Beginnings (The Trifectus Series - Book One)

by Logan Byrne

My fear grew. It had been probably close to an hour since I was brought to the warehouse, and there was no sign of rescue. My kidnappers walked around doing their own business while I sat there. The cool night breeze drifted in through a broken window, making goose bumps on my skin. I began shivering.

  “Hey!” I yelled. “Hey!”

  One of the men strolled over with a smile on his face.

  “What can I do for you?” he asked mockingly.

  “I’m cold,” I said.

  “You should have worn warmer clothes then,” he said, laughing as he walked away.

  A few minutes later, I could hear the same man talking to another one of the kidnappers. They were out of sight, around the corner, but their voices carried well enough that I could just make out their words.

   “Should we make a video?” one asked.

  “No, we need to make a phone call or something. We don’t want a video to show where we are. They’ll know it’s an old warehouse and they’ll find us too fast. We need to give a few unexpected verbal commands to him,” another man said.

  There was a pause.

  “I smell something,” one of the men said. “It smells like death.”

  I felt a chill beyond just the cold air. Werewolves had a very keen sense of smell. Even in their human forms, they had the amazing ability to smell anything. Were my kidnappers werewolves?

   “What is it?” the other asked.

  “Probably just some garbage. I saw some outside in the alley when we came in.”.

  “When should we call him?”

  “In ten minutes.”

   Who were they going to call? My father?

  They stopped talking. In the silence, I occasionally heard sounds from up above, like something moving lightly on the roof. Maybe an animal?

  Not long after one of the kidnappers came over and grabbed my chair. He dragged me forward.

   “After we are done getting what we want from your father,” he said, laughing cruelly, “we’re going to kill you.”

  Seconds later, there was an ear-splitting crash from above. Glass rained down as figures dropped through the now shattered skylight.

  James landed first, his eyes turned blood-red and his fangs down.

  James’s family landed behind him, forming a line of people around him. Their eyes started turning red, their fangs slowly coming down. They were ready to fight. They were ready to save me.

  I watched as the three kidnappers, knowing what they were facing, started growling.

  “We are here for the girl,” said Remey. “Give her up now and there will be no problem. We will leave with her and that will be it.”

  “You’ll have to take her from us,” said one of the men. He moved to stand in front of me. I struggled against my bonds but they held fast.

  Before my eyes, the three men started changing. It was amazing to see werewolves shift. Their limbs grew as fur sprouted and covered their bodies. Their hands and feet turned into large paws that were as big as a human head. Canine fangs rapidly grew as their faces completely transformed. Snouts grew out, and their eyes turned a dark shade of yellow. They stood upright, slightly hunched over at the shoulders. They snarled and one of them lunged at James.

  James let out a monstrous roar as he dove forward to meet him.

  I watched, helpless in the chair, as a battle worthy of legends unfolded. James’s family was large, but their individual strengths were no match for fully-grown werewolves. The wolves towered over them; their large fangs were double the size of James’s.

  Everybody on both sides fought ferociously. Troy lunged at one of the wolves. The thirst for blood in Troy’s eyes was immense. His strength was the only match for the wolves.

  Troy and James teamed up against the largest of the wolves. The each took one of his arms and threw him against the wall. He growled and lunged back at them, pushing them both back as they tried to hold up his giant paws above them. Just as they were about to get pushed down, Emma came out of nowhere and kicked the wolf in his snout. He let go of James and Troy and fell backwards, disoriented from the kick.

  I realized I was screaming. I tried again to free myself, smashing the chair legs with my heels, trying to break them as the battle ensued all around me. Fists and kicks were flying everywhere, and I prayed one of them didn’t hit me.

  Finally, James came up to me and started to untie my restraints.

  “Just break the chair!” I said.

  “No, I can’t risk breaking your wrists or ankles. You can’t heal like I can.” James worked at the knots, making progress, when suddenly he was pulled back by one of the wolves and thrown across the room. James slammed into an old metal support beam as a fourth wolf ran at him. He recovered and ducked out of the way just in time, sending the wolf smashing into the beam.

  He started running back to me. He looked to his right to see one of the wolves charging at him. For a second or two, time seemed to slow down. Then Troy tackled the wolf before it could get to James.

  I wrestled with the ropes, looser now thanks to James, but still I couldn’t free myself.

  “Untie her!” Troy screamed.

  James started to run towards me. Then he glanced to the side and saw Rosa and Elsa pushed against the wall, with a smaller wolf choking them. He looked at me, and then back again at Rosa and Elsa. I could tell he didn’t know what to do: save me, the love of his life, or save his family.

  He ran and jumped on the back of the smaller wolf, plunging his fangs into its neck. The wolf let go of Rosa and Elsa and howled in pain.

  The other wolves glanced over to see that James had bitten the wolf. They tried to escape to help their friend, but were overpowered. Every member of James’s family was holding them back, trying to subdue them.

  James ran over to me and untied me. I dove into his arms and buried my face in his shoulder. He held me tightly, this time not letting go.

  While his family tried holding down the werewolves, one of them ran out. The largest, their alpha, broke through a small window and escaped. Troy bit one of the wolves in his neck while Elsa bit the other. The wolves slowly calmed down and eventually blacked out. Their lifeless bodies lay there.

  Everyone had scratches and torn clothing. Everybody gathered around James and me. Rosa was limping.

  “Are you okay?” I asked Elsa.

  “Yeah, I’ll be fine. It will heal,” she replied.

  “We’re so happy you’re safe,” said Rosa smiling.

  “Thank you,” I said with my head down.

  James put his finger under my chin and raised my head up.

  “I love you,” he said while looking into my eyes.

  “I love you too,” I said, staring back at him.

  “We should get her home,” said Remey.

  “I agree. I’ll take her,” said James.

  James picked me up in his arms and started running. His speed was amazing. Even with me in his arms, he could still move fast.

  We got to my house and he gently put me on my feet. We stood outside my door.

  “Thank you for caring,” I said.

  “I will always care about you,” James replied. “You are my life.”

  “We need to work things out before getting back together.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We need to make sure everything is talked about and that this is the right thing to do. I don’t want to rush it, I want to make sure it lasts this time.”

  “I will wait for you until the sun turns dark.”

  I kissed James, his cool lips pressed against mine. Butterflies filled my stomach as he kissed me, his hand caressing my cheek, brushing back my stray hairs. After the kiss, he put his forehead against mine, his hand still on my cheek. I felt a love I hadn’t felt before. In this moment, we were one.

  I didn’t have my bag or keys. I rang the doorbell with knots in my stomach as I tried to think of an excuse for why I was gone all night.

  My father opened the door and yelled up to my mother to rus
h down. He pulled me into his arms and hugged me.

  “I love you,” he whispered to me.

  I hadn’t felt this level of love or affection from my father since I was a child. I put my head against his chest and closed my eyes.

  My mother came down and hugged me with tears in her eyes.

  “Where were you?” she asked.

  “Why are you so dirty?” my father asked.

  I went blank. I had no story for them. I had no explanation for why I looked so dirty and disheveled. As I stood there for what seemed like an eternity, James spoke.

  “I go to school with Juliet. After the track finals, some girls beat her up outside my house. My mother brought her inside and took care of her until she was well enough to get home. She was unconscious for a little while and didn’t have any emergency numbers on her. It was only when she came to we figured out where she lived and she could be brought home. I’m sorry for the anxiety this caused you,” James said.

  “Thank you for your help, son,” my father said as he shook James’s hand.

  I turned around and gave James a quick hug.

  “Thank you for your help. I’ll see you in school,” I said as I winked at him.

  I went inside and waved goodbye to James as he walked away. He looked back and smiled as I shut the door. I was in love again.

  “Are you okay?” my mother asked while hugging me.

  “Yeah, I’m okay,” I said. “It was just some jealous girls. I slipped and hit my head and passed out. James and his mother saw me outside and helped me. I have a couple classes with him.”

  “Well, I like him,” said my father. “He seems like a stand-up guy.”

  It was funny that he said that. He liked James and thought he was great. I bet he wouldn’t think that if he knew that James was a vampire. Even though James and his family saved me, my father would still want to toss James in prison and throw away the key.

  “He was a very nice boy,” my mother said with a smile on her face.

  “I’m still feeling a little worn out. I think I am going to go upstairs and get in bed.”

  “Okay, dear,” my mother said.

  I walked upstairs as my parents stared at me with their arms around each other. They looked as if they were proud I was back. I gave a half smile and went to my room.

  I went in my room and passed out on my bed. I didn’t even bother changing or getting ready for bed. After the night I just had, nothing could motivate me to bother changing into my pajamas.

  I had nightmares that night. I dreamt of getting taken again. Nothing felt safe anymore. If they could take me in the middle of a normally busy street, nothing was off limits. I woke up a couple times, looking all around. Was somebody standing and waiting in the shadows? Was I going to wake up to see those yellow eyes staring back at me?

  But I woke up Sunday morning relieved and calm. I wasn’t taken or attacked in the middle of the night, and I started feeling safe again.

  I went downstairs to see a giant feast waiting.

  “What is all this for? Are we having company?” I asked.

  “No dear, this is for you,” my mother said. “We’re just happy you are okay and I wanted to do something special for you,” “Really? Thank you,” I said in confusion.

  They just thought that I’d been jumped and they did this for me. Why all of a sudden were they going out of their way to treat me differently? Before we moved here, we all led different lives. My father had work, I had school, and my mother had her friends. We saw each other for a few minutes each day and barely even talked to each other. Everybody was too involved with their own lives to worry about anyone else’s.

  I ate as my mother and father looked at me, smiling.

  “Can I ask you guys something?” I asked.

  “Of course, honey,” my father said.

  “Why are you guys being nice and attentive?” I asked.

  “What do you mean, dear?” my mother asked, confused.

  “Well, ever since we moved here you two have been different. You have slowly been paying more attention to me,” I said.

  “We decided we wanted to give you more when we moved here,” my father said.

  “We have moved around so much, and especially with you getting older and moving away soon, we decided we needed to show you love and support,” my mother said. “We regret not giving it to you earlier. We made a horrible mistake.”

  I looked in their eyes and could see the sincerity and pain they held. They truly felt bad and didn’t want to see me go away without them even knowing me. They didn’t want to be strangers anymore.

  I wanted to be close to them. I saw friends over the years have parents who were their friends. Parents they could go to and do things with. Parents they loved. I wanted to have that kind of relationship with them. I wanted to feel normal like everybody else.

  “There’s a street fair today, if you guys want to go. They will have different foods and booths,” I said to them.

  “We’d love to go with you,” my father said.

  My mother smiled and agreed with him. I smiled and continued eating my breakfast. Things were really starting to look up.

  I finished breakfast, got up from the table and took the dirty plates.

  “What are you doing, dear?” my mother asked.

  “I’m going to help you with the dishes,” I said, smiling.

  I could see the happiness in her eyes. Her face brightened and she got up to give me a hand. As I was putting the dishes in the sink, she put her hands on my shoulders and kissed my cheek. I felt a warm sensation deep in my stomach as I started washing the dishes.

  I quickly washed the dishes and ran upstairs to get ready. I was excited to spend time with my parents and wanted to savor every second of it. I got ready and went back downstairs to gather my things.

  “Are you ready?” my father asked.

  “Yup,” I said smiling.

  We walked out and headed to the fair. The leaves were changing as we walked down the grey stone sidewalk. We looked like a normal family. We didn’t look like three strangers anymore.

  We got to the fair and people were everywhere. There were dozens of booths set up, with foods from around the world. Vendors sold their crafts and products, and people were laughing and happy. We sampled some foods and walked around looking at all of the booths. My mother found some new handmade oven mitts, and my father found a man selling military memorabilia.

  I looked around to see everybody laughing when I spotted a familiar face. It was James. He was with Maria. They smiled and James made a heart with his hands at me. He was looking out for me. He didn’t want to take the risk of losing me again.

  “Isn’t that your friend James from last night?” my father asked, startling me.

  “Oh yeah, it is,” I reluctantly said.

  “Well, why don’t you go say hi? Your mother and I are still looking around,” he said.

  I walked over to James and Maria, and I gave Maria a hug.

  “How are you feeling?” James asked me.

  “I’m okay. I was a little scared when I went to bed, but I’m better,” I said.

  “We’re still looking for the guy that got away,” James said. “We haven’t had any luck though. I think he left town.”

  “What about the other three?” I asked.

  “They won’t be a problem anymore,” Maria said, smiling.

  “We’re going to be watching over you for a while,” said James.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “We don’t want to risk this happening again. One of us will be keeping an eye on you for a few days. I’m watching over you tonight,” James said.

  “You better do a good job,” I said jokingly.

  He smiled and hugged me. His arms felt so right around my waist. I felt calm whenever I was with him. He made me feel like a different person.

  “You better get back to your parents,” he said.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said as I gave Maria
a hug and walked away.

  I saw my parents paying for a few things as I walked back over to them.

  “How did things go?” my father asked.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Well, are you going to go on a date with this guy? I want to get to know him more,” he said.

  “I don’t know, dad. Maybe someday,” I said with embarrassment.

  While we walked home, I had my head down, biting my lower lip while smiling. I was in love again. It was as if it was happening all over again for the first time. Just hugging James and feeling him hold me made me feel complete again.

  We got to our front door and I went in, trying to hold back my excitement. I felt as if my father was already onto the fact I liked James. I didn’t want him knowing I was in love with him.

  “I have some homework to do,” I said.

  “Okay, dear, I’ll let you know when dinner is ready,” my mother said.

  I went upstairs and sat on the floor beside my bed. I felt so giddy and excited and it was as if I had no control over it. Being reunited with James again and hearing him tell me he loved me made me feel like a love-struck puppy.

  I started to daydream about our life together. Our wedding would be timeless and romantic. An intimate setting with close friends and family watching me glide down the down the aisle in a flowing white gown. Our hands resting in each other’s as we devoted our lives to each other.

  Our children would be beautiful and well behaved. We would give them all of the love and attention growing up that I never got. We would tell them we loved them every day before we watched them skip down the road to school.

  We would spend our lives together. James would give me the bite and I would become immortal with him. Our souls would dance together for eternity.

  “Juliet! Time for dinner!” I heard my mother yell from the bottom of the stairs.

  I went downstairs and sat at the table as my mother was setting it.

  “How did your homework go? Do you have any more?” my father asked.

  “My what? Oh, my homework! It’s going good. I have a few more things to do still,” I said trying to recover from my slip-up.

  “Is that James boy in your grade then?” my father asked.

  “I think so,” I said, trying to show disinterest.

  “You should invite him over to dinner, honey,” my mother said with a smile.

  Unless my mother was planning on donating some blood, I didn’t think he was going to be too interested in coming over to eat.

  “Yeah, I’ll try to see if I can,” I said to her.

  I really had no intention of asking him at all. I really didn’t even want him around my parents. I was starting to bond with them, but that didn’t mean my father still didn’t want to capture and torture people like him. Pale, cold skin mixed with not eating at all would more than likely give it all away to my father that James wasn’t mortal.

  That rest of the night went on without a hitch. I did some of my homework, dreamt about James and finally went to bed. I had school in the morning and now that I was back on track I wanted to really focus and do well.

  As I got in bed, I saw somebody outside my window looking at me. It was James. I got up and went to the window to let him in.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked him quietly.

  “I am watching over you, remember? I had to see you before you went to sleep,” James replied.

  “You have to be quiet or else my father will hear you.”

  “I know. I just had to talk to you before you went to sleep. I needed to hear your voice.”

  I got butterflies as he talked to me. The words flowed eloquently out of his mouth and I hung on every word.

  “I should go to sleep,” I said.

  I leaned in and kissed him. Our lips slowly met as my stomach was doing somersaults. He pressed his lips pressed against mine as if we would never kiss again. His hand was placed lightly on my hip. Our foreheads touched as we stared into each other’s eyes. My arms were wrapped around his neck.

  “I love you,” he said softly.

  “I love you too,” I whispered.

  He let go and started walking to the window. He looked back at me before leaving.

  “I will win you back,” he said.

  “You’re doing a good job,” I joked back.

  He smiled as he exited the window. I watched as he faded into the shadows. I went to sleep slowly, knowing I was safe with him there.

  The next morning I awoke and looked out my window. James was gone. I wasn’t sure how long he had been there overnight, but I knew he’d kept me safe. His love surrounded and protected me, like a suit of armor.

  I was hoping he would be at school that day so I could feel his touch again. I wanted to feel the security of his embrace and his cold skin against my warm body.

  I wanted to look good and I wanted him to go crazy. I put on my best outfit and went downstairs to get my bags.

  “You’re really dressed up,” said my mother.

  “Yeah, I just want to look good,” I replied.

  “For James?” she said, smiling.

  “No, just for myself,” I said while bent over, picking up my bags.

  I was blatantly lying to her but it had to be done. My parents seemed so in love with James. It was as if they wanted me to be with him more than I wanted to be with him. It was strange to have this kind of a relationship with them.

  “I’m running late, I have to go,” I said to my mother as I rushed out the door.

  I was actually running a little early but I just wanted to get to school early. I didn’t get too much time with James in the morning, but if I got there earlier I might get a few more minutes with him. A few more minutes lying in his arms would mean everything to me. It would change my entire mood for the day.

  I got to school and ran to my locker. James wasn’t there. I knew leaving that early wouldn’t work. I got my things and stood against my locker waiting. As every minute passed, more and more people started to fill the school.

  “Juliet!” yelled Ariel.

  “Oh hey, what’s up?” I asked.

  “Are you okay? What happened?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Your dad called the other day asking where you were. You were missing or something. Are you okay?”

  “Oh, yeah, I’m okay. I just got jumped by some girls, but I’m fine.”

  “Do they go here?”

  “I don’t think so. I’ve never seen them before.”

  I felt bad lying to Ariel. She was the best girlfriend I had, and I didn’t feel right lying directly to her face. What was I going to do though? Tell her I got captured by a pack of werewolves and James and his vampire family came and rescued me? Nothing truthful would even sound remotely right.

  “Well, I’m glad you’re okay,” Ariel said. “I have to go but I want to talk to you at lunch.”

  “Okay,” I said as I gave her a hug.

  Ariel left and I stood there for a minute before picking up my things. Just as I did, James showed up. I watched as he walked towards me, his skin glowing underneath the hallway lights.

  “Hey,” he said as he gazed into my eyes.

  “Hi,” I said gazing back into his.

  Butterflies filled my empty stomach as he put his hand on my shoulder. I felt powerless whenever he touched me. Nothing else even mattered. All that mattered was that he was holding me, and the way we felt about each other.

  “I want to be with you,” he said to me.

  “We will be together again,” I replied.

  “Why not now?”

  “I want to make sure it will work before I give my heart away completely.”

  “I understand. I will wait until the end of time for your love,” he said while gazing into my eyes.

  I leaned in and gave him a soft kiss as I held his hand in mine. My legs quivered whenever I felt his lips against mine.

  “You should get to class,” he said.

&
nbsp; “But I don’t want to leave you.”

  “I am always with you.” He brought my hand up to his heart.

  He kissed my hand and then helped me pick up my books. He carried them for me to my next class. I have never had a guy carry my books for me. He made me feel special.

  I tried to take the books from him before entering class, but he wouldn’t let me. He walked me to my desk and placed the books on my desk. Everybody was staring, but he didn’t care. He just wanted to make me happy and show me affection. He didn’t even care who saw. He kissed me on the cheek and walked out of the classroom. I blushed as everybody stared at me.

  “Today we are going to be working on some worksheets. They are a review for an upcoming test, so take them seriously,” Mr. Oliveri said.

  Mr. Oliveri passed out the worksheets and I started working. My cheeks were still red from blushing so much. Having a man show me affection was one thing, but having a man show me affection in front of other people was a whole other thing. It made me feel like the only girl who mattered. I knew his attention was on me and nobody else. I never had this before, and I never wanted to lose it.

  I tried to concentrate on my worksheets but my mind wandered. I had visions of James and me in the French countryside. We lived on a farm and there were wheat fields all around us. Our children played and laughed as they ran through the fields, James and I hand in hand as we watched on smiling.

  Our children were beautiful. We had a girl and a boy: twins. Our life was so easy compared to our life here. There was no stress. No neighbors for miles. We were completely isolated in our own world. Never having to worry about anybody finding out what or who we were. My mother and father on the other side of the world thinking I worked at a university. Nobody would be suspicious at all. Our lives could unfold beautifully.

  “Juliet, do you need help?”

  I looked up to see Mr. Oliveri hovering over me. He must have been checking on everybody’s progress and I hadn’t noticed him coming.

  “Oh, no,” I said, smiling.

  “All right. If you need some help with the problems just let me know.”

  I started scribbling in answers to make it look like I had no problem. I knew some of the answers, but I felt so embarrassed I wrote down anything just to make it appear as if I was okay.

  The rest of the period went on without a hitch. We had open book study for the test, which was my favorite thing to do.

  I had a couple more classes before lunch finally came. I was so excited to see James that I ran out of my class to make sure I could see him.

  He was already sitting at his table when I got there. I ran over to him and jumped into his arms.

  “Hey you,” I said playfully.

  “Hey,” he replied before kissing me.

  We weren’t allowed to show affection in school, but nobody really did anything about it. There was no way they could stop us from doing it.

  I was smitten every time he kissed me. When I was in his arms, nothing else mattered.

  “How were your classes?” he asked.

  “They were okay. It was hard though, because all I could think about was you.”

  “You are all I ever think about. I don’t want to think about another person besides you. You’re so beautiful,” he said while looking into my eyes.

  My heart melted whenever he was cute with me. No other man compared to him and the way he made me feel.

  “You should go sit with your friends,” he said.

  “But all I want to is to be here with you.”

  “You will see me later. It’s important that you spend time with them. Now go.”

  I hugged him and went over to sit with Ariel and my friends. I had a pouty look on my face as I looked back at him one more time before sitting down.

  “So what happened with those girls?” asked Greg as I sat down.

  “I’m not sure,” I hesitantly replied. “I was just on my way home and all of a sudden I got hit. I don’t really remember too much.”

  “We should’ve all gone home together,” Taylor said.

  “It’s fine,” I said.

  Taylor looked sad. I could tell she felt some sort of responsibility for what happened to me. I wished I could tell them all the truth, but the truth doesn’t always set you free.

  The rest of the day went on without any problems. I didn’t see James and I missed him. I wanted to spend my entire day in his strong arms.

  I left school and got in my car. I was going to talk to my father about these guards taking me everywhere. I was starting to get sick of feeling like a helpless puppy. I wanted some freedom and it was about time I got it.

  On the way home, my phone beeped.

  “Hey we need 2 talk.”

  It was Marcus.

  “What about?” I replied.

  “I think we have a real connection. I want 2 be with u.”

  I set down my phone and sighed heavily. I didn’t know how to react to what he said. I was in love with James. I wanted to be with James, and I couldn’t see myself with Marcus. It wasn’t the fact he was androidian, but the fact that I couldn’t see a life with him. He was so different and I wasn’t willing to sacrifice my life in a sewer somewhere. I didn’t want to be androidian either, and I was worried he would want to change me.

  “I’m sorry, I just can’t.”

  “Because of how I look?”

  “Yes…”

  It hurt even telling him that. To tell your good friend you don’t want to be with him because of how he looks is insulting. It’s a giant punch to the stomach.

  “Then I’ll change,” he said.

  “You can’t change, you even said it yourself.”

  “I don’t care, I’ll change.”

  “I’m talking with James again, I’m sorry.”

  He didn’t reply. I was hoping he would take everything well, but at this point I really didn’t know. I felt as if I was breaking him emotionally and every time I rejected him it just dug the knife that much deeper into his heart.

  I got home and walked inside to see my mother and father moving bags of decorations and refreshments around.

  “What is all of this for?” I asked.

  “Oh Juliet, you’re home,” my father said.

  “We want to throw you a party,” my mother said.

  “A party? How come?”

  “Well, we want you to have some people over and make some more friends,” my father said. “We think you are a great girl and we want you to have a great school experience. We know you are new and that can be hard, and having a party can open you up to more people than you would have met otherwise.”

  I wasn’t sure why my father was saying these things. He was a strict military man and had never allowed any kind of parties in the past. One time I had four friends over and he shut that down because it was too many people. I think our definitions of parties were different. I wanted to do this though. I wanted to get back with James and was thinking this might be the time to do it.

  “Well, when do you want me to do this?” I asked.

  “This Friday,” my father said.

  “Just invite whoever you want to come over and we will make sure you have everything you need. We’re going out Friday night so you and your friends can have some fun and privacy. You don’t want some old-timers around anyway,” my mother said.

  “Thank you,” I said in amazement.

  I knew I could get a good amount of people to come to my party. Ariel was somewhat popular, and with Taylor being a cheerleader I knew she could get some of the jocks and other cheerleaders to bribe others to come. I decided this would definitely be the time I got back together with James. He had been so good and he even risked his life to save mine. He wasn’t the ruthless man I saw before. He was a gentle, loving man who loved me and wanted to be with me. I also wanted an excuse to kiss him.

  The next day at school, I started handing out invitations. I wanted a good amount of people to come, but I didn’t want the entire schoo
l to show up. I told Taylor to bring some of the jocks and cheerleaders and Ariel made sure people knew they were coming. Jocks and cheerleaders were like royalty at our school. Wherever they went, the others followed. If they came to my party, it would definitely be a success.

  I felt a tingling down my spine and turned around. James was standing there running his fingers down my back and smiling.

  “I finally found you,” I said, smiling.

  “Yes you did, and now you can’t lose me,” he replied playfully.

  “I’m having a party this Friday and I want you to come.”

  “A party, huh? Are you sure you want me to go?”

  “Of course. I want you there the most of all.”

  “Then I guess I have to be there,” he said, smiling.

  “I have to go pass out more invitations,” I said with a frown.

  He leaned in, gave me a kiss and brushed my hair behind my ear before walking away. I watched him leave before handing out the rest of my invitations.

  I looked around to see everybody looking and talking about the invitations. I was going to be popular for one night and I couldn’t have been more excited. I just hoped there wouldn’t be any problems. I hoped that Derek and Cara wouldn’t decide to show up. I couldn’t take another fight happening, especially in my house.

  People came up to me throughout the day to tell me they were coming to the party. The longer the day went on, the more and more people confirmed their attendance. My life was falling into place. I had great parents, a great soon-to-be boyfriend, and great friends I was surrounding myself with. Nothing could bring me down.

  Chapter Eleven

  Change