Forever Dark: Book 1 of the Forever Dark Series

Chapter 12 - Drained

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11

When I woke at noon, I could barely move. Teeth chattering, body frozen. Every inch of me hurt. I felt like I'd drunk the entire bottle of vodka. Plus, I got my period. Blood was all over my thighs and sheets. Scott's rose lay on my nightstand, and with it, the certain knowledge I wasn't good enough. How could I tell Naomi? I'd screwed everything up, just like she warned me not to.

I took a shower, staying under the scalding spray until warmth came back into my bones. I washed myself, wincing when my hand touched my belly. My insides felt tender, swollen. Raw. My period had never hurt this bad before. Maybe I was getting sick. All I wanted was to go back to bed and sleep for a hundred years, but what if I had the nightmare again? What if I heard that Voice?

I dried off and put in a tampon, wrapping myself in my favorite fluffy pink towel. Stepping into the darkened hallway, the house seemed colder than normal. Shivering, I cranked the thermostat to eighty. The cold grew worse, the shadows deeper. I had the feeling I wasn't alone.

“Mom?” I called. “Dad? You home?”

 No answer.

I went to my room. Putting on jeans and a sweater helped against the cold, but not against the feeling I was being watched. I changed my bedding, hiding the stained sheets in the dirty clothes pile. Even doing that made me feel faint. I needed caffeine, needed it bad.

A note on the kitchen counter said Mom and Dad had gone shopping, but they'd left a fresh pot of coffee for me. I poured some, watching the black liquid swirl and steam. I drank it, poured a second cup, and carried it back to my room.

I sat at my desk and fired up my laptop. Nothing from Scott. I turned my phone on, but the only texts and missed calls were from Naomi. Tears came, hot salt and bitterness that stung my eyes. Scott must hate me. Why wouldn't he? He'd probably already told his jock friends what an immature loser I was. By Monday, everyone at school would know.

Naomi called fifteen minutes later. “There you are!” she said. “Jeez, I only left, like, fifty million texts. So how'd your date go?” When I didn't answer, she asked, “What's wrong? Is everything all right?”

“Yeah, sure,” I forced the words out. “It's all good. We had a pretty decent time.”

“'Good' and 'decent' don't sound like a hot date to me. What happened?”

I decided to tell the truth. “Scott wanted to stay out later than my curfew. He told me he had this special place he wanted to take me.”

“So he likes you!”

I sighed. “I thought he did, only he got mad when I said I had to go. He left me at Red Robin. No goodnight kiss, nothing.” I wanted to tell her about Scott taking off to meet Dakota, but that would only make me look worse.

Naomi sucked in a breath. “Ouch. Did you try calling or texting him?”

“I'm too scared. He still hasn't friended me on Facebook. He's totally avoiding me.” I picked up the vodka bottle I'd hidden under a pile of clothes next to my bed. Somehow, I'd drunk a third of it last night, and now I wanted more.

“We can fix this,” Naomi said, “but you gotta play it cool, OK? Wait for Scott to call you. Otherwise, you'll look desperate.”

“You're right,” I said. “But he better call.”

“He will,” Naomi said, “but if he doesn't, we'll see him in school tomorrow and can work it out then. Look, I gotta eat lunch with my dad. Text if you need me, OK? Bye!”

I pulled the covers up to my chin and got in a few chapters of the Allura Demonenovel. My thoughts kept wandering, especially during the steamier scenes. Back to the movie and Scott's lips, his hands caressing me, and my hands caressing him . . .

I put the book down and watched my favorite episode of The Vampire Diaries on the DVR. It was “Brave New World,” the one where Caroline wakes up in the hospital and doesn't realize she's a vampire. Just as Caroline lost control and drained a cute guy to death, the screen froze on a picture of her bloody face: blonde hair wild, fanged mouth lusting wide. The lights in my room flickered three times, then the power went out.

I felt a stabbing pain between my hips. I could feel myself bleeding, every part of me cramping. All I could do was curl up and cry. It was if my sorrow was carrying me far from home, far from my bed. I didn't feel the mattress under me anymore, I felt wet sand. The sound of crashing waves and screaming wind grew steadily in my ears. I was lying naked on the rain-swept beach from my dream. I leaned up on my elbows to watch the surf roll in. As the sun sank below the horizon, there was a shadow on the water, a shadow that became something solid. Something real.

It was Scott.

He came striding from the water, all rippling muscles and wicked smile. His eyes were pale sapphires drinking me in. There were no words. All that needed to be said was spoken by our bodies, by the way my arms reached out to embrace him as he knelt beside me. We rolled in the sand, close to the water's edge. Scott lay on top of me, kissing me with a passion that left me weak and wanting more.

 "Call me," he whispered. "Call me now."

I sat bolt upright in bed. With trembling hands, I dialed Scott's number. He picked up on the third ring. Video game noise filled the background: sirens, gunfire, explosions.

“Hey, Scott. It's me, Cindy.”

More video game noise. “'Sup?”

“I'm sorry about last night. I wanted to stay out later, but—”

“I know,” Scott said. “Your parents.”

A boldness rose within me, a restlessness of desire. “Forget about them,” I purred. “I had a really good time, and I know you did too.”

The video game noises stopped. “Yeah, I just wish it could've been longer.”

“Me too. That's why the next time we go out, I won't let my parents or anyone else get in the way. We can drive to your special place, OK?”

Scott didn't hesitate. “What about next Saturday?”

“Yes!” I squealed. “I mean, that sounds great. Bye!” I hung up and smiled. Everything was right again.

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