Diary of a Vampeen (26 page)

“Oh,” I said, feeling foolish in my
mythical beliefs.

“It’s ok sweetie, you didn’t know,” my
mother advised.

“I didn’t know either,” my dad
added.

“Thanks dad. Umm, I know you want me
to stay close, but can I go for a walk in the neighborhood? I need
some fresh air.” I was ready to explore my environment with my
enhancements; scrutinize what I’d always overlooked, smell what I’d
never encountered, hear what once was muted and, most of all, feel
the exhilaration of driving a convertible by simply
sprinting.

“I would prefer you not sweetie. It’s
still very dangerous for you.”

“What if I go with her?” Kellan
offered.

My mother looked around at every adult
in the room obtaining approval with a quick nod before
agreeing.

“Let’s go!” I squealed grabbing
Kellan’s hand and running towards the door.

“Lexi,” he called pulling back on my
arm.

“Yea?” I asked puzzled over his
hesitation.

“Umm… shoes…” he smirked looking down
at my socks.

“Oh. Right.”

“You’re a very amusing vampeen,” he
laughed. His entire face glowed, eyes sparkled, and for a brief
second, I felt his energy project the love and laughter of a child.
I guess he really was entertained by me.

“Yea, yea,” I mocked and sped up to my
room for my shoes. Those were the only things that still fit
me.

Chapter 17

“I feel so exhilarated, so free,” I
exclaimed as I walked down the sidewalk with Kellan. “I feel
energetic, like I’m wide awake for the first time in my
life.”

“That’s good,” he said, placing his
hands in his pocket and lowering his head towards the ground
below.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he replied forcing a smile
my way.

“I know I was kind of born yesterday,
but I’m not stupid or blind. What’s wrong?” I repeated stopping
mid-step to face him.

“It’s silly.”

“I’m sure it’s not; now dish,” I
commanded with the same authority Mel held over me at
times.

Mel… my best friend, the one who
believed I was on an exotic vacation. She’s the one I needed most
in this situation yet she’s the last person I could talk to. I was
right in believing that things would change drastically, yet I
still underestimated the challenge. Looking at myself now, I
realized the complexity I faced in returning to school after merely
a couple weeks.

“It’s, uh… just… well...”

“Spit it out. I know I have forever,
but I don’t want to waste forever,” I teased.

“Wow, you’re feisty now!”

“Sorry. I guess I am a little
edgy.”

“Follow me. Or do you want me to carry
you?” he offered with a smirk and a wink.

“I can walk,” I quickly
claimed.

“Oh, we’re not walking. We’re
running,” the devilish part of him was glowing.

“Where to?”

“You’ll see.” And with that he took
off towards the woods lining the backyard of my
neighbors.

I sped off to catch up, but never
could get close enough. I was literally following the wind and his
shadow. Racing faster than any track star I’d seen, zig-zagging
between trees, we finally came upon a short dirt path. I slowed to
a brisk walk. I’d been trying to stay with Kellan to the point
where I ignored the thrill of the wind beating my face in a
pleasant way; I didn’t remember to enjoy my first sprint of
freedom.

The path led straight onto a golf
course that seemed oddly familiar. Observing my surroundings, I
realized it was the same course Kellan brought me to before. I
stood at the edge of the forest for several minutes listening, but
alas, nothing caught my ear – no crickets chirped, no birds sang,
no whispers carried from houses away and no wind rustled the leaves
like most days in fall. More alarming, I’d been trying to hear
nature so intently that I forgot to listen for Kellan who wasn’t
within view.

“Kellan,” I called walking onto the
mildewed grass.

I heard an awakening within the
forest. Something or someone was traveling like a bullet, like a
cheetah running on scent of his prey. Listening, the leaves on the
forest floor were flying up quickly. It’d been three seconds since
the noise erupted and already the sinking feeling within me sensed
it was coming for me.

Judging the distance based off a
muffled scattering, I realized I had three… two… one.

I closed my eyes, frozen, unable to
face whatever it was. Locking all joints in my body, I braced
myself for an attack from behind.

Cocking my head sideways I listened
but heard nothing once again. The disturbance that swept the woods
was gone. Reviewing my memory and calculations, I should have been
hit and hit hard by that thing.

I slowly turned to face the path I’d
arrived on, opening my eyes as I rotated and saw… nothing. My
stomach began to churn as I heard footsteps, faint but audible from
behind me. I inhaled jaggedly and returned to my previous position.
But again, nothing.

“What the heck is going on?” I
whispered to myself, creasing my brows attempting to rationally
plot my next move.

“Boo!”

“AHH!” I took off sprinting across the
field. The pace I did earlier was jogging compared to this.
Half-way across the open field of green turf I heard
him.

“Lexi!” Kellan called from behind
me.

I paused abruptly, chucking up a bit
of dirt and grass with my swift skid, and turned to see a clearly
amused Kellan smirking yet shaking his head in a disapproving
way.

“Kellan! That wasn’t funny!” I yelled
stomping across the green. Couldn’t he at least wait until boot
camp was over; until I was managing my new abilities
cohesively?

“You’re right,” he said seriously,
promptly standing to greet me. “We need to talk.”

“About what?” I demanded feeling
hot-headed.

“Lexi, why didn’t you run?” he
pressed.

“I froze, that’s all,” I replied
brushing off his concern.

“Lexi,” he stated sternly.

“Kellan.” I mimicked his
tone.

“Believe it or not, we’re more often
hunted than hunting. You failed survival instincts 101.”

“Can I repeat the course?” I smiled
wryly.

He took my face between his hands
gently. “Lexi, I’m being serious. Keira came for you. We scared her
off but she’s still here. I don’t want to lose you. I know you’re
enjoying the feeling of being indestructible, but trust me, you
aren’t,” he warned looking fiercely into my eyes.

I froze, like a deer caught in head
lights. She came for me. I’d never done anything to this crazy
vampire yet it’s her mission to destroy me because of my heritage,
something I couldn’t change. Now I empathized with the victims of
racism or hate crimes; I just struggled to comprehend that they
existed in the vamp world.

I didn’t know what came over me. Fear?
Anxiety? Relief? I burst into tears.

The overwhelming process of becoming a
vampeen didn’t end after your transformation. It’s like the army,
you don’t stop developing as a soldier after boot camp; you have to
continue learning and practice drills daily. I focused so much on
my transformation as the final step that I neglected the
adjustments I would need to make ongoing outside of Mel and
Mike.

Kellan carefully lifted my chin with
his hand, “Lexi. It’s ok.”

“I’m being silly, huh?” I blubbered
trying to choke back the unrelenting waterfall.

“No, you’re finally acting
normal.”

“What do you mean?”

“Lexi, the entire time your mom and me
explained this to you, you were Joe Cool. I freaked out for two
weeks straight. I became a mad man. You just took it in stride as
if this was always your destiny. It wasn’t natural.”

I didn’t say anything. Despite what he
said, more tears filled my eyes and trickled down my cheeks. I
couldn’t even look at him. I looked down fidgeting with my hands,
trying to discern my emotions.

“Enough of this,” he commanded. “Look
at me Lexi.”

I lifted my eyes to stare into his
though my head didn’t budge. Despite my water works, my vision
wasn’t blurry.

“Every waking minute this week I will
be with you. I am going to teach you,” he advised.

“But what about school? Don’t you
still have to go?”

“Not really. My parents will excuse me
for this.”

“How do you know all this anyways?
You’ve only been a vampeen for two months. Do you really learn that
quickly or am I just that stupid?” I pressed, on edge from how out
of control I felt.

“Promise not to be mad?” he asked
warily.

I just stared at him. I didn’t
acknowledge a ‘yes’ or ‘no.’

“Kiss me.”

“What?” I shook my head, caught off
guard. “Kellan, just tell me!”

“Kiss me first.”

“Why do I have to kiss you? Why can’t
you kiss me?” I challenged.

“Fine.” He grabbed my shoulders,
pulled me into him, wrapping his arms around me so I couldn’t move
back. He didn’t lean down and kiss me though; we just gazed into
each other’s eyes, a fiery, feisty appetite flaring between us. I
lifted my head but made no move to close the gap.

“Thought you were going to kiss me…” I
whispered, lost in our intense no-blinking match.

“Can’t I admire the apple I’m about to
eat?”

I chuckled. Playing along, I asked,
“And this apple. Is it red or green?”

“Red.”

“Why red?”

“Because it’s my favorite
color.”

“Oh.”

“Lexi?” he called softly.

“Yea?” I copied his volume.

“Please kiss me.”

I lifted myself into him and pressed
my lips to his gently. I put no force behind it; it was meant to be
nice. I didn’t linger and he didn’t pull me back in.

“Now,” I stated softly yet firmly,
“Tell me.”

“I’m not sixteen,” he said
cautiously.

“How old are you?” I asked stepping
back, breaking out of his embrace.

“Eighteen.”

“I thought you don’t lie?”

“I don’t! ….usually,” he
corrected.

“Why are you a sophomore with me
then?” I questioned, beginning to caution myself for his
response.

“Remember how I said I became a mad
man when my parents told me?”

“Yea…”

“Well, I literally became a mad man. I
went crazy. I was angry. I didn’t want this life. I’m not proud,
but I started going out a lot, dating several girls at once just
because I could. I was on a power trip. I eventually dropped out of
school. I was a mess. That’s why my parents moved me here. And
since I got here a month ago, I’ve been distracted by you. You keep
me going to school every day.”

“But I’ve only known you a little over
a week… I mean it feels like it’s been forever, but technically
it’s just a week,” I interjected.

“You’re mom told me about you when I
got here. She showed me your picture and I recognized you in
class.”

“Why didn’t you say anything sooner?”
Thinking rationally, recalling how silent and withdrawn he appeared
a week ago, I accepted this concept of his shy tendencies but
needed a verbal confirmation.

“You’re the only girl to ever make me
shy.”

“I
made
you
shy?” I wrinkled my forehead trying to process what he’d just
claimed.

“You’ve always been pretty, Lexi.
Maybe you weren’t for every guy, but in my eyes, you intimidated me
and I was a cocky guy upon arrival.”

“And you still are, but
I
really
need you
to stop lying.”

“A very feisty vampeen. You’re getting
sexier by the minute,” he grinned.

“Out of curiosity, just how many girls
did you date?” Knowing I had just kissed my first guy less than a
month ago, had never been on a date, and was fat until now, my
insecurities were bubbling beneath my surface.

“That’s not important,” he said, his
voice harsh and dismissive. “Let’s go.”

Here we go again with the dark and
mysterious thing. He wanted to know me and my past but secured his
own in an untouchable vault. “Why?” I demanded.

“Because in exactly fifty-three
seconds the sprinklers will turn on.”

“Not that. Water never hurt anyone.
Why won’t you tell me how many?”

“Twelve. I’ve dated twelve girls. Now
let’s go,” he answered pulling me just in time for the sprinklers
to lift out the ground. Seconds after we began running through the
woods, I heard the water begin to spray the fairway we stood on
moments before.

Back at my house everyone had
dispersed. My dad went to sleep, my mom and aunt were catching up
on CSI and Kellan’s parents went home.