Unraveling Mathias, Marisa Maichel [online e reader txt] 📗

how hot she looked. Some of them stopped their whispering when I gave them a death glare. There were also a few people I didn't recognize, including a particularly heavyset guy in jeans who kept looking at Sarah.

A lot of the girls gushed over Sarah's bikini, and a few asked to touch her belly. Overall, the party was amazing until I caught a glimpse of Mia Rayport and Rachel Griffin, two of Sarah's ex-clique members. Mia in particular hurt Sarah, as they used to be as tight-knit as sisters. I knew that I had to do something. Suddenly, Scarlett appeared in front of me.

"Sorry, this party is only for decent people," I said to Scarlett.

"Funny. I see a lot of losers here." She said that last part loud enough for Sarah to hear.

"Okay, you have to go. You've caused enough dam-" I was cut off when her lips crashed into mine. I immediately pulled away and rubbed my mouth, smearing red lipstick on my arm. I noticed that it became quiet. Almost everyone was watching now.

"What the hell?" I cried. "Do you just randomly kiss whoever you feel like it?"

"Pretty much. Here's my number. Give me a call when you have some sense knocked into you." Scarlett handed me slip of paper when a phone number on it. I tossed it into the pool. Several people laughed. Scarlett, Mia, and Rachel left, their shoes making an absurd amount of noise.

The moment they left, the conversation started up again. I noticed that Sarah's face was red, like she was about to cry. She went into the bathroom and did not emerge for ten minutes. I tried to get a moment alone with her, but she kept avoiding me.

Finally, people started leaving. I said goodbye to as many people as possible. My popularity points seemed to increase significantly, not that I cared. Finally, I got Sarah by herself. She kissed me again, and we told each other how much we loved each other. She thanked me over and over again, and we shared another universe-stopping kiss.

In books and movies, they say that kissing your soulmate is like magic, which is true, but only to an extent. There will be awkward moments, there will be breath issues, there will be a moment when you wonder what happened to the fire that once consumed you while you kissed her. Sarah looked at me curiously.

"Is something wrong?" I asked her.

"No," she said, clearly lying. I moved my hands down her back, and she pushed them away. I was confused and hurt. "We're in public," she said.

"This is my house," I reminded her.

"There are people around us." I looked up. Very few people were actually watching us. Okay, except for the heavyset guy wearing jeans, and few of the other guys who crushed on Sarah. Some of them looked hurt and/or confused. I felt a deep satisfaction with knowing how much they wanted her, but only I could have her.

"Stay with me some night," I told her. She looked unsure.

"I don't know if that's possible anymore. Alexander is really cracking down on my safety."

"Who is Alexander?" the heavyset guy asked. She didn't seem to hear him, and I pretended not to.

"Is it someone else?" I asked, then wanted to bite myself.

"No," Sarah said, again, lying.

"Sarah, if I'm the only one still in this, I need to know now," I said firmly. She bit her lip.

"I can't tell you. I'll talk to you later." She kissed me again, grabbed her stuff, and went out to Ariella's car. A bunch of people left after that.

Soon, everyone was gone, and I was left wondering what happened and if I did anything.

"Reese?" I heard a familiar male voice call. "Reese, is something wrong? Is it Sarah?"

"She's hiding something from me," I told him.

"I'm sorry." A pause. "Okay, you're scaring me now. Uncle Mordecai, I think he's broken." I was picked up and taken to my bedroom, where I collapsed on the bed.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, the pool area was clean, I had a new text from Sarah, and I was afraid of the worst possible scenario. I showered and dressed in a white button-up shirt and black jeans. I combed my hair, wore my best deodorant and cologne. I considered wearing eyeliner, then decided against it. If I wound up crying today, I didn't want raccoon eyes.

Sarah: Meet me at Moore Park at ten. Tell no one except your father.

Her text scared me. It was so cryptic, and she said not to tell anyone except Father.

 

I arrived at Moore Park with five minutes to spare. She was there a few minutes later. She wore a black trench coat, black jeans, black boots, and even sunglasses. Her hair was tucked into her coat. She lifted the sunglasses, and kissed me. This time, I felt the fire. One thing about a good kiss is that both parties have to be into it.

"Sorry about yesterday," she said. "I love you."

"I love you, too," I replied. She bit her lip.

"I think I'm being stalked," she said. Her revelation set me aback.

"By who?" I asked.

"I don't know his name. Do you remember the fat guy from yesterday who was the only one wearing jeans? I think it's him."

"Why didn't you just tell me? I could've asked him to leave."

"It seems very silly now," she said.

"Hon, you know I'd never ridicule you for your worries. If this guy is giving you trouble, why don't you tell Mother or Alexander?"

"Alexander has a tendency to overreact to every little thing. I feel something in my belly, he thinks I'm going into premature labor. And your mother has been acting weird. I think she's jealous of my mom for some reason."

Because she had you. It was true, Mother was quite jealous of Alicia, Sarah's mother, for reasons not fully understood. The way she talked about Alicia was as if she was a worm. I thought it was because Mother loved Sarah like she was her own, and Alicia was Sarah's biological mother. Either way, it was weird and uncomfortable.

"I can have one of the guards watch you," I suggested.

"Do you care if I tell my mom you're a vampire?"

"Not at all. I think the sooner the better. I'd rather face confusion now than wrath later."

"Yeah, that's a good idea. She likes the money gifts you give us every month," she said.

"Of course. You're part of our family now, which means that your family is included. The Emerson clan has multiple businesses, including blood banks, a shipping business, a hospital for vampires, not to mention all my father's businesses, including the mall, not to mention the wealth we've amassed from vampires who no longer exist. We are covered for the next ten millenia at least, if we're careful."

By now, Sarah's eyes had bugged out. In addition to her working for my father, and her mother's job as a realtor, she was well-cared for.

She leaned her head against my shoulder. I purred and kissed her. We kissed for a long time, enjoying each other's mouths. She tasted like mint and strawberries, and her mouth was warm.

"Te amo," I said.

"I love you, too."

My head shot up as I heard a growl. I clutched my love and held her close. I felt a hiss gathering in my throat. I looked around. No cars except ours. Nobody on the swings, no dogs, nothing. I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye. I rumbled.

"Reese?" Sarah squeaked. "You're squishing me."

I immediately released her. "Sorry." I looked around, my eyes, ears, and nose alert. I sniffed the air, and smelled another male. His scent was familiar, but I could not remember his face. I wondered if it was the guy with weight problems from yesterday. I smelled the air again, growling under my breath.

"Reese?" Sarah asked, looking worried.

"It's all right, baby," I lied. "I'm probably overreacting." Still, I kept scanning the area until Sarah's mother texted her and asked if she could borrow her car while hers was in the shop. Sarah gave me one last kiss and left, leaving behind her gardenia scent.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of the day was uneventful, except for a guy who tried to sell his old Xbox for more money than it was worth. When I refused, he got belligerent, and I was forced to call for backup. Louis also refused, and the guy threatened to never shop here again. Louis sighed and told me that they were getting a new register system.

This system would not allow us to process payments until the next day. I asked Louis if Father was out of his mind, and Louis replied that the old system had too many problems anyway. Louis called the guy he'd interviewed the week before, telling him that he was hired and asked him for a list of availibility. The guy's name was Richard.

The next day, school went by normally. I sat with Sarah and Ariella's group again, and they appeared to be more at ease with me. Sarah reported no strange encounters, and that made me happy. In Psychology, I sat as far away from Scarlett and Eric as possible. Scarlett tried to catch my eye, but I ignored her.

I noticed Mia Rayport trying to talk to Sarah over the next few days. She'd show up wherever she was at random points in the day.

Finally, on Thursday, Mia caught up with her. I was just around the corner.

"Hey," Mia said.

"What do you want?" Sarah asked, getting a book out of her locker.

"I just wanted to say that I'm really sorry. I never thought it was you who told. I don't know what happened, I just wanted to stay in the group." Sarah took a deep breath, then smiled. It wasn't a mean smile, but a warm, loving smile.

"I forgive you," she said. "And I'm willing to be friends again."

"Oh, thank God! You have no idea how happy that makes me!" The girls hugged, and I wondered if it was a trick. The bell rang, though, signaling the start of class. I hurried to Geography.

It occurred to me just how loving, selfless, and kind my girlfriend was, and I felt proud of her. I don't think I could have forgiven Mia that easily.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That night, we got some bad news. Ambrose escaped. I was grateful that Ambrose didn't know about Sarah. Or, at least, I hoped he didn't. I did as much homework as I could, and studied until midnight. That's when Father told me to get some rest.

On Friday, I woke up earlier than usual, took a hotter shower than usual, and combed and dried my ebony hair. I was considering just following Sarah around the whole day, until I remembered that I had a paper due in Advanced Junior English. This paper was on Crime and Punishment. The book is about a young man who tries to devise the perfect crime, and it totally backfires on him through hallucinations.

I enjoyed it, and I sure I would get an A. As I walked into Advanced Junior English, I started to wonder if I'd forgotten the paper at home. I shuffled through my folders until I found it, and breathed a sigh of relief. I put it on the desk to be collected.

As the day wore on, I noticed that Sarah looked upset. Finally, I got her alone in the cafeteria.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"My money's going missing. I checked my account balance last night, and I saw some transactions that I didn't make. But my card hasn't been stolen-it's been in my wallet this whole time. Who could possibly be stealing my money?"

"I'll talk to Father, maybe he can put a watch on it. We'll get it sorted out. I promise." I kissed her lightly.

The second she left, I called Father and told him what she had told me. He agreed to put a watch on it.

The rest of the day was fine. I was a bit upset, though. Most seventeen year old girls don't have the kind of money