“We have been busy unpacking, but I have been reading up on the town history a little.”
“If you ever need a tour guide, I would be happy to show you around.”
“That’s so kind of you. I think I just need to make it through today first. Everyone seems a little...well, intrigued with my family’s presence here. I’m not sure if I can handle much more attention.” I have a habit of blabbing a little too much when I get nervous.
The bell rings, and the sound reminds me of a banshee’s scream. I’ll have to get used to the sound clanging away between classes, because the noise is hard on my ultra-sensitive hearing. Class went by fast, thank God. Now I have an escape! I will be in my next class soon enough, and then can get my bearings. I survived first period, and what is more important the class survived me.
“Hey, look, Sophia! We have photo shop together next,” Nathanial says, crushing my escape plan with his enthusiasm.
I know I must be very careful. How am I going to protect him from me, when he renders me downright incapable of hiding the truth? My day is not starting out very good. Let’s hope it gets better before it gets worse...a lot worse. I really need to get a grip on this. I feel like my head is about to explode, and I can just imagine what I must look like to everyone since I tend to over think things, and I am sure it shows. Nathanial seems to be a great guy, and I cannot do anything about being in the same classes. I decide I just have to tolerate it and move on.
***
We partner together in photo shop. I just am not capable of staying away from him, no matter how hard I try. I need more, I want more, and I want him. How can this be? I have never encountered anyone like him before. I begin to think that maybe moving to Wenham is not going to be as great as I had hoped. There is something about Nathanial, and I will figure it out. The teacher sends the class to wander the campus and take pictures using digital cameras. As I look around the exquisite grounds, I notice Nathanial snapping some candid shots of me, and I let out a smirk. “Careful. You don’t want to break the camera on the first day.”
“No camera breaking here. I am more concerned about a heart breaker,” he says, laughing.
We start talking a little more, and he asks all the usual questions. “So you’re from Canada? What brings you to Wenham? What does your family do? Do you miss your boyfriend?”
“Wow. What is this, some kind of inquisition? Ask as much as you can in one breath, not allowing me to over think my answers?” I joke.
“Sorry. Just curious.”
“No problem.” I begin to answer using my well-practiced lines. “We moved from Canada, Whistler, British Columbia because there are too many tourists there and the commute was too far. My father is a lawyer, my uncle and his wife are both doctors, and mother is a homemaker. My brother, two sisters, and I are all students. There’s no boyfriend to miss. Besides, who would want to date me anyways?” Considering it is such a poor choice, a downright bad idea, I thought to myself. I can tell my final comment threw him off a little.
He whispers under his breath, thinking I won’t hear. “Who wouldn’t want to?”
I am shocked by his comment, but I cannot reveal that I heard him. I pretend to scour the campus for something to photograph. I cannot let his whispered compliment get to me, and I have to stick to the game plan: finish out the last two years of high school, make sure Danika behaves, move somewhere else, go to college, and fight for what we believe in. I cannot allow him–or anyone else, for that matter–to change the plan. It has worked for my family until now, and there is no use fixing something that isn’t broken. Continuing with the task at hand, photography, I try to forget what he said and peruse the area for the perfect snapshot. I get in a few good shots of Nathanial just as one of his football buddies tries to sneak up behind us.
“Gotcha!” the football friend shouts. “Now I have proof you like the ladies,” he jokes as he snaps a picture of Nathanial and me and runs off laughing.
“Don’t mind Ben. He’s just teasing me. I usually concentrate on my studies more than I do the ladies. The boys all think I need a girl in my life to keep me balanced, but I just never had any interest...at least not until now,” he admits sheepishly. “I have never found a girl who interested me quite as much as you. Sophia, I know we just met, but I think you are amazing, interesting, and intriguing. I believe there is more to you than you let on, and I want to know what you are hiding,” he says, clearly laying his intentions out on the table for me to process.
Analyzing the situation that has popped up so unexpectedly, I begin to wonder, How am I going to get myself out of this mess? I can’t resist him. I can’t get enough of him, and I can tell he feels the same. But I’m sure he’ll get over it soon. I am just the new girl, a mystery.
When he does forget about me, it will be easier for me to forget about him.
I’m glad when second period is over. Printing off a picture of Nathanial for myself, and I tuck it in my bag. I’m completely enamored by him, and I wonder what it is about him that is so intoxicating. It scares me. I fear not only for him, but also for myself around him. I know I cannot allow a boy I have only known for two hours to affect me like this. It feels as though I have known him forever, as if we belong together. If I become too close to him, everything could come out, and my darkest secrets will be revealed. I must not allow that to happen. Someone may get hurt. He could get hurt. I have to find a way to keep my distance from him, to find a way to resist the irresistible.
That’s my new task, and I challenge myself to succeed. I’ve had enough for one day.
Chapter Six
Sharing
The next two weeks of classes drag by, but Danika is responding rather well. I am grateful to have Alexander in my algebra class, although it is getting old watching all the girls swoon over him as usual. I will admit to my brother’s stunning appearance, but enough is enough. Sometimes it turns my stomach.
“Sophia, why do you let what others think bother you so much? You need to learn not to pay attention and just let it all roll off of you.”
I hate when Alexander noses into my thoughts like that, and I tell him so. “First off you need to stop doing that. Sometimes my thoughts should be private. I know I am miserable, but this is how I keep my distance from people,” I say while gathering my books to get ready for my next class.
With a soft, calm voice Alexander stares right inside me, right to my very core. “I understand why you don’t want to get close to anyone. You’re afraid that what happened to Caspian will happen to you. But, Sophia, the people here are nice and you need to give them a chance. That Nate guy seems very welcoming, and I know he wants to get to know you better. Start with him. Get to know him and let him know you, even if it’s only a tad.”
“He frightens me. I have never wanted anything as much as I want him. He does something to me. I can’t hide from him. Something about him encourages me to enlighten him to our situation.”
“That could be a problem if you are not smart and careful, but why don’t you just trust yourself a little? You are stronger than you think.”
***
As we walk to our lockers, every girl we pass does a double-take of Alexander. I try not to let this upset me. Alexander is right, and I do need to relax. To some extent, their infatuation is amusing. Most teenage girls think of Alexander as some kind of celebrity, a sweet temptation. He is tall, strong, and built like a rock with a slight five-o’clock shadow around his face. His blond hair matches the sand on a Caribbean beach, which makes his piercing brown eyes stand out. It’s an unusual combination, but it works; he is stunning. Nevertheless, he is not available, so they need not bother–though they don’t know any better. I try to remember a time when I let someone from outside the family in. It was Ashley. She was an exceptional woman, although we never did share the family secret with her. She knew we were different, just not how different. Since her passing, I have tried to keep others at a distance, and I have been good at it–until now. Nathania
l is different from others. Nathanial appears genuine and truly interested in me. He wants to know everything he can find out about me. I feel his brain working overtime in an attempt to figure me out. There is another reason I must stay away from him: he is special, and I want to keep him safe–safe from harm and safe from me!
When lunch rolls around, Alexander and I find Matilda and Danika in the cafeteria quite easily. No one ever seems interested in joining our table.
I freeze with surprise. “Are you kidding me?” I ask quietly.
Alexander stops and asks, “You okay, sis?”
“It is just Nathanial. I know you said to give him a chance, but I’m still reluctant.
He’s everywhere. I can’t seem to shake him, and I feel like he may be the one to get everything out of me. I want to be near him. I like him, and I want to know him. I just don’t trust myself with him, and now he is sitting with the girls.” I let out a sigh.
“I still think it’s a good idea to get to know him, but be careful, Sophia. You don’t want to give in to your temptations. We are here to help you control yourself.”
Alexander reassures me as we continue to the table where Matilda and Nathanial are sitting, deep in conversation.
Danika appears to be smitten with Nathanial as well and is flirtatiously twisting and twirling her vibrant red hair on her index finger.
We reach the table, and Nathanial stops mid sentence. “Hey, Sophia. I met your sister in Advanced Trig. I hope you don’t mind me joining your family for lunch?”
“No, that’s fine. We have lots of room, but your teammates over there look a little confused.”
I figure I can try being more pleasant and friendly. Nathanial is a good guy, and it might be nice having him around.
Nathanial begins fidgeting with the ketchup bottle that is on the table. “Your sister invited me to join you for lunch. She sure thinks highly of you.”
With a slight glare, I look over at Matilda. “Do I dare ask why you think that?”
“Never mind. I don’t want you getting an ego,” she interrupts and smiles.
I can tell by Matilda’s mannerisms that Nathanial is trying to gather as much information about me as possible. Lucky for him, Matilda is overly friendly and spills just enough to keep him interested.
Matilda whispers to me, “I get the feeling he is hard to keep secrets from. He is the type of person everyone wants to confide in.”
“Yes, me included. There’s just something about him that caught my attention right off. I don’t even understand why.”
Nathanial is very compelling. After knowing him for only a little under a month, Matilda admits to opening up a little about our family dynamics. “Danika is the newest member to join the family. We are not related by blood. Alexander and I fell in love, and we are accepted as a couple within the family rather than siblings. This is okay since we weren’t raised together nor officially adopted.”
I am shocked she is revealing so much; I guess I’m not the only one that needs to be careful around him. His ability to relax others and extract information from them is unfathomable, and getting any of us to open up so willingly is an extraordinary feat indeed.
“May I try to explain?” requests Danika.
With complete surprise, Matilda encourages, “It would be wonderful to hear your point of view.”
Danika looks for approval from the rest of us as she begins. “Our family was not raised together. We came together later in our lives. We had nowhere to go, and the Pierces took us in. They have raised us ever since. Only Sophia and Alex are related by genetics. From what they have told me, it was evident from day one that Alexander and Matilda belonged together.”
Talking about the others and their relationships, I begin feeling a little lonely. I have been alone for so long now. I had stopped believing my soul mate even exists until I met Nathanial. Sitting across the table from his incredible scent, I find myself contemplating the possibility that my soul mate is right here in front of me. I know Matilda has a keen sense about souls and is always searching for someone special for me. She has this gift of seeing inside people’s souls and can tell if they belong together.
Until now, she has never had any luck finding someone for me. From the look on her face, I can tell she feels differently now. This cannot be a good thing, no matter how much I want it to be true. There is no way he is the one. Our differences are too much to handle in a relationship. It will never work out, at least not in a good way. He may be right for me, but I am more than wrong for him. I try to clear these thoughts from my head. I do not want to raise any more questions and should pay attention to the conversation going on around me.
With my siblings near, I decide to throw away my inhabitations and be myself. The five of us goof around. We click really well, laughing and joking around. It makes it easy to forget about the entire school watching us, and I even relax a little. It feels good to loosen up and not be so tense around Nathanial. I am beginning to see myself in a new light with him around. Trying to make normal conversation while still checking up on our new sister, I ask, “How are you enjoying high school so far Danika? Are you making any friends?”
“I really like it here. People are very friendly, and nothing has been too difficult yet.”
“That’s great to hear. I am always here if you need help with anything.” We all understand the subliminal talk, but we don’t want Nate catching on. I’m even beginning to relax a little with Danika. Maybe I should give her a chance; she is trying very hard.
The bell rings, signaling the end of lunch period. We gather our belongings and prepare to finish our day. I look over to Alexander, and we silently agree that a sit-down with Danika is in order. It has been a month, and we need to make sure she is handling everything alright. I will try to give her the benefit of doubt. She may be mentally stronger than I ever thought.
Chapter Seven
Dinner
Gathering around the mahogany dining table for our daily meal, I decide to share about the past month of school. “This guy in a few of my classes Nathanial, or Nate as everyone calls him, concerns me. He seems to relax all of us and release our inhibitions.
I’ll admit I’m extremely attracted to him and can’t get his scent out of my head. I am concerned about what he may learn or what I may do because of this somewhat embarrassing infatuation.”
“I must agree with Sophia. There is something unusual about him, something alluring and disarming. Although I really like him, he is kind, and Sophia’s and his souls match better than any I have seen before,” Matilda adds as she pours a ladle full of the blood gazpacho Florence has prepared for dinner into her bowl.
In his traditional fatherly tone, Elijah says, “We should meet this boy then, to ensure the safety of the family.”
“There is a football game tomorrow night. He’s the quarterback,” I announce, slightly blushing.
Elijah grins. “It’s settled then. We’ll attend the game as a family. What about the rest of you? How has school been working out?”
We all look at Danika, waiting for her response. She is quick to oblige. “I love it there. Oh, Sophia forgot to mention how cute Nathanial is too.”
“Seriously? You’re thinking about that? You are new to this lifestyle, and we have just begun to integrate you back into society. I think you have bigger concerns than a cute boy.” My frustration with Danika’s adolescent outlook is quick to take over.
“Oh relax a little, Sophia. I am just a teenager, and I want to enjoy being one while I really am.”
Why did we have to welcome her into our family? She just knows how to get under my skin, and I don’t trust her. As I eat my dinner, I try to calm myself and avoid jumping across the table to strangle her. I wonder if she deserves more credit than I have been giving her, but I realize I just can’t give it to her.
Alexander gives me a little look. “I think Danika has been doing very well. She has not had a difficult time dealing with temptation and she has maintai
ned our cover.”
“Thank you, Alexander. It has been difficult at times. I just don’t want to disappoint any of you. Sophia already hates me and this family is all I have. Constance could have left me outside the hospital that night to fend for myself or so someone else would claim me. I am happy to have a second chance.”
“Danika, I’m sorry. I do not mean for you to think that I hate you, although I understand it may seem that way. I guess I’m just having a hard time letting someone in after losing Caspian and Ashley.”
With wide eyes searching for approval, Danika begins to plead, “I understand, but don’t you think if I was going to do something to harm this family, Constance would have seen it?”
“She’s right. I only saw her as part of our family, ever since the night I found her. I think we all need to regroup as a family unit. This should be a memorable experience for all of us. Being back in Wenham again will bring us closer together.” Constance begins to clear the table as Florence brings in dessert.
“Anyone interested in some blood sorbet? I infused the donor bags with citrus to give it a nice twist.”
We all dig in. Florence is an amazing chef, and after so many years of having to feed directly from the source, she has come up with many new ways for us to feed.
“Florence how is our blood supply? Should I order more from the Hematology clinic?” Isaac offers.
“No. I think we are alright for human blood, but maybe you boys should get some more animal blood tonight. I like to mix the two so we don’t cause a shortage with the blood banks. That could raise suspicions.”
I admire Florence so much. She’s meant to be a mother, always ensuring things are in order. I smile just thinking about her. “Can I come? I could use a night out hunting.”
“Sure. Why don’t you help me gather the materials?” Isaac suggests.