"The only people's sex life I have interest in is yours and mine. And only if it's with each other." He chuckles, clearly appreciating his cleverness.
I roll my eyes. "Cute, Zac." Not to be conceited, but I'm used to guys showing interest in me. I'm not exactly your typical teenager, especially here in sunny, plastic California. My English accent makes me a bit more mysterious and exotic to those here. My hair is still long and dark–an enigma itself in a school full of blondes or those who pay to be blonde–as for my eyes, well, I no longer try to hide what being Cursed does to them - though I still take papa's elixir every once in a while to dim the red rim. Cursed Ones - or the effects of being Cursed - never existed for this generation, so I'm not worried about being 'discovered'. Besides, I like the fact that my eyes often reflect whatever color I happen to be wearing that day. Today, I have on a red tank top with faded jeans. My eyes held a red tint to them and that always catches attention from those around me.
My full lips are another feature the guys thought were fascinating - which Zac was currently demonstrating by alternating staring at them and my boobs.
"Hey, the invitation is always open," he replies.
"So you tell me every day. And, as I keep telling you, 'not going to happen'."
"Come on! What's holding you back? I'm hot, you're hot. It's a match made in heaven!"
"And that's exactly why it'll never happen, Zac," I shot back. "You're too into yourself. How can any girl compete with that?"
I hear a few snickers around us and Zac mumbles something I don't quite catch. But, my attention is not on him anymore. I have that feeling of being watched, and I glance up to notice that Mr. Galloway is staring at me. The look on his face is odd to say the least, and when I turn my full gaze on him, he doesn't even make the effort to look away. Maybe he thinks I can't see him in the dark classroom. But, I can. And, the way he's looking at me is making me uncomfortable.
"Could that class be any more boring?" The bell finally rings and Amanda catches up with me as I hurry out the door. As usual she's complaining. Amanda has been my best friend since I moved here two years ago. I love her, but she complains about practically everything! Everything is too boring or too hard or too this and too that. I try to tell her to just take life in stride, and not let things that don't really matter get to her. But, then I'm 'too uncaring' and never on her side. Sigh.
"Probably not," I reply, hoping I said the right thing to appease her. When she slides me a sideways glance and grins I grin back and take a small breath of relief. I am still feeling a bit unnerved by Mr. Galloway to pay much attention to Amanda anyway. I am trying to take my own advice of not letting things get to me, but there was something too familiar in the look. I just don't know what it was.
"Hello? Earth to Ana." Amanda stands next to her locker–not sure how we got there–her hand on her hip and her toe tapping. "I just told you the greatest news ever and you're ignoring me!"
I put my weird teacher out of my mind and focus on my best friend who is clearly annoyed with me. "I'm not ignoring you, Amanda," I say, trying to sound sincere. "I just spaced out for a minute. What was the greatest news ever?"
She just stands there for another moment and stares at me. I match her stare, smile and wait. Amanda never stays annoyed at me for long, but she always makes sure I know when I screw up.
"I said Robby asked me to the movies on Friday." She stops tapping her toe and squeals in delight. "Can you believe it! I mean, you said he would, but I didn't believe you!"
"I keep telling you I'm always right, but you never listen." I grin at her and do her little happy dance with her in the middle of the hallway. It's a little foolish, but it's worth it to see how happy she is (plus it gives me extra points in the best friend category and I need all of those I can get).
"Yeah, yeah, you're always right, Ana." She rolls her eyes a little, but she's still smiling from ear to ear. "So, what should we see? I mean, I know I can't go see a 'chick-flick'. That's what I have you for." She bumps my hip with hers as we walk towards the cafeteria for lunch. "I don't really like action or horror movies, but I don't really care what we see 'cause I'm going to the movies with Robby!"
I listen to her babble on and on about what she was going to wear, how to wear her hair, how she didn't know if she could eat in front of him. Amanda has had a crush on Robby since the second grade and now that he's finally asked her out she was all but floating.
"Amanda." I don't want to interrupt her euphoria, but I notice that Mr. Galloway is in the cafeteria. Normally it wouldn't be weird to see teachers in the cafeteria during lunch, but never Mr. Galloway. He is notorious for bringing a ham and cheese sandwich, plain potato chips and a Diet Coke in a plain paper bag. Every day. Every day, except today. Today he is standing near the door, watching. He's watching me with that same odd look he had earlier in his class. Amanda is still talking, obviously oblivious to Mr. Galloway or my interruption. "Amanda!" I hiss sharply.
She looks at me with an odd expression, but that look I understand. I heard the power in my voice, too. I hadn't meant to sound so harsh, but I needed to get through her endless babble. "What? What's wrong?"
"Don't look, but Mr. Galloway is in here." We're standing in line waiting for our turn to see what today's mystery food was, and I nod slightly towards the double doors of the lunchroom.
Amanda takes her time and nonchalantly glances in the direction I nodded. She looks a little surprised to see him, but I don't think it was a good enough excuse to cut into her 'Robby talk' from the displeased look on her face. "So what? Maybe he forgot his lunch."
"He has his lunch in his hand, but he's just standing there," I tell her.
"Well, maybe he just wanted to have some company today," she says, even though she doesn't believe it either. Mr. Galloway never wants company.
"It's not just that he's here, really, it's the way he's looking at me," I whisper. "He started this whole staring at me thing in History class, now he's followed me here."
"Are you sure you're not just imagining things, Ana? I mean, sure you're hot, and, no, I'm not into you, I'm into Robby, but still. Mr. Galloway is a teacher."
We walk towards our table and I steal another glance in his direction. Yep, he's still staring at me.
"Ha ha. Thanks for that, Amanda, but I'm not imagining it." We sit down and I make sure Amanda is in a position to look over my shoulder and see that I'm not imagining anything. "Look at him. He's still watching me, isn't he?"
Amanda peeks over my shoulder and I see her eyes widen. "Omigod, he totally is!" She peers at me suspiciously. "What did you do?"
"What did I do? I didn't do anything!" Okay, so I was reading a gossip mag in his class, sure, but what was he going to do? Give me detention when I could read magazines every day in his class and still have a perfect grade?
"He's just staring at you. It's kinda creepy." Amanda shivered a little.
"It's more than kinda creepy," I tell her. In fact, I'm getting kinda irritated at being watched like a hawk. I turn then, my eyes meeting his and feel a jolt of recognition. There's something there, something I recognize from a distant past. Of course, that is completely impossible. But, it's enough to bring that distant past rushing to my present. "Impossible."
"What?" I hear Amanda's question penetrate my thoughts and I turn back to her, breaking the connection to my history.
"Nothing. Let's go. This is getting a little too freaky."
"But, I didn't eat!"
"I'll buy you a burger at Jake's," I grab my tray and start to get up from my seat when I feel a sharp pain in my stomach. The pain disappears as quickly as it came on, but it leaves me with such a sick feeling of dread. Worse, I can still feel his eyes on me.
"Ana, I'm hungry now. I mean, this isn't the greatest food and I'd kill for a burger from Jake's, but I can't wait 'til after school!"
"I know, we're going now." Now it's my turn to get annoyed with Amanda and her stalling. I just want to get out of there and away fr
om Mr. Galloway.
"We can't skip school!"
"Amanda, we're seniors. It's a rite of passage to skip school." I sigh when she just sat there. "Fine. I'm going. You can stay here and eat your mystery food if you want. I'll think about you when I'm eating a big, juicy burger..."
"Okay, fine! I'm coming. But, if I get in trouble and my parents ground me and I miss my date with Robby I will never forgive you!"
I throw my keys on the table as I enter my small one bedroom apartment. It's not the accommodations I am used to, but I went for modest and humble. It suits the lifestyle I portray here in California. I have to sacrifice in a few areas, like my kitchen is too small. Hell, the whole apartment is smaller than the kitchen I am accustomed to cooking in. But, I find that I enjoy the cramped apartment. It's very homey. I decorated it in a modern contemporary style. Earth tones on the walls, splashes of color in throw pillows I threw on the microfiber sofa, and curtains that I hung floor to ceiling. A Lucite table and chairs gave the space an impression of openness. Built-in bookshelves carries my favorite books, and also houses my flat screen TV. I love it.
All of my friends thought it was cool that I lived alone. Not many high schoolers do. They, of course, don't know my whole story, only that I was emancipated and that's the reason I can live by myself and not be in a foster home. At least that's what I told them. To get into the real story would mean having to explain much more than I could. I already have to deal with my friends feeling sorry for me knowing my parents were no longer alive. Of course, they are all curious as to how they died, but are courteous enough not to ask me about it too much. Only Amanda has asked me about them, and I made up a story of how they were killed in a car accident. What else could I say? They were murdered and I set them on fire?
Lunch with Amanda had been interesting. She stuffed her face with Jake's famous juicy burger and fries while she talked non-stop about Robby and their long, non-existent love affair. I tried to listen, but a dull ache had replaced the sharp pain I had felt in the school cafeteria. It was a familiar feeling, but I didn't want to think of why. We had left school to get away from the watchful eye of Mr. Galloway, however for some reason I still felt like I was being watched. Of course, Amanda was annoyed with me because my attention was not completely on her. I apologized, telling her I had cramps and just needed to go home and get some rest. She reluctantly forgave me–I think.
The cramps excuse wasn't exactly a lie. I just don't know why I'm having them now. Today has been very odd, I decide. I haven't felt this connected to my past in a very long time and, frankly, I don't like it.
A nap. That should help. I will merely sleep off the cramps and the odd feelings. Seems reasonable enough. I'm feeling optimistic as I head towards my bedroom. Then I feel the pain again, and it brings me to my knees. This time, with the pain, came a craving I haven't felt in so long that I almost don't recognize it.
"What in the hell is going on," I whisper in the empty bedroom. I concentrate on my surroundings, willing myself to remain in the present and not slip back into my past. Taking deep breaths, I wait for the pain to subside. I sit there, rocking on the floor, holding my stomach. The hunger makes my head pound, my eyes burn and my teeth ache. Crap. This can't be good at all.
"Get a grip, Ana. You're just thinking about the past because of what happened in school today. Let it go." I crawl to my bed and pull myself up into it. Pulling the covers over my head, I wait - and pray - for sleep to come.
The cool breeze caresses my face as I creep down the dark alley. Unfortunately, it carries with it the stench of the garbage that lines the way. My boots click on the street, eerily echoing as I hum a cheery tune that doesn't quite fit the scene. I sense the group of guys watching me from the dead end, and I know exactly what I am walking into. It's what I want.
There are five of them and they look menacing enough with their tattoos and piercings. They're all big–either muscular or just fat–and I would guess that each of them had to be near the 300lb mark. Perfect. Their smiles are ominous and I can hear them making vulgar suggestions about what they want to do to me. They're speaking in broken English and Spanish, but I understand every word, as well as their intentions. It's not too difficult to know what they want from the beautiful girl who's stupid enough to walk down the dead end street by herself. Obviously, I am asking for it.
"Hey there, Mami. You come here looking for some fun, you found it." This comes from what looks to be the ring leader of the pack. He's huge and muscular and has a face that I don't even know his own mother could love. When he smiles, I can see he has a diamond grill. At least that's what he wants everyone to think, but I can tell–even from this distance–that the diamonds are actually fake. So, he's a guy who wanted to seem more important than he really is.
I force myself to look timid. "I'm just out for a walk. I don't want any trouble," I say quietly.
"No trouble here," he laughs. "Just a good time."
I start to back away as they come towards me, at the same time I brace myself for what I know is coming. "I'm sorry I interrupted your...meeting. I'll just go back this way."
"But you came all this way," another one says from behind the leader. "Look, we got beer and everything." He lifts the six pack he's carrying to show me that he's telling the truth.
"I don't drink. But, th-thank you," I say, making myself stammer with fear. I hear the faint click of one of the guys opening a knife. Even better. They start circling me like vultures and keep discussing their plans, though I'm not listening anymore. I focus, instead, on the best way to go about taking out the biggest first, then working my way through the rest.
"I get her first," the ring leader is saying, and then quickly makes a grab for me. Anticipating his move, I - with blinding speed - jump up and over him. While in the air, I grab his head between my hands and, with a quick twist, I break his neck. As his limp body falls to the ground, I come down beside him and sink my teeth into his neck. I can hear the rest of the gang either getting sick or shouting for me to get off of their leader. My head snaps up and I snarl at them, my white eyes a sharp contrast to the red blood dripping off my fangs.
"No!" I shot up in bed, a cold sweat rolling down my back. My entire body is shaking as I struggle to gain control. I look around frantically, wiping at my mouth. When I see there's no dark alley, no blood, I regain a bit of composure. "Just a dream," I say in the darkness, although, somehow it doesn't make me feel any better.
The relentless pounding that I think is my heart pounding in my ears turns out to actually be someone banging on my front door. When the noise finally registers in my cluttered mind, I reluctantly get up. I wrap a blanket around me, still feeling chilled to the bone by my dream, and pray it's not the police coming to arrest me.
"Who is it?" My voice sounds like I've been gargling sand.
"Ana? Open up!"
Confused, I open the door. "Zac? What are you doing here?"
"Seeing if you're alive! Jeesh, maybe you could answer phone calls or something once in a while." He pushes his way into my apartment without invitation.
"What are you talking about? I'm not feeling well, so I took a nap. I guess I did not hear my phone." As a matter of fact, I'm not even sure where my phone is. "Why are you here?" I ask again as I begin searching for my missing phone.
I freeze in the middle of my search. If Zac is here and I've apparently missed many calls, that had to mean... "Oh my God, is something wrong? Is Amanda okay?"
"Ana, everyone is fine. We're just worried about you." Zac looks at me as if I have gone completely insane.
Once I hear everyone is okay, I go back to rummaging around for my phone. I'm not quite sure what else to do. Zac being here - along with my dream still being on my mind–has seriously made me feel that I have gone completely insane. "If everyone is fine, then why are you here, Zac?"
"Are you kidding? Ana, no one has been able to get a hold of you..."
"Wait. So you come banging on my door and waking me up fro
m my nap just because people haven't been able to get a hold of me for a couple of hours?"
"Hours? Ana, seriously, what is wrong with you?" Zac came up to me and put his hand on my forehead as if checking for a fever. "You haven't been to school for two days!"
I swat his hand away from me. "Stop being ridiculous." Two days. My nap couldn't have been more than one or two hours, tops. "There's no need to exaggerate. What is so damned important?"
"I'm not exaggerating, Ana. It's Friday!"
I roll my eyes. "I wish. That would mean I wouldn't have to put up with your shit at school tomorrow." I know being mean is unnecessary, but I'm really not in the mood for his crap right now. The cramps are still there, my head is still pounding and I am famished. And, I still can't find my damn phone!
Zac sighs dramatically. "Look, I offered to come over here because Amanda has her date with Robby tonight. She was going to cancel, but I told her I'd check up on you instead."
"Amanda's date is Friday night," I offer absently.
"Exactly!" Zac all but screams the word at me. I turn to look at him, his expression is...well, hard to describe. When I say nothing, he gets even more frustrated and digs his phone out of his pocket. "Here! Look at the date!"
I take the phone–still wondering where mine was–and look at it. Stare at it. That can't be right. Friday. "Did you change the date on this?"
"Ana, you just saw me take it out and hand it right over to you. Turn on the TV. Call information. Do whatever you need to do to understand that it's been two days since anyone has heard from you."
"That's impossible. Zac, I don't remember..." I pause, trying to think about the last thing I did remember. Was I wearing the same clothes? If it's been two days, have I eaten? Have I been sleeping the whole time? Why was there a huge hole in my memory? "What was I wearing the last time you saw me?"
"Sorry, Ana, I'm a guy. I don't really look at what a girl is wearing. Maybe you could ask Amanda. I told her I'd have you call her as soon as I made sure you were still alive."
Destined to Kill: A Destined Novel (Destined Novels Book 1) Page 5
