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

“Do you think I care about drama? This is about keeping you to myself! You’re mine! You belong to me!”

“Reese, stop. Think about what you’re saying!”

“I’m sorry, baby, but it’s how I feel.”

I heard Cirino crying then. Sarah looked behind her.

“I have to check on him. I don’t know where Zie went, and Marina’s not back yet.”

She pulled a t-shirt over herself, and went down to check on the baby. She carried him back up. He was babbling to himself, playing with Sarah’s now-loose hair. She patted his back, and he let out a huge burp and a noisy fart.

“Someone’s stinky tonight,” she cooed. He giggled and then looked at me. He frowned, then smiled again. I looked into his green eyes. Sarah’s eyes. He was her son, after all. But his hair was blond, like Michael Nales’. But what Nales’ did was not Cirino’s fault. He was innocent. He was not capable of evil yet.

“Hey, little buddy,” I said to him, stroking his hair. He gurgled and burped again. He grabbed my finger.

“I think you’ve got a fan,” Sarah said.

Cirino started to pull my finger into his mouth, then I pulled away. I did not want baby germs. He smiled anyway, and babbled to me.

“Yeah, I like you, too,” I said. “You’re a cutie. Just like your mother. Well, I’m sorry I freaked you out. I’m still going to kill Soren, though.”

I had an image of then kissing, and hissed. Wait, this was more like a memory. Was I…could I read Sarah’s mind, if I put effort into it?

I closed my eyes and focused. I focused on the sound of her voice, the feel of her arms. I remembered our conversation where she’d first revealed to me that her father was dead and she had a sister. I focused, I could feel the edges of her mind. I was sure of one thing, and that was how much I loved her. How much she loved me.

I focused on our memories together. The time in the orchard. Her stress seizure. The car accident. The time I’d found out she was pregnant. The time I found out she was having a boy, and her disappointment that it wasn’t a girl, but her insistence that she’d love him just the same.

I remembered when I’d met Alicia, met Sabine. When I should have met Beckett, but he had been dead for a year already. Her.

I was in. I explored her current thoughts. She was wondering what I was doing, but she didn’t care. She was more focused on Cirino. There, I found the memory of her and Uncle Soren. They were on the couch together, and Uncle Soren had been drinking. Alcohol is the only human drink that can affect vampires. Why was he drinking, anyway? He does not hold alcohol well.

He turned, turning her head toward him, and then he leaned forward. She started to ask what he was doing, but he pressed his lips against hers in a passionate, for him, kiss.

I exited her mind suddenly. I didn’t want to see anymore. I noticed that her eyebrows started to furrow together.

“What’s wrong, lover?”

“Just a…really bad sudden headache. It almost feels like a brain freeze. But I haven’t eaten or drink anything cold today, except my mocha, and that was hours ago.”

“I’m sorry, I was…reading your mind.”

“You can do that?”

“With effort, yes. We will also be able to speak to each other using our minds.”

She looked impressed. “So we’ll be able to read each other’s minds? You were seeing which memory…when Soren kissed me.”

“Eh, yes, I admit it. I was. I also noticed something else. He practically attacked you!”

“Yeah, he was as hard as a rock. It’s amazing, the size difference…shutting up.”

I frowned at her. “Is he bigger than me?”

“Much bigger. He has the biggest one I’ve ever seen. Well, felt.”

I snarled at that.

“I’m sorry, Reese-“

“No, baby, it wasn’t your fault. It was his. I swear, I’ll rip him to pieces.”

“Reese!”

“I’m serious. He is going to die by my hand.”

I kissed her, then kissed Cirino,

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

I was back at the house. Uncle Soren was waiting for me.

“Reese, I can’t tell you how sorry I am,” he said. “The truth is, I love her. I’ve always loved her. But she was yours first.”

“Why does she attract so many males?” I hissed.

“I don’t know, but again, I’m sorry. Maybe it’s just bad luck, or maybe there’s something deeper going on. Learn more about her ancestors. Her breed. Maybe that will give you answers.”

“What about Mitra?” I asked.

“I love her, too. Gods, how I love her. Is it possible to love two people at the same time?”

“Anyone who loves two people at the same time is a no-class, beatdown piece of shit.”

“Reese, I said I was sorry!”

“I don’t give a damn! Just leave her alone. She’s mine!”

“Reese, it’s her decision whether or not she wants to stay with you. She could just as well dump you for me.”

“Shut up! Mine! She’s mine!” My knuckles were as white as pearls, my fists balled up. “I don’t give a damn if every guy in town wants to fuck her, she’s mine! I will slaughter every single person who hurts her!”

“Just like you slaughtered Michael Nales? Oh, but that wasn’t you, was it? It was Mordecai! You asked him to do it!”

“Shut up, shut up, shut up!”

Red colored my vision. I pounced on my rival, my teeth aiming for his jugular. A pair of strong hands wrapped around my waist and pulled me back.

“Reese, calm down! Spencer, hold him!” The pair of hands around me didn’t move. “Reese, look at me!” Father grabbed my shoulders. “Son, you have to calm down! Soren, I swear to Odin, I will kill you!”

“I know, I know, I shouldn’t have pushed him. But what am I supposed to do?”

“Control your damn hormones! You jump to girl after girl. You did not love Sarah the minute you saw her. You lied about that.”

“I did not! I love her!”

“SHE’S EIGHTEEN FUCKING YEARS OLD! SHE’S A HUMAN! YOU ARE OVER FOUR THOUSAND YEARS OLD! YOU ARE MUCH OLDER THAN THAT!”

“SHE IS CAPABLE OF MAKING HER OWN DECISIONS! IF I WANTED HER, I COULD EASILY TAKE HER!”

“I’m telling Mitra,” I said. I fought to get out of Spencer’s grip.

“No, Reese! I beg you!” Uncle Soren followed after me to the front door. “Please, don’t tell Mitra! I don’t want to lose her! She’s lost so much already! She’ll kill herself!”

“If she wants to kill herself, then why is she still here?”

“Reese,” Father warned. “You did not mean a word of that.”

“I’m done with you, Soren. I’m done with all of this!”

CHAPTER FIVE – THOUGHTS

I actually considered breaking up with Sarah. Of course, we’d broken up before, briefly, and we had not stayed broken up. We loved each other too much. But if I broke up with her now, she’d never forgive me. She would never come back to me. I’d ruin all my chances at being with either of my soulmates.

I had finished crying, and was hovering over my cell phone, debating whether or not to send a text that would ruin my uncle’s relationship with Mitra.

I wondered if Sarah was encouraging all the attention she got. I decided to have her followed.

“Toby,” I said, calling him in. He came in. “I want you to follow Sarah. Namely, see if she encourages all the attention she gets. But don’t let her know you’re following her.”

He nodded and slinked away.

I called Louis into my room next.

“Louis, I want you to do a supernatural DNA test on Sarah. See exactly how much fairy she is.”

“Anything for you, cousin.”

I stalked her Facebook. I looked at her recent activity. She played a game, then uploaded a photo of Cirino with the caption “Little man loves his bottle!”

I checked her Twitter. Same thing. I checked her YouTube channel. She uploaded three more videos, all makeup or hair related. I watched the video of her doing her hair. I wondered how she got those curls. She shampooed and deep-conditioned her hair, then ran a wet comb through it, then used a diffuser on her hair. The effect was amazing. Most women would kill for curls like those.

I checked all her social media. I looked around in my phone. I thought about the consequences of what I was doing. There was a possibility she’d dump me if she found out. I was taking a huge risk in that regard.

I picked up a book called The World of Lore: Monsters, by Aaron Mahnke. It started with the lore of vampires. I got to where he talks about zombies before realizing that I hadn’t absorbed any of it. Sighing to myself, I put the book down. I texted Louis to see how far he’d gotten. He responded with Don’t rush me. I rolled my eyes. Sometimes rushing him was the only way to ensure anything got done.

My phone rang, and it was Sarah.

“Hello, beautiful,” I said.

“Hey. Louis just came by, wanting to take a saliva sample. What’s that about?”

I closed my eyes and shook my head.

“It’s a DNA test. To see exactly how fairy you are.”

“Oh, it that all?”

“Yeah, that’s it. That’s all it is.”

“Oh, well that will be interesting.”

“Yes, I think it will be.”

There was silence.

“Um, Reese, what else is going on?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, how are you?”

“I’m all right. Worried about you, sugar. How are you doing on your medication?”

“I’m doing okay. I’m almost out of Xanax.”

“Ask Chris to stop by the pharmacy.”

“Am I allowed to ask her to do that?”

“Of course. She’s there for your convenience. You can ask her to do whatever you want. What else is going on?”

“Your sister and my sister and I are going to take self-defense. Maybe if I know how to defend myself, you won’t have to.”

“Honey, I don’t mind being your bodyguard. That’s also what Chris is there for. But if this is something you want to do, go for it. Will it conflict with your cheer schedule?”

“Not if we take it on Mondays. Tuesday and Thursday I have cheer, on Wednesday I have therapy, and on Friday I have the games, and Saturday and Sunday are reserved for work.”

“You really like working, don’t you?”

“I feel like I need to contribute. I know that waitressing doesn’t pay much, but I like seeing new people every day and some of the regulars aren’t too bad. But the tips are great. I’ve realized that if I wear makeup and do my hair a certain way, I get more tips. That’s probably not fair to womankind, but that’s how it is.”

“Does anyone touch you?” I let jealousy creep into my tone.

“Of course, but a sharp slap or a couple words do the trick. Or if my boss sees it, she’ll say something. But for everyone who touches my booty, there’s another two tables who treat me well. If I’m being honest, the tables who touch my butt or my leg usually tip well, too.”

I growled.

“Any religious fanatics?”

“Of course. There’s some ladies who go to the Methodist church two blocks away who stop by every Sunday and ask for me. They always tip well, especially when I wear a cross or a Star of David. There’s also a guy who usually gives out pamphlets instead of real money, but he’s not condescending like that other guy who said that I would go to hell when I wore my Star. The next time he saw me, I was wearing the cross, and he said, ‘I’m so glad I was able to change your sinful ways!’ I said, ‘You do know that Jesus was a Middle Eastern Jew, right?’ and then he shut up. Now he avoids eye contact and sits at Greg’s table.”

“Don’t tell him you’re part Israelite.”

“Oh, I won’t. I almost got written up for it, but this girl, Casey, spoke up for me. The managers listen to her because she’s the owner’s daughter.”

“Well, I’m glad it all worked