Unraveling Selena by Marisa Maichel (black female authors TXT) 📕

happy growing up without a mother, and Father got mad at me for that.

Shadowfang rubbed my leg with his cheek. The cats must have sensed the tension, because all of them except for him started hiding after breakfast.

"Sorry, Reese," Louis said, sounding guilty. "You didn't deserve that."

"Fuck you," I replied.

"Well, fuck you, too."

I immediately wanted to take it back, but my pride was getting in the way. I growled, grabbed my book, and ran upstairs to my bedroom to hide.

I buried myself under the bedcovers and whimpered. I missed my mother. It had now been five days since she'd left, and the hole in the family heart was palpable. I felt guilty for my part in it. I felt sorry for Alexander, who was becoming suicidal over it.

"Reese?" My father's voice was muffled through the door before he opened it. "Son?"

"Leave. Now."

"Reese, I'm sorry for involving you last night. It was wrong of me. Please, come out."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm crying."

"Oh, Reese."

I wasn't really crying, but I wanted to be left alone. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.

"Son," he said, sitting on my bed. "Talk to me. What's going through your mind?"

"Can't you read my mind?"

"I want to hear it."

"Too bad."

"What am I going to do with you?"

"Leave my room."

"Don't be a smartass. And no, I'm not leaving until you tell me what you're thinking."

"Look at us. One of us is gone and we're already fighting amongst ourselves."

"Two of us," he corrected. "Mathias and your mother."

I sighed. "I should have stopped her."

"There was nothing you could have done. I know Marina extremely well. Once she sets her mind to something, there's no changing it. And she loved Selena more than anything. If there's even a fraction of a chance that she's still alive, Marina will find her." He sighed. "Tonight, there will be a super moon."

I knew he was thinking about Faolan then. Due to something my father had said, Faolan was no longer speaking to him, and would only communicate with us through Grandfather or Uncle Soren. To him, I was a reminder of the love that didn't reciprocate. Sometimes, I really hate being a vampire prince.

I almost didn't notice when Shadowfang sprayed my bookshelf.

"Cat! Quit that! Bad cat!" I crawled out of bed, falling and landing on my back. Shadowfang gave me a haughty look and walked away, tail twitching in the air. "Son of a bitch, he got David Copperfield and Don Quixote."

"Should we neuter him...?" Father mused. Immediately, Shadowfang started yelling in our minds.

I only did it to let my enemies know that this is my territory! I will leave and live in the sewers if you even dare to take me to the vet for that atrocious surgery!

I ignored him, wiping off the books with my shirt. "Well, at least I've got multiple copies. I swear, if he pees on my first editions..."

"I think your first editions are in the library, on the top shelf," Father said. "Anyway, I need you to work Saturday. Sarah will also work Saturday, unless Alicia has another breakdown. I've asked Toby and Spencer to take turns watching the Cresley home. I may have to have a female guard do it instead."

"Father, you need to hire more guards."

"I know, I know. The last female guard betrayed us."

He was referring to Janna, who left us for an enemy coven member.

"How is Ambrose?" I asked.

"He still cannot believe that his coven tried to kill him. He went back to Germany this morning. He says it will be very lonely with most of his coven dead."

Ambrose and my family had come to an uneasy truce after the events of the summer.

I sighed, sat at my desk, and opened a textbook to study.

"Reese, I know you're worried about everyone. I am, too. I'm going to be quite busy in the next few weeks. We're cleaning out that old factory, opening a hospital, and opening a few new stores in the North Hampton mall."

"You know what? Sarah had an idea," I told him. "She had this idea to open a mall where all the employees are troubled teens."

He chuckled and shook his head. "Only Sarah would be clever enough to think of that." He looked at his watch. "I have to start getting ready. I'm meeting with my public relations consultant."

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

I started looking through different schools. I knew I wanted to go into music, that was it. I'd already applied to Rutgers, William Paterson University, and Rowan University. The application process doesn't take long for vampires with super speed.

I'd also planned to apply to Harvard and Brown, maybe even Oxford, if Sarah was willing to move countries. Everyone in my family had several degrees, including business, finance, medical, and legal degrees. Louis had the most experience in the medical field, my father had experience in business, Uncle Soren had experience in the legal field, and Grandfather had experience in the finance field.

I'd helped Sarah apply to several fashion colleges both in New Jersey and California, where she wanted to move eventually.

I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew, I was falling out of my chair and shouting "FATHER!"

He ran into the room in less than a second. He helped me up.

"Are you hurt, Reese?"

"No, I was dreaming," I told him. "I was thinking about all the applications I've done so far and I've been wondering if I should apply somewhere else."

"You don't have to. You could stay home for a year. Or two. Or three."

"Father, I need my own space. If I have to leave New Jersey, then I'll leave New Jersey."

He looked hurt.

"Well, if that's what you want."

"Any news on Mother?"

"She's left the continent and turned her cell phone off. She doesn't want us to follow her."

"Did she even think about how this would affect Sarah or Cirino?"

"She left notes for them. We haven't shown them, yet. In the note to Sarah, she tells her that she loves her and not to worry. She'll be back. She says the same thing in Cirino's note. Yours is a little different."

"My note?"

"Of course. You are her child." He handed me a folded piece of paper. I unfolded it, reading the words written in green ink.

Dear Reese,

I hope that you will forgive me. I need to find Selena, whether she is dead or alive. I know that your father and Alexander probably think I'm crazy, but I know she's alive. She is my firstborn biological child, one of the stars in my depressing and dark existence. All of you are my stars. You, Sarah, Cirino, Kieran, and Taran and Viktor when I was their stepmother. Being a mother was a gift that I never received as a human.

My human life was fraught with so much peril, death, and heartbreak. I died at thirty years old after not finding a husband or having a little one. My heart belongs to my children, and Alexander, who I doubt will forgive me after this. If this journey ends our relationship, so be it, but I need to know one way or the other.

Tell Sarah and Cirino that I love them more than anything, my human babies.

Maybe this is part of the reason why I latched onto Sarah; she has the same personality and quirks that Selena does/did. She is less gullible, however, and much stronger than Selena ever was. Selena would not have been able to survive what Sarah has gone through. Sarah has also been through a similar experience as me, another reason why I latched onto her.

I see her and my instincts call out to me to protect her, to never let anything bad happen to her. I'm beginning to form a similar relationship with Sabine, the more time I spend with her. If Alicia hurts either of them, I'll make sure she never sees them again.

I think you should spend some more time with Sabine as well. I know she is a bit bratty, but her other personality traits are wonderful.

Until I see you again, my dear son.

Your loving mother,

Marina

"The second and third lines are a paradox," I said.

"What is that?" Father asked. I pointed at the letter.

"See, in the second line, she says that she's not sure whether she's dead or alive, and in the third line, she says she knows she's alive."

Father looked at me in amazement. "You are the smartest kid I've ever seen," he said.

"I think you should have Louis do a handwriting analysis," I said. Father took the letter from me.

"It's written in green ink. Marina never writes in green ink. She always writes in black or dark blue."

"Could she have been in a hurry?"

"Or she didn't write this. I think you're right. I think we need to have Louis do an analysis on all the letters she supposedly left."

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

"Well, the good news is, she did write these herself," Louis said. "It's the same cursive she writes in. However, something else caught my eye. Her English is good, but not perfect. And this was written in perfect American English."

"Someone was correcting her?" I mused. Louis shrugged.

"It's possible."

"Or someone made her write these," Alexander hedged. His brow was furrowed. He was both worried and thinking hard. "It can't have been Zie. She speaks English well, but her writing and spelling are sloppy. Unless she's a traitor."

"Zie's a human," I reminded him, before he got any more crazy ideas. "And she doesn't know that you and Mother are vampires, does she?"

"She saw me drinking blood out of a cup one night," Alexander growled. "She sleepwalks sometimes, and her eyes opened a crack. She told me that it was too early for wine, then went back to bed."

"Odd occurrence, but not suspicious," Uncle Soren said.

"I say we rule her out," Louis said. "I don't think it was her, for several reasons. One, you said that her writing and spelling in English are subpar. Secondly, she's not stupid. If she did believe that you were vampires, she'd have nothing on you except for drinking red stuff that she thought was wine. And she was half-asleep then. If she decided to, say, hold something for ransom, like your identity, she would know that you'd kill her instantly."

"He's right," I said. "I remember one time I was reading a book about ghosts, and she looked at the cover and smiled like it was a huge joke. I asked her if she believed in ghosts, and she said that the only ghosts around were dates who don't call back."

"That's ghosts, though," Alexander said. "Is my housekeeper a lying, cheating-"

"Let's think about who else would have a motive," I interrupted.

"Alicia," Father said.

"Alicia is a drunk," Grandfather said. "And she had no idea that this would happen."

"Do you know that for certain?" Alexander asked Grandfather.

"Of course not, but it's highly unlikely."

"If Reese hadn't noticed the second and third line, we wouldn't be having this discussion," Louis growled.

"Are you saying it's my fault?"

"No, but surely you must have seen what was going to happen. I mean, you're the one who practically told her to go-"

"Boys, that's enough," Grandfather said. "No more arguing."

"I should have stopped her," I said.

"No, honey, it's not your fault," Father told me. "No one could have stopped her."

My cell phone start vibrating in my pants. I looked at the caller ID.

"It's Toby," I said.

"Better answer it."

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hello, Prince Reese. Alicia is becoming verbally abusive to Sarah and Sabine. The grandparents are involved, and it has turned into a blowout. Even the dogs are frightened. What do you want me to do?"

"Keep watching. If Alicia hits either of them, restrain her. I will be there shortly."

"As will I," Alexander said.

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

Sarah was on the ground, holding her cheek, and her grandmother was yelling at Alicia and Toby, who held Alicia's arms behind her back.

"I don't know who you are, but you had better leave!" Benjamin Abraham said.

"He's with me," I said, stepping into the house with Alexander. "Toby, let her go." He released her, and she started cursing