Venom (The Reawakening Series Book 1)

by Daniele Lanzarotta

  I had assumed she was old enough to be in college, but I was wrong.

  “She is a year older than me,” he says. “She should be in her senior year, but since… well… she is studying to get her GED.”

  “What happened?” I ask.

  He sighs. “Cassie happened. I don’t really like to talk about it.”

  I remember him saying that once upon a time, she was the naïve person at the school. Now that I managed to make us both uncomfortable with the conversation, I get up off the chair, grabbing the glass of water to put it away.

  Ian says, “Let me get that,” his fingers brush against mine, lingering for a few seconds. Ian’s eyes are on mine, but I look away and I’m pretty sure I’m blushing.

  He takes the cup and still avoiding his gaze, I say, “I should go to bed. Thank you, for letting me stay here.”

  Even without looking directly at him, I can feel his stare. “You’re welcome.”

  I make my way to Ally’s room and open the door slowly not to wake her up. The lights are already off. I silently take my shoes off and lay down.

  After a few seconds, I hear her voice. “I don’t like the way my brother looks at you. I can sense trouble coming his way from a mile away.”

  “I didn’t—I don’t mean to get him in trouble.”

  She laughs. “Even looking at him will lead to trouble as long as he is with Megan. Trouble for everyone… you… him…”

  “What should I do?” I ask, trying not to sob all over again.

  “Stay away from him. That might help.”

  This time, I can’t keep silent. She hears me sobbing. The last thing I want is to be in a place where I’m not wanted and I can feel the tension. She wants me far, far away from her and her family.

  “I’m sorry I sound like a jerk. I’m just trying to watch out for him. Cassie is trouble like you can’t imagine.”

  “What happened… to you?” I finally ask.

  “It is probably best if you know anyway. Last year, there was this guy I was in love with. Nathan. I used to daydream about him and all that mushy stuff. My friend Angela knew I was crushing on him pretty hard and said she knew of a way to get us together. She and Cassie gave me a full makeover and told me we had a date, and that was it. I was so in love with him, and of course, they never told me what was going on, but I went along with anything and everything that he wanted to do. Pretty dumb, I know. We went out a few times and he always expected things to happen, and I never stopped him. Then I found out that I was pregnant and he was the first I told. He said I needed to handle it with Cassie and Angela, and he never talked to me again. That was when I found out about the whole thing. I was so naïve. They were always buying me clothes whenever we had dates and I always thought that was part of being friends. When they finally told me the truth, they also gave me money and said that I needed to take care of the situation on my own, and oh, yeah… that it was time to ‘date’ other people to repay my debt to them. They threatened to tell my parents a lot of rumors if I didn’t go along. I ended up telling Ian everything that was going on. I had to tell someone.”

  I feel so bad for her and I don’t know what to say, so I keep listening.

  Ian beat up Nathan the next day. Megan, who had been after Ian for a while, heard things and told him she would make it all go away if he went out with her. I was too devastated to even care how it all got done. Megan ended up giving money to Ian to cover for the clothes and he threw it at Cassie’s face. Megan somehow managed to make sure they left me alone, as long as I left Nathan out of it. Megan doesn’t mess with Cassie’s group and vice-versa. It is an unspoken rule. Megan’s brother practically started this whole dating thing and as far as I know, he told each of them to stay out of the other’s way.

  “What about your parents? Didn’t you have to tell them about Nathan?”

  “No,” she says. “The day I told my parents about me being pregnant, was the last day I went to school. After that, I started to work on my GED. That day, I told them I wasn’t going to name anyone. I said that I wanted to give the baby up for adoption and didn’t want the father involved at all. They went even crazier then because they wanted Nathan to at least pay for the medical bills. Ian finally told my parents that this shouldn’t be about the money, and that he would work to help pay the medical bills. I think that shocked my parents more than me being pregnant. They agreed, probably because they thought that eventually Ian would stop working and one of us would give up the name, but in a way, that changed Ian. Not that he was bad before...”

  “That is pretty incredible of him.”

  “It is. I know that makes him sound like the perfect guy… don’t even think that way.”

  She takes a deep breath. “Ian has taken on a lot because of me. I offered to get a job this past summer, but my parents refused. I told them it wasn’t fair that Ian was working the entire summer because of my mistake, but so it turned out, they were only taking half of his paycheck and that was going in a college fund for him… without him knowing, so please don’t tell him that.”

  “I won’t,” I promise.

  “So that is my crappy story.”

  “Is Ian with Megan because of it all?” I ask.

  She sighs. “In a way.”

  “How come he doesn’t leave her? I mean, now that you are not in school anymore.”

  “People don’t leave Megan. She leaves them. Otherwise, she will make their lives hell.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  NICHOLAS

  The stabbing pain in my head and chest slowly vanishes. I don’t think. I just follow the scent of blood until I reach the club downtown.

  I see the sign saying that it is college night. Wonderful! I stand there for a minute and my thoughts instantly go to her—her body, her lips… her blood. Letting her go was the stupidest thing I’ve ever done, but it’s too late. I can’t let this consume me. I make up my mind to go in, grab a snack, and head right back out.

  As soon as I step in the place, I regret my decision. The music is loud and I can already smell the alcohol in most of the humans’ blood. I walk around amongst the drunk humans on the dance floor and head for a table toward the back. I sit in the dark and stare at the door knowing that my best bet to get a sober human is to get one as she walks in.

  It doesn’t take long before I see a group of women walk in, laughing and joking around. One of them is a tall blonde woman who wears a tiara and a shirt saying ‘bachelorette’. I shake my head. This is too easy. I head over to the group of women who are now by the bar, and I step in front of the blonde.

  “You need to come with me.”

  She gives me a puzzled look, but her friends are already screaming and saying, “You better go with him, or I’ll volunteer to take your place.”

  My skin crawls with nothing but desire to get the hell out of here as soon as possible.

  I look into the blonde’s eyes and glamour her. “I’m your bachelorette gift. You should come.”

  She nods and follows me to my table while her friends watch us with their jaws open.

  “Have a seat,” I say.

  The corner table is under a dark spot and her friends end up getting lost on the dance floor anyway.

  “What’s your name?” I ask.

  “Heather.”

  “Heather, stand up for me.”

  She stands and I grab each side of her waist, turning her so she can sit on my lap, and so the right side of her neck is toward me.

  “Look at me,” I say.

  “I’m going to do something that may hurt at first, but only for a few seconds. Then it’ll feel like nothing you have ever felt before. I don’t want you to scream or be scared. You’ll be calm and smile in case your friends are watching.”

  She nods.

  I move her hair to the left side and pull her down to where her neck is close to me. Without wasting any time, I sink my fangs into neck. I feel her flinch, but she doesn’t scream. I start drinking and I feel her hand move to m
y arm and her nails digging into my skin as she lets out a moan. That is when I stop drinking. I lick the cuts on her skin and lean back on the chair.

  “Heather,” I say and she looks up at me. “When I leave this table, you are going to hang out here for a while. When your friends come for you, you are not going to tell them anything other than my being your pre-wedding gift. And tomorrow, you’re going to change your mind about the wedding.”

  Even glamoured, she gives me a puzzled look and asks why.

  “Trust me, I’m saving you a lifetime of heartache.”

  She nods. We both stand and I walk away.

  I’m almost at the end of the block when I hear someone yell, “Hey, you! What the hell did you do to my friend?” I turn to find a small-framed woman with long brown hair coming into my direction and the way she talks to me, her hair, and the way she moves, reminds me of Lexi.

  “Why do you ask, Love?”

  “Don’t call me ‘love’,” she demands. “She has been crying nonstop since you left the bar.”

  I shrug. “I have no idea.”

  Thirst consumes me again. I usually can go a lot longer without feeding, and I’m not even sure what is happening other than I want to taste her.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” she asks.

  At that moment, I get an idea… a really bad idea… I glamour her and say nothing other than, “You’re coming with me.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  I grab a cab in front of the club and sit in the back with her. On the way, whenever I glance at her, she just stares forward and waits for my next command.

  When we get to the house, I help her out of the cab. Once he drives off, I turn toward her.

  “What’s your name?” I ask.

  “Valerie.”

  “Valerie… I’m not sure that name suits you. Once we are in the house and alone, I’m going to call you Lexi.”

  She nods.

  “Come,” I say and she follows me inside.

  Harvey opens the door before I can reach for it.

  “Who is this?” he asks suspiciously. “You shouldn’t be bringing anyone to the house.”

  “Does it matter? It’s late. Sarah is not even here, and I didn’t do anything stupid like you probably assume I did.”

  He looks at her to make sure she is glamoured.

  “Where have you been?”

  I roll my eyes at him. “At a club and to answer your question, this is Valerie.”

  Valerie gives me a confused look. Apparently, even compelled, she missed the part where I said I’d call her Lexi only when we were alone.

  Harvey looks from me to Valerie.

  “What’s your name?” he asks.

  She smiles sweetly at him. “Lexi.”

  His gaze returns to me and he is furious. “Damn it, Nicholas. What the hell are you doing?”

  “Look, I just want the company okay? Nothing more.”

  He shakes his head. “Stay here,” he says.

  A second later, he is coming back holding his keys.

  “Come on, Valerie, I will take you home,” he says.

  She is still glamoured so she looks at me for instructions.

  I smirk at him.

  “Nicholas, I do not have time for this. Release her!”

  “Sure,” I say. “Not without a replacement though.”

  “Just call one of your regular blood sluts, okay? At least they are willing.”

  “I don’t exactly have regulars and besides, I wasn’t going to do anything she didn’t want me to.”

  “Just release her, okay?”

  “Fine!”

  I release her and she looks at me with eyes wide open. She is obviously frightened and I love every minute of it.

  “How did I get here? Where am I?” she asks frantically.

  Harvey is really mad now, but he manages to play nice in front of her.

  “Valerie, I’m Harvey. This is my brother Nicholas. He was giving you a ride home but had to stop here first.”

  “But I was at the club,” she says confused.

  “Yes, that is where he met you. Nicholas has to take care of some things, but I’m going to take you home, if that is okay. Unless you want to go back to the club.”

  She looks indecisive at first. “I think I should go home,” she says.

  He nods and gives me a warning look before he gets in the car and leaves.

  I go in the house and, having nothing else to do, I grab one of those disgusting blood bags. I turn the xbox on and start to play some zombie game that Harvey left lying around. A good hour or so passes before Harvey comes back.

  I hear the door open and without looking back, I ask, “so, did you decide to keep that one to yourself?”

  He hesitates. “You did, didn’t you? I can smell her on you. You know, it’s not fair that I do the hard work and you keep the reward.”

  “Shut up, Nicholas. And turn off the game. We need to talk.”

  “No, we don’t.”

  “Ugh,” he growls. “Look, I had a long day, and night, but we are talking tomorrow whether you want to or not.”

  “Sure thing, father.”

  I hear him growl once more before he goes to his room.

  I end up playing for the rest of the night, afraid of going to sleep and having those dreams again. Right now, I would give anything to go back to how I used to be… without the blood angel that makes my existence hell.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  I can already see daylight through the curtains when I hear Harvey come down the stairs.

  I keep playing the game.

  “I need to have a word with you, Nicholas.”

  I roll my eyes. “Sure. Make it quick.”

  He walks toward me and takes the controller away from my hand.

  “Look at me when I talk to you!” he growls.

  “Yes, sir!” I say sarcastically. “What is it, Harvey?”

  “You need to find something to do instead of feeling sorry for yourself all the time.”

  “I don’t feel sorry for myself. And I’m trying to do something right now, but you are interrupting me with the therapy talk.”

  “I just don’t want you to go back to how you were. And find a way to be supportive of your sister. Get involved in what she is doing.”

  “She seems to be doing fine on her own. She has her own life. I mean, where is she now?”

  “I called her and said it was okay for her to go to school.”

  “There you go. She doesn’t need me, which means that I gave up the only person who ever meant anything to me for no reason.”

  His hand moves to my neck and he pushes me back until I’m standing against the wall. He presses harder and harder against my neck and I let him.

  “Don’t you ever blame the kid for your stupid decision. Leaving Lexi was your choice. You could have her right here, right now, but you decided on your own that leaving her would be for her own good and not only that, you handed her off to her ex. That, Nicholas, is all on you. So get your shit together and be the brother that Sarah needs you to be. This is all new to her and I’m sure she is scared. She needs you.”

  “Fine. But I need to feed first.”

  He lets go of my neck. “Grrr. Just go feed. And don’t do anything stupid.”

  “Yes, father!” I give him a smirk and he shakes his head. Harvey is not much older than me. He was in his late twenties when he was turned, but he acts much older. He turns around and goes to another room and I go to the table where he always leaves the key fob to his Aston Martin. In a blur of movements, he is back and trying to take the key fob from me.

  “I don’t think so,” he says as he yanks the key fob off my hands.

  “Come on, man.”

  “You’re not driving my car. Take your own.”

  I look over at my old Camaro sitting outside, knowing that every time I get in it, brings back memories of her.

  “Damn it, Nicholas. You need to see a therapist or something. And sell
the damn car. You need to do whatever it takes to get over her.”

  “Driving your car would help,” I say.

  I can tell he is frustrated but it’s a sweet car and worth dealing with his bad mood later. He throws the fob toward me. “Fine. If anything happens to it, you are paying.”

  “Yes, fath—” He gives me a warning look. “Thanks, Harvey.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  SARAH

  By the time I get up, there is a summer dress on the bed along with an unopened toothbrush. Ally is gone, so I get dressed and before I get out of the room, I get a text from Harvey saying that everything seems okay and I should go to school.

  I stop by the bathroom to brush my teeth and hair. When I open the door, I run into Ian.

  “Good morning,” he says.

  “Good morning.”

  “Am I taking you home or to school?”

  “School, I guess.”

  “Are you ready?”

  I nod and follow him out of the house.

  He rushes in front of me and opens the passenger side door of his truck. I climb in and he goes around.

  We end up stopping at a fast food place on the way to school.

  “What would you like?” he asks.

  “Just an orange juice,” I grab my bag to get money, but he stops me.

  “It’s on me,” he gives me a crooked smile.

  Neither one of us say anything on the short drive to school. Minutes later, after he has parked the truck, I can’t seem to move. I sit there, staring at the school. Near the front door, I see Megan talking to Cassie. I can’t say that I’m surprised. Everyone told me they pretty much leave each other alone, but right now, they have something in common. They both hate me.

  “Are you okay?” he asks.

  I nod.

  “You’re shaking.”

  I shiver. “I don’t think I can go in.”

  I don’t have to say anything else.

  “I don’t either. Let’s get out of here.” He starts the truck and drives off.

  He drives for a while and I don’t ask where we are going. After a while, he parks the truck in the middle of a field.