One night. A split second is all it takes to change someone's life forever. For Scott Aldridge, it was having his last shred of hope taken from him. On a long road to redemption from his dark and embittered past, he later meets Lily Rezza who may be...
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Seaside, CaliforniaMay 5, 2013
Eleanor
I have only been here a week, yet it felt like a lifetime.
Francis had a beautiful estate, the property stretched for miles. There was plenty of space to run and hunt. I had been adamant about not wanting to have human blood. Francis told me there was another way a vampire could live.
Animal blood.
Francis told me it was sustainable, but it was not as potent as human blood. Staying on the animal diet would leave me weaker than vampires my age. But I didn't care.
I never wanted to hurt people ever again.
His live-in housekeeper Susan was very delightful. I was only around her when I was with Francis. When alone I asked that he set up a boundary spell so I couldn't leave the house. I didn't trust myself still.
My friends would call in about 100 times a day. My brother was the worst of them, I was surprised how often he messaged me. Every fiber in my body wanted to go straight to him. Losing our mother was the worst pain I ever felt in my life. I just wanted to be close to him and grieve together.
On my third day here, I got a surprise visit from a friend.
It was Scott, holding three bags full of papers and books. One of them was my backpack.
Francis and I were sitting in his office, going over some things he wanted to start on. Like getting me more comfortable around humans.
Susan popped her head in, announcing his arrival.
When he came in and dropped all of the bags onto the floor I was confused as hell, until he told me there was still a chance I could graduate high school. He compelled them to believe I was ill and would be doing everything remotely.
"And they just believed that?" I had said.
"Yep, and I'm sure you can catch up on everything pretty quick," Scott grinned.
All of this was so strange. Scott and I were friends, but we never really interacted much outside of our friend group. He was always with my cousin; who hadn't messaged me much since the trial.
I could understand why she was distant, I did try and kill her mother. And I hated myself for it.
It wasn't until today that I found out more about what was going on with everyone. I finished all of the work I missed within a day. There wasn't much to catch up on. I would be doing my finals on my laptop. My school agreed to let Francis "watch" me for the exams.
The art of compulsion was useful according to Francis, but I didn't want to take part in it. It was what led me to my death. No one should have the power over someone's will. My complaints just fell on deaf ears though.
