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

went to the nurse’s office halfway through Senior English, and emptied my stomach in the bathroom.

Michael had caused even more of a stir, and he said nothing as he stopped and glared at me, then Sarah, before the bell rang for class.

As I drove home, I decided to stop by Mother’s house first to check on Sarah.

When I entered through the front door, my sister was rubbing my girlfriend’s back, shushing her and saying, “It’s all right, baby. It’s all right.”

Mother was furious. “So Nales is back, is he?”

“Yes,” I said. “I…gods, I don’t know what to think. This is not my area of expertise.”

“No, yours is music, isn’t it?” Alexander growled from where he was situated on the settee. “Damn it, this is all your stupid uncle’s fault, Reese.”

“My uncle? Uncle Soren, you mean?” I asked, confused. “I don’t understand.”

“I have a theory. What’s the most important book in his possession?”

“The Book of Transformation and Death?”

“Exactly. And…” he gulped. “Your father called me personally. He wanted me to make sure you came here first. Mathias is back.”

“Mathias? That’s impossible! He’s dead!”

“But he wasn’t burned, only buried,” Alexander said. “A vampire can put himself together again if he is not burned by fire.”

I felt faint. I fell on my ass on the hard floor. Mother came over to me and felt my forehead.

“You’re cold, dear,” she said. “Do you need some warm milk?”

“I need a bed,” I said. She picked me up and took me to my room in the house, and set me on the bed. She handed me the remote control and took my boots off.

“I’ll send Sarah up here,” she said.

I fainted.

When I woke up, I was under the covers, still fully clothed, and Sarah was laying beside me, watching Totally Spies! She had undressed and was now wearing a nightgown that covered her tiny feet. Her hair was loose, and makeup was smeared on her face, like the night I’d found her crying in the bathroom after Nales had assaulted her.

I sat up, groaning at the crick in my hip, and licked her makeup off. I licked her face until it was clean, and she wrapped her arms around me.

“I’m scared, Reese,” she said.

“I know, lover. I am, too. I’m scared as hell. Three people who are supposed to be dead in one day come back to life? It’s like a bad daytime drama.”

I pulled her into my lap, and then we heard scratching at the door.

“Spunk and Coffee are back,” she said. “Spunk wants to join us.”

“Bad dog!” I shouted, and then I heard whining. Sarah smacked my chest.

“Don’t be rude.”

She got up and let him in, and he responded to the invitation by licking her feet, then jumping on the bed and licking my face.

“I’m more of a cat person,” I said, pushing him away. He ignored the slight and laid down behind me. Sarah came back, closing the door only slightly, and coming back to crawl into my lap.

I licked her cheek, and she smiled.

“Does it not bother you that I’m licking you like a dog?” I asked.

“Alexander told me that vampire venom makes your saliva sterile, so….”

“He’s right, it does.” I kissed her nose. I positioned her so her legs were over mine, and we were facing each other.

I admired her eyes, her button nose, her full lips. She leaned forward and kissed me. I kissed her back, my heart aching for her touch. And then she pounced on me, straddling my legs, pushing me into the bed. She ignored the dog, who licked both our faces, and she undid my jeans.

We both needed a release, and she’d get one. Just then, I had a thought.

“Sarah,” I said, “Stop for a minute. If whoever’s bringing the dead back to life has reached Nales, maybe they’ve reached your mother.”

She groaned and put her face in her hands.

“I can’t handle this,” she said. “I-I need to go.”

She got off the bed and went across the hall to her room. Admiring her soft curves in the white silk she wore, she shut the door and I heard ruffling around. When she came back out, she was fully dressed and wearing Toms. She went into my room and grabbed her phone. I grabbed her by the shoulders.

“Baby, stop,” I said. “Where are you going?”

“Somewhere else,” she said.

“Don’t. It’s too dangerous. At least three people who hate us are alive again, and if anything happened to you…at least let me drive.”

“Fine. You can drive. Be quick.”

I rushed putting my boots on again, and I joined her in the living room.

“Children, where are you going?” Mother asked, standing in our way.

“Get out of the way!” Sarah shouted, pushing Mother aside. Mother grabbed her shoulders and pulled her around to face her.

“What happened?” she asked.

“My mother’s alive again,” Sarah said. “I have to know for sure if it was you who killed her.”

Mother’s face hardened. “You merely need to ask, dear. Yes, I killed her. She was toxic. She was destroying your life. She had to be eliminated. I am your mother now, and you need to listen to me.”

Sarah burst into tears. Mother pulled Sarah into her, and Sarah fought to get away. Mother’s grip hardened, and I heard a crack. Sarah cried out in pain, and Alexander came up behind Mother.

“Let her go, dear,” he said. “She needs to find her mother.”

“NO! I am her mother now! I am her soulmother! I can’t let that bitch take her from me!”

“Mom, let go,” I pleaded, trying to pry her fingers from Sarah’s wrist. Finally, finally, she let Sarah go, and Sarah rushed out the door, stumbling on the front steps, before rushing to her car and driving away before I could follow.

I sighed loudly.

“I need to go find her,” I said.

“She is my daughter! I need to find her!” Mother said, grabbing my shoulders and spinning me around.

“She’s my fiancée!” I shouted.

“Fiancée?”

“Yes. I asked her to marry me. She said yes.”

Mother stood stock still, and I could see a range of emotions run across her face. Joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, irritation, frustration, aggravation, hope, and more hope.

“I’ll go after her,” I said.

“I’ll go with you,” Selena said. “It won’t be safe with her gone and Sabine missing.”

My sister and I both got into my Nissan, my nose working overtime, I tracked her scent to the nearest McDonald’s, and I asked the cashier if she’d seen a brown-haired girl in a Victoria’s Secret hoodie driving a gold Honda. She said she had, and I asked what she’d ordered.

A large caramel macchiato, a large chocolate shake, a Big Mac with extra bacon, two large fries, and a chicken sandwich.

“No way she can eat all that,” Selena said.

“You’d be surprised what she can fit into her mouth,” I replied, following the trail to a bookstore, where she had idled for a few minutes and then took off again. I followed her scent to her old neighborhood. Her old house still had a For Sale sign. Apparently, death was a big factor in choosing where to live.

I continued to follow her trail to a Walmart, then a shoe store, then the mall, where her scent ended. I spotted her car in the parking lot, food wrappers in the passenger seat and a half-melted chocolate shake. I got out and Selena followed. We walked into the pet store entrance, where puppies barked, birds chirped and talked, and cats meowed.

A smiling salesgirl said “Hi, welcome to North Hampton pet store, the only pet store in town whose puppies don’t have kennel cough.”

We ignored her and continued to follow Sarah’s scent to several fashion stores, an accessories store, a store that sold glasses, an electronics store, and finally, the food court.

We spotted her in line at the Chinese place, carrying several shopping bags. When she saw us, she turned and walked toward the bathrooms.

“Should I catch her?” Selena asked.

“Go at a human pace, and don’t frighten her,” I warned, and she took off after Sarah.

My girl ducked into the ladies’ room, where I heard sounds of retching. Selena followed her, and I stood right outside. The retching went on for a while, and then I heard soft crying. This was all my fault; I should have kept my mouth shut.

I heard water running and splashing, a paper towel being used. I heard bags being grabbed, and then Selena and Sarah came out. Sarah was wearing a new pair of pants and hoodie. I sniffed-her old underwear was in the trash can in the stall that was used for feminine products. I let out an exasperated breath, I would have to shift through all the other women’s used tampons and pads to get to her underwear. That was a thought I did not like to entertain.

She looked terrible- there were bags under her eyes and remnants of black mascara and eyeliner and bits of brown eyeshadow still in her eyes. Selena grabbed her shopping bags and her purse and I scooped her up bridal-style and carried her outside. Selena grabbed the keys to the Honda out of Sarah’s purse and took the Honda while I took the Nissan.

She buried her face in my chest and I put her in the passenger seat of my Nissan and buckled her in, then shut the door after making sure she was all in. I got into the driver’s seat, and looked over at her. Tears were running down her face, and she was staring out the window.

I drove to my father’s house, and carried her inside, where I was immediately greeted by Father.

“Selena called me,” he said. “Alicia, too?”

I glared at him as Sarah burst into fresh tears. I licked her eyes, and then carried her up to my room and placed her on the bed. I grabbed some water and sleeping pills for her, and she took them quickly.

“I’m so sorry,” I said, as she fell asleep. “This is my fault. I love you, sweet girl.” I took her shoes off and put one of my old hoodies over the one she was wearing. I covered her head with both hoods and climbed under the covers with her. I fell asleep as quickly as she did.

 

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I was standing on the water, then I fell through. I tasted salt water and coughed, my belly filling with the disgusting stuff. I started running, until I saw Sarah falling through the water next. I swam up to her and caught her, then carried her to the shore, and suddenly, the ocean had no water. I started running, but the sand had caught around my ankles.

I cried out as we both sank. I contemplated throwing Sarah, but then realized she would only die faster. Then an angel swooped down and grabbed my hand, but I dropped Sarah. I screamed as she sank into the sand, looked up, and realized the angel’s feathers were black, and she had the face and body of my mother.

Someone was licking my face. I hissed and snapped at the intruder with my teeth, then realized it was only Father.

“You were whimpering,” he said, seemingly abashed.

“I had another nightmare. This time, the villain was my own mother.”

“I’m sorry, Reese.”

He leaned forward and licked my ear. I growled and pushed him away. He snarled and nipped my ear in warning.

“She’s still asleep,” I said, tightening my hold on Sarah.

“Good for her,” Father said sarcastically. “Humans are so predictable. Sleep, eat, shit, and piss, that’s all they do.”

“They got to the moon,” I said.

Father cocked his head. “One of those astronauts was a vampire. Did you not know that? And we helped with the math and science shit.”

 

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The meeting with Sarah’s family on her mother’s side did not go well. It was organized by Mother and Sarah’s grandmother, the old Italian bitch called Gianna. Benjamin Abraham was also there, and so was Alexander. I was also there. Neither Sarah nor Sabine knew about this, to our knowledge.

The first thing Mother said when she sat