Chosen (Book #4 of the Vampire Legends) (8 page)

“Oh, they didn’t
mention anything about their other children. I just know about the three kids,”
the man said.

“Well, I only
lived here a few months before I left for boarding school,” Rachel said.

“Interesting,
they never mentioned that,” the man said.

“Well, it’s not
really a big deal anyway,” Rachel said.

“So, where did
they move to anyway?” Rachel asked, trying to get to the bottom of this story.

“They mentioned
something about going back home,” the man said.

“Home?” Rachel
questioned.

“Yeah, to
Pennsylvania, I think,” the man replied.

“But why? Did
they say?” Rachel asked, hoping to find the answers.

“Well, they just
said that since the death of their daughter, things just haven’t been the same
for them. They said they should never have moved up here in the first place,”
he answered.

“Oh,” Rachel
said, with a sigh. “So, they went back to Pennsylvania, did they?”

“Yes, that’s what
they said. I don’t know for sure, but you can call them, they did leave their
number, just in case anything should go wrong. But I assume you have their
phone number. I don’t know why I’m telling you this,” the man said.

“Actually, I lost
it. Maybe you could give it to me again?” Rachel said. She figured that even
though she did have their cell phone numbers, she would be able to tell where
they moved if he gave her their home phone number. If it was the same area
code, then she would know they went back to Pennsylvania.

“Sure. Hold on a
moment while I grab it. Why don’t you come in for a moment,” the man said,
ushering her inside the kitchen door.

“Ok, thanks,”
Rachel said.

As she got inside
the kitchen and took one look around, she couldn’t believe her eyes. The
kitchen was completely different. It has been remodeled and looked nothing like
the ugly kitchen it was before. She remembered the smell of the kitchen and the
fact that she hated this house. Now, looking around, she thought it actually
looked good. Now she wished it were still her house.

Rachel walked to
the entrance of the kitchen where it leads into the other parts of the downstairs
to sneak a quick peak at the place. It, too had been remodeled and looked
better than ever. All the hideous paint colors and awkwardly configured rooms
had been changed and reconstructed. She couldn’t believe how much work this new
family had done on the place. Perhaps they were trying to clear the air,
cleanse the place after the “death” of the girl that lived that before.

Thinking about
that, she was surprised that this family actually bought the house. She
wouldn’t ever buy a house that someone had died in, she thought to herself.
That would be pretty creepy and scary. She was actually questioning why they
bought this house anyway, especially in the shape it had been in. It was awful,
really awful. Everything about it was ugly. She assumed they must have been desperate,
or that her parents sold it for a good price. Those would be the only reasons
someone would buy an ugly house from a family whose child had died.

“Here it is,
young lady. What did you say your name was again. In case they call, I can tell
them you stopped by,” the man said as he handed her a piece of paper with a
phone number on it.

Rachel dodged the
question, she didn’t want to repeat her name, especially now. She knew she had
to leave quickly before he asked her again.

“You can use our
telephone if you need to,” he said nicely.

“Oh no, that
won’t be necessary. I have my cell,” Rachel said as she put the folded piece of
paper into her pocket and turned to walk out the door.

“What was your
name again?” the man asked again.

“I should really
get going now,” Rachel said awkwardly, trying to dodge his question.

“All right, well
I’ll let them know you stopped by then next time I hear from them,” the man
said.

“It’s ok, you
don’t have to do that. I will call them now,” Rachel said, trying to evade him
again.

 “Thanks for
stopping by,” the man said with a smile. “Tell your family we say hello!”

“Will do!” Rachel
said. “Bye now!”

She quickly
exited through the sliding glass door of the kitchen and into the back yard.
She didn’t quite know where to go from there. She knew her family had moved but
she didn’t know where they had gone. She couldn’t believe they would move and
not tell her, but in their defense, they thought she had died. Which saddened
her, too. She didn’t realize they thought she was dead. She was shocked. What
would they do if they ever saw her again? She thought to herself.

She then
remembered the phone number, and took it out of her pants pocket and unfolded
the piece of paper. She couldn’t believe her eyes. It was the exact same phone
number that she had when she lived in Pennsylvania. It couldn’t be, she thought
to herself as she looked again at the phone number. It was the same.

Could they have
bought back our old house and moved back in? Did they realize they made a
mistake by moving to New York? What about my dad’s new job? Is he working back
at his old company? What about Marc, is he back at our old school?

So many questions
were swarming around in Rachel’s head. She couldn’t believe that they’d moved.
She was still in shock by the whole thing. Then, her mind went back to Benji
and the kaleidoscope. She had forgotten for a moment why she even went back to
Bedford in the first place. Now, she knew it would be even harder for her to
find it. She didn’t know what to do. She felt at a loss.

Chapter
12

Rob drove his
blue Audi all the way to Syracuse from the party that night. He didn’t want to
wait any longer to find Sarah. He knew she would have the answers to finding
Rachel. He knew she would be able to tell him her whereabouts.

As he pulled up
to the campus, it was raining. His windshield wipers were on so fast, he could
barely see the road in front of him. He stopped short at a crosswalk, almost
hitting a group of coeds, crossing the street.

Rob rolled down
his window and said, “Hey, where you guys headed?”

He had a good
feeling this group knew where the cool parties were that night and he assumed
that Sarah would be at a party. He remembered her from high school, always
doing the “it” thing and always hanging with the popular crowd.

“We’re going to
the Sammy party,” one girl said, smiling.

“Where you headed
sexy?” another girl asked.

Rob looked back
at her without flinching. This wasn’t the first time he’d been hit on before in
this manner, it was fairly common for him. Girls’ couldn’t seem to keep their
hands off him these days.

“I’m looking for
someone,” Rob said.

“Who, maybe we
can help?” the girl asked.

“Sarah Woods. Do
you know here? She’s a freshman,” Rob said.

“You mean
S-Dawg?” the girl said with a laugh.

“Uh..?” Rob said.

“Of course we
know her. We’re rushing the same sorority together!” the girl replied.

“Well, where is
she?” Rob asked in a hurry. “I have to find her!”

“What’s the rush
Dude?” the girl said. “Come hang out with us!”

“I really need to
find her. Please tell me where she is,” Rob said.

The girl took out
her cell and started to text her. “I’m texting her, hold on.”

“Will she be at
the party? If so, I’ll just meet you girls there,” Rob asked impatiently.

“I don’t know.
Last I heard she wasn’t feeling well, but I don’t know really,” the girl said.

The girl looked
down at her buzzing phone and said, “She’s at her dorm getting ready.”

“What dorm?” Rob
asked.

“She’s in
Brewster,” the girl said, still smiling and batting her eye lashes.

“Brewster?
Where’s that?” Rob asked.

“Just go down
that road and make a left and you will see it right there. You can’t miss it,”
the girl answered.

“Thanks so much,
see you later,” Rob said.

“I hope so!” the
girl said seductively.

Rob speed away
towards Brewster Hall, in hopes of finding Sarah there so that he could talk to
her and find Rachel. He was desperate and needed to see her right away. He
craved for her and missed her like he had never missed anyone before.

He pulled into a
parking spot outside the dorm, got out of the car and headed into Brewster
Hall. It was an all-freshman dorm and it was evident. He saw packs of freshman
walking in groups up and down the hallways of their dorms. As he passed some of
the rooms, the doors were all open and there were girls inside getting ready;
doing their makeup, and blow-drying their hair in their bathrobes. He passed
some guys rooms with their doors open and saw them playing XBOX and drinking
beers. How Rob longed for the college experience, but he’d been turned right
before he applied last year, and never got around to it. His life was turned
upside down and he didn’t get the chance to experience college.

He saw a girl
coming out of the bathroom on the third floor and said, “Do you know where
Sarah Wood’s room is?”

“Sarah who?” the
girl asked.

“Sarah Wood,” Rob
said again.

“Um..no, sorry.
Don’t know her,” the girl replied.

“K, thanks,” Rob
said as he walked away.

Then, he saw
another girl towards the end of the hall opening her dorm room with her key.

“Excuse me,” Rob
said. “Do you know where Sarah Wood’s room is?”

“Yeah, she’s on
floor 4,” she said.

“What room?” Rob
asked.

“She’s the one
next to the water fountain,” the girl said.

“Thanks!” Rob
said as he ran to the stairwell.

He ran up the
steps, skipping multiple steps with each stride. He couldn’t wait to get to her
room. He just had to find that water fountain then he would know which room was
hers.

“Hey, Cutie,” a
girl said who was about to enter the Women’s bathroom on the fourth floor.

Rob looked around
and didn’t see anyone else on the floor and then said, “Are you talking to me?”

“Who else would I
be talking to?” the girl said flirtatiously.

“Um..I don’t
know,” Rob said.

The girl walked
over to Rob and started touching his hair. “You’ve got sexy hair,” she said.

Rob pushed her
hand off of his head and said, “I’m sorry, I don’t know you.”

“Do you want to
get to know me?” the girl said, exposing more of his skin under the towel that
was wrapped around her body.

“I actually have
to…” Rob started to say and then he found himself being drug into the women’s
bathroom unwillingly by this girl. She started kissing his neck and his body
and trying to take off his clothes. She was one of the more aggressive girls
he’d ever met. Even more so than Arielle. He couldn’t believe it. Part of him
wanted to go along with this and score some action, but the other part couldn’t
get his mind off of Rachel. He couldn’t let himself do it. He had to leave, but
she wouldn’t let him.

She continued to
pull him into the bathroom stall and dropped her towel. She put her body right
into his face and he didn’t know what to do. Her scent overtook him and he
craved her blood. He desperately wanted to feed but knew he shouldn’t. He knew
if he turned this girl, then Syracuse University could really be in for it. He
couldn’t resist.

With one quick
bite in her neck, this girl lay on the floor dripping blood onto the tiles,
gasping for breath.

Rob quickly left
the scene and continued his search for Sarah’s room. He quickly came upon the water
fountain and then knew her room was near. He looked at the doors around it,
both were shut. He then looked closely at the pictures and names on the doors
and found her name in a bright orange smiley face. He assumed the RA probably
made it. He knocked softly on the door, trying not to draw attention to
himself. After all he didn’t want anyone to peg him as the “killer” in the
women’s bathroom. Not that he killed her or anything, it’s just that it would
look to the average person that she was dead—until she gathered her strength and
woke.

A girl came to
the door, but it wasn’t Sarah.

“Can I help you?”
the girl asked.

“Is Sarah here?”
Rob asked.

“Yeah, she’s
here,” the girl said as she opened the door wide so that he could see Sarah
inside.

“Come in,” Sarah
said from across the room.

As Rob entered
the small L shaped dorm room, his eye immediately went to the walls which were
adorned with Taylor Swift, Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus posters. Their
bedspreads were magenta with white lace and polka dots and they had a big shag
carpet in the middle of their beds. He’d never seen anything quite like this
before. He felt as if he’d stepped into a bubble gum pop world.

“Wait, what are
you doing here?” Sarah asked, as she caught a glimpse of Rob in her mirror.

“I came to see
you,” Rob said.

“Aren’t you that
guy from AHS?” Sarah said, looking a bit confused.

“Yes! Rob.
Remember me?”

“Um..I remember
your face, I’m just trying to place it…” Rachel said.

“Your sister.
Does that ring a bell?” Rob said.

“Oh, you’re the
guy that dated my sister for like a minute, right?” Sarah asked, in a valley
girl voice.

“I guess so. But
it was more than a minute,” Rob said feeling angry at that comment.

“Yeah, whatever,”
Sarah said, turning back to her mirror to put on her makeup. “What do you want
with me anyway?”

“Well, I need to
talk to you, it’s about your sister,” Rob said.

“Rachel?” Sarah
asked.

“Yeah,” Rob said.

“Why? Why must
you bring her up?” Sarah said, looking upset.

“I need to find
her and I need your help,” Rob said. “Your brother, Marc said you know where he
is.”

“Marc said what?”
Sarah said. “I could kill him!”

“What do you
mean?” Rob said.

“I don’t know
where she is, and even if I did, why would I tell you?” Sarah said sounding
angry.

“What do you mean
by that?” Rob asked.

“Well, if I
recall correctly, you broke Rachel’s heart. She really liked you and then, you
stood her up,” Sarah said, sticking up for her sister.

“Well, I um…” Rob
said.

“Don’t tell me
you’ve forgotten that!” Sarah reMarced. “Don’t tell me that you changed your
mind and want to be with her.”

“I have. I have!”
Rob said. “She’s all I can think about.”

“Well, get over
it. She’s moved on!” Sarah said.

“Moved on?” Rob
asked. “With who? Don’t tell me it’s that weird guy from the dance?”

“Listen, I don’t
know why you’re even here,” Sarah said. “You know nobody has seen her in a
year. I don’t know why you’ve come to ask me about her. It won’t do you any
good to stay here. I don’t have any answers for you.”

“Sarah, please!”
Rob said.

“Stop it! I don’t
want to talk about this anymore. Now leave!” Sarah said.

“I won’t leave
until you tell me what you know,” Rob said, getting angry. He could feel his
face turning red as the blood settled in his stomach. He could feel his body
longing for more. For more blood. He couldn’t understand why he was constantly
craving it, but he was. He looked at Sarah, and then looked at her roommate. He
wanted them badly. But he didn’t act on it. He couldn’t do it. He especially
couldn’t turn both of them at once. That would be a record for him.

Then, Rob stopped
and thought for a moment. If he turned Sarah, then maybe she would be on his
side. Maybe she would help him out. After all, he remembered when he was
turned, he needed Violet, he needed her to tell him what it meant to be a
vampire, and what all the changes were that were happening to his body. He
would do anything she asked him to so that she wouldn’t leave him behind. He
knew that if he turned Sarah, she, too, might be the same way. She might be
forced to tell him what she knows about Rachel. She would need him and thus, he
knew what he had to do.

“Where are you
going tonight?” Rob asked. “You’re getting awfully dressed up!”

“None of your
business!” Sarah said. “And anyway, you’re not invited.”

“I don’t quite
understand why you hate me so much?” Rob asked.

Rob looked at
Sarah and she stood there finishing up her mascara and fluffing her hair. He
waited for her to turn around.

“I’m sorry, Rob,”
Sarah said. “I just really don’t like to talk about Rachel and I feel that if
you stay, that’s all you’re going to ask about.”

“Well, I do want
to know,” Rob said again. “And I don’t know why you won’t tell me!”

“See, there you
go again. I knew you would keep asking,” Sarah said.

“Well…I have to
see her. It’s an emergency!” Rob said, trying to sound urgent.

“I’m leaving,”
Sarah said, as she put on her coat and heels.

“Wait, where?”
Rob asked again.

“Doesn’t matter,”
Sarah said, as she walked out of her dorm room and slammed the door leaving Rob
inside.

He stood there
and contemplated turning her roommate first. He looked back at her and then
over at the door. He didn’t know what to do. He took another look at the girl,
sitting at her desk, with her head turned away, staring at Facebook on her
computer. He ran his fingers through his hair and then without a second warning,
he leapt over towards her, lifted her up out of her chair, laid her on her bed
and sunk his teeth deep inside her. He held her mouth shut as she lay there
screaming. He waited until she stopped, to uncover it. He didn’t suck out all
her blood, because he wanted her to remain somewhat conscious so that she could
help him get to Sarah. He wanted to know where she was and what she knew about
Rachel, the love of his life, the only person he cared about.

“What’s your
name?” Rob asked the girl.

“Zara,” she replied.

“Zara, that’s a
pretty name!” Rob said, as he gazed into her eyes using mind control to erase
what had just happened to her. He didn’t want her to remember how he bit down
into her neck. He didn’t want her to remember him negatively, so he erased her
memory of that event.

“Thank,” Zara
said, smiling back at Rob.

“So, where’d your
roomie go?” Rob asked casually.

“Oh, Sarah. She
went to a frat party!” Zara said.

“A frat party
eh?” Rob replied. “Which one?”

“I think it’s a
Sammy party!” Zara said. “I was going to go, but then all of a sudden I started
to not feel so well.”

“Sammy?” Rob
asked. “Where’s that?”

“It’s on north
campus!” Zara said.

“Can you show
me?” Rob said.

“Well, I would
but I have this headache and burning feeling inside my stomach. I don’t think I
can go. I’m sorry,” Zara answered.

Rob took another
look at her and saw the blood oozing from her neck. He took his hand slowly and
wiped it off without her noticing. He then touched her body with his icy cold
hands, holding them steady over her and took the pain out of her body. He
wouldn’t let anything get in the way of his finding Sarah.

“Are you sure you
don’t feel well?” Rob asked, taking his hands off of her.

He watched as
Zara reassessed her body and her sickness. He then saw her crack a smile as she
stood up from her bed with ease.

“Actually, it’s
gone,” Zara said. “I feel completely find now. That’s odd!” she said, as she
walked over to her closet and picked out an outfit to wear.