Cara
"Thanks for driving me. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't shown up," I said gratefully. Connor had come to the rescue. When my car broke down I had expected that I would be stuck at school for hours, until my dad picked me up.
Thankfully, Connor showed up, accessed the problem with my car and offered me a ride home. I obviously accepted seeing as I had no other option plus he was my neighbour which meant no inconvenience on his part.
He averted his eyes from the road and asked me how I was.
"I am fine. What about you?" It was a bit difficult having a conversation with Connor. I didn't know him much, we barely even spoke. In spite of him being my neighbour and classmate, we lived two completely different lives.
"Things are...fine," he responded. There was hesitance in his tone but I ignored it. It was not any of my business. I just hoped he'd be alright. "Anyway...I hope you are going for the trip...you know, the one to Rome."
The trip. There was a history trip my class would be taking at the end of the following week. I had completely forgotten about it. Thankfully, I had already asked my father to pay for me and to sign the permission slip. He didn't mind as long as there would be teacher and adult supervision to make sure there were no 'shenanigans' as he put it.
It did not matter, I had a history of being as prudish as a nun.
Back in the seventh grade at my first boy-girl party, we all gathered in a circle to play party games. At first we did pretty innocent stuff like card games and Uno but as the night progressed to later, devilish hours -which was eight o'clock for thirteen year old me- the games became more daring.
Seven minutes in heaven? I had thought. What's that?
I was still a bit innocent back then so I did not know what that was. I quickly figured out what it was when the first couple was chosen. They went into the closet and the rest of us remained outside.
Seven minutes passed and they came out. Both of my classmates were blushing beet red. It was clear what had happened inside the closet.
Jessica, the host of the party and so far the most popular girl in the seventh grade asked who would go first and everyone shouted, "Cara and Dee." Soon they were chanting mine and Dee's names. Dee was the boy's nickname. I doubt I remember his real name, it was rarely used.
Dee was tall with bright blue eyes and pretty blonde hair. I later found out that he had had a crush on me ever since my first day at that school.
Into the closet we went.
It was dark and confined. Dee's body pressed against mine. " Sorry," he said shyly after he realised that his chest was pressed against my developing breasts. I readjusted myself so that both he and I were more comfortable.
"So...what do we do?"Asked Dee. He seemed even more shy than me. I was surprised since he was one of the most popular boys in the school, I assumed he must have kissed a thousand girls already. "I have sort of never kissed anyone before."
"Neither have I," I whispered. It was quiet. "Let's just do it... kiss." I broke the silence. It wouldn't be so bad. Many of my friends - the few friends I had ...which was only two friends- had already had their first kisses so I wanted to have mine. Yeah, the peer pressure had really hit me hard at that age.
We both agreed to do it on the count of three.
One... I counted in my head.
Two...
I felt him near me, moving closer.
Three...
I panicked and baam!
I punched him. I punched him in the face.
Oh my God! I had thought, panicking even more as the boy cupped his nose with his hands. He was crying by then, practically shrieking.
Still in a daze,I rushed out of the closet meeting everyone else outside. They all stared at me. Their cheeky smiles turned to frowns as they saw the nosebleeding boy in the closet.
I ran out of there as fast as possible.
And that was the last time I would ever see most of them again except for Dee. We were moving again.
The day we were supposed to move Dee came over to my house. He had a black eye. I felt so sorry for what I had done to him. He said it was alright. I offered him lemonade and we hung out outside.
I had my first kiss then. It happened outside, under a tree with Dee, the same boy I had punched just two days before.
"So, are you going?" Connor's baritone voice snapped me back to reality as I remembered my first kiss.
"Huh?"
"The trip? You're going, right?" I gave him a quick nod. "That's good. Apparently last year's trip with the previous class was great and the teachers were hardly there, just students and booze." He looked very excited. I was too but for different reasons.
I looked forward to seeing Rome, the colosseum, St . Peter's Basilica, and the Pantheon. I had only seen them online and I really wanted to be there in person, to touch the aged stones of The Colosseum and to take in the beauty and wonder of the great city.
"We're here,"Connor said as the car pulled over at the front of my house.I thanked him for the ride. "No problem."
"Bye, see you later. We should definitely hang out sometime,"I said as I exited the car. I gave him a quick wave before advancing up the path to my house. He waved back.
"Wait! I need to ask you something," Connor's voice startled me as I I fumbled with my keys trying to find the house keys. "I need to ask you something...."
I turned to him. He had an anxious expression on his face. He seemed unsure about what he was going to say.
"Will you go out with me?"He suddenly spat out as a familiar Bentley pulled up behind Connor's car. It was Ivan. It must have been five o'clock or quite a few minutes to five.
"Ummh...what?"
Will you go out with me?" Connor was asking me to go out with him. He had me on the spot.
I stared at the fast-approaching Ivan then at Connor who was anxiously awaiting my answer. An awkward situation was cooking up.
This was a first for me, having a...complicated relationship with someone then someone else asking me out. I didn't know what to say. I only considered him a friend, nothing more.
"I can't, "I said quickly. He stared at me. "It's complicated. I think of you as a friend..."
That came out horribly. Way to go, Cara.
I thought he would say something but he didn't not. His attention was trained on the man that was swiftly walking up to us.
His expression did a complete one-eighty as recognition dawned on his face. He stared only at Ivan who was just a few feet away.
It was now officially awkward.
Ivan's face was flushed with what I could only identify as anger. That anger was not directed at me but at Connor. His fists were clenched and it looked like he was about to punch Connor or worse.
He had white knuckles from clenching his fists too hard.
"Mr.Vasiliev..."said Connor, chuckling nervously. He stared at Ivan as if he had seen a ghost.
Wait a minute. They know each other?
"Ummh...Ivan, this is Connor. Connor this is Iv-"
Ivan finally spoke, cutting me off. "Leave. Now." He said in a commanding voice. His voice was deeper than usually, powerfully directed at the teenage boy.
Connor did not need to be told twice. In a flash he was off, nearly tripping as he ran down the path.
"Why did you do that?" I question in a demanding tone, glaring at him. He remained silent, refusing to answer my question. Something had shifted in him. I could see it in his eyes.
Ivan's eyes were darker than ever, practically pools of obsidian. I looked into the dark pools, searching for him -the part of him that I knew. I only saw anger. I only heard silence.
"I-I have to go."
With that, he left.
CaraNot even the loud sound of the knife hitting against the chopping block could faze me as my mind focussed on one thought alone. Why did Ivan just leave like that?"Careful with that, sweetheart , "warned Dad, staring at the way my hands were speedily chopping the carrots." Show a little mercy on those carrots, this is not the French Revolution .""Haha. Kevin Hart, everybody," I mocked but the joke was on me because he then went on and on about his college days and how he had done a bit of stand up comedy."They had stand up in the sixteen hundreds?" I asked. Of course my father was not that old, no one is, I only liked to make jokes about how aged he was. The jokes did not matter to him, in his opinion he aged like fine wine.My fun with Dad had not ; however, gotten my head off my worries. I had many, one of which was my car but the one that I was thinking about at the moment was Ivan's leaving.He had been angry before he left. He was angry at Connor and for reasons I did not
CaraUndecided, I stared at the envelope in my hand. I had been putting this off for over a week and this was the last chance I would get to read it for the next week. As much as I had wanted to know more about my mom and why she left, now that I had the chance, I was hesitant.If I did -eventually- open the letter, the world where it was just me and my dad and my mom had fallen off the face of the earth would collapse and another world would appear. In this second world my mother would possibly be the bad guy.I had been ignoring this for years and now it was time for me to know the truth but I was afraid of it.Now the truth was in my hands...Was I ready for the truth?Not yet! It can wait...some more.I'll read it when I get back. I convinced myself to let it wait another week. I had waited a decade, what was one more week?Sighing, I threw it on my desk then decided it was too out-in-the-open so I put it back inside the top drawer.Thanks to the school's Student Abroad Travel Prog
CaraI tried to convince myself that he had attended some sort of weird costume party the previous night and the fake fangs had refused to come off but the look in his eyes told me otherwise.His eyes were crimson and dark. I felt almost hypnotised as I stared into crimson orbs. It was as if they were drawing me in like a moth to fire but I knew what was what, this fire burned."Your eyes...your fangs? What are you?""You mean you don't know? I thought you knew, I mean the necklace... " I did not understand what he was saying." I am a vampire...vampyre...whatever you like to call it.”It struck me like a slap in the face, "vam…" I dared not speak that last part for once it was spoken it could not be unspoken and it thus was made the reality."Come on say it, let's have our Twilight moment," he joked letting out a sadistic laugh. However, I was not laughing, not one bit. "I am a vampire. A blood-sucking, titty-loving vampire."My feet were glued in place but I tried and succeeded in br
JasperThe blood was everywhere. It littered the entire hallway, from one end to another. There were even splashes of it on the goddam ceiling, the fucking ceiling. He had made quite a mess. Some of the locker doors were broken and one of the drinking fountains had been disconnected from the wall.I would have applauded if not for the fact that this was a school with children, human children.Slowly, I approached Ivanov. He was knelt on the floor by the dead body...whatever was left of it anyway. The stench of death filled the room but there was something else. There was a taint on the blood, a tincture of sin, though well hidden, it was still there.A vampire, I concluded mentally.I didn't think a vampire could have so much blood. This one was...well fed. By the stench of it, it fed on young blood, fresh too. This was no clan vampire.I heard footsteps approaching. Without bothering to turn my head I knew who it was. The Sallow boy quickly moved towards me -well, as quickly as he co
CaraThe bell gave a small ring as I pushed the glass door open. The place hadn't changed a bit, the same earthy smell -which was probably marijuana- , the same clutter, the same dim light illuminating the same smoky atmosphere. Kogo's shop was exactly the same as the first time I had visited, nothing was out of place.I could have sworn that that was the same glass of water I had seen during my last visit sitting at the table by the candles."Is she expecting us?"I asked Alice. My question was quickly answered but not by her."I am," the voice came from the top of the spiral staircase. There at the top of the metal flight of stairs stood Kogo. In her hand she balanced a tall stack of old looking books.She climbed down, enthusiasm in her voice as she spoke ," I have been expecting you, Cara. When you stepped out of my shop I knew our paths would cross again. You have questions. I know this time you will be more open minded."She was right, I had questions, many of them. When Alice co
CaraA shiver ran through me. The wind was harsh and the sweater I wore hardly helped but I was still here. I wouldn't leave.The forest had become one of my favourite places to be, specifically the spot where Ivan and I first locked lips. The place had changed slightly, now it was colder and the flowers were not in bloom but I still liked it.It reminded me of a time when I was happy, when Ivan was the wonderful man who rescued me in the woods and not...not a vicious monster who I'd watched rip a vampire to pieces.The memory of his hands on me, his weight pressing on my body came back as the wind blew the forest's peaceful scent into my senses.I no longer feared this place. My love of it strongly overpowered my fear.I saw on the ground with my back pressed up against a tree trunk and my knee pulled up to meet my chest. This was my comfort position.This cannot be avoided any longer ,I tell myself. I was quite the procrastinator. For weeks I had managed to avoid reading the letter
CaraThere was a draft in the house, like a cold wind had blown past. I chose to ignore it, I had probably left a window open.Entering the kitchen, I shut the back door, making sure to lock it. Who knew what else was out there? Something could easily enter the house and rip me apart....as much as you fear him, Ivan truly cares for you... Jasper's words were stuck in my mind, echoing inside it over and over again.I thought them through, calculating over and over again as if it wasn't such a simple statement, Ivan truly cares for you...Yes, he cared about me, he'd once -long ago -said he liked me. He attacked Hoff to keep me safe, if it weren't for him... if it weren't for him who knows what would have happened? The vampire would probably have drained me of all the blood in my body.Deep inside I was very grateful and thankful that he showed up when he did. Deep inside I cared for him greatly, what we had before, that doesn't just go away. It stays with you.There was no night I sle
JasperAbsent-mindedly, I listened to the clock ticking, eagerly waiting for the hour hand to strike midnight so that this wretched day may over.TickTickTickIt was now half past eleven. Thirty minutes left of this agony.The room was cold and empty. It was dark too. The only light that was on was the one on my desk, the one I was currently pretending to use.The walls were thick, thick enough for me not to be able to hear past them. They were made that way on purpose as were the walls of all the chambers on the South and North wings of the castle.The desk was filled with documents that I had to look at and papers I had to pass to Ivan. In the King's absence all his work fell on my shoulder, as his right hand man...practically even his own right hand. He was currently dealing with the hunt for Zoladie, a sorceress as old and as cruel as time.The woman was...slippery. She left no tracks, using powerful, ancient, untraceable spells to mask her paths and ways. As far as we knew she