Black Legacy

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I woke to the muted sun’s rays spread across my face while the sound of my cell phone beeped with a text message. I rubbed my heavy eyes then squinted at the blinds that I’d forgotten to close. My window faced the front of the house, and from my bed, I saw the top of a large tulip tree. This morning, a thick fog covered it.

When the phone beeped again, I moaned and reached for it. I had two text messages. The first came from Chris, stating that he and Brody stayed up all night messing around in the loft. I translated this to playing video games and jamming to music. He ended the message with “I can’t wait to see you.”

My eyes lingered on the last part. What did it mean? Last night, he called me beautiful while he held me. Surely, we were back together. But what if I’m reading too much into it? Even when his hatred for me was at its highest, he still would’ve offered me his shirt, opened my car door, and extended the breakfast invitation. He’d do it because our group’s friendship went beyond him and me. And he’d do it because it was the right thing to do, not because he wanted to. Until his intensions were clear, I couldn’t let my yearning emotions go there. With mental resisting, I forced them aside to focus on the second message.

It came from Mom. After her eccentric yet normal behavior yesterday, I didn’t feel like dealing with her. Since she texted me, I figured she was probably jogging with Zane. This meant I could tell her about my breakfast plans without actually speaking to her.

I opened the text, reading it aloud. “Jogging. I’ll be home for breakfast. BL vamp.

I blinked. The first part easily confirmed my suspicions, but what did BL vamp mean? I thought of abbreviations that corresponded to her jog or breakfast. Blueberries, bacon, lattes, long strides. I shook my head. Nothing made sense. I ran my finger over the word vamp, contemplating another minute. Again nothing. Finally, I gave up, figuring it was one of her harebrained moments. I sent her a text, stating my morning plans, hoping she wouldn’t deny me my chance to go, and inquired about the meaning of BL vamp.

The clock on the nightstand told me it was too early to be getting ready for my rendezvous, yet even with my lack of sleep, I couldn’t stay in bed any longer. Chris wanted to see me. Whether that meant as friends or more, I wanted to see him too.

I scooted off the bed, tiptoeing around tossed clothes and empty wrappers until I made it to my dresser. I chose undergarments, a pink top, and white shorts then headed to the bathroom. Across the hall, Katz’s bedroom door was closed. I contemplated knocking but, remembering her tiredness from the mental pull with crazy Nathaniel, I decided to wake her after I got dressed.

 As I sat on the toilet to relieve myself, I heard Katz’s bloodcurdling scream. I shuddered at her shrieks while I instantly was pulled into her mind.

One hand yanked up my boxers while the other flung open the door. I dashed down the hallway toward her bedroom as flashes crossed into my mind. Jumbled clips of overgrown foliage in a wooded area dominated the images. Katz was watching through the eyes of someone who ran. The images blurred, faded then reappeared. A man was hunched over with his back toward the person. He was surrounded by similar undergrowth to the runner but I didn’t know if the runner was looking at the man or if Katz jumped into someone else’s mind because the eyes Katz now looked through were frozen with fear. The man stood, turning. His eyes remained closed. His face was unnaturally pale against wet scarlet lips. He sniffed the air. His eyelids lifted and two menacing, glowing red orbs stared back.

I yelped, tripped, and fell to the floor.

Katz screamed louder.

The images were more powerful than I’d ever felt. Katz’s panic forced me to stay focused.