Unraveling Soren by Marisa Maichel (books under 200 pages txt) 📕

She reached into the minifridge and got out a Diet Coke.

“When did you get a minifridge?”

“The other day. I didn’t get any big birthday presents this year, so your mom asked me what I wanted, and I told her I wanted my own fridge. Alexander wanted to keep bloodbags in here, but I told him, no way. The blood will get out and stain my carpet. Um…Lucy is giving me a fifty percent raise. Britt started talking to me again. She finally dumped Elliott for good. I’m glad about that. He’s so immature. It’s not cool to date one girl, but crush on another one. That’s how love triangles are formed, and I don’t like love triangles, except in books and movies.”

She sipped her soda.

“Even though you were part of several.”

She clicked her tongue. “And I hated every minute of it. I mean, you’re the only one I want. You saved my life. You helped to heal me through thick and thin, for better or for worse. And we’ve had a lot of worse moments.”

I was contemplative.

When I got home, Father and Uncle Soren were on the floor, singing badly to Barry Manilow and drinking beer.

“Have a beer, nephew,” Uncle Soren said, handing me a Heineken.

“What’s with you two?” I asked.

“Heartbreak, son,” Father slurred. “I miss Faolan like shit. He’s my fucking soulmate, and he won’t talk to me anymore because he blames you for that girl’s death.”

“I had sex with Sadie once, and she threw it all out of proportion.”

“Nooooo. She liked you before….” He belched. “Anywho, I’m fucking drunk. Drink your beer.”

“Thanks, but I’m not going to make a fool of myself in front of people.” I set the beer on the floor.

“Who’s making a fool of who? There’s no one here but usss.”

“That’s “whom”,” Uncle Soren said, nudging Father.

“Yeah, whatever, fat one.”

“I am not fat! It’s huskiness.”

Father grabbed a piece of Uncle Soren’s stomach and squeezed it.

“I call that fat, brother. Anyway, what do you have to drink for?”

Uncle Soren belched so loudly it rattled the windows. I pulled my shirt up over my nose.

“Mitra’s husband is back. His name’s Katonah.” Then he started crying. “Why is it always me? What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I keep a girl?”

“That’s the problem,” I said. “You go after girls when you should be going after women.”

“Pfft. Women. The only woman I ever loved broke my heart.”

“That’s not true,” Father argued. “You’ve dated women before. You loved a few of them, you’re just too much of a woman’s purse to accept their love. You’re a predator. A fucking sicko.”

“Fuck you, Mordecai. I don’t need to remind you how old Faolan is. And how old you are. There’s a two-thousand-year difference! You watched as Jesus Christ was led through the streets of Jerusalem with that cross on his back. You’re a fucking moron.”

Father punched Uncle Soren in the jaw. Uncle Soren smashed his beer bottle over my father’s head, and then they ran outside and started fighting.

I sighed and went outside to watch the spectacle. Father was throwing up in the grass, and then he and Uncle Soren looked at each other with the look that dogs give each other when they’re fighting over a bone. Father snapped his jaws at Uncle Soren, who reared back and punched Father in the gut. Father grabbed Uncle Soren’s leg and bit it.

My uncle kicked him in the throat, sending him flying back. He huffed and turned around, which was a mistake. My father ran at Uncle Soren and jumped on his back. I was so engrossed; I hadn’t noticed Grandfather arriving with Toby and Spencer and Samantha.

“Stop them,” he ordered.

Toby grabbed my father while Spencer, who was stronger, grabbed Uncle Soren and pulled them apart.

“Who started it?” Grandfather asked me.

“They both kind of did. I mean- “

“Who started it?”

“My father.”

“Force a sleeping potion down both their throats,” Grandfather told the guards. “And someone needs to clean up the mess in the foyer. Reese, tell me exactly what happened.”

I did. He was not happy when I finished.

“They both had good points,” Grandfather said. “But let’s face it, there isn’t a vampire alive today who is not related to us who was alive when Soren was born. Mordecai should have better luck finding a woman of his caliber.”

“Do you…Grandfather, do you…. are you homophobic?”

“I can’t say that I’m happy that Mordecai chose a male instead of a female, but I’m accepting it. I’m glad you, at least, saw sense.”

I knew better than to argue.

I went outside. It was afternoon now, and getting cloudy.

I walked until I realized I was almost to the reservation. And I began to hear footsteps behind me; vampire footsteps. I turned and braced myself for the attack. He jumped on me from behind, and then started to tear my head off. I kneed him in the stomach, and he rolled off. He was a Native American vampire.

He had copper skin, long black hair that was tied back into a ponytail, and he looked to be around forty years old when he was bitten. I could see the teeth marks around his throat. They were pale against his dark skin.

His brown eyes warned me to stay away. If I ran, he’d attack. If I attacked, he’d kill me.

“Stop it!” I heard a familiar female voice. It was Mitra. “Stop it, stop it! He’s a friend!” She ran between us and turned to him. “Katonah, this is Reese. Reese, this is Katonah, my husband.”

“How do you know him?” Katonah asked in a slightly accented voice.

“He’s my boyfriend’s nephew,” she replied.

“Boyfriend?!” He started shaking. His irises turned red, and tendons in his neck popped.

“Calm down,” she said. “You were gone for a long time. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever see you again. So yes, I dated several people while you were gone.”

He took in a deep breath and counted to two hundred out loud. When he finished, his eyes were the color of rust, and he looked at Mitra and gathered her in his arms.

“I’m sorry, my doe,” he said. “Please forgive me. I had no excuse.”

I was disgusted. I wondered if she’d marry both of them, or if she’d dump one of them.

“Wait, Reese,” Mitra said. “Please don’t tell Soren.”

“He already knows,” I said, not promising anything.

Enjoying the deer-in-headlights look on her face, I walked back to the house.

I went back home, and Father was awake, holding an ice pack to his head and silently complaining.

“How are you?” I asked him.

“Sssshhhhh. My head is killing me. That’s what I get for being drunk and scrapping with Soren. But at the time, I wanted to rip his head off. What he said about Faolan…”

“You miss Faolan.”

“My heart feels like it’s being melted slowly the longer I go without touching him or seeing him. So yes, I miss him. I blame you.”

“Of course you do.”

I heard feline laughter, and looked down to see Shadowfang twirling around my legs.

“That was quite a show,” the Maine Coon said. “My daughters and I laid by the window and watched. Catniss could barely keep up!”

“Where’s Frodo?” I asked him. “I want to ask him something.”

“You want to know if he wants to go live with your friend. Sure, why not? There’s too many cats in this house, anyway.”

“Hush, both of you,” Father growled. “I’m falling apart.”

“Falling for Faolan, falling apart,” Shadowfang sang. Father glared at him.

I went up to my room, where Frodo was laying on my bed.

“Father said you wanted to talk to me?” he asked.

“Yes. How do you feel about going to live with my friend Ariella?”

“And be free of this crowded mansion? Absolutely not. I think you should ask Cat or Belle.”

“All right, it was just a suggestion.”

I sat at my computer and surfed the web for a while. I ordered a few books from several shopping sites, updated my Stephen King collection, pre-ordered his new releases. Sarah calls me the biggest Stephen King fan she’s ever met, and she’s not wrong. I’ve been reading Stephen King since I was twelve years old, when I first read Pet Sematary.

Then I saw Father reading Dolores Claiborne, and tried a second book, and so began my fandom. Then Louis introduced me to Anne Rice’s books, and I had a new favorite author for a while. It was amazing, the similarities and differences between her vampires and me. I don’t burn in the sun right away, but I do eventually burn.

You need to have a blood exchange with a vampire to be turned. Biting helps speed up the process. We do prefer the night for several reasons, the main one being the sun issue. Part of the reason why we drink blood is we do not produce vitamin D. The sun normally gives off vitamin D to humans, but it burns vampires.

Older vampires like my father can go into the sun for a long time without burning, but he eventually starts to feel nauseous and get a headache. That’s one of the reasons why I never signed up for sports or daytime activities, not that I needed to.

Another thing is sleep. We need sleep, just like any other being. Older vampires can go for longer periods of time without sleep, but younger vampires like me cannot. There’s a big reason why younger vampires cling to their sires and parents. The danger while asleep is prevalent. You never know what could come out in the dark. Another vampire, a werewolf, anything.

We can eat human food, but we cannot digest it. If we are forced to eat it, we will later find a private place to throw it up. We can gain or lose weight, (Father says to just ask Uncle Soren), and we have different body shapes.

Like my father, I am thin and muscular, while Uncle Soren is stocky and broad. I’ve seen female vampires with curves, and ones without curves. I’ve seen stick-thin vampires, and fat vampires.

I finished surfing and plopped onto my bed, scaring Frodo, who trilled.

“I’ve been thinking,” he said. “Maybe it would be nice to get away. And I can always come back, right?”

“Of course. You just need to say so. Ariella just needs to ask her parents first. If they say yes, I’ll bring you there.”

“I can’t wait.” He settled himself on my stomach, and I reached over onto my nightstand and pulled out the book I was reading. It was a book that Sarah had gushed about, and I wanted to see the appeal. It was chick-lit, and it would be painful, but I would survive. She read and even liked some of the horror that I liked. I could try something that she liked.

I found that I actually liked the book. It had a lot of information about women’s rights and I could relate to the love interest. He was dark and brooding, too.

Before long, I had fallen asleep. I woke up with the book on my chest and the cat still on my stomach. He was asleep. I moved him, getting up to take my shower. It was a school day.

I stood in the shower for a long time, just letting the water flow over me, not really washing, before I heard the general humdrum of a full house waking up for the day. I started washing my hair then, dragging a comb through it.

It had gotten longer, but still had the basic gothic shape. I felt my chin, and realized I needed a trim.

I did the rest of my morning ritual, then grabbed my backpack and headed outside.

It was a chilly April day. It was cloudy, of course.

The drive to school was uneventful. I drove by the Nicolai house, and saw Sarah arguing with Selena about something. Figuring it was just basic girl drama, I headed off to school.

The parking lot was almost empty when I pulled in. I sat in my car for a while, listening to Avenged Sevenfold. I closed my eyes for a minute. When I opened