Seeing Red (The Dark Love Series) (16 page)

             
“When am I going to be able to hear you sing again?” I ask, as I smile at him like a lovestruck teenager.

             
“Whenever you want to, love,” Andrew answers.

             
“Sing to me right now.” I look at him and await an answer. “I'll put on 'Only You' by Tesla. Please sing to me,” I whine as I quiver my lower lip.

             
“Of course, my love,” Andrew looks at me and winks.

             
I smile big and put on the Tesla song. The music starts to play, and butterflies fill my stomach. Andrew starts to sing, and I fall into complete silence. His voice makes me speechless. He makes me want to cry tears of joy.

             
As the song comes to an end, we pull into the parking lot of the school. He stops singing and puts the car into park. The engine turns off. I can't stop looking at him, my eyes won't leave his face.

             
“How was that?” Andrew asks in almost a whisper.

             
Words can't describe how amazing that was. His lovely voice brings butterflies to my stomach, and a smile to my face. I don't speak. I bring my lips to his and kiss him passionately.

             
I feel my body start to warm up. Goosebumps appear on my skin. My toes start to curl at the touch of his lips. His kiss takes me to a whole different planet.

             
The bell rings and brings me back to the real world. “You look beautiful today, my love,” Andrew speaks as his lips leave mine.

             
“You look pretty good yourself, Mr. Madsen,” I smile.

* * * *

My breathing is heavy. I'm running through the forest, and darkness fills the sky. I can't see where I'm going, but I have to keep running. They're going to catch me if I don't get away now. The Sulivic Brothers are going to kill me for what I am. I have to get to my sister and get out of this forest.

             
Beads of sweat start to fall from my face. I want to stop running and catch my breath, but I can't. I have to keep going. They have Caroline, and I need to get her out of this forest before they kill us both.

             
The dark forest is scaring me. I hate being in the dark, I hate it so much. I hear noises all around me. Branches are breaking as my feet run across them. Leaves are crunching under my feet.

             
I feel my body wanting to shut down. I can barely control my breathing. I have to stop. I have to just catch my breath for a minute.

             
My feet come to a hault. I drop down and my hands find my knees as I fight for air.

             
I stand up straight and look around. Where the hell am I? It's like I was transported to another place.

             
I start to turn in circles as I figure out where I am.

             
It's the barn. The barn where Andrew killed Gavin. The barn where I found my sister transforming into a vampire. Why am I here? “Lynn,” I yell out. “Lynn, where are you?”

             
I hear a bang and look behind me quickly. My eyes go wide, and my jaw drops to the floor. It's Gavin and Flavior. They're covered in red. I move my feet backwards. This is impossible. Gavin and Flavior are dead. I feel liquid on the floor and look down. Blood is everywhere, covering the ground in the barn.

             
I look at Gavin and then at Flavior. Blood is flooding out from their bodies. What the hell is going on? All I see is red. I close my eyes and tears start to fall down my face. There's too much blood. This can't be real. This can't be real. This can't be real.

             
I jump out of my seat and scream. I look around me, and find myself sitting at my desk in class. It was only a dream. Thank God, it was only a dream.

             
I see everyone staring at me with humor on their faces. “Miss McKay, maybe you should go to sleep earlier at night, instead of falling asleep in my class,” Mr. Alan demands.

             
“I'm so sorry. Can I go to the bathroom, please?” I ask in a hurry. I feel sweat beading on my forehead. I need to splash water on my face. I just have to keep telling myself that it was just a dream.

             
“Only if you promise to come back to my class and be ready to keep your eyes open, and attention on me!” Mr. Alan speaks loud and firm.

             
“Yes, Mr. Alan,” I tell him, and he nods his head.

             
I sprint to the bathroom and make my way to the sink. It's a relief to feel the cold water hit my warm and sweaty face. I rub my face and try to really wake myself up. I've never fallen asleep in class before. That was so embarrassing. I still can't believe that happened to me. I just had to dream about the worst possible things, and wake up screaming in class. It's just my luck.

             
I open my eyes and look in the mirror. I jump and scream at the same time. I turn around and see a familiar face. It's the man from the car wash.

             
I stand here with fear written all over my face. I stay silent and stare at him.

             
“You're the famous Nina,” the man says. His voice is deep and frightening.

             
I stay silent and still. I stare at him, trying not to let my fear show. He stands there with a smile plastered on his face.
Who is he? And what does he want from me?

             
The man looks at me the way a cat looks at a mouse, ready to pounce at any second. "Do you know who I am?" He asks me.

              "No," I answer, "Should I? I remember you from the car wash."

              He starts laughing maniacally. "Oh, my dear Nina. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm John Michael. Perhaps you've heard of me?"

              My brain tries to process what he's telling me. I want to run away, but I know it won't do any good. The man I fear most is standing right in front of me, and there's nowhere to go.

              “I felt like paying you a little visit today. I wanted to see you up close, the one everyone is making such a fuss about,” John Michael says as he starts shaking his head. “I want you to know that,” he pauses and stares deep into my eyes, “I'm coming for you very soon, and I wanted you to hear it from me.”

              I gulp and feel my legs start to tremble. I hope they don't give out on me, not right now. Not with the enemy standing in front of me. I don't want him to see me scared. I don't want him to know how much I fear him.

             
I stand tall and stare deep into his eyes. The smile wipes off his face, and he stares back at me. Shock is starting to flash across his face. Good.

             
“Nina,” I hear Andrew shout from out in the hallway. I'm unable to speak. I just keep staring at the vampire that I fear most, trying not to let it show.

             
“I'll be seeing you soon, very soon,” John Michael announces, and in
a blink of an eye, he's gone.

             
I look over and see that the window's open. He's finally gone. My legs give out, and I slide down to the floor, letting the tears stream down my face. My body starts to shake uncontrollably.

             
“Nina,” I hear Andrew shout again as he enters the girl's bathroom. “Oh my God, Nina, are you alright? What happened? Where's John Michael? I picked up his scent while I was in class. I came as soon as I could.” Andrew sits on the floor next to me and places his arms around me gently. “Nina, love, talk to me, please.”

             
“He said,” I stutter out. “He said he's coming for me very soon. “

* * * *

I watch the trees pass by me at a rapid speed. The sun is shining high in the sky. All I hear is the sound of Andrew's car driving on the flat surface. I look over at him and see his eyes concentrating on the road in front of him. His pale face is glowing from the bright sun.

              I sit still in the passenger seat and stare out the window. I cuddle up more in Andrew's grey sweatshirt. It's warm and smells just like him, like a vanilla orchard flower, very potent and sexy. I inhale deep and let the soft smell drift through my nostrils. I don't ever want to forget this smell.

             
I lean my head against the passenger side door. My eyes flutter shut, and I drift off to dreamland.

* * * *

I wake up in Andrew's bed. He must have carried me inside. The sun is no longer shining bright in the sky. Instead, the darkness replaces it. I look at the clock, and see it's after seven. I didn't plan on sleeping this long. I wonder where Andrew is. He must have already filled everyone in on the incident that occured earlier today.

              I yawn and stretch my whole body. I hear my stomach growl. I should probably get out of bed and try eating something. I just don't want to relive the chat I had with the enemy. Everyone will probably be hounding me with questions, wanting details on everything that was said, and exactly what happened.

             
I make my way out to the living room and find everyone sitting by the fireplace. It smells like it always does, like camping outdoors. The fire is blazing with flames.

             
“How are you, my love?” Andrew asks me.

             
“Hungry,” I admit.

             
“Let me go make you some food,” Andrew offers. I nod my head.

             
I take a seat on the couch, and everyone stays silent as they watch the flames get bigger in the fireplace.

             
Lilah clears her throat. I knew she would be the first to want answers. “Can I ask you what happened?”

             
I take a deep breath. “He's coming for me soon, and for some reason he wanted me to know.”

             
“I wonder why he would warn you like that. That just doesn't make sense,” Lilah wonders.

             
“Maybe he wants to have more of a challenge,” Julian says in almost a whisper. “Look how easily he managed to get to her. He could have taken her quickly, and he knows that.”

             
“We need more protection for you. I think you should take a few days off from school,” Lilah says.

             
“I can't do that. I can't let them take away everything normal in my life,” I tell her. School is the only place that makes me feel normal, even though I would love to take some vacation time and stay in bed all day.

             
“You need to be protected more, Nina,” Lilah explains.

             
Tears start to fill my eyes. “I'm not going to stop going to school. I can't do it and I refuse!”

             
“She's right, Nina,” Andrew says as he comes out from the kitchen holding a plate of food. “I couldn't even protect you in school.”

             
“This is what he wants. This is what they all want. They want to take everything from me. I think they've taken enough. Being in school makes me feel normal. It makes me feel like a regular teenage girl!” Tears start falling down my face.

             
“It will only be for a week or two. I promise to get all of your work so you don't fall behind in your classes. Please don't argue with me on this one, Nina,” Andrew announces as he sits by my side. His arms wrap around me and he starts playing with my hair. He's trying to comfort me and it's working.

             
“One week max!” I finally give in.

             
Andrew smiles and hands me a plate of spaghetti. The smell is making my mouth water. I'm starving. “Eat, my love.”

Chapter 19

Healing

Dear Diary,

              I feel like I'm grounded from school. It should be every teenagers dream to be offered a vacation away from the stressful and boring place called school. I'm not happy about them making me stay away from the only place that made me feel normal, but they're only doing it to keep me safe, and I have to keep telling myself that.

             
John Michael's face keeps popping into my thoughts at random times. He did it to scare me, and it's working. It's like he wanted his evil, vicious face imprinted into my memory. He wants to be feared. I still can't believe I had the guts to stand in front of him and pretend to be brave. That might bite me in the ass in the future. I don't know what happened to me. I just didn't want to give him what he wanted, my fear.