they were away from her. I mentally blew Sarah a kiss. As I walked to my Astro, I felt eyes on me. I glanced around until my eyes landed on Ariella. I gave her a quizzical look, and she made a "come hither" motion. I walked up to her.

"So tell me what actually happened," she said. I sighed and gave her a run-down of what happened and what Sarah said the other day when Scarlett attacked her and caused her nose to bleed. My best friend looked intrigued. "Weird." I agreed.

"I can't help but wonder if I'll ever understand Sarah," I confessed.

"Well, she probably didn't want to get her in trouble, or she's afraid of what Scarlett'll do to her." That made sense. I said goodbye and silently prayed to God, asking Him for strength and wisdom. Yes, I pray to the Christian God and His Son on occasion. Bite me.

My Astro was in disarray. Someone had painted a pink X on the windshield. I took a picture and touched the paint. It was still went. When nobody was looking, I smelled it. It smelled like fabric paint. I remembered that there was a Fashion Club in my school that had been formed a year prior by a group of girls and a guy. One of the members must have done this as a prank.

When I got home, Detective Emma Greene was speaking with my father in the driveway. I parked behind an old Corvette that my father refused to get rid of. My father and Emma Greene looked up as I approached.

"Well, it was nice talking with you, Detective. I will contact you if anything else comes up."

"Thank you," Detective Greene said, getting in her car. That's when my father looked over and saw the X on my windshield.

"What the hell?" he said, inspecting it. "Reese, did you do this?"

"No, I found it like that." He took out his cell phone and started taking pictures.

"I'm driving you to school tomorrow," he declared.

"Father," I complained.

"No whining about it. If this happens again, I'm pulling you out of that school."

"Yes, Father," I replied. Wait, what? "Actually, no," I said.

"Insolent child. It's for your own protection."

"Oh." I hung my head in submission. "My apologies, Father."

"Oh, hush. You are forgiven." He kissed the top of my head.

~~~~~~~~~~~

It would be another day before I tried to talk to Sarah again. It was during our free period, and I knew I would find her