Lessons of the Heart and the Liquid it Pumps ||

17: Putting a Phone to Use

Aiden turned up his music full volume as we pulled out of the school parking lot. He didn’t say a single word to me, just shot a smirk in my direction before he began to sing along loudly with the Scorpion song that came on.

I sighed and pulled out my cellphone to see if my mom had called while I was in school. I knew she hadn’t. What I was really wondering was if Shane would have really texted so quickly and I hesitated to open it up and check for messages. Aiden watched me from the corner of his eye and I groaned as I gave in and opened up my cheap phone. There was… nothing.

I sighed happily and opened up my inbox.

hey there bitemark.

 

The text sat unanswered in my inbox. I opened it up and saved his number as Castrin. I trusted Shane to be right about his name. After all, he was the number one jock stud at our school. I rolled my eyes. Thinking about Shane frustrated me. He was goodlooking, it was true. The way he acted around me was like any other boy, not like THE Shane Kelson. It irked me how he could act that way. Just last year he’d talked to Aiden right in front of me as though I hadn’t existed. If it wasn’t for Castrin I had a feeling I would have been stuck back on the dance conversation and more than likely ended up being asked by Shane.

> hey there number stealer

I smiled as I sent the text to him. I at least owed being civil to him. He had saved me from my own mind twice now, so to speak.

My phone lit up and I looked down. He’d responded already. I found myself actually smiling as I read it.

guess i deserve that one…. phone forgetter

 

> well do you have something better I could call you?

perhaps.

 

I ignored Aiden’s sly smile as he watched my lighthearted mood as I texted. He’d most likely thought it was Shane I was texting. Well it wasn’t, but I wasn’t going to be the one to tell him that.

> very well then. I’ll settle for Cas

oh now thats no fair. you know my name.

 

> yup. >:D

I could picture his vaguely amused smile as he stared down through his brown hair at the phone in his hands. What was he doing right now? I couldn’t even begin to picture what he was doing. So far all I knew was some gossip from Shane, that he smoked, he skipped school, he had a car, he liked old movies as much as I did and he didn’t push things further than needed.

should I stick with bitemark then?

 

> Isadora actually

Dora it is then.

 

> I’m not a bilingual child’s show. >.>

I waited a few more minutes and he didn’t reply. I actually started to feel kind of put out which surprised me. I decided to stop looking at the phone every few minutes and instead set the phone back on volume. Now that I had someone to talk to there was no use in having it on constant silent.

Aiden’s smirk remained plastered on his face as he drove. I hid my own smirk knowing that he’d assumed wrong as to who I was texting. I basked in the fact I knew something he didn’t. In fact I knew lots of things he didn’t. I managed a side glance at him without getting his attention. Part of me wished that I’d be able to tell him about Mr. Marrs; about my dreams. I wanted to do what we’d always done when something was on my mind. We’d sit up together in whatever room we happened to be in, light a candle and spill our guts to each other about what ever had been on our minds recently. “When the light goes out the conversation is over.” we’d promised each other the first time we’d done it.

There hadn’t been one of our candlelight confessions lately though. We’d both been too busy with normal highschool life. Or rather, Aiden had been. I was struggling with so many things and everything led back to Mr. Marrs. I’d successfully ignored what had happened…for at least today. What would happen tomorrow? And the next day? Would I carry on as though nothing ever happened?

Bright and swirling the bloodlust from his eyes as he had sunk his teeth into my figure so instinctively flashed through my mind. But what if...what if I was in trouble for knowing? He’d tried so hard to act normal, like any other teacher, and to keep anyone from finding out. Could I now be in trouble? Mr. Marrs wouldn’t kill me would he? He wasn’t that type of person. As I told myself that I realized I knew absolutely nothing about what type of person he was at all. Do vampires even register as people?

My mind snapped back from my thoughts as my phone rang. It wasn’t some interesting ringtone I’d picked out. No, just the classic boring ringtone the phone had come set on. There’d been no reason to act like a normal teenager and change it.

Incoming call < < Castrin

 

From beside me I could feel Aiden’s toothy grin before I even turned to see it. “So you going to answer that sis?” he asked his voice dripping with the success he was bathing himself in. Oh if only he knew who was really calling!

I decided to ignore the fact he’d called me ‘sis’ just to get on my nerves and opened the phone bringing it to my ear. Aiden, who was thrilled since he thought it was Shane calling, did something totally out of character and turned down his loud music so I could hear properly. “Hello.” I answered the phone not wanting to give away that it was Castrin calling me.

“All right so no Dora then.” Castrin’s voice came smooth and clear over the line. I could hear as he took a drag on his cigarette and waited knowing somehow he had more to say before I should talk. “I’m a bit surprised you answered.”