SHADOWS

She Resist

JASON

Georgia finally stopped trying to break free as she realized I was right. The chains were unyielding and she was exhausting herself. Reagan stared at her sister, hoping that Georgia would recognize her at the very least while Morgan stood beside Reagan, as she bent down.

"Georgia, it's me, Reagan." Reagan whispered, "Your sister" she continued, trying to move closer. Georgia looked at her and I saw a flicker of familiarity in her eyes. But it was obvious that she didn’t know who Reagan was. This was probably the consequence of using the stone. It felt as though the stone had frozen her memories, even though we didn’t seem completely unfamiliar to her.

Carson walked back upstairs, without a word. Morgan followed him, trying to reason with him as usual. I knew she followed him because she wanted to reassure him that we had made the right call. But I knew it’s futile,Carson always dealt with logic, never his heart.

He would never have agreed to bring Georgia back and I could already imagine what he would have said if we’d asked him. He would probably say "What's the point of bringing her back to life if there's a chance she'll never recognize any of us?"

Hailey would had spend months trying to convinced him to give it a chance, to give Georgia a chance. But now, as Reagan tried to reconnect with her sister, it seemed we had intentionally brought back our old pain.

Reagan continued to show Georgia pictures, hoping to spark a memory. Georgia stared curiously, scanning the images Reagan showed her. I could see she was really trying to remember, but I knew it was hopeless. The stone wouldn't let her remember. It was a second chance at life, not a continuation of the old one. We had known this, but we didn't want to start all over again. We all wanted the Georgia we once knew, but now, looking at her, I realized that might be impossible.

GEORGIA

I watched as the girl claiming to be my sister desperately showed me pictures and played videos, hoping I would remember something. But every time I looked at the images, I felt like I was failing her. I was failing the beautiful man standing beside her, too. I just couldn't recollect anything.

The girl's eyes sparkled with tears as she showed me a picture of two girls. I guessed the lady with the brunette hair, smiling cheerfully, was meant to be me. I stared at the picture again and all I could admit was that the two girls in the picture were beautiful.

Reagan's hair fell on her shoulders as her head tilted toward the ground. I felt like she was about to cry, but she didn't. Instead, she moved closer to me and kissed my forehead. Her hands began to loosen the chains that bound me.

"Reagan, what are you doing?" the beautiful man questioned.

"There's no point tying her up," Reagan replied. "Hailey isn't even in the house."

I guessed Hailey was a friend they all cared about, a human being friends with vampires. I laughed at the thought and then I remembered she was the one who raised me from the dead. She had done something with her hands before I was unconscious.—She was a witch.

My eyes widened as the realization dawned on me. "Thank you," I said, as Reagan freed my hands. Reagan climbed up the stairs and I followed, accompanied by the beautiful man named Jason. As we walked, my eyes landed on Carson, whose sky-blue eyes seemed to bore into my soul. So far, he seemed to be the only one not excited to see me.

I intentionally made a mocking expression, which threw him off guard. I could sense Jason saw it, and he smiled because of it

SCENE

"Since you brought her back to life, I hope you have a better plan to introduce her back to the town, where everyone knew her to be dead. Or are you planning to tell everyone she was raised from the dead?" Carson asked.

Morgan replied before Jason could, "We have it figured out, Carson. She'll be Georgia's long-lost cousin from California."

Carson laughed at the plan. "And what's her name? Or are you planning on letting everyone know there's a way to bring back dead vampires?" The room fell silent, with all eyes on Carson.

Reagan spoke up, breaking the silence. "Lexie. We'll call her Lexie ."

Carson rolled his eyes. "Of course, because that's not a suspicious name at all." He shook his head and walked away.

MORGAN

I watched as Carson walk away, I wondered what I had ever seen in him. We once had a brief fling in the past which was nothing but a mistake. I couldn't believe Hailey had been sleeping with him and loving him for the past four or five years. If only Georgia had her memories, she would never believe that Hailey, of all people, could eventually fall in love with Carson. They had hated each other for so long. I shook my head, chuckling to myself.

I guessed the s*x must still be good, because that was the only thing Carson was good for.

I turned my attention back to Georgia. I smiled, feeling a wave of sympathy for my friend, losing her memories is the biggest punishment she’s going to face, she had no idea what she has happened in the past nor what occurred over the last eight years.

Flashback to 2016

I caught Carson feeding on a student at the party, his fangs sunk deep into her neck. I quickly pulled him away, scanning through the empty room to make sure no one had seen anything.

"Carson, what are you doing?" I screamed in his ear as the party music covered up my voice .

Carson smiled, wiping the blood from his lips. "I'm always careful, Morgan. I've been a vampire for over an hundred years. I think I know how to keep a low profile, sweetheart." He swiftly adjusted the girl's hair, then bit into his own flesh and fed the girl his blood. "None of this happened," he whispered, erasing her memory. "You were dancing at the party all night long."

I stood there, watching as Carson compelled the girl to forget what had happened before she walked away."I might have been a vampire for just three months, but that doesn't mean I can't caution you."

Carson smiled, zooming in front of me with supernatural speed. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you couldn't stop yourself from stalking me." He moved a bit closer, his face now few inches from mine. "How did you find me?" He uttered as his hands moved towards my jaw. "I was barely in here with her for a minute. You didn't discover me by accident. You came here looking for me" he paused while i glare at his hands which brushed pass my lips.

My breath rose as he continued. "But I can't imagine why Morgan Green would come looking for me, unless..." He paused then his smile grew wickedly. "Oh no, is there a chance Morgan Green as interest in little old me?" He chuckled with the lust in his eyes, like he was proud of the possibility.