Unraveling Mathias by Marisa Maichel (top 10 best books of all time .TXT) 📖

was talking about. Then in the next second, I had him against a wall.

"You're attracted to my girlfriend?!" I cried. "Back off, Blondie! She's mine!"

"Reese, please," Father breathed. "I'm sorry. I could not control my feelings. They came suddenly, that day when you first brought her over."

I growled. My father actually started to cry.

"I'm so sorry, Reese," he said. I dropped him, then grabbed my keys and headed out.

"Where do you think you're going?" Grandfather asked, blocking my path.

"Out of my way," I snapped. He grabbed my arm.

"Oh no, you're not going anywhere until both you and your father can act like members of this family!"

"That's funny coming out of you," I scoffed. "This isn't a family, it's not even a fucking coven! We just put up with each other because we happen to share DNA!" Grandfather looked hurt. He let go of my arm.

~~~~~~~~~~~

I drove aimlessly for a while. My heart felt heavy. I felt jealous and angry and betrayed. This was just like with Alexander. Like he stole my mother from Alexander, he was going to take Sarah from me.

I found myself circling her block. There was a car that I didn't recognize in the driveway. I smelled the air, and smelled an old human male and an old human female.

Are they her grandparents? I tempered my curiosity, and drove to Moore Park, where I sat on our bench and clutched my head. I started crying again. I hated myself. I hated Father. I hated everyone in my family. Why did Mother have to go to Father? Why was I even born? They should have named me Wyborn.

And Sarah's old clique. I hated every one of them. Sarah might have forgiven Mia, but I would not be swayed. They were going to betray her again, I just knew it.

And I didn't trust Alexander around Sarah. She was scared of him. She hid under the covers the other day because she was afraid of his reaction to something important. I wondered if they did finish their conversation.

I got up and started walking into the woods. I found a small trail and followed it. The trees got darker and darker the further in I went. I don't know how long I walked, only that I was thirsty and the sun was starting to set when I finally decided to try to find my way out.

I scented the air and found my way back to my van. I drove home, my heart even heavier than before. When I stepped inside the house, no one was speaking. Faolan was still asleep. Father and Uncle Soren glared at each other, and Grandfather and I glared at each other. Louis was confused, but he knew better than to get involved. I walked upstairs and took a shower, then stepped on the scale. I lost five more pounds.

Soon, I would be naught but skin and bones. I went to my bedroom and closed the door. Of course, a cat scratched at it, so I had to let him in. Shadowfang jumped onto my bed and settled himself on my pillow. I scratched his ears.

"I don't know what to do, Shadowfang," I said. "I feel like I'm losing my mind. I'm sick, and I'm going to lose Sarah."

How do you know? I jumped a foot in the air. I looked at the cat.

"Did you just speak to me?" He didn't answer and started grooming himself. I sighed. "I'm so stupid. Of course you're just a cat. A strange cat, but still just a cat. And cats can't speak in any language humans know."

I held my knees up to my chest. I closed my eyes.

Sarah and the fat guy with the brown hair were kissing. And then she was kissing Father. Both of them were naked. He held her close and kissed her passionately, the way I would kiss her. Sarah looked at me.

"What do you have, compared to him?" she said.

"Sarah...don't do this," I begged. Then Father turned into Glen Crow. He smirked at me. "Impossible...I haven't seen you since...since..."

"Since the ball," Glen said. "But I knew you before that, Reese. Through your mind, I found my soulmate. My true love. Now you'll never see her again!"

They disappeared in a flash of fire and thunder.

I screamed, then started crying. Shadowfang looked irritated at the interruption of his nap. I heard pounding on my bedroom door.

"Go away!" I cried.

"Reese, it's me!"

"Grandfather? I still don't want to talk to you!"

"Please, let me enter. I'm sorry about earlier. Your father is worried out of his mind."

"And yet he can't leave Faolan's side!" Silence. "I knew it! I'm nothing to any of you!"

"Reese, don't be ridiculous. Let's talk."

"NO! I don't want to talk to any of you!"

"All right then, be that way! You know where my room is if you change your mind."

I went to sleep again.

Grandfather and I continued to glare at each other. Louis finally said something, and Uncle Soren told him off. Now they weren't speaking to each other. Father had moved Faolan to his bedroom, and could be seen nuzzling him and whimpering.

I was beyond angry with Father. I was livid. I sat staring at the television for most of Sunday. I was too sick to eat.

On Monday, I told Sarah I wouldn't be able to pick her up that morning, and could she find someone else to drive her. Of course, Alexander agreed to drive her. She looked hurt when she saw me at school. I quickly turned away. I felt like a coward for doing so, but I didn't know what to do.

Finally, she confronted me in the hallway when the last bell rang.

"Reese, what's wrong?"

"You're going to leave me," I told her. She looked surprised.

"What? Reese, I'd never leave you! What gave you that idea? I love you!"

"You don't love me, you love what I did."

Suddenly, she was angry. "Do you think I enjoyed that? I lost my best friend and I get assaulted in the same day!"

"No! Sarah, you're not understanding. I'm not who you think I am. I'm nothing. You deserve so much better."

Tears pricked her eyes. "Are...are you breaking up with me?"

"No, I would never! But you'll break up with me for someone else."

She blinked, and tears fell out of her eyes

"Sarah, please don't cry. Your mother is right; we're just too different."

"You want to know something?" she said. "I did used to make fun of you. I felt horrible afterwards, but I did it. I used to call you the Lone Goth like everyone else. Now I see why everyone calls you that."

With that, she turned tail and left me alone.

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

Ariella confronted me the next day.

"What the hell did you do?" she cried. "Sarah's crying her eyes out because of what you said!"

"Trust me; it's better for her if I'm not around."

Ariella looked astonished. "You truly believe that, don't you?" I looked down at the floor. "Well, she's never going to believe me if I tell her that. When has a girl ever listened to another girl about a boy? The correct answer is never in the history of life." Ari shook her head. "I don't believe you. Well, when you figure out what you want, give Sarah a call. She's really torn up."

My best human friend left me feeling more alone than ever.

Out of curiosity, I went to Sarah's window that night and listened in.

"Stupid boy!" Alexander raged. "Stupid, stupid, stupid boy! When I find him, I'll tear his intestines out. Then I'll bind his father with them and let both of them burn in the sun exactly where the equator is located in South America. I'll let the natives think they're incubi, because that's exactly what the Emersons are. Incubi."

He was carefully hidden in the bushes, watching me. When he noticed that I spotted him, he took off. I gave chase.

I finally caught up with him. I grabbed him around his fat stomach and turned him over.

"Who the hell are you and why are you stalking Sarah?" I demanded. He gulped.

"Would you believe me if I told you I'm in love with her?" he replied. I flinched; he gave off an awful stench.

"Why her?"

"Why not her?" he said sarcastically. "She's beautiful, she's kind, she's smart. I met her last year." He tilted his head. "I remember meeting you as well."

"Liar," I said angrily. "I don't remember you."

"You don't remember this form, bloodsucker. My real form is more...shall we say, attractive. I do like my longer hair, though." I shook my head.

"You're a fucking liar. I don't know who the hell you are, but you'd better stay away from her."

He laughed. "You're hilarious, tick. You would. have sucked her dry if you had your way. I could give her riches beynd compare. I could spoil her with invisible servants. I could make a potion to help her pregnancy go smoothly. And once that brat is born, she'll give it to the blue-eyed vampires, and she'll be mine completely. That is, until I fill her with my own brood." He smiled sardonically.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"My real name is Glen Crow."

I gasped. Then I grabbed his shirt. "Why the hell have you taken this form? You're a freaking coward!"

"You broke up with her, tick, remember?"

"I didn't mean to!"

"Well, you did. And now she's free for the taking!"

I froze. He was right. I screwed up. Gods, what have I done?

I ran to the window and climbed the ivy. I crawled in through the window, earning a frightened scream from Sarah. Alexander moved her behind him and got into a defensive crouch.

"I don't care if you do rip my intestines out," I told Alexander. "I need to talk to Sarah!"

"Absolutely not!" Alexander shouted. "You screwed up, boy. Now you'll pay the price. If you go near Sarah again, I will rip out your heart and drink from it, and I will enjoy each moment."

"I don't care if I die," I told him.

"For Odin's sake, boy! Leave! Now!"

I looked at Sarah. She was frightened and crying softly.

"Sarah, I'm sorry," I said. "I don't know what you thought I was saying, but I was not trying to break up with you! I was actually hoping that you'd break up with me, because I can't bear even the thought of breaking your heart. I know that my father has feelings for you, and so does Glen Crow. He's the fat guy that's been following you around. He's in disguise. I think he took a corpse from a graveyard and took his form. Please forgive me, Sarah."

She looked like she wanted to run to me, but Alexander held out an arm.

"Don't do it, girl," he said in a warning voice. "He's as sick as a dog. He has parphryina. He could give it to you. And he'll only break your heart again."

Sarah stood frozen where she was. Her face was beet red, fat tears falling down her cheeks.

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

I didn't get out of bed the next day. Or the next. I lost. I knew I lost. I knew it was my own fault. I couldn't even eat. I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror. I got seven calls from Ariella, four from Mason, two from Amara, one each from Noah and Duke.

Finally, Grandfather entered my room without permission.

"Reese, please get up," he begged. "I am so sorry . You have every right to hate me. Everyone's worried, especially your father. He'd come in here himself, but he wasn't sure how he'd be received.

"I want to die," I said softly. Grandfather sighed.

"Reese, please."

"Even if I wanted to, I couldn't. I haven't eaten in several days, and I'm so weak."

"Wh...wait, what? Why didn't you tell me?!"

The next thing I knew, I was being given several glasses of blood. Father was beside me, urging me to drink.

I am such a pathetic whiny bitch, I thought. I'm jealous, depressed, insecure. And now I've lost my soulmate, possibly forever.

I started writing. I didn't even know what I was writing; just random words. When