He waved his hand in exasperation and started walking up the steps towards his bedroom. “I don’t have time for this. You obviously need help.”
That hurt. My twin brother didn’t believe me, probably thought I was a total nutcase, and there was nothing I could do to persuade him otherwise. Feeling overwhelmingly defeated, I decided to take a shower and go to bed. I was tired, crabby, and totally on my own for the night. After grabbing an apple from the kitchen, I went upstairs to my bedroom and turned on the television. The news was on and the story being covered left me totally breathless.
“Two teenaged girls’ bodies were discovered in the woods early this morning near Bearpaw Cove, a private beach located in southern Shore Lake,” said the young woman, standing outside of the Sheriff’s Department. “The girls, Ashley Caruthers and Jenny Friedley, both longtime friends and seniors at Shore Lake High School, were last seen by their parents shortly before nine o’clock Friday night. Although officials are not commenting on the condition of the bodies, foul play is suspected. Unfortunately, no other information is being released at this time. Back to you, Jim.”
I stared at the screen in horror. Ashley and Jenny were two of the most popular girls in school. They also had a reputation for partying with college students and sneaking into trashy bars. Even with that, however, there was no doubt in my mind of what kind of evil befell them.
Vampires.
Nathan stuck his head into my room as I turned off the television. “Later, Twerp.”
I looked at him, unable to form any words.
His lips thinned. “Okay, what’s wrong?”
I cleared my throat. “Ashley Caruthers and Jenny Friedley were both found murdered,” I said, my voice hollow.
He eyes widened. “You’re shitting me?”
I shook my head and sat down on the bed. “Their bodies were found near Bearpaw Cove. They think it’s foul play.”
“I wonder if Caleb will give us any more details,” he said, running a hand through his brown hair. “That’s just crazy. They seemed like nice girls, although I heard they liked to party pretty hard; must have caught up with them.”
Nice wasn’t the word I’d used to describe Jenny. Ashley was friendly, enough, but Jenny was a total snob. Or, rather, she used to be.
Nathan’s phone began to ring and he answered it. From the goofy grin on his face, I could tell it was a girl. He stepped out of my room to talk in private then returned after a few minutes.
“Listen, I’ve gotta fly; you going to be okay?”
I nodded.
The truth was that I was more worried about him than anything. Hanging out with a vampire whose intentions were probably not in his best interests didn’t sit well with me. The only thing keeping me from going totally insane was Caleb’s promise to keep Nathan and my mom safe. I hoped that included being unharmed by Celeste.
He walked over and planted a kiss on the top of my head. “Don’t let this thing drive you crazy,” he said. “Obviously, those two got themselves in over their heads with someone or something. Who knows, maybe they were into drugs?”
My eyes narrowed. “Or maybe…”
“Don’t even say it,” he interrupted.
I folded my hands under my chest. “Why won’t you ever believe me?”
He threw up his hands in exasperation. “Because there are no such things as monsters, werewolves, or vampires. You have to wake up. Whoever got to these girls is just some sick fuck that needs to be locked up. Hopefully, Caleb can stop whoever’s doing this shit before anything else happens.”
I rolled my eyes. “Caleb, right.”
“Caleb’s a good guy and you just keep ripping him to shreds. Look, I’m finished with this conversation. Keep the doors locked and call me if you need me.”
“Fine,” I mumbled, looking away.
Nathan stared at me like he wanted to shake some sense into me. In the end, he just left me alone to sulk.
Chapter Three
After I took a shower, I went downstairs to the den for something to read. With an entire library of books nestled in the pine cabinets, I had more than enough choices to help get my mind off of my own horrific realities. As I went down the various rows, I came across a nonfiction book about vampires.
“See, Nathan,” I muttered. “There is a book written about vampires. It’s even a nonfictional book.”
I brought the book upstairs into my bedroom and collapsed onto the bed. As I began reading about Dracula or Vlad Tepes, a.k.a. “Vlad the Impaler”, my lids grew heavy and soon, I drifted off to sleep.
***
“Nikki,” said Jenny. “Hurry up.”
“I’m trying,” I said, following her into the dark club. I was wearing spiked heels and wobbled like a young doe. “Where’s Ashley?”
Her eyes sparkled as she looked back at me. “She’s waiting for us.”
“Where is everyone?” I called.
“Hurry up, slow poke, they are waiting for us.”
Everyone was waiting for us?
I thought that was strange, but then so was the fact that I was wearing stilettos.