The Roses Academy- the Entire Collection

by Tara Brown

  “Sorry. I think I shocked you.”

  “Quite the charge you have there.”

  “I know, right?” I rubbed my fingertips together and almost thought I could feel sparks.

  I followed him to the quiet room at the back of the house, the sunroom. He sat on an old couch next to the woodstove. I sat beside him and tried to ignore the sparks in my fingertips and rumbling in my belly.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  “Where’s Blake?” I didn’t want to ditch him. He was alone here.

  “Maybe he’s in the living room.” Shane shrugged.

  “Maybe.”

  Shane grinned. “So, you excited the year’s almost over?”

  “Yeah. I'm all ready to go.”

  His face dropped. “All the way to Harvard?”

  “Yeah. You still planning on Seattle?”

  “No.” He shrugged. “Not sure. I don’t have a right fit yet as far as career goals go.”

  My stomach clenched and I almost doubled over. “Oh my God,” I whispered.

  “Aimes, what is it?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t feel so good. I think I have the flu.” I stood and ran for the back deck. “Just need some air. Be right back,” I shouted back at him, terrified to crap my pants at his house.

  I ran down the stairs and put my hands on my hips. My palms were burning me through my shirt and pants. Holding them out in the fading light, I couldn’t see anything different. They weren’t even red but it felt as though they were on fire.

  My stomach dropped again and I buckled, falling to the damp grass. Everything hurt more than I could take.

  A screaming girl interrupted my plans of running through the woods to my house, where I could die in the privacy of my own bathroom. I struggled to my feet and stumbled down the back lawn to the woods where I heard her again.

  “Oh my God, Mr. Mac. Please Mr. Mac. Wake up!” It was Giselle sobbing.

  I hurried toward her, wiping sweat and groaning from the pain.

  “Giselle, what happened?” I clutched my stomach again.

  “I don’t know.” She shook and her hands trembled. Blood coated them. “He tried to kiss me and I said no and then he shoved me down on the grass.” She cried harder. I could see her torn shirt and skirt as she stayed next to the lifeless body of my favorite teacher, rocking him. “He kept saying he needed to teach me a lesson.”

  “What?” I dropped to my knees and struggled with the stabbing pain and fire in my belly. I reached for his pulse. Warm wetness coated my fingertips. “What happened? He has no pulse.” I wiped my hands on his back.

  “I don’t-don’t know.” She shivered. “I don’t know. I don’t know.” Her lip trembled as she sniffled and shook her head in tiny twitches. “He shoved my face in the dirt. Then everything got really hot and I reached back and grabbed him. I just felt so strong and crazy. Aimes, I put my face up to his and sucked him out, I think.” She put her hands over her lips. “I don’t know why. I just did. Like I kissed him and his spirit came out and I ate it.” She started to laugh and then cry harder. “That sounds crazy.”

  I had no response except to wrap my arms around her. “It's self-defense. You didn’t mean to kill him.” I felt sick. Mr. Mac tried to hurt her? He was my favorite teacher and he had tried to hurt her.

  “No, I sucked him out.” She cried onto my shoulder. “I wanted to. I meant to suck him out.”

  I patted her head. “It's okay. You're just not feeling well. You didn’t mean it.” She was obviously experiencing some form of trauma.

  “I meant it, Aimes.” She lifted her face and in the muted light, I could see the dark-red blood coating her lips and cheeks where her hands had touched.

  “There's blood on your face and hands.”

  She wiped at it like she’d gone mad.

  “It's okay. I got it. Let me get it.” I wiped and she cried.

  “I did this. I meant to. I wanted it. I wanted to kiss him and suck. Aimes, shit is wrong with me.”

  “Okay. Stop. We need to call the police.” My hands trembled. “And you can’t tell anyone that story. That can be our secret.”

  She collapsed onto me and my guts stabbed me again. My fingers buzzed and hummed with the current running through them.

  “I don’t know why. I don’t know, Aimee. I don’t know why.”

  “HELP!” I held her tight and shouted, “HELP! HELP US PLEASE!”

  “Aimes?” Shane came running down the darkening lawn. “Aimee?” he shouted again.

  “Here,” I cried out.

  “Holy shit, are you okay?” He was on me, touching me, holding me. He kissed the top of my head. “Someone call 911,” he yelled back at the house.

  I closed my eyes and gripped the sobbing mess Giselle was. Something about holding her felt right. Like we were old friends.

  But that wasn’t true.

  Chapter 9

  Kiss of death

  Aimee

  Alise’s hair was raven silk. I stroked it slightly.

  Her silver eyes narrowed. “What are you doing, loser?”

  “Nothing.” My palms were burning. I shivered and tingled and imagined what it would feel like to just brush my fingers against her skin.

  “Ugh, God, Aimee, you are so weird sometimes.” She climbed off the couch and walked into the kitchen. It made me snap out of my daydream. I frowned. Something was wrong with me. I got up and left the house, hoping for some cool air.

  But it didn’t help.

  I walked all over town, lost in a daze.

  Something was missing.

  As I walked and the sun set, I glanced in the windows as people began to turn on their lights. The insides of their homes looked cozy. Something about it made me sad.

  My stomachache was killing me.

  A horn startled me as Shane drove up. “You okay?” He leaned out the window.

  “Yeah. Just weirded out. Still not feeling well yet either. Did the police say anything?”

  “Not a lot. They gave me a flyer to become a cop though.” He chuckled weakly. “They did say they found an ass ton of drugs in his house. I guess he gave Giselle some lemonade. She never drank it though. It had the drugs in it. She could have died if she had. It was poorly made. He had some weird shit in his house, date-rape drugs. They said they’re linking this to some other druggings that have been going on. It’s all so crazy. I guess it was lucky he fell and landed on those sticks. They said he died instantly.”

  “Friggin’ weird.”

  “Weird and lucky. You and Mr. Mac always seemed close. Did he come off as creepy?”

  “No. God no. Blake sent me a text a couple of hours ago. He’s crushed. Mr. Mac was his mentor. We all liked him.”

  “Get in the truck. We can go for a drive.” He opened the passenger door.

  I didn’t think. I ran across the street and hopped in.

  We sat in silence as we drove. When he turned off onto the old beach road, I muttered, “I haven’t been here in years.”

  “I like it here.” He drove past the old trail that led to the secret beach only our small town knew about. He drove up to the viewpoint and parked. My stomachache came back with a vengeance.

  “I wonder who will replace him as the chem teacher?” Shane sounded weird, nervous.

  “Yeah.” Nerves rattled inside me. “Blake said he was asked to do it.”

  “Wow. Really?” Shane appeared stunned.

  “Yeah. He’s smarter than all the other teachers.” I glanced at him and tried not to stare at his lips.

  “Wanna walk?” His voice was low. I nodded weakly.

  He climbed out and strolled to my door, standing too close when he opened it. As I slid from the seat my chest pressed against his and he took the chance to lower his face. His soft lips brushed against mine, offering a tickle of breath and warmth of skin.

  His tongue slid between my parted lips, his hands gripped my arms, and his body pressed mine against the frame of the truck.

  My
hands slid up into his hair, pulling him down on me harder. I wanted more. The air was sweet and heavy. It made me high.

  His grasp tightened on my arms, but I couldn’t stop myself.

  He was filling me up.

  He slapped me in the arms and pushed, but my back was against the truck. I got a sense I was stronger than he was.

  He pushed and hit but whatever was filling me was too sweet.

  Cold air rushed between us. I opened my eyes, gasping. I wanted the air back. I wanted the taste of him to fill me more. I licked my lips, still tasting our kiss, but with my hands almost. It was strange.

  “Aimee?”

  I turned to the right to find a strange-looking girl with dark eyes and long dark hair standing next to a tall blond guy.

  “Who are you?” I snapped out of it and noticed Shane was gone. “Where's Shane?” I turned in a circle.

  A dark-haired guy knelt over Shane's body on the grass by the cliffs.

  “WHAT DID YOU DO?” I ran at the man.

  “Stay back!” He turned back at me and snarled with huge white fangs. “Christ, Aleks, get her out of here. She can’t see this.”

  I leapt at the dark-haired man with the fangs but the blond guy was there too fast. The air swirled with warmth and suddenly I was on the beach, the secret beach. The dark blond shook me. “Get it under control.”

  “Oh my God, how did you do that?” I screamed, backing away. I turned, not seeing another soul on the beach except me and the weird guy.

  My jaw trembled.

  My hands shook.

  “You okay?” he asked after a moment.

  “No.” I shook my head. “No. No. No. What happened? Where’s Shane?” I closed my eyes for a second. “What is that smell?” It was driving me insane. “Is that you? You smell like that?” I leaned in.

  “Yeah, that’s me.” He chuckled.

  “You smell like cookies,” I whispered and stepped back. “Why are we here? How did we get here? Who are you?”

  He acted scared or worried. “I’m Aleks. Aleksander.” His words had a hint of an accent. Eastern European or Scandinavian.

  “Why are we here? How did you do that? How did you bring us here?” I dropped to my knees, realizing the pain in my stomach was completely gone and I felt normal. Better than normal. “Am I dreaming?”

  “No.”

  “Did we—?” I glanced around and then looked up. “Did we fly?”

  “Not exactly.” He grinned and moved across the beach from me but without walking.

  “Oh my God!” I jumped up and backed away. “You’re some kind of monster. No. That doesn’t make sense. Maybe I’m sleeping. Maybe I hit my head.” I pointed at him. “That’s it. I hit my head.”

  “No.” He shook his head. “You need to get a handle on what you are and then we can go back.”

  “What am I?” I backed up a bit more. “What does that mean?”

  “You sucked Sha—your friend’s soul. You feed off souls.” He said it like he was telling me a plain and normal fact.

  “What?” I laughed. “Are you being serious right now?”

  “Yes.” He flashed closer to me, making me jump back.

  “What are you?”

  “Like you. I’m like you. Different and the same.” His pale-blue eyes narrowed. “We’re cursed. Angels of misfortune.” He pointed at the large logs up the beach from us. “Want to sit on the driftwood and make a fire? We can relax a bit and I can try to explain.”

  “Okay.” I shivered. “Where’s Shane?”

  “With Marcus and Ophelia. If anyone can help him, it’s them.”

  “Help him?” I furrowed my brow. “What's wrong with him?”

  “I’m not kidding.” He gathered small driftwood. “You sucked him dry almost.”

  “Sucked him?” I repeated it, remembering that was how Giselle had described it. My fingers sparked. “Something’s wrong with my hands,” I whispered. “They keep getting hot.”

  “It's a long story, Aimee. Needless to say, the girl with the dark eyes and hair, she messed up, badly.”

  “Who was she? What did she do? Who are you? How did we get here? How did you do that thing you did?” I spun in a circle and gaped around the beach, everything hitting me all at once.

  He stepped closer and smiled softly. “Stop being a pain in the ass and help me light the fire.”

  “You really smell like cookies.” I scowled at that. And he was freakishly familiar.

  “You don’t feel anything when you’re near me?” He blinked.

  “Confused. I feel confused right now. Like I know you from somewhere but I can’t place it. That guy with Shane had fangs and I don’t feel scared of that or that we flew here or that you’re lying to me; I don’t feel scared. I’m scared, but I can’t reach it. Like this is normal but it isn’t.”

  “Great.” He grimaced and walked away from me.

  My stomach pain came back with a vengeance. “Oh God, it’s back.” I felt like the air had been sucked out of my lungs. I heaved but it was all stuck in my stomach. He hurried to me and offered me his hand.

  “Stay back!” I shook my head. “Stranger danger.” The words sounded familiar. I'd never said them before but I knew I’d heard them somewhere.

  He dropped to his knees and lifted my hand, pressing it to his chest. “Here.”

  The moment my skin touched his, my hand pulled. It was the same as the kiss with Shane. I sucked, breathing in, with my hand.

  I dragged something from him into me but I didn’t know what. I didn’t understand the feelings but it filled me, the smell of cookies was everywhere.

  After a moment he separated us, falling back on the sand.

  “Oh my God.” The reality of what I just did hit me. “I'm so sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I haven’t been feeling so well. I don’t know what that was.”

  “It’s how you eat now, Aimee James.” He grinned a crooked smile at me.

  Something wasn’t stirring the Kool-Aid.

  Something was wrong with me.

  I stared down at my hand, noticing the way it tingled and cooled. The pain in my stomach was gone and the hunger had subsided.

  But I was left with the taste of him on my lips.

  “I’m having a stroke I think. I need to get back to town.” I jumped up and ran down the beach, headed home.

  “Aimee!” He stood and laughed. “Come back.”

  A piece of sand flew in my eye. I blinked and tried to get it out. I closed my right eye and fluttered my left eye. I needed to find Shane. I wished I was home and then I was.

  My eye teared up, flushing the sand out as I gagged and grabbed my waste bin and heaved the contents of my stomach into it. I dropped to my knees, coughing.

  When it ended, I felt like death. I curled up on the floor, clutching my knees and waiting for anything to make sense.

  How did I get home?

  How was I in my room?

  Was any of it real?

  What would I do if it was real?

  A knock at my bedroom door startled me. I prepared to explain to my mother that I had the flu but a solemn-faced Giselle walked in. She looked awful, haunted. “Aimes, I need you.”

  “Hey,” I groaned. “I think I’m sick. I think we have a flu or something.”

  “I did it again.” A single tear drizzled slowly down her cheek.

  “What?” I knew what. I just wanted it to be something else.

  “I sucked someone else. He died.”

  My stomach dropped. “Who?”

  “I don’t know.” She shook her head in a twitchy way. “He’s not from here.” She dropped to her knees and stared blankly at the carpet. “You believe me?”

  “I did it too,” I murmured, terrified of the words I was unleashing into the world.

  Her eyes widened. “What?”

  “I think I did it to Shane and then some guy on the beach. The sucking thing. It filled me up. I wanted to do it.” I whispered the words.

  “N
o.” Her hand covered her mouth. “Shane—?”

  “He kissed me and my hands started to suck.” I glanced at them, reliving the moment. “I thought it was the kiss, like you, but it was my hands. They were on fire. Just dragging something from him. I wanted to touch and suck, and then he was gone. There were others. A girl with black hair and eyes and a dark-haired guy.” I paused.

  “Who?”

  “I don’t know but he had fangs. And then a blond guy touched me and we were at the secret beach.”

  “Like what kind of fangs?” She looked bewildered.

  My brain would not make a picture beyond the one it seemed to remember. I closed my eyes. “I don’t know. Like Dracula.”

  “You saw him and then walked to the beach? That's weird.”

  “No.” I sat up, completely lost in my own thoughts and what I saw. “No, I didn’t walk. I don’t know—we just were there. Like how I'm here. I'm just here.”

  “Aimes, I don’t know what the hell you’re saying, but we got a problem.”

  I felt like crying. “I know. We gotta get out of here. Before we hurt someone else. If I touch my mom or dad or Alise, they could die.”

  “We gotta run away.” She sobbed silently.

  “Okay, we go together.” I reached for her. It seemed natural even though we were not friends. I knew we were not and yet I loved her like a sister.

  I squeezed and stood, leaving the puke bin and sand and walked out. I didn’t take anything with me. I didn’t care. I needed to be away from my family before I did the sucking thing and killed someone I loved. There had to be studies about viruses like this. There had to be someone who could help us. We needed a computer and Wi-Fi and some coffee maybe.

  “I want to make sure Shane’s okay. I think I hurt him. Bad,” I said in a low tone as we left the house.

  “What about the blond you did it to?”

  “He was fine.” The story didn’t make sense.

  “Weird.” She licked her lips. “We should find him. I'm starving, and not for a burger and fries.”

  We left my house. I didn’t say goodbye to my mom or my dad. I just walked out the front door again. Giselle and I held hands.

  “Do you think we're vampires too?” she asked after a while.