Chosen or Cursed

Chapter 3

PRI

I’m running in the direction of my house, as fast as I can, usually before this crazy night that is, running was something that while I enjoyed, was never really good at. That had been because had two left feet, asthma, and had been overweight. But now, everything was different and I felt like I was flying. My feet were a blur, barely touching the ground. I had the lightest footsteps, which seemed to spring from the ground thoughts of jumping through the clouds playing in my head nonstop. I had never really thought about a vampire running, but if I had I would have assumed they didn’t get winded, I mean their undead how could that happen. And I guess I wasn’t really winded per say, my lungs did however feel like they were over worked to the point of pain. The pain was slight and my mind kept having to remind me that it was a bad thing because my body seemed to be asking for more. I was slicing through the wind. Running for my life, as if a crazy man was cashing me, and being that I could be running for my life at this very moment it seemed appropriate. I was scared and yet every part of me felt happy, a giddy happy, and I must have looked like on was on the verge of madness.

I got the edge of my yard right as the sun was coming up, and while I had started thinking about slowing down about a block away, but apparently I hadn’t thought about it enough. My body hit the door so hard the whole thing imploded, leaving splintered wood everywhere, me standing just inside the entryway my hands cupped over my mouth. My mother who had never been good at waking up before, must have woken up in 3.5 seconds flat for the first time in her life and could be heard screaming over and over and over again as if she was beating to death and she was all the way in her bedroom. Great, it’s a good thing I wasn’t trying to be subtle or anything, don’t want the whole family finding out you’re a blood sucking demon girl pri, do we?. My step-father came out of their bedroom, gun in hand and my not so little, little-sister stood just inside of the kitchen not even trying to hide her mouth which hung wide open.

"Hi!" I said with an awkward wave of my hand. I heard my mom come up to the entryway of her bedroom and saw her head peek out so slightly. It disappeared just as quickly as it had peeked out though and then there was the sound of a thud as she hit the floor. And She fainted.

Here are all the things I hadn’t thought about in my extreme dash towards my house. First, of course I hadn’t thought I was going to come in busting the front door ok that one was pure stupidity. There is also the fact that I looked like I had lost almost 100 lbs. in under ten hours, and to that the fact that I’m glowing a very pale yellow, definitely not the tanned caramel color I had been when I had left for my date, and I am beyond sure my family can see the difference. What worse is that as I mention all those really important facts that I hadn’t thought about, the one fact I had, which really didn’t seem to matter right now, was the fact that I was so far past curfew, I was sure that my mother was going to ground me. Could I be any more of a geek?

My family hadn’t moved an inch, well since they had run to my mom and helped her sit up that is. They weren’t saying anything, and after thinking through that list of ways I looked different I really had no idea what to say. When my step-dad, who we called Popi finally decided to speak I almost jumped, "What happened to you?”

That…ok…yes…sir…that was a really appropriate question, but let me just stand here with my head shaking from side to side, mouth grapping open and closing shut because now I need to add that to the things I hadn’t thought about, and I have no idea how to answer him. What was worse was the fact that I had assumed they were all going to be really angry with me at this point, and no one looked angry at all. All I saw was worry on their faces, ok and maybe some shock on my sisters. He looked like he could see how much had changed in me over night and that was it for me, all I could handle from this horrible night. Tears started streaming down my face, my body shook almost uncontrollably and even though in all reality I was the victim and had done nothing wrong. I mean none of this was my fault. Yet, somehow I feel like an awful daughter.

"I'm fine-"I started, trying to get a hold of myself.

But Jasmin interrupted me before I even got a chance to think about a lie, "No you’re not, are you dying?" Guess she's talking about my weight, or my odd color, wonder what she would do if I told her it was too late for that?

"I'm not dying, I know I look different, but can I just go to my room for now."

"What? You bust through the door, wake us all up, look like you been on drugs or worse all night, and you think you’re just going to get off like that?" My sister was shrieking at this point, but I didn’t have answers to their questions. I hadn’t thought about any of this. I had been so busy trying to figure out what was going on with me, and how it was going to affect me in the future that I hadn’t thought about how all of this was going to affect them. And standing here bouncing my mouth and bobbing my head wasn’t going to solve anything, I needed to think.

"Let her go," we all turn to my mom, who was still on the floor leaning back propped up on her elbows. she was trying to stand with some effort and Popi was trying to help, but she kept brushing his hands away. As much as I don't understand why she is telling everyone to leave me alone, I wasn’t going to stand there and wait for her to change her mind. I had to think of what to tell them, find out where I was going, and I needed to be alone to do it.

My room looked the same. Realistically it should, being that I hadn’t changed anything in it since I was here last, but when you feel as different as I do, it feels like everything around me should be different too. Not able to shake that feeling, I made my way across my room to my computer desk. Hoping to continue my investigation but I just couldn’t. I kept seeing the way my step dad had looked at me. He knew something was different. They would all know soon, and what was I supposed to tell them. There were no more tears in me. I just felt angry, angry that this had happened to, angry that he was gone, angry that apparently I was supposed to be something special and now I will never get a chance to do that. They had stolen everything from me, and left me behind. The surge of anger all but consuming me I stand up and started tearing my boy band posters off the wall. Tearing my monthly planners and college plans down. Probably sounds dumb but it was something I could control. And that made me feel a little better. It left my room in shambles and my mind still running but at least it was a choice that I made. I know that I won’t be able to stay with my family anymore, they already know somethings wrong. I can’t let them find out what I’ve become. I have to let it all go.

It seems I haven’t been able to turn my mind off since this craziness started, and I’m just walking through the steps. Like a mindless drone, I turned my slow computer on. The slow computer that had the even slower internet connection. And start searching for the sugarloaf mountains. Being that we live in Florida and really who would have thought that a state that is barely above sea level would have anything resembling a mountain. I was fairly certain that nothing was going to turn up. But low-and-behold after my computer waiting almost a full ten minutes to load, and almost directly in the middle of the state, only an hour and a half away, there they were. How can I have lived here for my whole life and not know we had something people called a mountains, I actually can't wait to see this, and even thought this is true I felt sad as soon as I processed it. I have to say goodbye to my family. This may be the last time I see them. Knowing that she’s either gone back to bed, or it still ragging mad at me I sneak to my sisters room, trying to not make a sound as to avoid my mom and Popi who are huddled around what used to be our front door.

It’s still pretty early so she settled back into her bed, she wasn’t sleeping only looking up to the ceiling. "Hi again," I say. But she turns over on her side away from me and being that she had no reason to be angry with me I couldn’t hold back the attitude it brought out of me. "Did I do something to you?"

"No," she responds and I guess she thought about it for a moment and decided that she really didn’t have a reason to be angry because she turned back towards me. "What happened to you?"

"Well, it’s a long story," and it is, and even though it probably isn’t the smartest move because what reason would she have to believe me, I don’t hold back, I tell her the truth, the whole truth; vampires, Gabriel, ghost, annoying rhyming seers. She stayed quiet the entire time not even changing the expression on her face, even when I told her that I was kind of a vampire myself now. With every ounce of my story rambled out I look at my sister waiting for a response.

"You were doing drugs," she said decidedly, as if that explained everything and I can’t say that I had expected her to believe me, but even through that truth it angers me to no end, she was my sister. The only person other than Gabriel that knew everything about me and her response leaves me with such a heat that I start to feel my canine teeth pull down painfully from my top set of teeth. They poke their way into my lower lip. Fangs, I have fangs, and I know my sister sees them because her eyes are wider than I ever thought was possible, which is weird because she already has gigantic eyes. And I start to scream.

"Believe me now?" I shriek holding back another yell, and my sister nods her head.

"What are you going to do?" She ask as if I hadn’t asked myself that same question 100 times over.

Trying to push my fangs back up where they belong I stab myself on their sharpness "Owe, I don’t know I guess I’m going to find wherever these people like me are, and then I'll figure it out from there." I had my whole life planned out, down to the hammock, and now here I am, walking through every moment having no idea what I'm going to do.

"How are you even going to get there?” It probably seemed really weird right then but I couldn’t hold back a smile at that question. If she had seen me running this morning she wouldn’t even have to ask. But then she’s grinning at me too.

“What?” I asked bewildered.

“I know how we can get you there.” And I’m about to protest because I think I know exactly what she's alluding to, but the mischievous grin of my lovingly awful sister makes me smile even more. While I had always been stuck in my own world getting good grades, my little sister was always the one with a plan as to how to get what she wanted in that moment. She had made a copy of my mom’s car keys a few months back, and now she was reaching in her side draw and I knew exactly what she wanted to do. Maybe I didn’t have to give everyone up just yet. My sister had heard everything that I had to say and here she was dangling keys in front of me wanting to help.

"I don't even know if I can go outside, I mean I am a vampire and all.” I protest thought its only slightly “ I mean, I know I’m a different kind of one, but-."

"Then let’s find out," She jumps up and I don't even have time to tell her no, as my sister grab the strings to her window blinds and yanks. I just sit there shielding my eyes, the sun streaming in. I learn two things; I can be in the sun yay, and I must be the worst vampire ever, my little sister got over on me, aren’t I supposed to have supper quickness and intuition and everything else in between. I just sat there. And now I can’t even be angry with her because she helped me sort of, and risked me in the process. “What if that had killed me?”

“But it didn’t.” And somehow though that’s true that doesn’t make me feel any better but I leave it alone.

I sneak back to my room to start printing the directions to where were going, but on the way there I see that my parents have left, probably to go get stuff to fix the door. Thankfully they’ve taken Popi’s car and I guess we are never going to get a better time to run away. I hurry, get what we need, and my sister and I head out. We head out in my mom’s stolen car, after I just busted in their door, using a set of keys my mom had no idea existed. And to think, I am the good sister.

"We gotta stop as his mom’s house first, I want to make sure that she knows he's ok," thankfully my sister knows who I’m talking about, because I really don’t feel like using his name right now, or anytime in the near future for that matter.

"But he's not ok, he's a ragging lunatic vampire who tried to kill you,"

"He would never have been that way if this hadn’t of happened to us," I defend, but it comes out in a whisper, he hasn’t been gone that long but honestly, I really miss him. "Please just go to his house."