Chapter 9 -- Meet the New Anastasia--
Alec's POV:
I knew Emma was hiding something about her cousin. Then again, she seemed to always be hiding something. There was this great mystery to her that for the life of me I couldn't figure out. She drove me up a wall at least once an hour. And when she didn't it was because she was deep in thought.
Yet, there were other times when I couldn't get enough of her; there were times when I wanted and needed her by my side, like when Lily had been slowly dying and at the funeral. I drew courage from her strength.
She was a great mystery indeed; the feelings that I felt when I was with her and gosh, when we touched- I didn't know what it was.
She was so young, but then she would get this look in her eyes that seemed ancient. Some of the things she would say sounded so wise, wiser than her years.
She was gone for three days, didn't answer the door, never answered calls, she left abruptly after the funeral, and then she shows up with her cousin Anastasia. Anastasia: The one, whom Brandon had talked about, had left that encrypted message for before I ripped his head off; the one that looked so hauntingly familiar.
She was hiding something, and I was going to find out one way or another.
Then there was a thought in my head that didn't belong to me but to Reece: do you really want to know what she's hiding?
I thought about it his words. Why not, I thought back, aren't you curious?
I am, but unlike you, sometimes I like to live blissfully in the dark.
I suppose he was right to an extent. What if I didn't like what I found out? But I figured it was worth the risk, I was just too curious.
I didn't reply, and instead blocked him and everyone else out of my mind. I wanted some peace and quiet and I wasn't going to get it if they butted in with their own opinions.
I walked into the school in search of Layla. I needed to speak with her again.
Emma's POV:
I sat down next to Layla and heaved a giant sigh.
"Glad to see you again," came her timid voice.
I chuckled, "Glad to be back. Got to admit, I missed the continual arguments I have with Alec."
She laughed a little, more of a nervous chuckle, "Why were you gone for so long?"
"Well for half the time, I just needed to mourn, and the other half I was with my cousin Anastasia." I lied. I was almost fed up with all the lies I kept having to come up with. Who would have thought that this mission would cause so many to pop up.
Layla looked at me with a shocked expression, "You mean that is your cousin?" she clamped her mouth shut when she realized how rude she sounded, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that."
I laughed a little, "It's okay, I know it's pretty shocking."
Then came a voice I didn't expect from behind, "Just out of curiosity, how are you two related," came Reece's voice.
"Well we're cousins..." I trailed off. I knew what he really wanted to know, but I was going to make him ask it.
"Yes but..." he paused, unsure of how to continue, "How did she become… what she is?" They were all trying to word so that they didn’t blatantly come out and tell a human that vampires did exist.
"Her family was attacked one day- it was just a random one- by rouge vampires. Everyone else was killed except her." I paused and chewed on my lower lip, "My mother and I stumbled upon her and assumed she was dead. It also so happened that the Vampire Council showed up as well. I don't really know who they are, but they took her under their wing."
He was deep in thought when another voice spoke up, "Why is she living with you?"
"Because I'm the only family she has left. She was also anxious when I informed her about... That message." I stated as I looked at Alec who had asked the question.
He looked at me for a long time, searching my eyes for anything- anything that might just tell him who I was and what I was hiding. As we both gazed at each other, there seemed to be an electric current and a pull that tempted me toward him. I wanted to lean into him, have his strong arms around me and to surrender to his every whim. I mentally shook my head of such foolish thoughts and continued to make eye contact with him, but just a tad bit more cautious of where my thoughts might go.
He continued to stare and I stared back, but we quickly broke the staring contest when Reece cleared his throat. "Are you two done?" came his amused voiced.
I smirked, "What, getting jealous, Reece?"
He scoffed, "Why would I be jealous?" getting defensive.
Alec laughed at how defensive Reece had become. His smile showed in his eyes and that's when I realized how amazingly blue they were. Looking into them was like looking at the calm of the ocean right before a storm. It was as if I were laying on my back and looking up into the bright clear blue sky.
We made eye contact again, but I quickly looked away before anything weird happened again and he cleared his throat.
The bell rang and everyone rushed out of the class room. I trudged to my next class and sat in the back. I began to feel the stress of the events that had happened in the last couple of days trickle back to me. I pondered about the message 'The Council shouldn't be trusted. There's been a corruption from within'. I tried to figure out who could be the culprit behind this corruption.
I was so deep in thought that I didn't notice the desk right next to me fill. "A penny for your thoughts?" came Alec's voice.
I jumped in surprise. "Alec, you scared me!"
He chuckled, "I'm sorry Emma."
I scowled at him, "No you're not."
He smirked, "You're right, I'm not."
I slapped his arm but grinned none the less.
"I'm sorry for giving you such a hard time about your cousin, it's none of my business."
I was shocked, I hadn't expected Alec to apologize; I mean he had done so once, but to say sorry twice was a surprise. "It's okay. I understand. You were just curious."
"Yeah, well I shouldn't have snapped at you either. I should have just trusted you."
I furrowed my brows, what was he talking about? "About what?"
"That Lily was dead. I just saw your cousin and I just... Snapped. She looked so much like her. Maybe it's just old memories or my minds playing tricks on me," Alec looked at the floor, either in shame or embarrassment.
I laid a hand on his forearm. "It's alright Alec; it's tough to lose someone you love." I noticed how our conversation had gone from lighthearted to a more forlorn tone.
"I guess it explains some things. Like how you know certain things." Alec's eyes stared deep into mine. It was like he expected me to slip up somewhere.
"And yet you still assume I'm hiding something." I stated.
He smirked, "You're a mystery Emma Jones. One that I can't wait to unravel."
