Blood Kisses, Amber Marshall-Nichols [summer reading list txt] 📗

to yell abuse at me about how inappropriate it was for me to do what I did.
“I think... you...cracked,” he struggled through pants. “A...Rib!” his tongue lolled out of his mouth and his eyes began to close. I rushed over and elbowed his broken rib in the correct place that it snapped back. It wasn’t fixing but it would stop the pain.
“Better?”I whispered.
“Tons. It’s so cool you can do that for me!” he grinned.
“Don’t flatter yourself,” I mumbled moving towards Josh. “You’ll need a doctor to fix that properly, and I’m not driving you,” I called over my shoulder.
“Jeesh, what the hell just happened?” Josh demanded stunned as I inspected his wounds.
“I kicked your ass that’s what,” I said, and he flinched as I turned his wrist left to right, as though I were shimmering something in light. “I think this is broken,”
“Why’d you get in between us?” Josh shrieked. “I tried to help you! He was going to kiss you! He could’ve hurt you!” the words rolled of his tongue before he could stop himself, and I knew Toby would then feel a kick in the gut.
“Like he could,” I grinned. “And I’d of let him kiss me,” I added. I turned to look back at Toby who was now standing with his arms crossed looking rather smug.
“But... But he’s a drunk, stuck up; adolescent prick and you’re defending him!”
“Shut up you full of yourself git!” I yelled at him, and his eyes widened in horror then dropped in sadness.
“I thought you liked me?” he pleaded
“Like you said, you don’t make good first impressions!”
“I thought this would be different,” he whispered. I heard footsteps and all of a sudden Toby was towering over Josh and me.
“Yeah! Well maybe your perception of people changes when you try to hit their boyfriend and hit on them on the same day!” he cried lunging at Josh. I held out my hand and he halted rearranging his features, his bottom lip quivering as he attempted to stay calm.
“I didn’t try to it on her,” Josh said simply. And he hadn’t. He’d just been friendly and cautious.
“You bloody pathetic liar! I saw it in your eyes the moment they stared upon her! You wanted her, you aimed to get her. I bet you don’t even know anything about trucks...” he squealed and I cut him off.
“I said enough!” I screamed. “Now you,” I said, directing my voice at Joshua. “I’d like you to go to a hospital and get cleaned up, tell them you fell or something. Then never come within a ten mile radius of me again. Or I will personally kick your ass. For the second time!”
“Ten miles? Isn’t that a bit extreme?”
“Just leave!” I shouted, moving beside Toby and taking his hand. “You certainly won’t be getting my good word around school now,”
“Yeah, goes without saying Bitch!” He spat at my feet then stormed off to his car, ensuring he ran over all our shrubs before he drove away.

After he left I took to bandaging Toby’s wounds, which I mostly did in silence. I tried to not to breathe as I dabbed the sores clean, he eventually cleared off to the bathroom in order to treat them himself and relieve my discomfort. He stopped at the kitchen door and looked back at me, and waited. What did he expect, for me to thank him? He left without a single word after that. The texts he sent me later were unread, piling up my inbox. I only hoped he wouldn’t send something ridiculous, like a present, next.

When mum came home that night, and of course smelt the blood; I saw her eyes bulge then burn, as she ran frantically from the kitchen where the smell synched strongest.
“Really should’ve used more bleach,” I mumbled to myself. By now, I’d gotten used to the tempting though disgusting when you couldn’t have it, fragrance.
“What the hell happened here Anya?” My ma immediately demanded. “I expected better of you than this, you promised me you’d try this time, really try!” she launched into an ‘I am very disappointed in you’ speech, of c course, jumping to the immediate conclusion. Though, the sick tickles in my stomach, gave me reasons to believe why she’d think I’d killed in our own home.” You should contain your thirst,” she raged on “the full moon is just...”
“Days away,” I finished for her nodding.
“Exactly, so couldn’t you just wait... the moon I’ll make an exception, but an ordinary day? How will I cover this up? What’ve you done with the body?” She was now, furious, worried, stressed, any bad emotion; she was feeling it. I started to laugh at the seriousness of her expression. Although the matter, had it been true, was rather quite serious, and I would surely receive a club in the ear within the next thirty seconds. A cushion came hurtling towards me.
“Ow,” I groaned.
“Would you like to tell me what’s so funny?” she fumed.
“I haven’t killed anyone, concentrate on the scent mum, “She frowned and wriggled her nose. Her shoulders suddenly became un-tensed and relaxed, her jaw loosened, her wrists un-clenched, and her eyes no longer pierced me as she studied my face. “Ah,” she sighed.
“A familiar scent, is it?” I said smugly.
“Toby,”
“Mm hmm,” I flicked through the television channels until the news was on screen, then turned the volume to nearly mute. It still seemed loud. My mother’s booming demands earlier would’ve sounded almost a whisper to anyone else.
“Sorry for my lack of faith Anya, it’s just... I know how it is to regret a kill... and when you didn’t seem bothered just then, I was scared. Scared you’d lost your humanity,”
“How could I lose my humanity? I’ve never been human. I was bitten as a baby right? I know nothing of a human lifestyle. I’ve never had a soul. I’ve never wanted anything more than the meat of one’s bones. I feel bad when I kill someone yes, I know what it’s like to be soulless and by killing, I have killed a person’s soul too. But I know it’s only my nature. I am a monster and that’s all I’ll ever be.”
“You have a soul Anya, and it will touch any human animal or plant to which you blow life in to,”
“Here we go again, the soul discussion, you’re not just dead, you’re m &s dead, blah blah, there’s really no use mother, I feel nothing. I’ll always feel nothing. I’ll always be nothing other than a thirsty creature that feeds on the torture of all humans but two; Toby and Lucy.”
“Anya...”
“No,” I said sternly.
“So what fray was here then?” she asked taking a seat beside me and kicking off her heels.
“Nymph,” I said, ready to lie. “Accident,” was the word of my failed attempt. Mum put her hands squarely on my shoulders then turned me to face her. Her glittering (literally) pearly turquoise eyes started into mine so deep you’d think she were studying my un beating heart then breathed a silk ...
“Anya, darling, all will be well in the land of wonderland, the land of love, forgiveness, sorrow and sorry, but only if you tell me, only if you tell me...” So I did tell her.
I told her absolutely everything. No details misplaced, bare cheeks an’ all. I tried to ignore the colours of her face, as they changed at certain parts, the moments where she didn’t breathe and the ones where she suddenly turned stiff or tried to hide her disappointment. I especially tried to block out the smile that flooded her face when Toby asked me to be his girlfriend, and the irritation I saw when I told of our interruption; Courteous of Josh.
When I was done, I became very unsure why I’d told her to begin with. I didn’t want all those reactions stuck in my mind. Then she looked at me with those eyes, and I remembered. My mother was one of many adult vampires who had gifts beyond the wildest thought, dream or imagination- A gift of the gods. Her gods not mine. She had the ability to look into one’s eye, direct, and tell a solid lie, and every word would sound that of truth. If that is what she desired them to think. If she wanted them to doubt it a little, they would, if she wanted the syndrome to wear off, so it would. Quite an amazing gift, though it wasn’t nice to lie to people was it? She’d told me she’d rarely used her gift on me, only once or twice, though a lot when I was very young and struggling with my life style. She used to tell me I didn’t need blood. I didn’t need to kill. She’d told me that I’d know when she’d lied to me, as I’d feel empty, and drowsy, which was exactly how I felt now. I was Alice in the wonderland she just mentioned, growing and shrinking, the cat with the widest grin, the mad hatter laughing his nauseating sound, and the queen giggling as she ordered ‘off with his head’ or in my case ‘then bring the blood from the corpse,”. I was in a dream world. A fascinating fairytale where I could have everything I wanted. To some extent, I hated it. There were not pots of gold here, but of blood and chopped off heads, and bones and dirt welded into ones skin. Those thoughts sent me crashing to the surface, away from the peaceful waterfall where I’d been floating moments before, and into the roughest sea instead.
“That’s not fair ma,” I moaned, punching straight through the cushion she’d thrown before.
“You are replacing that pillow,” mum complained. “What’s unfair exactly?” she asked smiling.
“That you can manipulate me in to thinking ‘its okay’ when it NEVER is!”
“But,” she frowned. “I’m your mother; you’re supposed to want to tell me everything!”
“Not when I’m scared of your reaction,” I defended.
“Really?” she sounded upset. “I don’t want you to be afraid buttercup, Never ever. Now come on, better start arranging some antidotes for the moon rituals,”
“Joy,” I muttered.
“It’s not that bad,”
“It is when Aunty Helena is shoving perfumes under your nose going ‘does this make you thirsty?’ Why do I even call her aunty? She’s not your sister!” mum chuckled at my un-enthusiasm.
“Well...” mum held back a smile, “we could always go hunting?”
“Where,” I grinned.
“Hmm, what sounds good? Boar, lion, cheetah, umm, Toby?”
“Ha-ha, how about elephants? I could enjoy a trip to Africa,”
“Well someone’s hungry,” mum laughed.
“Well have you seen yourself?” I raised an eyebrow and she lifted a finger.
“Hold that thought,” Then she was gone. Whizzed up the stairs so quick a chill washed over me, though the second it began to effect my skin, she had returned. It’d taken a whole of four seconds.
“Maybe you’re right,” she said. “Circles under my eyes, rough skin, loss of colour in the pupils, damn, maybe we do need some elephants, “the lady agreed.
“Like I said,Africa,”


Chapter Two,

Mum and I decided to pass on Africa in the end. The journey was too much hassle, neither of us was willing to deal with the sun this week, and I was really fancying some beasty furry chases rather than that god awful elephant tusk! In the end we rented a cabin in Toronto- Canada; 5,652 km away from treacherous England. I’d never felt so alive this hunting