[Anthology] The Paranormal 13- now With a Bonus 14th Novel!

by Dima Zales

  "No, she'll come back soon enough on her own. I'm here to help her get to know her roots, and to make sure that she's safe from the people that ordered her death. They thought that she was dead, but have recently discovered that she isn't."

  "Seriously?"

  "It sounds too crazy to be true, I know," Clara said.

  "Not really," Natalie said. "I've seen her in action. I knew that something huge was up."

  "You saw her in action? What does that mean?"

  "My boyfriend was treating me badly and we didn't know that Alexis could hear us. She swooped in out of nowhere and threatened him. I thought he was going to pee his pants," she giggled. "He's also been a lot nicer to me since then."

  "That's good to know," I said. "If that stops, be sure to let me know."

  The next day, Clara stayed home to rest while Natalie and I went to school. Clara was jet-lagged and not ready to jump into teen life. Not that I blamed her. I hoped that she was ready for modern day human life. I didn't know how a 238 year old vampire would do surrounded by immature kids.

  When I walked to my locker, I noticed that people weren't clamoring for my attention. I was glad for the space, but it struck me as very unusual.

  After I got my books from my locker, I paid more attention to how people were acting when I walked by. I noticed stares and whispers.

  I thought I imagined it, but the same thing happened the entire distance from my locker to my first class. As I walked by, people standing alone stared at me, and kids in pairs and groups whispered to each other. I was definitely not imagining it.

  I was beginning to feel self-conscious until I got to my honors class where nobody seemed to act any differently toward me. They ignored me, the curve-killer, as usual.

  As the day went on, the stares and whispers in the halls turned into pointing and laughing.

  "What is going on around here?" I asked Amanda at lunch.

  She started twirling her hair and looking down at her shoes. "What do you mean?"

  "You're the world's worst liar," I told her. "Just tell me what's going on."

  She dug her toes into the floor and let go of her hair. "People are saying stuff."

  I raised an eyebrow. "What kind of stuff?"

  She began playing with her glasses and continued to look away from me. "They're saying some things about you."

  I sighed. "What kinds of things are they saying?"

  Twisting her hair again, she said, "Things that aren't nice."

  My mind raced with thoughts of what could have been said about me. Did everyone know that I was a vampire? Did I think that I was going to attack them?

  "Amanda, you are doing me no favors by holding out on me. Tell me what they are saying about me."

  Her heart was beating extremely fast, and the smell of her blood came to my nose. It was as if her fear was romancing me.

  "If you care about me at all, just tell me," I exploded. I did not want to be tempted to bite into her again.

  People turned to stare at us. I didn't care because that's what they had been doing to me all day.

  She looked into my eyes. "Everyone is saying that Cliff left because you gave him an STD."

  I felt like I had been slapped in the face. "They are saying what? That's ridiculous."

  Amanda looked down. "I know, right?"

  "What do you mean by that?" I demanded. "It sounds like you don't you believe me."

  "Of course I do," she mumbled.

  "You don't sound so sure of yourself," I accused her.

  "I know it's not true," she said, looking at me.

  I stared at her. "Why don't I believe you?"

  "I do know it's not true." She looked away again. "But I did ask Brooke about it last night."

  "Hold it. Wait just a minute." My head was spinning with all of this crazy new information. "You didn't believe it, so you called Brooke? Why didn't you just call me? Or believe in me? Also, how is it possible that you all knew about this last night, and nobody bothered to give me any kind of heads up before I got to school this morning? What kind of friends do I have?"

  "I'm sorry, Alexis."

  "How could you do this to me, Amanda? Emma betrayed us, and now you do this to me."

  "I know. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."

  "How could you even question the notion that I could have given him any kind of STD?" I whispered. I didn't want anyone with itching ears to listen in on our conversation. "You know that I've never even kissed anyone. How exactly would I have contracted something to give him?"

  "I know, I know."

  "I can't believe that you went to Brooke before you even came to me. I wouldn't do that to you. I would have believed you over some rumor and then I would have told you about it."

  She just looked at me without saying anything.

  "At least now I know why people are acting like this. Thanks for telling me that much at least." I got up and stormed out of the cafeteria, ignoring the pointing and whispering.

  I passed by Emma and Hailey walking down the hall. They both smirked at me, and I put it all together.

  They had done this to me.

  I turned around and stood in front of them and glared at them.

  "Are you having a nice day?" Hailey asked, stifling a giggle.

  "You've made a mistake messing with me."

  "You can talk to me about it after your condition clears up." She and Emma burst into a fit of giggles.

  "I'll get the last laugh. Enjoy it now while it lasts."

  Emma rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Have fun at the clinic."

  As they walked away laughing at me, I whispered that Hailey should sleep with her eyes open tonight.

  Hailey turned around, "What did you say to me?"

  I was shocked that she heard my whisper, but I didn't let it show on my face. I made a mental note to be careful when whispering to someone, no matter how far away they were.

  "You were fifty feet away from me, Hailey. I didn't say anything."

  "You said I should sleep with my eyes open."

  "Are you kidding me?" I asked. "Did anyone else hear me say that?" I asked the nosy onlookers.

  A few people said no.

  "Why don't you go and mind your own business? Stop talking before people think that you're losing your mind."

  She flipped her hair and said, "You're the crazy one. That's what STD's do to people." She turned around and walked away.

  "You'd really better make sure that you sleep with your eyes open. Better yet stay awake all night," I whispered.

  She turned around again. "I heard that. Didn't anyone else? She's threatening me."

  "You're nuts, Hailey," one kid said, laughing.

  Emma grabbed Hailey's arm. "Let's go. Now."

  "I'll see you tonight, Hailey," I whispered.

  She turned around and yelled, "Stop it."

  I gave her an innocent look and asked, "What would you like me to stop doing?" It took a lot of self-control not to start laughing. "You obviously have a very active imagination. Very active."

  "You're a freak." She glared at me. "A total freak."

  "At least I'm not hearing voices. See you around."

  As I was walking from my last class to my locker, people were not only staring and whispering but they started throwing wadded pieces of paper at me.

  I was amazed at how quickly people could turn from one extreme to the next. It was similar to how I had been invisible for so long, and then suddenly everyone wanted to be my friend.

  More than anything, I wanted to use my vampire powers and either run away so fast that they would barely see me, or to show them what it feels like to really get picked on. I only looked ahead and walked out of the school as fast as I could.

  Once again, Tanner was waiting for me at my car.

  "Rough day?" he asked.

  I ignored him. "You really want a ride in this car, don't you?"

  He smiled. "I wouldn't turn that down. Want to go somewhere and talk?"

 
I sighed. "Aren't you afraid that I will give you an STD?"

  "Hailey Adams is an idiot. I told her as much last night when she started spreading that rumor at the volleyball game."

  "She started that at the volleyball game?" I asked. "Did the players hear about that too?"

  "Everyone did," he said. "She spread that rumor as fast and as far as she could. I stood up for you, but she and her goons just ignored me."

  Natalie knew about this and didn't mention it to me. I was really discovering who I could really trust. "Thanks for standing up for me. I know you didn't have to do that."

  He shrugged his shoulders. "It was the least I could do for you. Do you want to grab some coffee and talk?"

  I sighed. "Sure. I could definitely use a friend right now. Climb in."

  "This car is awesome," he exclaimed as I was driving away from the school. "These seats are so comfortable. It wouldn't be so bad to take a road trip in this."

  "It's definitely a luxury car," I said. "It's nicer than some houses I've been in."

  "Hey, you just drove by the coffee shop. You have other plans than coffee?"

  "Don't get so excited," I told him. "I'm not going to drink your blood. I just want to go to a coffee shop out of town so that we don't run into anyone from school. I can't deal with that right now."

  "Oh," he pouted. "Well, I can understand that. People at school have no lives, so they have to talk trash about someone else to bring some excitement into their pathetic lives."

  "No lives and no conscience," I added. "I would never treat anyone the way that I've been treated. I will make an exception for the ones responsible for starting this rumor, though."

  "Didn't Emma used to be your friend?" he asked.

  "She and Amanda were my best friends. The only thing that ever came between us was my studies, because I refused to get anything less than an A."

  "What happened? Why did she decide to buddy up with Hailey?"

  I explained the whole complicated mess, and by the time that I had finished we had pulled up to a coffee shop in the next town.

  "I've never heard of this coffee house," he said. "Have you been here before?"

  "My dad used to take me here when I was a little younger. It was our place to get away from everything for a little while."

  "Sounds like the perfect place."

  When we were ready to order, he bought my drink. "You didn't have to do that."

  "No, but I thought that after the day you had, it would be a nice thing to do."

  "Thanks, Tanner."

  We sat in the back at a table that my dad and I had sat at many times before. It was my favorite spot; it felt hidden from the world.

  We sat quietly sipping our flavored coffees for a little while before he spoke. "So today was pretty rough, huh?"

  I sipped on my coffee a little more and then said, "It was awful. There's no truth to the rumor, yet everyone sucked it up. Nobody had any problem pointing at me or whispering, but not a single person even asked me about it. Not even my supposed best friend."

  "Amanda?"

  "Yeah. When I asked her what was going on with everyone, she wouldn't even look at me, and I pretty much had to force the information out of her. She didn't even ask me about it when she heard about it. She went and called Brooke to find out if it was true. Can you believe that?"

  "When things like this happen, you find out who your true friends are."

  "How would you know about that?" I demanded.

  "Don't you remember the rumor that went around about me last year?" he asked.

  I thought for a minute. "No. But then again, if it wasn't part of my homework I didn't pay any attention to it. I guess that's why I didn't have any problems in my classes today, because all of us honors kids are like that."

  "Be glad about that," he said. "It's much worse to have those people in your classes. They whisper about you loud enough to distract you during class. They throw things at you, write on the back of your shirt, and trip you as you get out of your seat."

  "That's horrible. Some people were throwing things at me in the halls after school, but at least I was left alone during class to keep my focus."

  "Who threw stuff at you?" he demanded.

  "It doesn't matter."

  "It does matter and I will deal with them."

  "Don't forget that I'm a vampire, Tanner. If I wanted to get back at them, I could and I would. Believe me when I say that Hailey is going to get the scare of her life tonight."

  He smiled. "What do you have planned for her?"

  "I'll tell you tomorrow. Unless she tries to tell everyone about it first, but if she does that, they will all think she's lost her mind."

  "Then everyone's focus will be on her and not you."

  "So, what was the rumor that went around about you?" I asked. "If you don't mind talking about it."

  "I don't mind. A guy at school accused me of making moves on his girlfriend. I wasn't. When I told him that I had my own girlfriend and had no interest in his, he punched me. I ended up showing him I was stronger. He went and told everyone that I made a move on him."

  "No way. He said you were gay? You?"

  He smiled. "Yep, and everyone ate it up, just like they're eating up the rumor about you. Even my so-called friends turned on me. I couldn't get dressed in the locker room. Everyone accused me of looking at their goods, even though I totally wasn't. People called me every name that you could think of. Some tried to get violent with me, but I was extra strong, full of Samantha's venom, so it wasn't long before everyone was afraid of me. The rumors died down, and my new reputation became arrogant jerk. They've all forgotten about me supposedly being gay."

  "Did you tell Samantha what you were going through?"

  "No way. She would have started taking people out, and I didn't need anyone thinking that it was me. I liked her, but I wasn't going to jail. I kept it to myself and used her venom to help me fight my harassers."

  "What's wrong with these people? I don't care about all of this popularity stuff," I told him. "I really don't. I would take being invisible again any day if it meant that I didn't have to deal with these stupid games. I have no interest in dragging other people down so that I can be on top. That is so pathetic."

  "It really is," he agreed. "Yet so many people fall for all of this hook, line, and sinker."

  "They don't even think. I mean really, if I go back to being popular in a week, do they think that I will have forgotten how they treated me? That I won't remember the stares, whispers and everything else?"

  "That's just it. They're not thinking about anything beyond the end of their noses. Nobody is thinking about tomorrow or next week. By then, they'll have forgotten about it so they will expect that you have too."

  "Do they think that we don't have any feelings?" I asked.

  "What I figured out is that they are so self-absorbed they don't think that anyone else has feelings besides themselves."

  Tears sprang to my eyes, and I tried to blink them back but it didn't work. They fell to my cheeks and down my face. "I'm sorry," I said, wiping them away.

  "Don't be. I know how hurtful it is," he said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "We have to act tough or they'll rip us to shreds. Most people think that I'm a conceited bully, but you know what? They don't mess with me. I'd rather have people afraid to mess with me than have people pretending to be my friend only to turn on me later."

  I leaned my head against his shoulder and let the tears flow freely.

  He kept his arm around me and said, "Let it all out now so that you can be strong tomorrow."

  I cried for a few more minutes and then sat upright. "Thanks, Tanner. I didn't realize how much I needed to cry. It really hurt to have everyone treating me like that today."

  "I know how it feels," he reminded me. "I would go home and cry too when that rumor was going around about me. But don't tell anyone!"

  I smiled. "Your secret is safe with me. Besides, you already know my biggest secret."
<
br />   "That's true. It looks like we're even."

  "I would hardly call that even. You know that I'm turning into a vampire, and I know that you cried." I smiled.

  "I'm a football player who's known for being tough," he said. "Believe me. It's even."

  "If you say so."

  We talked for a while longer until it started to get dark. "I'd better get back," he said. "It's my night to make dinner."

  "You make dinner?" I asked. "I wouldn't even know how to."

  He leaned back in his chair. "There are many facets to me. I'm not just a big dumb jock."

  "What kinds of food do you make for dinner? Why doesn't your mom make dinner?"

  "I make easy stuff like spaghetti and casseroles because my dad took off a few years ago, and my mom has to work late a few nights a week," he told me. "Those nights, I make dinner for my little brother and me."

  "Seriously?" I asked. "I have never made dinner and I can't image spaghetti or casseroles being easy. They sound so complicated to make."

  "I can teach you sometime. It really is very easy, especially since I don't bother with any meats unless my mom precooks it."

  "How old is your brother?"

  "He's fourteen, which is why I should get back before it gets dark. He can pretty much take care of himself, and he certainly thinks he's a tough guy, but I like to be there before dark when I can."

  "Wow, you're really different than I thought. Be careful or you'll have all the girls chasing after you."

  "Trust me, that's the last thing that I want. Most of the girls at school are so stuck up and shallow that I don't want anything to do with them. Letting them think that I'm a stuck up jerk is a gift to myself," he said, standing up.

  "You're really something." I was honestly impressed.

  As we drove back to the school, I told him about my plans for Hailey that night. He couldn't wait to hear how it went.

  I smiled and said, "It will be exactly what she has coming."

  It wasn't until after I had dropped him off at his car that I realized he didn't even bring up me drinking his blood. The few times that I heard some of his thoughts it wasn't there either.

  18

  When I got home, everyone else was sitting at the table eating dinner. I received what was becoming the normal lecture about not telling anyone where I was going and when I was going to be late.