Seeing Red (The Dark Love Series)

by Olivia Howe

  Amber, Kali's mom, does our hair and makeup. She keeps it simple and curls our hair in perfect spirals. I feel like if I were to jump, the curls would bounce. I have to admit, I tried it, and I'm correct. My makeup consists of dark shades. Amber did what you call smokey eyes for me with dark red lipstick and pink blush.

  Amber won't let us look at ourselves in the mirror until we are completely done with hair and makeup. When I'm finally allowed to check the mirror, I'm flabbergasted. I was transformed into a complete girly girl. We look like we are about to go try out for a beauty pageant. I'm overly excited to show off my transformation to the guy I love, Andrew.

  * * * *

  I'm nervously waiting at Kali's house for the boys to show up. I can't help but have second thoughts about Andrew seeing me like this, it's not the usual way I dress. My hands are shaking as I pace back and forth. My body is taking complete control of me. My heart is racing a million miles per hour. I decide that maybe it would be best if I sit down. I have to keep telling myself that I look beautiful and Andrew will obviously think the same.

  The door bell rings, and I jump. If it wasn't for Kali's high ceilings, I would have jumped through her roof and left a complete mess everywhere.

  The door bell rings again a couple minutes later, and I now know both of our dates are downstairs waiting on us, and once we walk down the stairs, all eyes will be on us. It will be like a grand reveal of our radical prom changes. "Girls, the boys are here," Amber yells up over the stairs to us, interrupting my thoughts.

  "Coming!" Kali shouts to her mom. Taking a deep breath she turns to me. "Ready?"

  Kali looks every bit as anxious as I am. I nod my head and head toward the stairs.

  I'm praying my legs don't give out, and I don't tumble down the stairs to my near death. I really don't want to spend the night at the hospital and remember this night as the most embarrassing night of my life. "Walk slow," I whisper to myself so no one can hear me.

  Both of us begin walking down the glorious hardwood floors of the staircase. All I can hear is the tapping noises coming from our heels, and I only see three faces at the bottom of the stairs staring up at us.

  My eyes catch Andrew's, and he's dressed in a nice tuxedo, holding a corsage in his hand. He looks handsome. It makes me want to skip the prom and go straight to Andrew's bed.

  As I reach the bottom step, Andrew is standing with his hand out. I place my hand into his and Andrew kisses it lightly. "You look breathtaking, Nina. Absolutely beautiful. I just can't stop looking at you.” He opens the box with my flower and ties it around my wrist. It's a daisy. He remembered my favorite flower. I love it.

  "Picture time!" Amber yells in excitement. She starts to arrange us on the stairs as couples. Kali and Troy are up front, with Andrew and I in the back. She then proceeds to get some pictures of just the couples, and some by ourselves. She goes a little photograph crazy. I find it funny, which helps ease my nervousness a little.

  "The limo is waiting outside for you. Have a wonderful time. You all look magnificent!" Amber says. There's a limo out front? We're going to be taking a limo to prom? Being friends with Kali sure has its advantages.

  I walk out the door with my arm around Andrew, and my jaw drops when I spot the dark black limo in the driveway. It's long and shiny, like it had just been waxed.

  Climbing inside of it is somewhat of an obstacle with a dress on, but I manage.

  "Blast the music, limo DJ!" Kali shouts. The limo driver blasts music that's on a radio station. It's Kali's favorite, "22" by Taylor Swift. Pop music is her music of choice. I enjoy listening to Taylor Swift. She's the only young woman that I know of in the music industry that didn't let fame and money take over who she truly is inside. She didn't go crazy and start living the party life, that we know of. She seems like she stays completely true to who she is, and what she loves, music. She's someone that every young girl should look up to nowadays. Even though I would prefer to be rocking out to some Tesla, Nirvana, or The Cure.

  Pulling up to the school, I see mostly everyone's eyes are on us and the limo.

  As I get out of the limo, I feel famous, like a superstar getting ready to go on stage in front of all her fans. Everyone that's outside is staring at all of us. It's awkward, but in a way, it's thrilling. I have never had everyone's eyes staring at me before. It sure feels good though. I enjoy the moment as I have my arm wrapped around the love of my life.

  As we walk inside the gym, it's completely over-decorated. It looks like a Midsummer's Night Dream. Balloons are everywhere. It looks wonderful. There's a stage with a DJ playing music, tables with candles on each of them, a dance floor where everyone is at the moment, and refreshments.

  Mac Miller comes on the speakers and everyone goes insane. Kali pulls me out onto the dance floor. Andrew stares at me for a minute and then goes to find a table with Troy.

  I'm having fun dancing. I don't usually dance, but tonight is about being different, having fun, and trying not to break my ankle in these heels.

  I let my insecurities go, and start moving my hands and body to the beat of the music. It's like all of the stress drifts away and I'm just living in the moment, instead of in the past, or in the future. I'm living in this moment with my friend, dancing our asses off, and just having a fun time.

  My eyes try to find Andrew and he is nowhere in sight. Where's my date?

  I feel someone tap on my shoulder. It's Andrew. "Looking for someone?" he asks.

  "Yeah, I was looking for my date, but I think he left," I say sarcastically.

  "He's an idiot for leaving such a beautiful girl behind," Andrew says with his perfect smile.

  The song "Happy" by Secrets in Stereo starts playing out of the speakers. Andrew smirks. "I asked the DJ to play a couple of songs for us. Would you like to dance?"

  "I would love to." I wrap my hands around his neck and he grabs my waist.

  The song is perfect. It's about a guy that doesn't want to live a day without the one he loves, and wants to spend every moment he can with her. He just wants to make her happy.

  We are quiet during this song. I'm just listening to the lyrics and focusing on enjoying the moment with my hands around his neck.

  After the song ends, "Love Song" by The Cure comes on. I look at him with a big smile, "You remembered!"

  "I would never forget," he says as he kisses my cheek.

  "You're so sweet, Andrew." I'm beginning to think that "Love Song" is our song.

  "You make me feel like I'm whole again," Andrew quotes the lyrics in this song.

  "Are you just singing, or are you trying to tell me something?" I ask as my cheeks turn a different shade.

  "Both." We stare into each other's eyes. His dark and mysterious eyes are full of life and love. How did I get so lucky to be in the arms of a guy that is truly a gentleman? He's the light to my stars. He's the beating to my heart. He's the guy that all girls search for their whole lives, the one that everyone wants to be with, and he's holding me in his arms.

  As I stand here with the love of my life in my arms, I think of how perfect this moment is. Prom will be a night that I will never forget. I will always keep it locked away in my memories so I won't have the slightest chance of forgetting how I felt.

  Chapter 5

  Car Wash

  Dear Diary,

  Being in love is such a wonderful feeling, especially when it's mutual between two people. I never thought I would fall in love. I never thought I was capable of loving another person because I was, and still am, so broken.

  Depression is getting easier to cope with. I realized that it never is truly going to disappear, but it does get easier to deal with. It's been a learning process. I'm just happy I have Andrew here to help me through it, and I'm happy to have no secrets between my mom and I. Being able to express the truth to my mom is a weight lifted off of my shoulders. I don't have to lie or sneak around anymore. My mom doesn't speak about vampires and healers much, so we just keep our distance from that sub
ject and try to continue living a normal life.

  I still feel half broken inside. It's better than feeling completely broken. At least Andrew fills half of the hollow space. I still haven't figured out how to fill the other half. It's a mystery waiting to be solved.

  Love, Nina

  * * * *

  I pull into the school parking lot and see all of the cheerleaders dressed in bikinis. Most of them look bright orange from their spray tans, which is completely unattractive. Do they really think they look pretty like that? They look like oompa loompas. I feel myself smiling. I look over at the empty passenger seat next to me, wishing I could share my joke with Caroline. We both would be laughing at the sight of the oompa loompas. She would say something like, "I think they ran away from Willy Wonka's factory," or she would start singing, "Oompa loompa doom-pa-dee-do." Actually, if she was here, I wouldn't be the one about to get out of the car and join the rest of the cheerleaders with the fundraiser. It would be Caroline, and she would enjoy every minute of the car wash.

  "Nini!" I hear a pounding noise on my window. I jump and see Kali's face lit up brightly with a big smile planted on her face. "Get out of the car! Let's do some fundraising!" She yells and runs to the group of girls standing in a circle.

  "Just a couple of hours," I mumble to myself.

  * * * *

  After washing cars for about an hour, I'm soaked with soapy water, and the sun is radiating on my pale skin. The wind is blowing gently, and the fresh air smells wonderful through my nostrils.

  I'm happy that Kali didn't order me to stand by the road and hold up a sign telling people to come get their car washed. Instead, I'm stuck washing cars, by hand, which I can't really complain about because it gives me something to do with my time.

  I tuck my long, dark hair behind my ear and continue to work hard to make this silver, 4-door Neon sparkle.

  I hear a car horn beep behind me. Looking over my left shoulder, I see a dirty 2014 black beamer. Andrew's new car would be nicer if it was clean.

  Andrew hops out of the car. "I'm in desperate need of a car wash."

  I smile and shake my head. "Did you purposely dirty your new car?"

  "No, I wouldn't do that." Andrew smiles and starts to walk toward me. I cross my arms and smirk at him. "Ok, you caught me. I did it for a good cause," Andrew admits.

  "You're so cute.” I greet him with a hug and passionate kiss.

  "Where's Alex?" Andrew inquires. "Let me guess, she's sitting in the shade somewhere."

  "Actually, I haven't seen Alex for a while."

  "She's definitely somewhere shady. I'll be right back, love." Andrew kisses me softly on my forehead. Oh my, I love him so much.

  I sigh and begin to walk over to Andrew's dirty Beamer. As I'm walking, I look straight ahead and see a strange man. He's standing far away, staring at me with no emotion on his face at all. I keep glancing his way. He's tall with dark hair. A beard covers some of his face. His eyes don't leave mine and his body is completely still, like a statue. Who is he and why is he staring at me? This unknown man is starting to scare me.

  As I'm staring at this mysterious man, Andrew startles me as he grabs my arm. "What are you doing?" I look up at Andrew with no facial expression and look back toward the direction of the man. He's gone. "Nina, what are you looking at?" As the words left his mouth, I see him begin to smell the open air. "Get into the car. Now," Andrew whispers.

  My eyes still stare at the spot the strange man stood. "Nina," Andrew whispers. "Get into the car. Now."

  My eyes catch Andrew's and he looks angry and scared. "What's going on?"

  "Just trust me."

  I throw the towel on the ground, and jump into the black car. Andrew and I take off in an instant.

  "What's going on?" I ask.

  "I smelled the scent of an unknown vampire," Andrew admits.

  My eyes focus on the open road ahead of us. I gasp as my mind comprehends the words that just left his mouth. "I saw him," I whisper.

  * * * *

  Andrew and I sit in silence. It's so quiet in the Madsen residence. My nerves are going so crazy I'm chewing on my nails. I have a pretty good idea of what's going on. Even though Andrew doesn't want to say it out loud, I already know.

  Alex bursts through the front door, and is by my side in an instant. "Are you okay?"

  I look at her confused. "I'm fine, Alex."

  "You smelled the vampire?" Andrew asks Alex.

  Alex nods her head. "I tried to follow the scent, but I had no luck."

  "I saw him," the words leave my mouth. "He was staring at me with absolutely no emotion on his face."

  "You saw him?" Alex asks.

  I nod my head. "He's pale, with dark hair. His eyes were piercing mine." I look up at Andrew and Alex with tears forming. "They're back, aren't they? The Sulivic Brothers are back," my voices starts to tremble.

  Alex sighs and Andrew takes a deep breath. "We need to contact the family immediately.”

  "I'll call Lilah and Ella," Alex announces.

  "I'll get ahold of Julian and Abel," Andrew says.

  I sit in silence and continue to chew off my fingernails. It's happening again. The Sulivic Brothers are coming to finish what they started and avenge the death of their brother, Gavin.

  Chapter 6

  Meeting The New Girl

  Dear Diary,

  I can't stop thinking about the strange man that disturbed me. I just can't wrap my head around the fact that this creepy vampire was staring at me. I'm not completely sure if it's someone that the Sulivic Brothers sent, but I have a feeling that it was.

  I've been living such a happy life, and now they're back. The Brothers are back to try to kill me again. Why me? I ask myself that all the time. Just when I think I'm taking one step forward, I feel myself running backwards. What the hell am I going to do? I just have to try to forget about it before I drive myself insane. Key word, try.

  Love, Nina

  * * * *

  I can't sleep. It's two in the morning and I'm still awake. I can't stop stressing about the predicament I have stumbled into. I always seem to get myself into these difficult circumstances. I feel like I'm walking on a rope that is placed a million feet in the air. I'm starting to wiggle and lose my balance. I think I'm bound to slip soon.

  I feel Andrew's body move into a different position. "You're still awake?" he asks.

  I stare off into space. "Yes, story of my life."

  "I would tell you not to stress about the Brothers, but you won't listen to me," Andrew mumbles as he places himself into a sitting position beside me. "I will protect you. Trust me, love."

  "I do trust you, Andrew," I say. "I just can't get the thought of them to leave my head. All these scenerios are playing throughout my thoughts."

  "I know what will make you feel better." I look up and Andrew is smiling contagiously.

  I tilt my head to the side and raise my eyebrows. “What's that?”

  Andrew moves his face to mine. The tip of his tounge finds my lips and gently licks my top lip, following with a passionate kiss.

  My mind is racing with a million words to describe the way I feel about this man.

  I start to move my hand down his silky skin. He slides his hand underneath my sweatpants. I kiss him harder.

  I feel his body now on top of mine and he kisses my collarbone gently. He lifts my tank top up over my head, and then continues to explore my body with his lips.

  Heat passes between us. Our breathing becomes deeper and louder.

  He's right, this is making me feel better.

  We start to make love to each other.

  * * * *

  As I'm sitting in Pyschology this morning, Kali is being her usual self and texting in her purse while Mrs. Gamage goes on about the human race. I glance over at Kali and she's smiling, making it obvious that she is doing something that she isn't supposed to.

  I hear a man clear his voice. I follow the sound and see Mr. Taylor, the principal, standin
g at the door with a young girl. “Mrs. Gamange, I'm very sorry for interrupting your class time, but we have a new student for you.”

  “Come on in. It's absolutely fine!” She replies. Mrs. Gamage is the type of teacher that hates being interrupted. It's one of her pet peeves, as she has stated before. She knows it's not fine for Mr. Taylor to be coming in her classroom and intrude, but it's not like she can say how she really feels. He runs this school.

  “I would like to introduce you to Reese Anderson,” Mr. Taylor announces.

  “Nice to meet you Miss Anderson,” Mrs. Gamage smiles awkwardly and motions for her to take a seat.

  I look at Reese as she tucks her dirty blond hair behind her ear. As she sits down, I notice she keeps messing with the string on her sweatshirt. Nervousness is written all over her face, along with the “I don't want to be here right now” look.

  I'm curious about the new student here at Scarlett Hills High School.

  * * * *

  The lunchroom is filled with loud teenagers. I look around and see smiling faces and some not so happy faces. Everyone is talking louder than they should be. They are obviously too excited about being out of class for thirty minutes, they forget to use their inside voices.

  “You have a staring problem,” I hear a familiar voice say.

  I turn around and see Andrew's pale face in the sun that peaks its way through the window. “Just looking.”

  Andrew makes a confused face. His forehead scrunches up and his nose starts to flare. He begins to sniff the air around him, searching for something. “What are you doing?” I ask with an eyebrow raised.

  “I smell...” Andrew pauses and sniffs the open air again. “I smell a witch.”

  “What?”

  Andrew stays silent for a moment as he searches the room for the witch that he smells. “I don't understand,” he admits.

  “There is a witch here?”

  “Are there any new students here? I smell a witch. I am sure of it,” Andrew pleads.