Yearn For Blood (Blood Origins Book 1)

by Tiffany Heiser

  atop my head.

  “Have a good day, sweetheart. I’ll see you after school,” she

  whispered and rocked me side to side slightly.

  “Thanks, Mrs. D. Have a good day,” I whispered in reply,

  15

  Yearn for Blood

  relishing the human contact, and finally turned to walk out of the house after Cecile, who was lowering the top of her red convertible.

  “Don’t you think it’s a bit chilly to be driving with the top

  down?” I asked, even though I didn’t really care either way, and

  tossed my bag in the back to join hers.

  “It’s not that cold, plus it’s been so long since the sun’s been

  out! We need to take advantage of it while we can!” Cecile cheerily replied as she flipped through her phone to find a song to drive to.

  I laughed in agreement and slipped into the passenger seat

  beside her before grabbing the pair of sunglasses I kept stashed away in the glove compartment.

  We sped through the neighborhood on our way to school to

  the tune of an obnoxiously upbeat pop song, and I couldn’t help but grin at the way Cecile bobbed to it when she thought no one was

  looking. I let my eyes drift away, giving her some privacy, and

  watched as the world around us passed in a blur before letting my head drop back against the chair to look at the sky. It had been a long time since the rain had stopped and despite the cold, it was a beautiful day. The air was clean and crisp like it always is after a long rain and the sky was so clear and blue that I wanted to fall up into it.

  Until suddenly I really was falling.

  I barely heard Cecile’s high-pitched gasp before the

  weightlessness gripped me and my body lurched forward. A

  frightened squeak escaped my throat, but it was cut off when the seat belt locked firmly in place around my chest to keep me from flying out of my seat, and my hand shot out to slam against the dash. The screeching of tires and blaring of horns assaulted my ears, louder than my alarm clock could ever, and I clutched at the seatbelt in a death grip. I gasped for air, my heart pounding like mad inside my chest, a cold sweat forming on the back of my neck.

  “—ena? Rena?”

  BLOOD ORIGINS- BOOK ONE

  Cecile’s disembodied voice slowly became clearer in my ears,

  and I finally looked up at her, shaken. “I’m… I’m alright.” I gasped unconvincingly and finally looked around. “W-what happened?”

  “That jerk cut us off!” Cecile shouted and waved her fist

  angrily at a tinted black Ford Mustang speeding away in front of us.

  She turned back towards me; her pretty face wrinkled with worry.

  “I’m so sorry! Are you sure you’re alright?”

  I forced a half-hearted smile and nodded, but in truth I

  wasn’t entirely sure. My skin felt clammy, and my limbs tingly as blood returned to them, but my pounding heartbeat wouldn’t slow.

  The anxiety, the panic, the bad memories of the last car accident I was in were surfacing again, clawing their way back to the surface.

  You’re okay…everything’s fine…you’re alive and so is Cecile.

  With slow, deep breathing, I managed to calm down as we

  trailed after the car that Cecile had almost crashed into. But for some reason, I couldn’t quite shake off another nagging feeling,

  underneath the anxiety I’d been trying to escape for so long.

  The feeling that I was being watched.

  17

  Yearn for Blood

  Chapter Two

  WE MADE IT TO SCHOOL WITHOUT ANY MORE

  close calls, but my heart still pounded in my chest. Uneasy,

  restless. Cecile pulled into the closest parking spot to school,

  and the moment she put her car into park I was on the move.

  The seat belt flew from around my body and clanked loudly

  against the door of the convertible before I shoved it open and

  almost slammed it against the neighboring car. I scrambled

  out, pausing only to snatch my bag from the backseat just as

  the top was beginning to climb back over, and took a few steps

  back.

  “Rena?” Cecile’s muffled voice called out to me before

  she popped out from the other side of the car. Her blue eyes

  peered worriedly at me as she watched me round the car to her

  side. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

  “Y-yeah,” I lied, trying to keep my voice even and light,

  but I could tell from the way her brow pinched together she

  didn’t believe me. The cons of being friends with someone for

  so long—she could read me like a book. She fell into step

  BLOOD ORIGINS- BOOK ONE

  beside me and together we began walking towards our first

  period. “I’m okay,” I meekly reassured her. “Really, I am. Just a little shaken, that’s all.”

  It’s just the adrenaline, I thought, even as my stomach

  roiled with nausea. The air around me grew more humid as the

  sun began to heat up the day, and the thickness of it felt

  suffocating. I looked toward the shaded sidewalk, only a few

  steps away, and urged myself forward faster, hoping I would

  feel better once out of the sun.

  But the next thing I knew, the world around me swayed

  violently and my vision blurred.

  My foot caught the curb of the sidewalk, and I

  stumbled forward with a startled gasp. Cecile cried out in

  surprise as my hands shot out in front of me, and I caught

  myself against a tree. The rough bark dug painfully into the

  palms of my hands and still I clutched at it, trying to anchor

  myself. My body swayed sickeningly side to side as if I were on

  the deck of a ship in the middle of a storm. I groaned as my

  stomach churned violently and threatened to spew my

  breakfast. My head throbbed and beads of sweat trickled down

  my forehead, forming a damp trail to my neck.

  Slowly, I slid down to crouch at the base of the tree. I

  had no idea how long I knelt there, praying for what had to be

  a severe migraine to stop before I heard Cecile’s far off voice.

  “Rena!” She called my name out repeatedly, and I

  19

  Yearn for Blood

  snapped back to reality when I felt her shake my shoulders

  with more strength than someone her size should be able to

  muster. “What’s wrong? Are you alright? Should I get a

  teacher?” She fired question after question at me, wanting to

  help but not giving me a chance to even answer.

  I blinked warily at her, my vision still swimming, and

  swallowed audibly. “N-no,” my voice shook, “I think it’s just

  the heat.” I brushed away the strands of dark hair from my face

  and took her offered hand. Cecile hoisted me up and gripped

  my elbow tightly as I swayed dizzily for a moment. “I’ll feel

  better in some air conditioning. The humidity must be getting

  to me.”

  She looked at me skeptically before firmly hooking our

  arms, forcing me to lean against her. “Alright…” She didn’t

  believe me one bit. “But I’m going to tell Mrs. Dawson you’re

  not feeling too hot.”

  I wanted to argue with Cecile and let her know that she

  didn’t have to go that far, but she was her mother’s daughter

  and in turn, a worrywart. She escorted me to class as the final

  bell rang and left me at my desk before she walked to Mrs.

  Dawson and began speaking in a hushed voice. I couldn’t he
ar

  their exchange from my desk, but I could see that Mrs. Dawson

  was hooked on every word she said. Cecile had a way with

  people, and everyone seemed to like her. With just a few words

  and a carefully timed smile, she could get anyone to do just

  about anything for her. I averted my eyes sheepishly when Mrs.

  Dawson looked in my direction, hating that I was the topic of

  their discussion, and watched through the corner of my eye as

  BLOOD ORIGINS- BOOK ONE

  she nodded to Cecile and motioned for her to take her seat.

  “Alright, guys and gals!” Mrs. Dawson chimed with a

  bright smile after Cecile sat down, “welcome back from the

  weekend! I thought we could go ahead and start this week off

  slow, so I decided that we’re going to start watching Beastly.

  This is a new take on Beauty and the Beast, but pay attention to

  the details! I’m not showing this for you to have nap time.

  There will be a test on this comparing it to the reading

  sometime soon,” she finished ominously as she pulled down

  the projector and started the film.

  The moment the lights in the room dimmed, my mind

  started to wander. I had seen the movie before, and I knew the

  story well enough that it didn’t warrant my complete

  attention. I watched absently as the two protagonists met.

  Despite the film being a little cheesy and cliché, I couldn’t help injecting myself into the scenario and fantasizing about it all.

  True love’s kiss, a curse breaking, a happy ending… Boy oh

  boy did I want to be romanced by a handsome boy and fall in

  love.

  But while it was nice to fantasize about it all, the idea of

  actually being in a relationship made me wary. Maybe it was

  that I’d been the observant third wheel for Cecile’s string of

  boyfriends for so long, but any time a boy expressed interest in

  me, I found myself stand-offish, knowing how it would likely

  end. Signing up to be a victim of a broken heart? No, thank

  you. Still, I couldn’t help wondering how nice it would be to

  get the kind of happily ever after I’d read about so many times

  21

  Yearn for Blood

  -ena?

  I jumped slightly in surprise when I heard my name

  being whispered and glanced directly in Cecile’s direction, but

  she was paying attention to her cell phone. Everyone else

  watched the movie.

  You can hear me, can’t you?

  The whisper made my skin crawl and the hair on my

  arms stand at attention, and I surveyed the room closer than I

  did before. Most eyes were glued to the movie; others were

  closed while their owners napped shamelessly. I must be

  imagining things, I thought, shaking my head. I slowly returned

  my attention to the film—or tried to, at least, but that uneasy

  feeling was rising in my stomach again. A flicker out of the

  corner of my eye made me jump, but it was just the light

  pouring in from the small window in the door. Drawn to it, I

  turned my head to peer against the light and saw a figure just

  outside shadowed by the sun.

  In a flash, the world started to sway violently again. My

  breath hitched in my throat as the ceiling went in one

  direction while the floor went in the other. Unable to maintain

  my balance, I tumbled gracelessly from my seat and onto the

  floor with a loud thunk. Pain radiated dully up my arms and

  legs from falling so hard. Fortunately, the room stopped

  moving.

  Wincing, I looked up to see every single one of my

  classmates had turned in their seat to gawk at me.

  Mrs. Dawson rushed to my side, her skirt swaying like a

  BLOOD ORIGINS- BOOK ONE

  whirlwind, and knelt down beside me. “Rena, what happened?

  Are you okay?”

  My cheeks burned with embarrassment, and I kept my

  eyes down on the floor in an attempt to escape the curious

  stares and Cecile’s particularly penetrating one. “N-no,

  ma’am,” I mumbled, thankful when my hair slipped from

  behind my shoulder to hang around my face like a curtain. “I

  think I’m coming down with something. Can I—may I go to

  the nurse’s office?”

  “Yes, of course. I think that would probably be best.

  Let me write you a pass and have someone escort you.” Mrs.

  Dawson replied and started to look around the room for

  someone to escort me.

  “No!” I squeaked in protest. “I can make it there by

  myself. I don’t want anyone to miss out on the movie when

  there’s going to be a test on it. The nurse’s office isn’t even that far. I can make it there.” I looked up at her with begging eyes,

  praying that she would let me go alone so I could recover from

  my embarrassment, and sighed in relief when she relented. As

  Mrs. Dawson walked back to her desk to write me a pass, I

  mashed my folder into my backpack and almost snatched the

  paper from her when she returned with it. I mumbled “Thank

  you” and rushed to flee the room, pausing only for a moment

  for a quick glance in Cecile’s direction, knowing that she

  would find me the moment class was over.

  I hurried across the school’s quad and entered the

  nurse’s office, where I was forced to endure being poked and

  23

  Yearn for Blood

  prodded at for several minutes. After she determined that I was

  a little warm, she handed me an ice pack to snuggle with and

  ordered that I rest until next period.

  She dimmed the lights in the room and left me to lie

  there in the dark. I sighed, letting my eyes close. The almost-

  accident that morning had sure done a number on me, but I

  was convinced getting some rest would help me get back to

  normal. I was just still shaken; I needed to calm down. Relax.

  Then I’d stop imagining whispers that weren’t real.

  My mind soon began to drift. I was somewhere between

  consciousness and sleep when a figure stepped into my

  narrowing vision. I frowned tiredly. With the room being so

  dark, it was difficult for me to make out any exact details of

  who it was. Just when I was about to give up, the figure moved

  close enough for me to make out that it was a boy.

  My eyes were instantly drawn to his piercingly bright

  blue eyes; a shiver ran down my spine from that strong,

  captivating gaze. I shifted my own eyes away, uncomfortable

  with meeting his gaze so familiarly, and trailed along his

  handsomely chiseled jaw to the dark locks of hair that framed

  his face. His full lips turned upwards into a grin when he

  caught me taking him in, and my heart thumped noticeably in

  my chest.

  BLOOD ORIGINS- BOOK ONE

  “Hello?” I whispered hesitantly, my voice practically

  shattering the silence in the room. He didn’t answer my

  greeting, and I frowned, mildly disappointed. “Who are you?”

  A loud knock on the door startled me, and I shot up

  from bed with a gasp. I looked towards the door just as it

  opened to let Cecile in before turning back to where the boy

  had been standing and frowned when I di
scovered I was the

  only one in the room. I must have been sleeping and dreamed

  it all…

  “I brought you a snack,” Cecile announced softly and

  held out a bag of cookies and a Gatorade out to me.

  “Thanks, you didn’t have to.” I smiled appreciatively

  and took them from her before holding them in my lap. I

  wasn’t feeling very hungry.

  She waved her hand dismissively and plopped down on

  the bed next to me. “I was really worried. Maybe I should call

  mom and ask her to take you home?”

  I shook my head. “No, I think I managed to sleep it off.

  I feel better, honest.” She twisted her mouth again,

  disbelieving, and I leaned forward to wrap my arms tightly

  around her in a bear hug to show that I wasn’t feeling as weak

  as I was earlier. “See?” I grinned when she laughed and

  returned my hug. “I’m not sure what was going on earlier, I

  just felt really off since we almost got in an accident. The nurse thinks I’m probably dehydrated.” When we released each other

  from the hug, I made a point to take a drink from the Gatorade

  she had brought me to show that I was making an effort to get

  25

  Yearn for Blood

  better.

  “That makes sense. I always feel like I’m dying during

  practice when I don’t drink enough water. No more soda and

  coffee for you! Just water!” Cecile tried to give me a stern look, one that resembled her mom’s, but it lasted less than a second

  when she burst into a fit of giggles.

  I laughed at her valiant attempt to channel Mrs.

  Danvers. “Yes, ma’am. I will do that.” I mock saluted her

  before I swung my legs over the edge of the bed. “What time

  are we leaving today?” I asked as I picked up my bag to get

  ready to go to class again.

  Cecile scrunched her nose and pursed her lips as if she

  just remembered something. “I forgot that I have cheer

  practice tonight, so I won’t be able to drive you home right

  after school. I even need to run home during lunch to pick up

  my gear. I can ask Mom to pick you up when school is over, or

  maybe you can drive home and then pick me up?”

  I blanched at the idea of driving, especially after the close call on the way to school, and I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I

  don’t even have my driver’s license yet, remember?” It took a