Beginnings (The Trifectus Series - Book One)

Later that day in the hall, I heard someone call my name. I turned,

  “Juliet! Juliet, wait up!” shouted Ariel and Taylor.

  “What’s up?” I asked them as they stopped in front of me.

  “What are you doing this Friday night?” Ariel asked.

  “Nothing that I know of, why?”

  “We are having a girls’ night! At Ariel’s house.” said Taylor “We want you to stay over too.”

  “What are we going to do?”

  “Everything!” shouted Taylor. “Gossip, watch sappy movies and pig out on junk food.”

  “Oh and boys. Don’t forget about the boy talk,” interjected Ariel.

  “So, are you coming?” asked Taylor.

  “Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” I said.

  “Yay!” Taylor said while hugging me.

  I was excited about this upcoming girls’ night. I desperately needed and wanted it, and maybe it would help me not think about my guy problems.

  I had never had a girls’ night or sleepover before. Well, that’s a lie. Once in the fifth grade Connie Syverson had a slumber party and I went to it. I didn’t count that though because only one other girl showed up out of the dozen invited.

  I gathered my things and went to biology. My happiness dissolved immediately when I walked in. There he was: James. He looked straight at me as my stomach turned inside out. What was he doing here? Why did he have to show up?

  I went and got a seat on the other side of the classroom next to Ariel. I didn’t feel comfortable sitting next to him.

  “Juliet,” Mr. Johnson said. “Please go sit with your partner James. You need to stay with the partner you chose at the beginning.”

  I looked at Ariel and she gave me a sorry look as I picked up my things and went over to sit next to James. He smiled at me as I sat down as if nothing happened at all. Everything was normal in his mind, and I didn’t know why.

  “Okay, class,” Mr. Johnson said. “Today we are going to be going over differences in humans and androidians. What can anybody tell me about their differences?”

  “Androidians are cyborg-like beings,” yelled Justin.

  “That’s right, they are. They implant themselves with technological and mechanical parts to make themselves more advanced. They believe they are next on the evolutionary chain and that this is what humans are supposed to be next.”

  “Is that true, Mr. Johnson?” asked Justin.

  “Well, I’m not entirely sure. It really depends who you ask. As a scientist, I think someday humans will evolve further, but not like this. This isn’t something that happens naturally so it cannot be what is next.”

  “Do you think they will rise to power and force everyone to be like them?” asked James.

  “Well, James, I’m not really sure. They have very low numbers and don’t seem to organize efficiently compared to us. There are also different groups of them that all have different ideas and plans for everything. Some are rather nice and calm while others are hostile and vengeful. I don’t think they will ever come to power, though.”

  “I feel the same way,” said James while looking at me.

  Why was he looking at me? Did he know about Marcus? Was he the shadowy figure I saw outside? Things were starting to get way too weird for me.

  “Mr. Johnson, why are some androidians more powerful than others?” asked Greg.

  “Well, kind of like why some humans are more powerful than others. Androidians get their power mostly from their parts. The more money they have, the better the parts they can implant, which can make them more powerful. Some are good at weaponry and others are better with technology and hacking computers. It really just depends on the person’s preference and their money. If an androidian had a large money source, they could ultimately do whatever they wanted and be whatever they wanted. The options are limitless.”

  “Wow,” said Greg. “I never knew they had those options available to them.”

  “Most people don’t because it isn’t reported on. The government doesn’t want people to know if they have a lot of money they can get these parts and be even more powerful. You could even do cybernetics and have nobody even know. That way part of your brain is like a computer and you can do a lot of cool things in your head where nobody can even see.”

  As Mr. Johnson was continuing talking, the bell rang and interrupted him.

  “Well, class,” he said. “The class is already over. Don’t forget the things I said, for you might need to know them for an upcoming quiz.”

  I grabbed my things and walked out before James could even catch a breath.

  “Wait!” I heard James say.

  I stopped dead in my tracks and turned around to see him standing there.

  “Why are you avoiding me?” he asked.

  “I’m not,” I replied.

  “Yes, you are. You won’t talk to me or anything. It’s like you don’t care anymore. Don’t you want to talk things out?”

  “I don’t know. Now isn’t the time to do it anyway. Maybe we can do it another time,” I said as I walked hurriedly to my locker.

  “I get the hint,” he said. “Have a great day.”

  “James, you’re taking it the wrong way.” I turned around to see he wasn’t there anymore.

  In the sea of students there was no sign of his face. He’d disappeared just as quickly as he showed up.

  I went on with the rest of my day without seeing him again. I wasn’t sure how I truly felt about everything. Deep down I still did love him, but how could I be with someone so aggressive, someone so careless? I needed more than that. I needed stability, and I wasn’t sure I was going to get it from him.

  When I got home, I saw my mother in the kitchen baking cookies.

  “Hi dear, how was school today?”

  “It went well. I’m having a girls’ night this Friday with some friends.”

  “Oh, that sounds great! I bet you will have fun!”

  “What do you do on a girls’ night? I’ve never done anything like this before and I’m nervous I’ll look stupid in front of them.”

  “Oh, well, it’s a night where you and your girlfriends get together. You talk about boys, watch movies and have a big pig-out. You can let your hair down with no makeup on and not worry about being judged. Just a time when you and your girlfriends can be yourselves without having to impress anybody.”

  “That sounds great,” I said. “I’m going to spend the night with them and then the next day the track finals are taking place. Is it okay then if I stay over at Ariel’s?”

  “Of course! I’m jealous that you are going!”

  My mother had plenty of friends but hadn’t seen them as much since the move. I could tell she was secretly hurting and probably was truly jealous I was hanging out with a bunch of girlfriends and she wasn’t.

  As I was standing around talking to my mother, my phone buzzed in my pocket.

  “Hey, how are u?” asked Marcus.

  Finally he was talking to me. I had been waiting to talk to him and figure out everything that has been going on.

  “Hey u, I’ve been wanting to talk to u. How are u?”

  “I’m good, just missing u,” he said with a smiley face.

  “I wanted to talk 2 u about what happened,” I said.

  “What do u mean?”

  “Well, u kissed me. And then left.”

  “Yeah,” he said. “I’m sorry if I offended you by doing that.”

  “Not at all,” I said with a smiley face. “I just was confused.”

  “I’m sorry. I just couldn’t resist. Ur so beautiful.”

  My cheeks turned beet red as I tried to hide my blush from my mother’s eyes. Marcus was sweet, and he was making me happy. I was torn, however, about how to proceed with our conversation. I liked Marcus, but I also loved James. I didn’t want to lead anybody on, but I myself didn’t even know what I really wanted. Do I go with the one who makes me blush, or the one who makes me crazy about him?

  “Thank u,
” I replied.

  “Ur welcome babe.”

  What should I do? He was already calling me babe and it seemed like it was happening so fast. I put my phone back in my pocket and went upstairs. I paced as I started going over my options. If I chose Marcus, I would have somebody who was my best friend, somebody who had never let me down and had always been there for me when I needed him. On the other hand, he was an androidian. I could never bring him home and he lived in an abandoned subway tunnel. We would never be able to have a normal life together. We would always be hiding like mole people underground.

  If I chose James, I would have somebody I truly loved. Somebody who did treat me well and made me crazy. Somebody who could act human and I could bring home. We wouldn’t have to hide and could live anywhere in the world out in the open. He was somebody more stable in that regard, and I wanted a normal life. As normal as I could get with the situation I was in.

  Love was a scary and tricky thing. She was merciless and your choices didn’t last forever. I couldn’t wait too much longer, for the fear of losing my options. There was a chance they could both find other people, or just simply not want me anymore. They could feel betrayed and think I had been using them this entire time.

  My heart ached as I felt it swell from the anxiety of what was going to soon happen. If I let Marcus down, he might never talk to me again. I would lose a great friend: my best friend. If I let James down, I would lose a part of me. I would lose the person I truly did love. Do you take a lot of love with a little friendship, or a lot of friendship with a little love?

  I paced around my room before coming up with a decision. I knew what I wanted and whom I wanted. I knew in my heart who I wanted to make things work with. I knew whom I wanted to give my heart to.

  I wanted to give it to James and I wanted to give him it all. I truly liked Marcus, I really did, but I needed more. I needed a fulfilling life where I could live in the real world. Not a world in some dark underground camp, but in the French countryside. I wanted to be with someone who looked the most human. Somebody I could go on dates with.

  I needed to tell Marcus. I needed to be honest with him and stop leading him on. I did love him as a friend and he needed to know the truth from me. He was such a genuine person, and I didn’t want to lose his friendship.

  I got online and saw he was on. I took a deep breath and started messaging him.

  “Marcus, I need to be honest with you. I like you and think you are a great guy. You are sweet and funny and have always been nice to me. I just can’t be with you as more than a friend though. I still love James, and I want to be with him. You did nothing wrong, so don’t blame yourself. It’s just that I can’t see a life underground away from society. I want a life on the surface. One where I can go do things and be around people. I can’t do that living underground. I’m sorry, I really am. I really hope we can continue to be friends, but I understand if you hate me. I have to get ready for dinner, but I’ll talk to you later. Have a good night,” I typed to him before logging off.

  I felt nervous after sending him the message. What if he hated me? What if he got depressed and did something stupid? I closed my computer and went downstairs. I couldn’t be around the computer anymore after knowing what I did. I had to get my mind off this, and think about what I was going to do to get James back. He was my rock, and I needed to lean against him once again.

  My mother made lasagna for dinner. The fragrant air filled my nostrils as I smiled and walked into the kitchen. She had a huge dinner made for the three of us. I hadn’t seen her make this much food since last Thanksgiving.

  “Why is there so much food?” I asked confusedly.

  “We are celebrating something tonight!” she said with excitement.

  “What are we celebrating?”

  “I got a promotion today,” my father interjected while smiling.

  “Really? A promotion to what?”

  “I am heading the werewolf task force. We want to catch those wolves that are attacking people. If I catch them and do it sometime soon, I know even bigger things will come. Things will get better for all of us,” he said, smiling.

  I could tell my father was excited about this new assignment. Only my father could get excited from the thought of capturing a pack of werewolves. He was a little twisted in that way.

  I sat down for dinner and started eating as my parents were talking. I started to tune them out and think about what to do next. James didn’t always show up to school, and he didn’t even have a phone. I didn’t even remember exactly how to get to his house. Even if I did remember, I had no way to get there. I had to be patient and hope he would show up to school again. Being a patient teenager was something that was easier said than done.

  “Juliet? Juliet!”

  “Oh, sorry. Yeah, dad?”

  “Your mother tells me you are going to a friend’s house Friday night.”

  “Yeah, that’s right. She is having a bunch of girls over and I am staying over. We’re going to the track finals the next day.”

  “I am going to want the name, address and phone number of the girl’s house.”

  “Really, dad? I am 17 years old. Do you really need to have all of that information?”

  “Yes, I really do need all of that information. You’re still underage and you’re still my daughter. If I don’t get that information, you aren’t going.”

  Why couldn’t my father treat me more like an adult? He was too overbearing and I couldn’t take it anymore. I might as well have been ten years old because I was treated like I was.

  “Fine,” I said. “I’ll find out everything for you so you can keep tabs on everything I do. I’ll even give you the GPS coordinates of the bathroom so you can know when I am in there too. Wouldn’t want you to be out of the loop.”

  “Don’t get an attitude. Just do as I tell you.”

  I rolled my eyes and kept eating. I was going to beg James to bite me when I turned 18 so I could get away from here. I wanted to be an adult, and I never was going to be one living here.

  “May I be excused, sir?” I asked while looking at my father.

  “You may,” he said, giving me a strong look right back.

  I got up and went upstairs. I pulled my shirt out of my dresser. I smelled it and smelled James as if he was standing right next to me. I got butterflies whenever I smelled his scent, and it made me feel as if his arms were wrapped around me tightly.

  I didn’t see James again until Thursday at school. When I got to school, I walked around the corner to see him at my locker. I was shocked. He hadn’t done this since we broke up, and I was so happy to see him standing there.

  “Hey,” I said as I walked up to him.

  “I need to talk to you,” he said.

  “What about?” I asked as my heart dropped.

  “I’m leaving school.”

  “What? Why?”

  “There is no point anymore,” he said. “Why continue to stay here? It isn’t needed. I’m not some seventeen-year-old kid.”

  “Well, when will I see you?”

  “You don’t want to see me anyway.”

  “Yes I do, don’t be stupid. I wan—“

  “Juliet, stop. You said it yourself and I agree with you. We can’t work out. It never would’ve.”

  “Yes we can work out.”

  “No, we can’t. I will always love you. Never forget me,” he said as he walked away.

  I watched as he left me. I couldn’t even get myself to cry. There were so many emotions running through me that wouldn’t allow any tears to flow. My face turned red as I held back everything that made me human.

  “Hey girl, you still coming tomorrow night?”

  I took a deep breath and turned around with a smile to see Ariel standing there.

  “Yeah, I am definitely coming,” I said with a smile.

  I was trying to hold my emotions back. I wanted to stay strong and not break down in front of her. I didn’t want to ruin their good time tomorr
ow by having to talk about what was going on with James and me. I wanted to have a good girls’ night, and I wouldn’t have one if I were a crying mess.

  “Great!” Ariel said. “We’re going to meet at my house after school. Just come with your stuff when you can and we will get the party started!”

  “Can’t wait,” I said while trying to give her a real smile.

  Ariel walked away giving high fives to people as they walked by. I wished I could be that happy. I wished I wasn’t broken.

  I gathered my things and dragged my feet to history. I walked in just as the bell rang, signaling class to commence.

  “Glad you could join us today,” Mr. Quigley said. “Take your seat.”

  I shuffled myself to my desk and sat down. This was the last place in the entire world I wanted to be. Now I had to listen to this rude man speak for the next hour.

  “Okay, class, who here knows about The Great Vampiric Battle of 1874?”

  Great, more vampire talk. Why did this have to happen to me? A guy rejects me and then somebody tells me everything about him and won’t stop bringing him up. It was something that nobody, especially not a hormonal teenage girl, wanted to hear about.

  Some people in the class raised their hands as Mr. Quigley looked around the room.

  “Okay,” he said. “Not many of you know about it but that’s okay. That’s why I’m here.”

  “The Great Vampiric Battle of 1874 was a battle that took place here in our country. A small town in Montana found out that there was a small group of vampires living on the outskirts of town. Enraged and scared by this, they banded together to form a small militia. They wanted to go confront the vampires and demand they leave and never come back. They went with guns, knives and any other weapons they could find. They marched in the middle of the night with their lanterns and torches and showed up at the house of the vampires. One man pounded on the door and the family came out. They said they knew what they were and told them to leave or they would kill them.

  “The vampires didn’t take this lightly because their family had been there for years, longer than most of the people standing there,” he continued. “They didn’t feel they should have to leave and they had never been a problem to anybody there. The villagers relentlessly demanded they leave or they would attack. One man in the crowd, a drunken man, threw a rock and hit one of the younger vampires in the head, and so the battle began. The vampires were fast and cunning. They knew their strength and speed, and used it to their advantage. They went left and right, slashing people in their way. There were screams and shrieks as people were struck down everywhere. Finally, the villagers managed to strike down some of the vampires long enough to tie them up so they couldn’t move. Finally, with the vampire numbers going down, the rest of the villagers were able to catch all of them and tie them up.

  “The villagers looked around to see bloodshed everywhere. People were gashed and mutilated, and the remaining villagers took no mercy on the vampires. A man pushed everyone aside and started chopping off their heads with an axe. That night, 34 villagers lost their lives and a family of five vampires was killed. This battle was one of the biggest between humans and vampires there has ever been. Both sides have never forgotten the injustice that was committed that day,” Mr. Quigley finished.

  I looked around the class to see everybody infatuated with the story. Their mouths were open and some of the guys were looking at each other and smiling as if they heavily enjoyed what was just told to them. Typical testosterone-filled teenage boys.

  “Why didn’t the vampires leave?” asked a kid named Gunther.

  “Well, reports from the time say that the vampires felt entitled to stay there,” Mr. Quigley said. “They felt since they had been there so long and didn’t ever harm anybody they should be left alone.”

  “That’s stupid. They should have just left peacefully,” shouted Gunther.

  I wanted to just yell that they should’ve stayed. They weren’t harming anybody. I couldn’t imagine anyone doing this to James and his family. I had been around them a couple times and never once felt threatened. They were so nice and didn’t want to hurt anybody. If anything they just wanted to help people, but humans didn’t care. They saw them for what they were, and not who they were.

  As the bell rang, it sounded like angels singing in the distance. I couldn’t wait to get away from the close-mindedness that clouded this classroom. People only wanted to think what they were told, and that was obvious.

  The rest of the day went on miserably. I eagerly waited for it to be over so I could just go home. I was one day away from a very much needed girls’ night, and I was counting down the hours. I needed to get a second opinion on what to do about James and if they knew ways to get a guy back. My ideas obviously weren’t working well enough.

  When I got home later that day, I put my bag down and let out a sigh. The day was finally over and I could relax. Nobody was home, thankfully, and I went upstairs and went on the computer.

  I hadn’t been on Bubble Power Pets in so long, and I needed to relieve some of the stress I was holding in. I got on and started going crazy attacking anything in my path. I could feel the stress draining out of my body every minute as I was playing. While I was playing, a screen popped up with a chat message inside.

  “So, you don’t like me anymore?”

  It was Marcus. I hadn’t even seen he was online. I left him the other day when I told him I couldn’t be with him, and I had forgotten about coming back. I felt a sort of nervousness in my gut as I was thinking about the argument that was about to ensue.

  “It isn’t that,” I said. “I just don’t see it going anywhere. We are two very different people, and I can’t live my life underground. I need more out of life, a lot more.”

  “I’m sad to hear that. It just seemed like you liked me when we were together.”

  “I did and I still care about you. It has nothing to do with your personality or who you are. I just have a life above the ground, and I want it to stay that way.”

  “So essentially, my looks are holding back what we could have had.”

  “In a sense, yes.”

  “All right,” he said as he logged off.

  I could tell he was hurting. I hurt when he hurt, but I had to be truthful with him and myself. He had many qualities that I wanted, but living a sheltered life underground wasn’t one of them.

  I soon lost interest in playing the game after the talk with Marcus. Being a teenage girl was one of the hardest things in the world.

  “Juliet, are you home?”

  I went downstairs and saw my mother at the table taking things out of shopping bags.

  “What is all of this?”

  “Oh honey, I bought you and your friends some stuff for tomorrow.”

  “You didn’t have to do that.”

  “I wanted to. I want you to have a good first experience!”

  I looked at all of the items on the table. She bought us nail polish, movies, junk food and even new pajamas for me to wear. They were actually really cute.

  “Thank you so much,” I said as I gave my mother a hug.

  “Oh, dear, you are so welcome,” she said while embracing me back.

  “Are you excited about tomorrow night?” she asked while sitting down.

  “Yeah, I really am. I’m coming home first to get my things but then going over to Ariel’s. I’ll get her information tomorrow for dad. I know he wants it so bad.”

  “I know it annoys you, dear. Your father is just really protective of you and wants to make sure you are always safe. If anything happens, he wants to make sure he can come and get you and not have to wonder about where you are. He means well.”

  “I know he does, but he just needs to realize I’m almost an adult and I should be trusted more.”

  “I’ll try to calm him down a bit.”

  “Thank you, mom,” I said while smiling at her.

  I was just happy to have one sane, respectful parent. One who di
dn’t try to implant something in me to track my every move. One who gave me distance and freedom to be myself.

  I grabbed the things she got me and went upstairs as she started preparing dinner. I was happy she was supporting me and especially in these new experiences.

  I tried to start on my homework while I waited for dinner to be ready. It proved impossible, though, as the thoughts of James lingered in my head. I really wanted him back, and I wanted to hold him once again. I wanted to feel his cool skin touch my face as I kissed him. I wanted to look into his hazel eyes and see my reflection in them. I wanted to give him my love again.

  “Juliet! Dinner is ready!” my mother yelled from the foot of the stairs just before I started daydreaming.

  “Coming!” I shouted back as I tried to compose myself.

  I went down and sat down at the table as my mother was putting food on my plate.

  “Did you get me the information I asked for?” my father asked.

  “Not yet, I will get it tomorrow,” I replied.

  “Juliet, you know I wanted that information today.”

  “Oh, Arnold, relax,” my mother interjected. “She’ll give it to you tomorrow. Just calm down.” “No, Katherine,” my father said. “She knew I wanted that information and she didn’t give it to me. She shouldn’t go tomorrow.”

  “She is going, and that is final,” my mother said while sternly looking at my father.

  You could have cut the tension in the room with a knife. My mother rarely was like this with my father, but the times she was, she always won hands-down. My father looked down at his dinner and kept eating, not even challenging her.

  “Fine,” he said. “You can go, but I want what I asked for tomorrow before you leave.”

  “I’ll make sure you get it,” I said while smiling at my mother.

  Dinner was fairly uneventful after that spat. We all ate and went our separate ways after dinner. I went back up to my room and attempted my homework before going to sleep.

  I woke up the next morning and smiled because of what today was. Today was my girls’ night, and I was going to make sure I did it right.

  I got ready and made sure I looked cute. I did my hair and makeup to make sure I looked good for tonight. I had no idea what we were even going to do so I had to look my best. I would rather be overdone than underdone.

  I went to school and found Ariel and Taylor.

  “Hey guys!” I said.

  “Hey Juliet!” Taylor exclaimed.

  “Are you ready for tonight?” asked Ariel.

  “I’m more than ready. I need this so bad. I hope this doesn’t sound weird but my dad wants your phone number and address. I hope it’s okay if I give it to him.”

  “Yeah, that’s fine. My dad is the same way so I understand.” Ariel laughed, quickly wrote out the information and handed it to me.

  “My mom got us a few things for tonight,” I said.

  “Great!” exclaimed Taylor.

  Taylor always was very peppy and cheerful. She was a cheerleader and had the most pep out of anybody at the school.

  That day at school went by very fast. I was in an energetic, happy mood and counted down every single minute until I could rush home to get my things for that night.

  After school I made my guards drive me home fast. I ran inside and saw my father sitting in his chair.

  “Did you get me what I asked for?” he said.

  “Yeah, here it is,” I replied as I handed him the slip of paper.

  “Thank you, dear,” he said as he took and studied the slip.

  I jumped up the stairs as if I was winning the gold in the high jump. I threw my door open and ran into my room. I wanted to get as much time with my friends as I could. Losing even one minute was too much.

  I threw my things in my bag and went back downstairs.

  “I’m going to leave in a minute,” I told my father.

  “Who is taking you there?”

  “I am just going to walk, it isn’t far.”

  “I’m not sure I like you going there by yourself. I’ll drive you.”

  “No, you don’t need to. Ariel lives ten minutes away and it’s the middle of the day. I will be fine. Trust me.”

  “Fine, I’ll let you do this. Just be careful, and if you get lost call me and I will come get you.”

  “Okay, dad.”

  I gave my father a hug and grabbed the bag my mom had for me. I opened the door and walked outside. The crisp autumn air brushed against my face as I took a deep breath. I had a little bit of freedom and I liked it.

  I walked to Ariel’s house and rang her doorbell. The door opened and Ariel and Taylor were standing there.

  “Hey!” screeched Taylor. “I’m so glad you’re here!”

  “Come in,” said Ariel. “We are waiting for some more girls to show up.”

  I walked into Ariel’s house and was quite surprised. She had a very regal, elegant house. It looked more like a museum than anything else, and I was scared to even walk inside for the fear of breaking anything.

  “I know it looks crazy in here,” she said. “Don’t worry about breaking anything. My parents never even notice.”

  “Oh, okay,” I said as I looked around in awe.

  There was old art on the walls and what looked like artifacts on pedestals. It was amazing. There must have been millions of dollars’ worth sitting in this room alone. I took on a child’s mindset and held my hands at my sides while walking through her house.

  We went down to her basement to start the girls’ night. It was a lot more relaxed down there and it didn’t look like a history museum.

  I was the only girl there so far besides Ariel and Taylor.

  “Who else is coming?” I asked.

  “Carrie, Melissa and Tawny,” said Ariel.

  “I know they are coming together and will probably be here really soon,” said Taylor.

  “When is the last time you went to a girls’ night?” asked Ariel.

  “I have never had one, so I am all new to this,” I said shyly.

  “Never?!” exclaimed Taylor. “We will definitely make sure you have a great time then. I don’t want you to go home tomorrow and not have had fun.”

  I smiled and sat down on a giant leather couch.

  “You have a really nice house,” I said.

  “Thanks,” said Ariel. “Sometimes it can be a little much. It was hard as a kid trying to be normal but not really being able to play in the house. I always had to worry about breaking something. It feels too much like some museum and not a home.”

  “Are your parents going to be here tonight?” I asked.

  “Not really. They have a gala function and probably won’t even get home until 2 a.m. I’m not even sure if you’ll meet them. They aren’t as interested in my life as much as they are in their own lives.”

  I knew all too well what that was like. My parents were there a lot more than hers, but I felt disconnected from them. I didn’t feel like they were my parents as much as my roommates.

  The doorbell rang as we all got up to see who it was. Ariel opened the door to see Melissa, Carrie and Tawny standing there smiling.

  “Now it’s a party!” yelled Taylor.

  I ate lunch with everyone except Tawny. She was a short, chubby girl with red hair and freckles. She was very sweet, but painfully shy.

  We all exchanged hugs and proceeded to go downstairs.

  “So girls, what should we do first?” asked Ariel.

  “Change out of these constricting clothes!” shouted Melissa.

  “Great idea. We don’t need to dress up for any guys now. Did everyone bring their sweats?” asked Carrie.

  Everybody said yes and we all got them out and changed. It felt so good to change into my sweats and just lie there on this huge leather couch. I felt like I was being warmly cradled and I could fall asleep.

  “Can you believe we made the track finals?” asked Tawny.

  “Yeah, it’s crazy. It’s all because of De
rek,” said Ariel.

  “What do you guys think of Derek?” I asked.

  I wanted to gauge their opinions on him. I wanted to see if they knew he was a werewolf or even had any idea he wasn’t fully human. They had to have known that he was too good of a runner and athlete to be a mortal.

  “I think he’s hot,” said Taylor.

  “Yeah, he is, but he’s with Cara. He doesn’t even look at other girls. He isn’t like other guys,” said Ariel.

  “He’s an incredibly fast runner,” said Melissa. “I don’t even know how he can possibly run as fast as he does effortlessly.”

  I started getting a little excited. Maybe they would figure out he wasn’t human. Maybe Melissa would make everybody really think and realize it.

  “I heard he has been training since he was four years old,” said Tawny. “His parents were Olympic runners and put him through the training so that’s why he is so good.”

  “Yeah, that makes sense,” said Ariel.

  I couldn’t believe they were being this naive. Maybe some people really were clueless about how many of these people were in actual society. I think they would be shocked and terrified to know that werewolves and vampires were all around them.

  “What is going on between you and James?” Carrie asked me.

  “Well, we dated and broke up. Now we are trying to work things out and hopefully get back together.”

  “Where does he even live? Do you know?”

  “Yeah, kind of. I went to his house twice for dinner. It was way out there, so I wouldn’t remember how to get to it again. I didn’t drive there or anything either. His family is really nice though. I liked being around them.”

  “I know a lot of girls have had crushes on him, but he never seemed interested in them,” Tawny said. “Then you came along and he just was drawn to you. It is almost like you were made just for him.”

  “Yeah, I like him a lot,” I said.

  Were they right? Was I made just for him? I sure felt like I was. I felt like he was the only one for me.

  The night went on and I had a great time. We sat around with our hair up with no makeup on just hanging out. We talked about boys and school. We watched girly movies and pigged out on ice cream and chocolates. We fell asleep on top of each other while a scary movie was blaring on Ariel’s big-screen television. We were girls, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

  The next morning I woke up with drool on my cheek. I wiped it off and looked around to see everybody still sleeping. I got up and went upstairs to get some water. I looked outside the window and saw somebody in Ariel’s backyard. When I blinked, it was gone. I didn’t know who or what it was, but I knew that it knew who I was.

  I drank the water hurriedly and went back downstairs. I lay around until everybody woke up and started moving.

  We all lay around the entire day watching reality television until we had to get ready for the track finals later that night. Ariel had two full bathrooms, but squeezing six teenage girls into two bathrooms to get fully ready was almost like starting World War 3. Elbows were thrown, and hairspray was accidentally sprayed into eyes. It was horrible, but it also felt good to be around my friends.

  We headed out for the track finals hand in hand. We all looked our very best, with our school colors tied into our outfits. Taylor even had a little face paint on to show her support.

  We got to the finals and the place was packed. I hadn’t been to many school events in my life, but none of them had been like this. This event was a huge deal to the school and the people in the area. They wanted to see the best of the best run the track and participate in the events. There were even a few college recruiters in the crowd looking on.

  We finally got our tickets and headed into the event. We pushed our way through the crowd and went into the bleachers. We were able to find some seats all the way at the top a few minutes before the events started.

  We watched as each school dominated different events. They battled back and forth and each team would get a lead before the other team squashed it and got a lead of their own.

  There was only one event left: the hurdles. This was the big tiebreaker, and everybody needed to be fully ready. There was a fifteen-minute setup time announced, which allowed us to have a short intermission.

  I was feeling really thirsty and got up to go get a drink. Nobody else was thirsty, so I headed to the concession stand alone. On my way out of the bleachers, I noticed two guys get up and follow me. They kept behind me, even when I took a detour toward the women’s room. When I came out, they were still there. They looked angry. I took a weird route to the concession stand and they still followed me with every step I took. I moved quickly and I stood in line before it was my turn. I looked back while the girl was getting my drink to see the two guys leaning against a chain-link fence fifty feet away.

  I walked off fast and got back up to the girls.

  “I think two guys are following me,” I said.

  “Oh, don’t be silly,” said Ariel. “There are tons of people here. They were probably just going to the same place as you. A lot of people are going to get drinks, it was just a coincidence.”

  I knew it wasn’t just a coincidence. I knew they were following me, but why? They didn’t look familiar at all, but they had this look to them that I felt I knew. Their eyes were so familiar, yet so foreign.

  The hurdles event started and I watched as Derek flew over the hurdles as if he was jumping effortlessly. The other competitors clearly struggled, but Derek flew past them to the finish line. It was as if it was nothing at all to him. Was I really the only one that noticed that he was different?

  When the finals were over, we all walked outside the gates and talked for a few minutes. Some friends came and went, and we talked about how great of a time we had and how we all have to have a girls’ night again soon. I agreed with them, and we decided to all say goodbye and go home. I hugged them all and started walking home.

  It was fairly chilly outside, but I was managing well. My walk home wasn’t too terribly bad. It was around fifteen minutes and I didn’t have any big hills or problems. I got stopped at an intersection waiting for the light to turn so I could continue walking. I looked around while waiting and saw the two guys from earlier. They were on the other side of the street and were staring at me.

  My heart started racing as the light changed for me to start walking. I started walking quickly, hoping to lose them. I had to get away from them and I had to get away fast. I saw them pick up their pace and jaywalk across the street to come to my side. My heart was beating out of my chest as I turned the corner and ran into something.

  It was a man. He stared at me with the same vengeful look as the other men. Then the other two men came around the corner and grabbed me. I tried fighting and screaming, but they put their hands over my mouth and overpowered me. They dragged me into a car and we started driving.

  I wanted to cry and scream, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t do anything. They quickly tied my hands and fastened a cloth around my mouth. I was being kidnapped, and I didn’t know why.

  “We know who you are, Juliet LaVoe,” one of the men said.

  “We know who your father is, and we don’t like him,” another man said.

  I started yelling and talking, but my words were mumbled and muffled. I managed to spit the cloth from my mouth, “Why do you want me? I’m not my father!” I yelled.

  “We know you aren’t your father, but we also know your father loves you. You are his only child and if we have you, we have something to bargain with. Taking him wouldn’t work, but taking you does.”

  “Nobody is going to save you,” said one of the men. “You can scream all you want but nobody will hear,” he said, laughing. They retied the gag, much more tightly this time. I tried to squirm and get myself loose but it was no use. They saw me and made the knots in my restraints tighter. I thought about my life and how this happened. If I had just had a normal father, none of this would have happened. If I ha
d stayed with James, this wouldn’t have happened. He and his family would’ve saved me.

  We drove for what seemed like an hour before finally stopping. The dragged me out of the car and into a dark, cold warehouse. They sat me down and tied me to a chair so I couldn’t run away. My legs and arms were bound as if I was some kind of animal. The chair was hard and cold, with splintered wood that dug into my legs.

  “You’ll never get away with this,” I boldly told them.

  “Oh Ms. LaVoe, we already have,” one of the men said. “Your parents are probably at home worrying about where you are. Their only daughter isn’t home yet and there are bad guys out there. They are probably calling everybody they know to figure out if anybody knows where you are or who you are with.”

  I put my head down in shame and continued to think of my life. I needed someone. I needed James.

  Chapter Ten

  Gathered