Bleeding Nights

Bleeding Nights (5)

Chapter five

            "Hey, Elaina!" Oh great. Mimi Pressure called me from across the school yard. She and her followers were going to pick on me again. She reached me. I didn't look at her, and continued to walk. She stepped in front of me and spoke loudly. Oh, she was going to involve everybody this time.

            "So, Elaina. You look so great in the mess of an outfit you're wearing. What is it, Goth chic?"

            I glared at her, "Screw you Mimi."

            Her eyebrows shot up. The look she gave me said, You're going to regret that. "Okay then. You have gotten weird since Jeremy died." I tensed up. "And, I know why. You were fucking your own brother!" Ouch, the accusation hit home hard. Everyone around me was silent, waiting to see what I would do.

            Normally, I would have left the situation well enough alone, but she was making a stab at Jeremy too. I had to defend both of us. "Hey, you're the slut in this school, not me. Though, never mind. Jeremy was too good for you anyways."

            Her face reddened as people laughed and hooted. Her jaw clenched, she hissed, "That is why Sinclaire is your friend huh? You are with him too."

            "Actually, funny thing, as he wants to spend time with me, while he keeps shooting you down. Funny isn't it?" I smirked at her.

            "That isn't necessary Elaina, and you know it." Sinclaire appeared behind me.

            Mimi hooted, "Whoa, class couple of the year? Nah, she is way too ugly." That did it. I charged at her, knocking her down to the cement. She yelped as her head hit the pavement. I pulled my fist back and punched her in the nose. She let out a gasp of pain.

            I must have gone ballistic and blacked out, because the next thing I knew, Sinclaire was lifting me off of Mimi. I started kicking at the air, "Sinclaire! You always get in my way!" The crowd was around me.

            "This isn't what you want. Come on!" Sinclaire urged me. I reluctantly let him drag me by the wrist into the school. Into the study hall.

            "Sinclaire, I am fine, I'm just cranky. She pushed me to my breaking point, and..."

            "Save it." A two word demand, yet so powerful. "One, call me Sin. It is sexier. And two, you nearly killed her. Don't you get that?"

            I flipped, "It wasn't that bad, Sinclaire! God!"

            He got close. His face was centimeters away from mine. "It is worse than that, Elaina. It means you're changing. Goddamnit!" He punched the table on the side of us.

            "Sin..." I started, but there was no use for words. They took too much energy.

            He sighed, "No, Elaina. I can't tell you any of this. Why you?"

            I thought quick on my feet, "What do you mean? And why do you care?"

            "Don't start."

            "Fine." And I stormed out into the hallway. My heart was pounding. Why is Sinclaire such a loser? Why does he hate me? My thoughts were a jumbled mess as I rounded the corner...and ran right into Oliver.

            "Excuse me!" He smirked, looking my body up and down. Oh, no. That creepy feeling was coming back to me. Whenever I felt him looking at me, my flesh begun to crawl. It always had, I realized this right after Jeremy's death. I stared at him for a moment, my sapphire eyes like glaciers. Finally I opened my pale lips.

            "Um, yeah. Sorry." As I tried to get around him, he moved to block my path.

            He looked nervous, "Elaina..."

            I put one very white hand up. "Say no more, Oliver. I need to get to class." He nodded okay before turning around on his heel and storming away. Gosh, he seemed so mad. Everything in my world was messing up all over again, and what could I do to stop it? Go home and cry. That is all I could do. And, so I went home and cried tears of silence.

***

            "Elaina, enough of this mopey stuff. Get out, enjoy life." My Step-mother, Lisa, said. It was a week since my encounter with Oli at school, and thankfully he made no attempts to talk to me again.

            I sighed, "Thank you Lisa, but I really need to be alone right now." She nodded, and smiled. With her mega-watt dazzling white smile, silver blonde hair, and dark green eyes, she could have been a model instead of a house wife.

            "Hey Elaina, you know what you need right now?" Lisa put down the salad bowl. I didn't have time to guess, because she answered herself. Typical Lisa. "I think you need a make over. You hide behind your beautiful, rich chocolate hair too much. Would you like me to-"

            I cut her off, "Lisa, since when do I care about make up? Or looks, for that matter?"

            "Alright." Lisa looked hurt. She loved her cosmetics and hair apparently. She took pride in them. And, she was good at it. But, her smile faltered, showing her pain. Then, she spoke, "Well, what are you doing right now?"

            "Nothing. Hey, don't you have a library here?" I was generally interested. I had paid attention when they had bought the house, with the indoor pool and hot tub, and the massive library. I used to chill at the library with Oliver and sometimes Sinclaire, while Jeremy took full advantage of the hot tub parties Lisa and dad always threw. I loved the books.

            "Well, that is a surprise." She picked up the big plastic bowl again. "You used to love being in there, but ever since..." Her voice trailed off as her green eyes sobered. She regained composer, "Anyway, yes it is right through that big brass door there." She pointed a thin and frail finger towards the double doors at the end of a lone hallway.       

            I nodded thank you, then rose from my seat. I began the long and despairing walk towards the double doors. It hurt to think of the memories that used to be true.

            I remember when it was just Jeremy and I at the house, all was quiet. I remember he used to sit down with me and we would read. Our favorite book to read was Dracula by Bram Stoker. He would sit there with me, reading it aloud, crying at the parts about romance. He was just a big teddy bear, and he was a sucker for a good romance novel. I remember him telling me not to tell people about his romance novel collection under his bed. And, we would giggle in this very same hallway, coming out of the library and going to bed.

            The brass doors stood in front of me now. I don't know why, but a feeling of dread came up and hit me. I turned the big handles slowly, half expecting Jeremy to jump out at me like he used to when we were kids. But, no one came at me. I took one steady step into the room. It was a huge room, with blood red walls, which were peeling away. It looked like something out of a old horror movie.

            The creaky doors slammed shut. I whipped around. I was not liking this feeling in the pit of my stomach. It was almost like, pure death. Just as I thought that, my head cleared and my eyes rolled back. I thumped to the floor.