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

I hugged Uncle Soren and my grandfather Eilief when I got home.

"Hello, Grandfather, Uncle."

"Reese. It's good to see you, my boy," Grandfather said.

"It's good to see you as well. How is Louis?" My cousin was three hundred and forty two years older than me, and it was rare to see my burgundy-haired uncle without him.

"He is well, thank you for asking."

"Where is your father?" Grandfather asked. His yellow eyes were suspicious.

"I'm not sure. He's usually home by now." Grandfather ran a hand through his red hair and sighed.

"That boy. I told him we were coming." Then we saw my father's car pulling into the driveway.

"What's going on-" My father had barely spoken when my uncle had his hand over Father's throat.

"You," he sneered. "You vile, repulsive, unmitigated, worthless piece of shit!"

"That's enough, Soren," Grandfather said. "Release him." Uncle Soren's grip loosened, but he did not let him go.

"Reese," Uncle Soren said, "Did you know your father is a woman stealer?"

"I said enough!" Grandfather snapped. "Now relinquish your brother, or I will tell Louis about the girl in Las Vegas, of all places." Uncle Soren released my father. I was so confused. I looked from my father to my uncle, finally locking eyes with my grandfather.

"Let us not do this in front of Reese," he said. "He is innocent in all this." I noticed that my father looked anguished.

"I'm sorry, Reese," Father said. "I made a mistake many years ago, but I want you to know that I would not take it back for anything or anyone, even your mother."

"Father...what do you mean?" He looked at the floor.

"What he means," Grandfather began, "Is that he-"

"Father, please, I'll tell him." Whatever they wanted me to know, my father wanted to tell me himself.

"Father," I said, "What is going on?"

"I'll tell you later, son, I promise." My father's promises meant something. It was important, whatever it was, and it had to do with my mother. Uncle Soren called my father a "woman stealer". Did that mean he stole my mother away from someone?

I noticed Evan's car driving by. That was odd. He lived in another part of town, the lower middle-class part, plus he worked part-time at a store that sold oddities and antiques. He paused, studying us, then went on his way.

"Who was that?" Grandfather asked.

"My...friend," I admitted.

"Strange," Uncle Soren said.

"Let us go into the house," Grandfather said. When we did, my uncle grabbed my father by the throat and pushed him against the wall.

"The kingdom is under threat, and it's all your fault!" he snapped.

"For Odin's sake, Soren," Grandfather said. He sounded aggravated. "For the last time, release him!" Uncle Soren's grip loosened.

"From whom?" Father asked. "From Brock? From Sutton? From Ambrose?" I had no idea who these people were.

"From Alexander Nicolai!" Alexander Nicolai is the rumored progenitor of vampires. I'd seen him before. He was tall, had a muscular build, blue eyes, and shoulder-length black hair.

Father looked stunned. His mouth opened, then closed, and then he looked at the floor again.

"Even if I could go back in time," he said, "I would not trade Reese for anything, even peace."

"We're not saying that," Grandfather said. "Reese himself is a blessing. We love him very much. But you must find his mother and set things right."

"My mother's dead," I interjected. Uncle Soren punched my father in the gut.

"You imbecile," he growled. "You led him to believe that Marina Santorino is dead?!"

"She's not?" I asked, surprised.

"No, she's very much alive," Grandfather said. I was suddenly very angry.

"And you knew it!" I snapped at my father accusingly.

"Please forgive me, Reese. I lied to protect you." Father's words only made me more angry.

"Mordecai, the boy has a right to know," Grandfather said. I noticed that this entire time, he seemed emotionless. I wondered why that was. Then I remembered: he's usually like that. He is not a person that shows emotion, even if he's amused or upset.

"Know what?" I demanded.

"I think you already know." It hit me like a ton of bricks.

"My mother is alive, I gathered that much. What does that have to do with Nicolai?"

"Your mother and Alexander Nicolai were mates," Father said. "I...I-I created a love potion and broke them up. Your mother became infatuated with me. She called off her engagement to Alexander. We were married, and then she became pregnant with you. She found out about the potion shortly before giving birth to you, and then you came into our lives, and the rest is history."

I gave him a disgusted look and went upstairs.

"Reese, wait-"

"Let him go, Mordecai."

My father lied to me. He never lied, or at least, I never caught him in one. I never lied to him. Well, except one time, when I was fifteen and stole some cigarettes from him. I was past that, though. I went into the library and searched for a specific book.

"Reese, please," Father said, coming into the room.

"Was my entire life a lie?" I demanded.

"No, Reese, it wasn't. I truly am sorry. I know I messed up."

"I wish I'd never been born."

"Don't say that!" He hugged me from behind, looking horrified. "I'm sorry. I love you, son." Right now, he wanted forgiveness. I wasn't sure if I wanted to give it to him. He started shaking, and I realized he was trying not to cry. As soon as he was done, I went to bed early. Tomorrow was Saturday, and I wanted to get as much sleep as possible.

As soon as I woke up, I started kicking myself for not calling my love. I rolled onto my stomach and grabbed my cell phone. As I dialed her number, I heard "Through It All" by From Ashes To New.

"Hello, Ari," I said.

"How do you know it's me?"

"Two reasons. One, because I have a specific ringtone for everybody in my Contacts, and two, I have caller ID."

"Oh. My own joke bit me in the ass. Anywho, I called because I am one hundred percent sure that Evan Byrd's gone crazy. He keeps saying that you two are meant to be and you'll come to your senses soon."

"He drove by my house yesterday."

"No! Really?" Ariella se

"Really. My grandfather and uncle came by yesterday. I think he was trying to figure out who they are."

"You know, I've met your father, but no one else in your family."

"Well, come by later," I said. "They'll be staying for a while." As soon as I said it, I wanted to take it back.

"Oh, well then. I'll stop by later. What are you going to do about Evan?"

"I don't know. Leave it alone for now. I don't want to cause more problems." I was sure I'd screw it up somehow though. "Look, I have to go. I need to call Sarah." Silence on Ariella's end.

"Okay, then we'll talk later," she said as we hung up. I called Sarah next.

"Hello?" she drawled, sounding sleepy.

"Hello, Sarah. It's Reese."

"Oh. What's up?"

"I promised I'd call, but I never did. For that, I am sorry. How are you?"

"It's no big deal. I'm fine. What about you?"

"I am well, thank you for asking. Who were the girls that attacked you yesterday?"

"I don't know," she said after a pause. She was lying.

"They will not get away with it," I promised.

"Don't be too sure."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, people like that get away with everything. And I mean everything." I wondered who she was talking about.

"Sarah?"

"Yeah?"

"Who are you talking about?"

"Everyone," she sighed. "My life is a mess right now. I'm having to work two jobs right now. I'm a waitress and stock clothes at Zu's." Zu was an independent store that sold clothes, accessories, and beauty products. "I do a million things to make up for what I did, plus I'm still grounded." What she did? What is it that she's done?

"I'm afraid I don't understand."

"I'm sorry- I shouldn't be talking to you about this."

"It's okay. Really." How could I convince her to trust me? I had more questions than answers at the moment. I needed her to answer them herself, and I was getting desperate. I needed to pry them out of her while making her think she was telling me willingly.

"Sarah, what have you done?" I wondered if my power would work over the phone.

"I...I have to go," she said. And then she hung up. Great. Odd. And I still had no answers. My throat burned. I headed to the kitchen, where we kept donated blood. I don't know how my father gets it, and he won't tell me. He still wouldn't allow me to hunt on my own even though I was seventeen. He was concerned about careless mistakes.

Father was sitting with Uncle Soren and Grandfather, going over plans. The mention of my mother stopped me in my tracks.

"The boy heard us," Uncle Soren said. "He stopped moving."

"Reese?" Father said. I stepped into the dining room.

"We were discussing your mother," Grandfather said. Father gave him a dark look. "Mordecai, the boy needs to know. Alexander will discover him, and then where would we be?"

"No, he does not," Father argued. Grandfather glared at him.

"He will not be your little boy forever," Uncle Soren said. I joined them at the table.

"If I'm going to be facing Alexander, I need to know." My statement seemed to surprise my father.

"Good boy," Grandfather said.

"I don't like this," Father said.

"You don't have to," my uncle said. "You just have to deal with it." He and my father glared at each other.

"Boys," Grandfather said, "Not now. Not in front of Reese, and certainly not in front of me. By the way, Reese, who is Sarah?" His question caught me off-guard.

"She's...a girl I know." He nodded.

"A love interest?"

"Father! Leave the child alone!" Uncle Soren chided. I was embarassed now.

"Yeah, about that...I really, really like her," I admitted.

"When do you plan on changing her?"

"I haven't figured that out yet. She's still fairly new."

"Ah, well, I first want to meet her anyway."

"Father," my father said, "For Aphrodite's sake. Yes, she may be changed in the future, but she may also not be...wait, how do you know she's human?" Grandfather didn't reply to that. My father sighed and ran a hand through his thick blond hair. I noticed that the white tips in his hair looked more pronounced, while the white tips in my grandfather and uncle's hair looked faded. I self-consciously twisted a piece of my own black hair.

Many think the white tips are the mark of royalty. I think it has more to do with our particular bloodline. Most of us were born vampires, except for my grandfather and his brothers. They were all among the first to be turned by Alexander Nicolai. Either way, I hate the white tips, especially in my hair. My stomach rolled, and I realized I still had not eaten.

"Go eat, Reese," Father said. I gave him a look and heated up a bag of blood.

"Mordecai," Grandfather said, "Reese deserves the truth. I don't know why you've been lying to him."

"I wanted to protect him. I know that it was inveitable, but I was trying to keep him safe from Alexander's wrath."

"You need to be truthful with your son. Makes things right with Reese, and for God's sake, warn him about Alexander! He may try to kill him if given the chance."

"I know! And I am sorry. But if I told him about his mother and Alexander-"

"You would not be in this mess," Uncle Soren snapped. "This is completely your fault!"

"Soren," Grandfather warned. I headed back into the dining room.

"Reese," Father said, "Go see Ariella or Sarah. This meeting is now private." I shot him an annoyed look and started to head upstairs.

"Who is Ariella?" my uncle asked.

"Reese's friend."

"He's not torn between two women, is he?" Uncle Soren teased. "I hate men like that."

"Soren, boys and girls can be friends without being lovers!" Father retorted. I stopped listening after that. I went into the library and picked up a book about the history of vampires.

It said that Alexander