Beginnings (The Trifectus Series - Book One)

by Logan Byrne

Friday soon arrived and I was thrilled. Dozens of people had confirmed their attendance and everybody was talking about the party and how great it was going to be. My parents bought tons of food and drinks, and Ariel and Taylor made a giant playlist of the best songs to play all night. Everything was set and I was just praying it went off without a hitch.

  “Are you all ready for tonight?” my mother asked as I grabbed my things.

  “Yeah, I think so. I told people to start coming over at six,” I replied.

  “Okay, dear. I’m going to pick up a few more things to make sure you have enough food and drinks, but I will see you when you get home, honey.”

  I hugged my mother and walked out the door to my car. As I got to school, everybody was giving me high fives and yelling “Party!” I started getting worried that too many people would show up, but I couldn’t stop it now. This party was happening no matter how many people showed up.

  “Hey, are you ready?” Ariel asked as she put her hands on my shoulders, smiling.

  “How many people are coming?” I asked.

  “I really don’t know. I hope not too many but it looks like it’s getting a little out of hand.”

  “Well, I can’t stop it now. I’m as ready as I possibly can be.”

  We walked into school and got our things.

  “What time should I come over?” Ariel asked.

  “As soon as you can. My parents bought a lot of things, but we still need to set it up.”

  “Is James coming?” Ariel asked with a huge grin on her face.

  “Yes,” I said, trying to contain my excitement.

  “Are you two ever going to get back together?”

  “Hopefully tonight,” I said, smiling as the bell rang.

  We walked to biology and I saw James sitting at our table. He looked up nonchalantly and gave me a slight smile. I put my head down as I walked. I was biting my lip trying to hold back my excitement. I just wanted to tackle him and cover his face with kisses.

  “Do you still want me to come tonight?” he asked.

  “Yes, I need you to.”

  “You need me to? How come?”

  “Just trust me,” I said. “You are going to want to come tonight.”

  “Attention, class,” Mr. Johnson said. “Today we have a very special lesson. We are going to learn about werewolves’ anatomy.”.

  “We’ve already learned about that, though, Mr. Johnson,” said Ivan.

  “Yes, Ivan, we have, but today is different,” Mr. Johnson said. “A group of three werewolves were found dead in an old warehouse. They all had large fang marks in their necks, which is a trademark of the vampires. Pictures and a statement were released about the situation, and I wanted to show you the pictures so we can talk about the anatomy of a werewolf.” James and I looked at each other casually. I tried to hide the shock I felt. What if I had left something there? We had thought that warehouse was abandoned, but somebody saw the bodies and reported it. My mind started racing, thinking of James being caught and captured. What if they found evidence against him and they took him? What if they found evidence of me being there and they took me?

  “Now, we aren’t sure how these creatures got there. There is nothing to suggest anybody else was there,” Mr. Johnson said.

  I let out a soft sigh of relief as I heard him say that. Maybe we would get off easy.

  “The bodies were in full form, meaning they were fully grown and shifted werewolves,” Mr. Johnson said. “Their bodies were covered in fur of varying colors. They have canine-like snouts and large white fangs. Their hands and feet are longer and wider than they should proportionally be, which allows them to be fantastic climbers and jumpers. The fang marks in the necks suggest that they got into some encounter with a vampire or multiple vampires. The marks were too small to be another werewolf, leading investigators to believe it was a fight between them and a group of vampires. The government will be dissecting the specimens and releasing a video on it that we can all enjoy!” The entire class groaned.

  The bell rang, interrupting Mr. Johnson’s lecture about the discovered wolves.

  “Class is already over,” he said, clasping his hands together in a show of excitement. “We will talk more about this on Monday. Everybody have a wonderful weekend!”

  I grabbed James by the hand and pulled him outside.

  “What’s the rush?” he asked me as I pulled him along.

  “You heard what he said in there. What if they find out?”

  “They won’t. We are safe. Just relax. You’re just stressed because of tonight.”

  “Maybe you’re right. You’re still coming, right?”

  “Yes,” he said, laughing. “Just calm down. Everything will be okay.”

  He pulled me close to give me a hug and kiss my forehead. I instantly felt calm when he held me in his arms.

  The rest of the day went on and I could tell everybody was excited for tonight. I started getting worried that too many people would show up and that things would start to get out of hand. My parents never meant for me to have this many people show up. If they came home while the party was going on, they would be furious.

  I got home and threw my bags down as I surveyed all of the things my mother had gotten for the party. She bought a lot more drinks and snacks than I thought she would. Either she thought my friends were all human garbage cans, or she knew the party would be big.

  As I started preparing the house for guests, I heard a knock at my door. I opened it to see Ariel and Taylor standing there all dressed up with bags in their hands.

  “Are you ready to party?” Taylor asked.

  “As ready as I’ll ever be,” I said while smiling.

  They looked around, seeming disappointed.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “Well, this is okay if your grandma is coming over to visit, but we’re having a party!” exclaimed Ariel.

  “We have to make the place more fun!” yelled Taylor.

  “Well, why don’t you two try to make the place more fun while I go sort out the snack situation,” I said.

  When I came back from the kitchen, I was amazed at what was happening. There were lights strung from the ceiling and streamers from end to end.

  “Now this is a party,” said Ariel.

  “Wow, this looks great!” I said.

  “Well of course it does,” Taylor said, smiling slyly.

  A few hours passed before people started showing up. It seemed like I would just shut the door and more people would be there a minute later. My house started filling up fast, and I started to get worried.

  “Do you think there are too many people here?” I shouted to Ariel over the music.

  “No. There isn’t enough if you ask me!” she shouted back.

  I was standing by the door as I heard a knock. I was starting to get anxious thinking of more people coming in. We were already crowded as it was. I opened it to see James standing there smiling back at me. I lunged out the door and jumped into his arms.

  “I’m so glad you’re here. Things are getting so crazy,” I said frantically.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “There are just so many people here. I didn’t know it was going to be like this. My parents are going to kill me.”

  “Calm down, it’ll be fine. Just relax and enjoy it. I’ll make sure nothing gets too crazy,” he said, holding my hand.

  I looked at him and trusted he would keep his word. He held my hand as we walked inside together. The music was blaring so loud I was sure the windows were going to shatter. I tried talking to James but I couldn’t even hear him over the music. I grabbed his hand and took him upstairs.

  “There, that’s better,” I said when I could start hearing again.

  “It’s weird being in your house, well, I’ve been in your house, just only your room.”

  “It’s kind of nice,” I said, smiling.

  “Yeah, it is.”

  “My parents have been asking about you.”
>
  “Why? Do they suspect something? Should I leave?” James said frantically.

  “No!” I said as I grabbed his hand and pulled him back gently.

  I slid my arms around his neck.

  “They have been asking if I’m going to date you. They like you, but I’m too scared to tell them about us.”

  “Why would you be scared?”

  “I don’t want them to find out what you are. I want us to move away someday together. I want you to give me the bite.”

  “Juliet, no. You know you don’t want that. It only causes problems.”

  “I know I want you, and I know I want a life with you. Do you want to see me grow old and die? If you give me the bite, that won’t happen. You’ll have me like this forever.”

  “I don’t know. I love you too much to give you this burden.”

  “Then we will take some time to think about it,” I said, smiling.

  The truth was I knew I would get the bite. I didn’t want to push him, though, for fear of him running away. I didn’t want him to think he had to do it to get me to stay with him. I knew I would get it someday, but fighting about it now wouldn’t help anything.

  “I want to be with you,” I said shyly.

  “But you said we had to wait.”

  “I know, but I don’t want to. I think I’m ready,” I said, slowly looking up at him.

  “All I have ever wanted in my life is you,” he said. “My life is nothing without you in it. I will love you until the end of time. Not even death itself could stop my love for you.”

  I looked into his eyes and could see his sincerity. He leaned in and kissed my cheek. Even these little affectionate things could bring a smile to my face. He made me feel complete: he was my everything.

  “I think we should date again,” I said.

  “Will you be my girlfriend?” he asked shyly.

  “I love you,” I said, nodding my head yes.

  “I love you with all of my heart,” he said before kissing me.

  “We should probably get back to the party to make sure my house isn’t on fire,” I said jokingly.

  I grabbed his hand and we went downstairs. Everybody was still partying as if we’d never left. Being upstairs seemed like a different world compared to downstairs. I just prayed my parents wouldn’t come home to see their house like this.

  Ariel looked at us as we came down and she smiled. I smiled back and nodded, signaling her that James and I were back together.

  James grabbed my hand and pulled me to the middle of the room to dance.

  “I’m a horrible dancer,” I said.

  “You’re with me, I’ve got you,” he said.

  James and I danced in each other’s arms with no care in the world. Our bodies pressed together, my head buried in his chest. His arms were wrapped around me as we slowly moved across the dance floor. I had never felt so safe and loved in my life.

  “I better go check on everything,” I said to him.

  “Okay, I’ll be here,” he replied.

  I walked around the house to make sure nothing was broken or stolen. Things were a little messy and dirty, but nothing seemed to be gone. I pushed my way through the sea of people and ran into Ariel.

  “So, you two are back together?” she asked with a giant smile on her face.

  “Yeah,” I said, giggling.

  “I’m so happy for you!”

  “Thank you. I just wanted to check on everything.”

  “No, don’t. Just go spend time with him. We’ll make sure nothing happens. Just enjoy being here with him and if anything big happens we’ll get you.”

  “Thank you,” I said. I grabbed her and hugged her.

  I made my way back to James and saw him standing next to Derek. They seemed to be talking, as if they were discussing something important. I didn’t even invite Derek. I walked up to them and noticed Cara standing behind Derek.

  “The alpha you fought got away,” Derek said.

  “He was too powerful for us alone,” replied James. “We took down the others, but they don’t matter.”

  “No, they don’t. The alpha recruited them to try to take over the city. They tried coming to our pack to get people, but we turned them down. He is dangerous, James.”

  “I know he is. If he attacks more people, I won’t be able to live with it. We had a chance to take him down and we didn’t.”

  “We need to try to sit down and work this out. I know our people don’t get along, but if we don’t at least try, there could be consequences.”

  “I agree. I’ll talk to my family and we can see if we can work something out.”

  “I’ll talk to my elders and see if we can try to sit down for talks. If he recruits more people, especially stronger ones, we won’t be able to do anything. Innocent people will die and that isn’t worth the feud.”

  “I agree,” James said. He held out his hand to shake with Derek.

  I watched as Derek shook his hand back. At least for the moment, it seemed that their differences were set aside. They saw a common goal, something that hadn’t happened for centuries.

  “Would you guys like to stay?” I asked.

  “No, we should get going. Parties aren’t our thing,” replied Derek.

  Cara grabbed Derek’s hand and pulled him out the door. I turned to James.

  “What happened?” I asked.

  “We have to hunt down this alpha,” James said. “My family isn’t strong enough and doesn’t have enough resources to take him down or track him. If we partner with them, we can get it done. If he recruits more young wolves, then it’s all over. There were already three recruits before. Imagine if he gets ten or twenty.”

  “Yeah, I guess. I just worry about you though. What if you get hurt?”

  “That’s a chance I have to take, Juliet. I can’t risk more people getting hurt. If I get hurt, then I get hurt.”

  As the night went on, more and more people left. At eleven, only a few people lingered, talking. Ariel and Taylor helped me clean before my parents got home at midnight.

  “Thank you for the great time,” Ariel said as she grabbed her coat.

  “Thank you for helping. I really appreciate all you did.”

  Ariel and Taylor hugged me and left. I stood there with James before my parents were supposed to get back.

  “Well, I guess this is it,” I said.

  “I’ll leave before they get back.”

  “I’ll miss you,” I said.

  “I’ll miss you too, my love,” James replied.

  He leaned in and kissed me, his hand on my chin. I stood on my tippy toes as my lips pressed against his. I hugged him goodbye and walked him out the door. I crossed my arms and made a pouty face as he walked down the street laughing and waving goodbye. He was perfect.

  Not too long after James left, my parents got home. As they walked in the door, I spastically looked around to make sure I’d left nothing sitting around.

  “Did you have fun?” my mother asked.

  “Yeah, it was a good time. We all had a ton of fun,” I replied.

  “How many people came?” my father asked.

  “Um, around twenty,” I said hesitantly.

  In reality, about seventy-five people had showed up. I was too terrified to tell my father the truth. I enjoyed having the party, and I wanted a chance to do it again sometime. If he knew how many people had been in his house, he might never give me the chance again. I wasn’t willing to give that up.

  I kissed my mother and father on the cheek and dragged myself upstairs. I was exhausted, and needed to pass out on my bed before I did it on the floor.

  I yawned as I climbed into my bed. It felt so great to be under my fluffy pink covers. I pulled them up to my chin and slowly drifted to sleep.

  When I awoke the next morning, I was sore and exhausted. I had never hosted a party before and it had completely sucked the life right out of me. I wasn’t sure I wanted to do it again if I would feel like this the next day.

>   I got online to check my mail before going downstairs. As I logged on I saw that Marcus was on, but away. I was intrigued, however, by his away message. “Changing,” it said. What did that even mean? I was on for fifteen minutes and it never changed. He never messaged me and he never came back from being away. I was curious about it, but didn’t want to message him for fear he would get upset again. I still cared deeply about him and his friendship, and wanted to give him some space to recover from being rejected.

  I went downstairs to help my mother prepare breakfast. I was starting to like helping her out with the housework. It made me feel as if I was contributing in some way to our family and the household.

  “Hello, honey, how are you feeling?” my mother asked.

  “A little tired,” I replied.

  “So your party went well then?”

  “Yeah, it went great. Hopefully sometime I can do it again.”

  “That would be great, honey,” my mother said while smiling.

  “Your mother and I have been talking,” my father said as he sat down at the table with his newspaper and coffee.

  “Talking about what?” I asked.

  “We want you to have James over for dinner. We think it could be a good thing for you two to date. We really like him and want to meet him and get to know him a little more,” my father said.

  “I can talk to him and see if he can come over sometime,” I hesitantly replied.

  “We were hoping for this week, possibly Tuesday,” my father said.

  Tuesday seemed so close. That only gave me three days to try to prepare some kind of excuse or event to prevent him from coming. It wasn’t that I didn’t want James to know my parents, because I did. I just didn’t want them to catch on to anything. I didn’t want to get him in trouble or risk him in any way.

  “Okay, I’ll talk to him Monday at school and see if that’s okay.”

  “Great,” my father said.

  “Find out what he likes to eat so I can make something good for him,” my mother said enthusiastically.

  I tried not to laugh as I held back the thoughts of my family sitting down and eating blood soup. I was just hoping if he did come over that we could pull this off somehow. I had never seen James eat any real food before, and I wasn’t sure he was even allowed to.

  The rest of the weekend went on without any problems. I did some homework, got lectured by my parents on how teenage boys think, and hung around the house. I was still trying to recover from Friday night, and I had to recover really fast.

  When Monday morning came around, I started getting butterflies in my stomach. I was going to get to see the man I loved today. I was going to get to kiss him and feel his strong arms around me once again.

  I got to school and saw James leaning up against my locker. He was wearing a plaid button-down shirt, his arms filling out the sleeves as if they were going to rip. He casually looked up from the floor and looked me straight in the eye. I felt a flurry of butterflies as I started making my way over to him.

  “You get more beautiful with every passing day,” he said as he pulled me closer to him.

  I started to blush and looked down so he couldn’t see my cheeks turn red.

  “I love you,” he said while putting his index finger under my chin, raising it slightly.

  “I love you too,” I said, knowing my cheeks must be turning even redder.

  “Were your parents okay with the party?” he asked.

  “Yeah, they didn’t know that many people showed up,” I replied.

  “Good,” he said while gazing into my eyes.

  “I actually wanted to ask you something. You can say no because I know you will, but my parents want you to come over to dinner tomorrow night. I know you don’t ea—.”

  “I’ll come,” he interrupted.

  “You will?” I asked in confusion.

  “Yeah. I think I should meet them. They’re your parents and you’re the love of my life. I think it is fitting that I get to know them.”

  “What about the dinner though? You don’t eat,” I whispered.

  “Vampires can eat normal food if they have to, we just don’t like to. It upsets our stomachs and the wrong things can make us sick. I’ll eat a little to make them think everything is fine.”

  “I don’t want to make you sick,” I said cautiously.

  “You’re worth it.”

  I didn’t know how it happened, but I fell more in love with him. He was willing to put his health on the line just to make me happy. Nobody had ever done this for me before, and I couldn’t believe that it was happening now.

  “I love you,” I said, running my finger down his chest.

  “I love you more than life itself,” he said as he put his finger atop of mine.

  He kissed me as the bell rang. I was so infatuated with his lips that I couldn’t ever stop myself from kissing them. They welcomed me every time and always were cool.

  I stood there with my books pressed against my chest as I watched him walk away. I felt as if the butterflies inside my body could lift me to the ceiling. I felt as though my life was complete.

  I went through the rest of the school day with an air of happiness. I was able to clearly focus on my assignments and lectures. I answered questions left and right, as my teachers were shocked at my attentiveness. Now that James was going to meet my parents, I felt as if I didn’t have anything to hide anymore. I felt like an entirely new person.

  I got home after school to see my mother walking in with bags full of groceries.

  “I talked to James,” I said.

  “Oh yeah? What did he say about tomorrow?”

  “He said he will come,” I said with a smile.

  “That’s great! I knew he would.”

  “Try to make sure dad is nice to him. I don’t want to scare him off.”

  “Don’t worry about your father. I’ll talk to him and make sure he knows to be good. He just wants to get to know him. We both want to get to know him.”

  “He is a really special guy.”

  “I bet he is. We just want to make sure in case he isn’t.”

  “I understand.”

  My father walked inside wearing his uniform. It was olive green with insignia showing he was a colonel, which was something he was extremely proud of. He hugged me and gave me a kiss on my forehead then he proceeded to kiss my mother.

  “James is coming tomorrow night for dinner,” my mother said to him.

  “Well, that’s great. What are we going to have?” he asked.

  “Do you know what he likes, dear?” my mother asked.

  I started to panic. I had to think of something fast as they focused on me, waiting for an answer.

  “Well, nothing too big. He’s on the wrestling team and trying to make weight so he is on a diet,” I said, running out of breath.

  I couldn’t believe I just said that to them. It was almost as if some emergency system came on in my brain and blurted out a random excuse. I was still trying to backtrack after I said it to make sure I even remembered it.

  “He is on the wrestling team?” my father asked.

  “Oh, yeah, he is pretty good too. Didn’t I tell you two before?” I asked, trying to confuse them.

  “No, I don’t believe so,” my father said with a confused look on his face.

  “Oh, well he is. He needs to make weight this weekend so he has been trying to drop a few pounds. So we should probably make it a lighter dinner. I don’t want to make him jealous with us eating a bunch of food.”

  “We can do that,” my father said. “I love a sports man. I’ll have to ask him about his season when he comes over.”

  “Oh, yeah, I’m sure he will love that,” I said half sarcastically and half nervously.

  I noticed that my lies often times got me further into trouble. I just hoped James wouldn’t hate me for telling my father that he was some great wrestler. Hopefully he would be able to play along and answer my father’s questions.

  I
went upstairs to finish off my homework. I had this strong urge to do it all. I guess it had something to do with the fact I did so well in school earlier. I wanted to do well, and this was the first step.

  I logged onto my computer to find some homework helping sites, and saw that Marcus was online again. His status was still away with the same message. He was never away, especially for this long. Was something wrong with him? Why would it still say this message after this long?

  “Hello?” I typed to him, hoping for a reply.

  I waited for five minutes with no reply. His away message just popped up immediately after I sent my message, letting me know that he would see my message when he returned from being away. I started to get worried about him. I still wanted to keep my friendship with him and didn’t want him to change. He was great the way he was.

  I moved forward with my homework help waiting for a reply. I kept the screen open in hopes of him messaging me back that everything was fine. I just wanted to hear it from him. I wanted to see that he was fine and that it was just some stupid away message.

  I finished my homework an hour later with still no reply from Marcus. His away message sat there untouched. Not even so much as a single character had been typed from his computer. I sighed and shut my computer. I guess I wasn’t going to be able to talk to him tonight.

  I went downstairs to get a snack. I decided to skip dinner and just graze a little. Dinner didn’t sound too appetizing, and I didn’t want to talk to my parents and tell them some other farfetched story about James that wasn’t true in the slightest.

  While I ate my crackers, I started thinking about my life with James. Maybe I wouldn’t have to run off anymore. Maybe my parents would like him and we could eventually get married and be okay. We could move away and not feel like we were running from our problems.

  My father could walk me down the aisle and give me away to James. Doing this would symbolize my leaving the nest and starting a family of my own. I could kiss my parents goodbye and leave them on a good note. I knew I wouldn’t be able to see them again, though. I knew that I would have to look them in the eyes and say goodbye even though I was terrified deep down of losing them.

  We had gotten close over the past weeks, something I had dreamt of my entire life. To leave right when we were getting close seemed like a knife to the back. I almost felt in a way that I was betraying them and their love for me.

  I had to get over those thoughts, though, because I couldn’t hold back from James. I couldn’t be without him, and he couldn’t be without me. We were meant to be together and both of us knew it. Our souls were connected and there was nothing that could break that bond.

  I had to talk to James tomorrow about making the best impression he could. I had to have their blessing and leave them on good terms. I couldn’t hurt them.

  I was more nervous when I woke up the next morning than I had been in a long time. Today could make or break the rest of my life. If my parents loved James, then I could be okay when I left them. If they couldn’t stand him or were suspicious of him, I would have to leave them on bad terms, which would destroy not only me but them also. That wasn’t something I was prepared to do.

  I went to school with my palms sweating, thinking of talking to James. We were going to have a very important conversation, and I was hoping that he could take it well.

  When I got to school, I found him as usual by my locker.

  “We need to talk,” I said.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “Nothing. I just need to talk to you about tonight.”

  “Oh. I thought you were going to break up with me or something.”

  “No! Never! I just accidentally told my parents you were on the wrestling team.”

  “The wrestling team?” James asked, laughing.

  “Yeah, I know it’s crazy. I panicked though when they asked why you couldn’t eat a lot and I told them you were on the team and were trying to lose weight for an upcoming match.”

  “Well, I guess I will have to brush up on my wrestling terms then before tonight,” he said, laughing.

  “I really want tonight to go well. It has to so I can feel okay when I leave them.”

  “Leave them? What are you talking about?”

  “Well, you said when you turn into a vampire you have to leave your family and friends. I want to change someday to be with you forever. When I leave them I want to make sure everything is on good terms,” I whispered to him.

  “I’ll try to be the best I can,” he said while grabbing my hands.

  “Why are you so amazing?” I asked him.

  “Because you make me a better man,” he said, gazing into my eyes.

  I grabbed his shirt and pulled him down to me to kiss him. I could feel his lips quiver as I caught him by surprise. I had finally caught him off guard.

  “I should get to class,” I said to him, pouting.

  “I’ll be at your house at five tonight. I’ll try to learn some wrestling moves,” he said, laughing.

  “You better,” I said, laughing back.

  I gave him a hug and started walking to class. I ran into Tawny on the way and we talked while walking to math.

  “So, I see you and James are cozy again,” she said, smiling.

  “Yeah, it’s going pretty good,” I said, trying to contain my excitement.

  “You two are really great together. I bet you’ll end up getting married.”

  “I sure do hope so.”

  We walked into Mr. Oliveri’s class and took our seats. The class flew by quickly with no problems. We had a pop quiz that everybody groaned about, but I knew I aced it. The formulas were floating around my head as if I had mastered them completely. I knew I would get a great grade.

  I impatiently rushed through the rest of the day. All I wanted to do was get home and get ready for James. I wanted him to be blown away when I came down those stairs. I wanted him to think I was the most beautiful girl in the world.

  I got home to my mom starting to prepare dinner.

  “You’re cooking already?” I asked her.

  “Of course, dear. I want to make a nice big meal and I had to start now to be done in time.”

  “I told you not to make a lot of food. I don’t want to upset him.”

  “I’m sorry, dear, I forgot.”

  “Whatever,” I said as I stormed upstairs.

  It made sense that this night was already ruined before it started. I went upstairs and started getting ready. I was determined to do my hair, makeup and nails to blow him away. I wanted to look like a person he’d never seen before. I wanted to take his breath away.

  As I was finishing getting ready, I could hear a knock at the door downstairs. I looked at the clock to see it was already five. I quickly finished my hair and went down the stairs James stood at the landing with my parents. He looked up at me coming down, and I could see the look in his eyes. He was smitten with me. I had succeeded in taking his breath away.

  “You look beautiful,” he said in awe.

  “Thank you. You look handsome,” I said, trying to hold back a gigantic smile.

  “James, this is my father, Arnold, and my mother, Katherine.”

  “Nice to meet you both,” he said as he went to shake their hands.

  I panicked but looked to see he was wearing gloves. After shaking their hands, he casually took them off. He really had thought of everything to make this night go great.

  “Juliet, I need a little help setting up. Could you please help me?” my mother asked.

  I went in the kitchen and left James with my father in the living room. I could overhear them talking about wrestling and how the season was going. James didn’t avoid any questions my father asked and actually surprised me. He knew about wrestling and I could tell by the conversation that my father was falling in love with him too.

  “Time for dinner,” I told them as I waited in the doorway.

  My father and James both stood up, laughing, and walked to the k
itchen. James smiled at me as he walked in. Nothing could ruin this night and this dinner. I knew everything was going to turn out all right.

  We sat down to a ton of food on the table. I felt a little nervous, but James tapped his foot against mine and smiled. He could tell I was nervous and he was nonverbally telling me not to be.

  We all put some food on our plates, but James had more meat than anything else.

  “A man that loves his meat,” my father said, laughing. “You’re a man after my own heart.”

  James politely laughed as my mother started asking him questions.

  “So James, do you live close by?” she asked.

  “I live about a half hour away,” he replied.

  “Oh my, that is far. Do you drive to school then?”

  “Yes, I do. It’s a long drive, but the education I receive is worth it.”

  My parents looked at each in approval. They were impressed that such a well put-together boy was there and that I had landed somebody like him. I could tell they approved of the person he was. If only they really knew.

  “How is your season going?” my mother asked.

  “It’s going well. We’re doing a great job. Everybody pitches in and does their very best. Hopefully we will make state this year and we can bring home the trophy.”

  “Oh, I hope you do. We will have to come to one of your matches sometime.”

  James and I both glanced at each other with a look of caution. We didn’t want the conversation to progress any further in that direction. If they showed up to a match and asked where he was, we could be looking at doing a lot of damage control.

  Dinner progressed without a hitch after that mishap. James ate some food, although not all of it. I could tell that it disgusted him to eat it all, but he did it for me. He wanted to blend in and not make anybody suspicious about who he was.

  “Do you want any more, James?” my mother asked with a smile.

  “Oh, no thank you, Mrs. LaVoe. I have to watch my weight,” he politely said.

  “Such a dedicated boy,” my mother said as she started clearing the table.

  “Come on, James, let’s let the women clean up while we go talk sports,” my father said as he motioned for James to follow him.

  I winked at James and started to help my mother clean up the table.

  “James sure is a nice boy,” my mother said as we were cleaning the dishes.

  “Yeah, he’s great,” I replied with a smile.

  “Do you see this going anywhere serious?” she asked.

  “I’m not sure,” I replied nonchalantly.

  In reality, I was ready to marry James now. I would drop everything and marry him if he asked me. I was ready to devote my life to him. It was just a matter of time before I could make my dream happen.

  After my mother and I were done washing dishes, we walked into the living room to join the boys. My father was laughing and having a great time talking to James. He had no inkling at all that a vampire was sitting in his living room. If only he realized they were people like us, maybe he wouldn’t try hunting and killing them.

  We sat there laughing and talking about school and life until it started getting late.

  “I should probably get going soon,” James said.

  “Yeah, it’s getting late and you still have to drive home,” I replied.

  “James, you are welcome here any time,” my father said with a huge grin on his face.

  “Thank you, Mr. LaVoe, I had a great time.”

  “Please, call me Arnold!” my father exclaimed with excitement.

  James was like the son he never had, and he only knew him for a couple hours.

  I got up to walk James to the door. He was careful to put his jacket and gloves on before turning to shake my parents’ hands. After, they stood with their arms around each other, both of them smiling like he was the greatest thing since sliced bread.

  Right as I was about to open it, there was a knock on the front door.

  “Who could that be at this hour?” asked my father.

  I opened the door and was speechless. I couldn’t believe what I saw. I stood in complete shock as my parents nudged in to see who was at the door.

  It was Marcus. He was at my front door and he was a different person. He was changed. He looked human.

  Did you like this book? If so, leave a review!

  Book Two, Homecoming, is located here:

  Homecoming Book Two