by M. Leighton
Exhaling, I glanced toward a still-enthralled Lacey and slowly raised my arm toward her, placing my hand on her shoulder.
The instant I touched her, I saw the change. The feathers evaporated as if they’d never been and the dull, trance-like look in her eyes cleared immediately, leaving her looking a little confused and a little irritated.
“What’s your damage, Peyton?” she snapped, shrinking back from me.
Turning away from Lacey, I was relieved to see that Brady seemed to be bouncing back rather quickly. He was slowly shaking his head back and forth, as if he was a bit addled, but otherwise he seemed no worse for the wear.
My awe over what had transpired was interrupted by the magnetic pull of Trace’s presence. As if compelled by something outside my own will, my gaze rose past Brady to meet Trace’s eyes. He stood just outside the tiny bathroom, watching me. His brow was knit together in a frown, but he said nothing. He just watched.
Nothing in his expression gave away what he was thinking or feeling, whether or not he’d seen anything odd or unusual. Or alarming, like feathers sprouting from Lacey’s back that were sucking my brother’s life force. I could only assume that he had not.
Slowly, Trace’s frown disappeared, though his eyes remained locked on mine. I felt the intensity of his gaze ratchet up several notches, making me feel breathless and lightheaded. Heat blossomed in the space between us, steamy and stifling.
Even with Brady’s body like a physical barrier that separated us, I could feel a tug somewhere in the vicinity of my soul that urged me to push past my brother and close the distance. Carefully, almost experimentally, Trace took a step back. I saw the frown return then he moved forward again. Like a ghost, there one minute and gone the next, the frown disappeared when he drew nearer. Still watching me, he repeated the process as if he were testing the tensile strength of the nearly tangible bonds of attraction that stretched between us.
“Earth to Peyton,” Brady barked loudly.
Starting as if he’d slapped me, I pulled my eyes from the grip of Trace’s and focused with all my might on my brother instead.
“Sorry. What?”
I hadn’t even realized he’d spoken. In fact, it would’ve been all too easy to forget that Trace and I weren’t alone in the room, alone in the world. And I would’ve been fine with that, too. At that moment, I felt as though he was all I needed to survive, more than even water or air.
“Trace is gonna help me move the furniture in the living room. When we’re finished, will you vacuum in there while we go get the keg?”
“Keg? Brady, you said there wouldn’t be any drinking,” I reminded him, finally able to turn my full attention toward someone, anyone other than Trace.
“It’s just beer, Peyton. Calm down.”
Brady rolled his eyes in that degrading way that I hated and, as always, I wanted to slap the blue right out of them. It was infuriating.
“And just where do you think you’re gonna get a keg? You do realize that you’re only a twenty-one year old bullet-proof god in your mind, right?”
An uncharacteristic blush stole into Brady’s cheeks. He rarely ever reacted to my barbs, other than with a cheeky grin or snide comment. He never blushed or got angry. He didn’t give my opinions or commentary that much credit.
I saw his eyes flicker once to Lacey and quickly return to me, his lips thinning into an unhappy line.
“Just let me worry about that, Debbie Downer,” he groused, turning on his heel and stalking past Trace, who still stood at the edge of the doorway, watching me silently.
After a few more seconds of wordlessly observing me, Trace turned and walked away, leaving me with Lacey. When I turned back to my task of cleaning the bathroom, I saw Lacey’s discombobulated expression and wondered if she had any idea what had transpired. It didn’t appear that she did, and her first words confirmed it.
“I have a headache and I feel weird,” she stated fuzzily.
“Maybe it’s the fumes. Why don’t you go supervise the boys and make sure they don’t do something stupid while I finish up in here, k?”
Nodding robotically, Lacey made her way from the room, leaving me alone with my confusing thoughts and bizarre blend of déjà vu and a brand new reality.
********
The rest of the day went smoothly. No one hulked out or sprouted strange new appendages or tried to kill or drain anyone else. It would’ve been far too easy to think I’d imagined it all, that Lacey, Brady and Trace were the exact same people I’d known the day before. Only they weren’t. And I hadn’t imagined it. I felt it in the air like a thick cloud of malevolence that surrounded me. Things had changed. Forever. Something was happening to the people around me. And something was happening to me.
Brady and Trace disappeared just after dinner, about the time that Lacey went home to get ready. I took the opportunity to do my own grooming, dressing in the clothes that I felt like I’d only shed a few hours before. But I hadn’t. They were hanging in my closet, clean, wrinkle-free, and unworn just as they had been when I’d dressed in them the day before.
As I dried my hair, I couldn’t help but wonder what new revelations the night might bring and how the fight between Trace and Brady would play out, if it would be any different. I wondered if I should take measures to try and stop it before it started, but I didn’t know how that might affect the outcome of other things. I mean, I’d seen dozens of movies that served as cautionary tales about messing with the fabric of time and destiny and all that. Of course, I never dreamed in a thousand years that it was actually possible to do any such thing. But now I wasn’t so sure.
Regardless, I felt that it was imperative that I keep things going as smoothly as possible between Trace and Brady, not only for their benefit, but for mine and everyone else’s, too. Maybe the universe was giving me a second chance to keep the peace between them. If that was the case, I didn’t intend to squander it.
Brady returned a couple hours later with the first of the party-goers. Somewhere along the way, he’d traded Trace for half the football team. They filed in behind him, through the front door, each carrying an armful of goodies. It wasn’t long after that when all the others started to arrive. It was as if the presence of Brady and his buddies served as an invisible beacon that beamed into the night sky like the bat signal. Only this indicator alerted the masses, drawing them in like moths to flame.
I found myself watching each person that arrived with a more critical eye. I wondered if some sort of monster lurked beneath the seemingly innocuous surface and, if so, what kind of creature it might be. Apparently my ability to see it was either like a flickering light bulb, only working in short bursts, or, more likely, it had to do with the person experiencing something that triggered their…inner beast. I found the anticipation nearly as thrilling as it was nerve-racking. For the first time in my teenage life, I didn’t mind being relegated to on-looker, to casual observer. My ability to blend in like a wallflower was proving to be very useful as I circumspectly watched my peers.
“Aren’t you ever gonna learn to mingle?” Lacey asked into my right ear, startling me so badly I jumped.
“Lacey,” I said, putting my hand to my chest. “You scared me half to death.”
I should’ve expected her surprise approach, as she’d done the same thing in the previous version of the night. I’d just been so absorbed in the replay, in analyzing every person and action, that I’d lost track of the time.
“Is that a ‘no’?” she asked.
“Yes, that’s a no. Apparently I will never learn to mingle,” I answered offhandedly. Lacey leaned back against the wall beside me, crossing her arms over her chest as she settled in to keep me company just like she always did at Brady’s parties.
She was a really good friend in that way. She stuck right with me, playing the shy recluse, completely out of her comfort zone, for the first couple hours of each one. Then, when she’d had enough of sitting on the sidelines, she’d start to chatter with the
people around her a bit more, slowly expanding her reach until she eventually left me to flitter about like the social butterfly that she was. We couldn’t have been any more opposite in our nature, but I was convinced that’s why we worked so well together.
Quietly, we leaned against the wall and watched as people trickled through the door and then melted seamlessly into the growing crowd.
“Omigod! Can you believe she had the nerve to show up with him?” Lacey gasped. “The Amity-ville Whore and the Rip-off Rock star.”
I looked toward the door and saw Amity Ledger, shallow cheerleader extraordinaire, make her entrance with none other than Shane Gibson, rebellious rocker extraordinaire.
“What are they doing here?”
“Oh, I’m sure she’s still trying to make Trace jealous. Has to be. That’s the only explanation because there’s just no way the two of them could actually work. No way. You know as well as I do that the odds of her genuinely liking Ozzy-wannabe are roughly the same as me walking through my back yard and getting hit by a meteor. They’re a worse fit than she was with Trace.”
I prickled at the reminder that Amity had managed to grab and hold Trace’s attention for a very short while. The cheerleader had made all outward attempts to convince Trace she’d come back from the previous summer a changed person, a decent person. Trace, being the nice guy that he is, had given her a chance to prove it by finally going out with her. When the only thing she proved was that she was a scheming, conniving witch (albeit a fairly-decent actress), he dumped her.
Although the quick demise of their relationship did wonders for my heart, I still hated seeing Amity. Brady had told me how beautiful Trace thought she was and her presence served as a constant reminder of all that I was not, physically.
As if sensing our eyes and conversation had turned in her direction, Amity flipped her platinum hair over her shoulder, met my eyes and proceeded to flip me the bird. She disguised it as a middle-finger swipe across her bottom lip to clean up a smudge in her lipstick, but the pink stain was perfect. There was nothing to clean up. Just before she turned away, I saw a smug smile tug at her pouty lips.
Although I was thoroughly incensed by her audacity, there was nothing I could do. No one would believe that someone like Amity would deign to pay me that much attention, so ratting her out would be pointless. It would only serve to make me look crazy and paranoid. And probably a little desperate for attention.
With a sigh, I tried to just let it go, turning my eyes from Amity and giving as much of my attention as I could muster to Lacey where she still stood by my side. Luckily, she hadn’t seen Amity’s gesture. If she had, I’d have already been breaking up a cat fight.
“Oh and here comes Sheryl!” Lacey exclaimed excitedly, still looking toward the door. I followed her gaze and saw that she was watching a petite brunette weave her way through the crowd toward us. She swung rounded eyes in my direction. “Think she’ll tell me what happened with her and Tanner?”
I shrugged as I looked back toward the door, completely unconcerned with any of the normal gossip that everyone my age seemed to thrive on. I had much bigger worries at the moment, worries even bigger than that nasty Amity Ledger.
“I don’t know, but if she won’t you can always ask Tanner. He just walked in,” I informed, nodding for Lacey to look back toward the door.
I knew the instant she saw Tanner. Whether she meant to or not, she sighed the tiniest bit.
“Dude, if your brother wasn’t perfect and just about ready to fall madly in love with me, Tanner Sloan would be my next choice.”
Lacey made a smacking sound with her lips and I couldn’t help but giggle. She was so blunt! If a piranha could be blunt, that is.
Reaching over, I wiped at her bottom lip much as she’d done to mine the “night before.”
“Just wiping up some drool,” I teased, offering that by way of explanation when she tossed me a strange look.
“Not quite. Your brother is still the only one who makes me salivate. I practically need a bib to look at him.” She gave me a cheeky grin and I rolled my eyes. “I know he’s your brother, but you have to admit he’s smokin’ hot.”
“Lacey, ew!”
“Oh wait. I forgot. He doesn’t have hair the color of spun gold and eyes the color of warm honey,” she drawled dramatically, using her best Southern belle accent as she fluttered her eyelashes like an awestruck, doe-eyed girl.
I laughed, even though I silently wondered if that’s how I sounded when I talked about Trace. I’d have to be careful of that in the future. Now more than ever, I couldn’t let on that I had feelings for him. It could be the end of his relationship with my brother and the beginning of a world of troubles for me.
Sheryl’s arrival at Lacey’s side negated any need for a rebuttal on my part, so I turned my attention back to the room. I was glad that Lacey was immersed in conversation with the girl from our study hall period when Brady made his host’s round through the room. I felt the need to keep them as far away from one another as I possibly could. At least for a little while, something like, oh I don’t know, eternity.
As Brady circulated through the room, I remembered seeing him do the same thing the “night before,” but this time I noticed something I’d previously overlooked. Or was it that it hadn’t happened? I couldn’t be sure which, but I was definitely aware of it now.
Several times as Brady stopped to talk with different clusters of people, I saw his eyes flicker to Lacey and then dart quickly away. It was then that I began to sense a growing need in him. It was a thirst. For blood. One I’d seen portrayed in movies hundreds of times. I felt sure that, given free rein, it could be just as devastating.
In Lacey, I’d seen what her thirst meant. It was entirely possible, probable even, that she and Brady could be very dangerous—to each other and to the world at large—if they couldn’t learn to control the needs that were coming alive in their bodies.
I glanced at Lacey. She was still talking animatedly with Sheryl. I was glad that she didn’t see Brady. I watched him as he casually chatted his way across the room, drawing ever closer to where we stood. Of their own accord, my eyes kept flickering toward Lacey, continually checking to see if she would notice Brady. I prayed she wouldn’t.
He was literally upon us, standing just a few feet to my right, before Lacey turned her attention away from Sheryl to take in her surroundings. When she saw Brady, his back was to her. The same look that always came over her face in Brady’s presence—that slightly lovesick expression—slid into place over her features. I held my breath as I waited for something else to happen, for her to feel something more. Only it never did. The only thing I could feel coming from her was an intense feeling of want. Not need, just want. Something told me she’d gotten what she needed from him earlier. Her unnatural thirst had already been satisfied and I could only hope it would satiate her for a long, long time.
Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Brady. I felt it the instant his thirst came upon him. And it nearly consumed me.
CHAPTER FIVE
Stronger than anything I’d ever smelled before, the most delicious scent ever to touch my nostrils saturated the air. It was impossible to describe, but it was certainly the most tantalizing bouquet I’d ever encountered. And I knew what it was. Whether just an instinctive knowledge or because of the strange new presence of supernatural information, I knew what it was. It was blood. Human blood.
My mouth watered profusely and I felt a tingle in my gums, like I’d just swished soda around in my mouth. My heart raced and even my lungs seemed to hunger for more of the aroma, my chest straining to retain the particles for just a moment longer.
I was temporarily stunned by the intensity of the thirst I felt. Thankfully, however, I was quickly shocked back to reality, back to the dire nature of the situation when my eyes refocused on my brother and saw his face. His skin had begun to gray and his eyes had begun to redden. I knew that if he opened his mouth, I’d see two glisteni
ng white fangs, fangs that could be deadly if not controlled.
I felt the blood drain from my face. What if the changes were no longer invisible to everyone? What if all our peers were able to see what Brady had become? What possible explanation could I give? What could I say to control the damage?
Although I had no idea what it might be, I was prepared to do something rash. Without thought, I raised my hands to push my hair behind my ears, a nervous gesture I’d exercised since I’d had hair long enough to tuck. It was then that I saw my own arms were the same sickly, unnatural gray color as Brady’s skin.
With a gasp, I dropped my hands to my sides, looking wildly about for some place to run and hide. My involuntary reaction drew Lacey’s attention and she turned her gaze toward me. My heart hammered against my ribs as I awaited her shocked response to the bizarre appearances of my brother and me. Only it didn’t come. She simply frowned at me, concern clearly etched onto her face.
“What? What happened?”
I felt my mouth work itself open and closed as I struggled for words that wouldn’t come. I was both relieved and confused that I was still the only person who could see the monsters.
As questions started to pour into my mind, things like Why me? and How long will it last? a few answers appeared as well. Suddenly, I knew without a doubt that I was able to see the second nature of those around me, and that there were many more varieties than the three I’d seen. I had no idea why I could see it or what I was supposed to do with that kind of information, but it would come to me nevertheless.
Just then one of the girls that Brady was talking to threw back her head and laughed. It wasn’t the sound that drew my attention back to them, however; it was Brady’s reaction. A nearly overwhelming burst of hunger rocketed through him, touching me like a physical punch to the gut. I saw his eyes drop to her throat and stay there, and I was instantly afraid, afraid that if I didn’t intervene, something terrible would happen.