Unraveling Sarah Cresley by Marisa Maichel (best classic novels .TXT) 📖

in the computer lab. I don't know how I knew. Ariella called it my Sarah Intuition. She was indeed in the computer lab, working on a report. I sat beside her.

"The trial is next week," she said. "And I'm scared. What if I can't do this? What if he gets away scot-free?"

"You are the bravest person I know," I told her. "You'll be fine." I grabbed her hand and squeezed it. My large hand dwarfed hers. I could feel an electric current running through my arm. My love looked at our entwined arms. She was nervous, I could tell. "What are you writing about?" I asked.

"School shootings. What about you?"

"Cell anatomy worksheet. Oak leaves. If there is anything I can do to help you, I'll do it." She nodded, accepting my offer. I thought about apologizing again, but decided I'd done enough damage. I tried to stay focused on my work, but I couldn't with Sarah here. There was still a butterfly battlefield in my belly, although it wasn't as harsh as last time. It was tense. I blamed myself.

"Look," I said, "I'm really sorry."

"It's okay," she said.

"No, it's not," I replied. "It's not okay for me to make you feel uncomfortable. Her hand grazed mine, and the electrical current shot through my entire body. My heart seemed to flutter. I tried to do my work, and she kept distracting me. When the bell rang, I was sad to see her go. The rest of the day passed by slowly. I could barely focus on anything except Sarah. How could I fix this?

I was desperate, but I wasn't dumb. I knew that if I pushed her too hard, it would scare her away and possibly into another guy's arms.

"How was your day, son?" Father asked as soon as I got it.

"Horrible."

"Horrible how?"

"I don't know what to do about Sarah. I...I told her I loved her. And now she's going to avoid me forever." I looked at Father. He was coming out of a vision.

"It's best if you leave her alone for a while," he said. "Right now, she's wanting some private time." It killed me now that I'd finally said more than two words to her, confessed my love, and helped her after an incident and she barely talked to me. Her rape. I was tempted to track down that boy and drink him dry. But it would cause too many problems, so I had to control myself.

"Reese?" I blinked, realized that I'd been staring into space too long.

"I don't know if I can do that," I admitted.

"You're going to have to if you want this to go somewhere." Yes, I wanted Sarah. Very much. I went into my room, plopping onto my bed. Ariella called, and I gave her a run-down of my day. Her day involved talking to Evan, with him asking about me. I couldn't help but feel guilty; I really hurt him. I wished I could fix it. I also couldn't help but notice physical similarities between him and Sarah. Green eyes, light brown hair, similar skin color. Both of them had caught my attention. Even had liked me first, but I made the first move.

After he dropped his books one day in the hallway, I helped him with it then took the opportunity to ask him out. He happily accepted, then we went out that Saturday. Later on, he confessed to me that he was trying to figure out a way to ask me out. When he found out I liked Sarah, it broke him. According to rumor, he nearly lost the will to go on.

What resulted was a nasty fight, bad words, terrible insults, and me saying that I wished I had never asked him out. Yes, I should not have done that, and I regretted it. I eventually apologized to him, but he threw off my apology. He said it was better off if we spent some time apart, and I agreed. Now he wanted me back. He got the courage to approach me.

"I miss you," he had said. "And I want to make it up to you. Let me take you out."

"I don't think that's a good idea," I responded. He was silent for a moment.

"Is it Sarah?" I said nothing at that, although I wanted to say that it was all me and had nothing to do with anyone else. (It was partially him as well. He was crazy, which I was starting to realize.) He scoffed. "Typical. You choose the sexier one , the prettier one, the curvier one. Well, I can make you happier." I still said nothing. "Fine." With that, he walked away.

I didn't know what to think of what had just happened. I shook my head to clear it.

At lunch the next day, I sat beside Ariella.

"Nice of you to join us," Damon said sarcastically. I ignored him. He's not fond of me.

"Leave him alone," Ariella said. While they argued, I spotted Sarah. She sat by herself, much to my chagrin. She needed friends. She needed me. I went over to her.

"Hey, Reese," she said when she saw me.

"Hey," I said. "You can come sit with me and my friend if you want to."

"I could use a friend," she said. She picked up her purse and her tray and followed me. Damon looked surprised when we approached, and for a brief moment, so did Ariella. She quickly discarded the look when Sarah sat by her. The girls acknowledged each other while Damon gave me a dirty look, and I wondered if he was for Sarah or against her. He shook his head and turned back to his food.

The girls discussed music after Sarah commented on a pin Ariella had attached to her messenger bag. The pin said something about Never Shout Never, one of Ariella's favorite bands.

"What's your problem?" I asked Damon.

"You are my problem," he replied. "I don't like you."

"Feeling's mutual," I snapped back. He gave me the finger. "Do you have a problem with Sarah?" I challenged.

"No," he said. I could tell he was lying. I looked back at my girl. She smiled at me and I smiled back. Her smile was utterly, devastatingly gorgeous. The butterfly battlefield began. I picked at my uneaten human food until the bell rang.

The first thing I noticed was the government-issued car in the driveway. I parked my Astro by the curb. I unintentionally made a lot of noise going into the house.

"Detectives, this is my son, Reese," my father said.

"Hello," I said, studying them warily. A black woman in a grey suit got up to greet me. The Middle Eastern man followed her.

"Hello, Reese," the black woman said, shaking my hand. "I'm Detective Stephanie Wilkins, and this is Detective Arastoo Armada." Armada and I nodded at each other.

"What's going on?" I asked, wondering where were the two women I had met earlier.

"We may need your testimony on Sarah's behalf," Stephanie Wilkins said.

"Would you be willing to do that, son?" Father asked.

"I'd do anything for Sarah," I told them. "Of course."

"All right, then," Armada said, taking out a pen and paper. "What's your version of events?"

"I was looking for her that night," I admitted. The detectives looked at each other. "I'm in love with Sarah." My explanation was met with a knowing look from Wilkins and a confused look from Armada.

"So you went looking for her," Armada said, still flabbergasted.

"Yes," I said, running through my version of events, leaving out my father's gift and our involvement in the vampire world. When I finished, Stephanie Wilkins looked satisfied, but Armada didn't. My belly tightened as he continued to stare at me.

"Well, then," Father said, "If there is nothing else-"

"One other thing," Armada interrupted. "I'd like a DNA sample from Reese."

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Father roared. "He has done nothing wrong."

"It's just protocal," Arastoo Armada said, defending himself. I didn't argue with either of them. If the cops found out I was a vampire...we'd be in deep shit. Wilkins and Armada shook our hands, then went on their way.

"That was close," I said as my father let out a sigh of relief. He went back to reading a book about Nicholas Flamel while I went upstairs to study and do homework.

That night, I dreamed about Sarah. She was begging me not to hurt her, but I didn't listen to her pleas. The dream ended when I bit her neck. I awoke in tears, begging my love for forgiveness.

I debated whether or not to wear cologne later on that day. I eventually decided to go without. I wanted her to get used to my natural scent.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"So how are things going with Sarah?" Ariella asked.

"The cops want me to testify on Sarah's behalf," I said. I noticed a school gossip, Tiffany Schulton, was trying to act nonchalant, listening to us. I led Ariella away from public view.

"So you're going to have to tell them what happened?" she asked.

"Yes. And you know I'll do what I can to help Sarah."

"I know that."

"And they wanted a DNA sample from me."

"What for?"

"I honestly don't know." Not even Ariella knows my true identity. I try to forget about it.

"They want me as a witness," Ariella said. I rubbed my chin.

"Interesting." I saw Sarah out of the corner of my eye. She was walking to the entrance to the school when suddenly she was surrounded by the Beautifuls.

"Reese, don't get involved," Ariella warned. Scarlett walked right up to Sarah.

"Bitch, I know you talked!" she cried. Talked about what?

"I told you, I didn't!" Sarah responded.

"I don't believe you!" Scarlett shouted, her fist flying toward my Sarah. Sarah went down, clutching at her nose. I was at her side within seconds. I cradled her.

"Look, the emo likes the skank," Jordan crooned, smirking. The Beautifuls all left one by one. They reminded me of ants. Scarlett was their queen, and the rest of them were the colony.

"Sarah, are you okay?" I said. And then the smell hit me. Blood. Sarah's nose was bleeding. My stomach felt tight, my incisors started growing. I covered my mouth and nose with one hand, helping Sarah up with the other. I half-carried her to the nurse, who immediately looked concerned.

"What happened?" she asked, handing Sarah some tissues.

"I got a nosebleed," Sarah told her. Wait, what? I didn't say anything, and the nurse told me I could go. I reluctantly left my future mate. I waited until my incisors shrunk completely before uncovering my mouth and nose. I headed to my first class. I pondered what I'd just seen and smelled. I was attracted to the scent of her blood. It reminded me of Greece, where I'd spent most of my summers. Being a vampire prince has both rewards and setbacks.

Knowing early on who my mate was, growing teeth, and no money problems. I made it through my first few periods without problems. During my free period, I went to the library as usual. Evan was using one of the computers. He glanced at me, then turned back to his work. I tried to ignore him as I worked on my European History report. The goal was to create both a written and oral report pertaining to European legends. Speaking is not my strong suit, but I'm pretty good at writing.

Songs. Not reports. And I still had no idea what to write about. I couldn't write about vampires. Or could I? I shook my head and put that thought out of my head. Maybe the Cock of Barcelos? Uh, no. Odin's ravens, Thought and Memory? Perhaps. I came across a website dedicated to Broceliande Forest, and I knew I'd found my topic.

How did I not think of this? I asked myself. My father owns several books about it, and I've read all of them. I printed out several pages for research, stapled them together, and put it in its own folder. I noticed Evan eyeing me out of the corner of his eye, and I tried to ignore it. The truth was, he was starting to