Immortal Bodies

Chapter 3--Christian

Annaliese pushed her bag into her locker, taking in the noise of all the other chattering students ready for the last class of the day. She wished she could be as happy as them--but something was holding her back, something she couldn't stop thinking about--the stupid thing she saw, and its knowing smirk she knew she saw on its face--whatever it was.

 When she slammed the locker shut in short tempered anger and turned, a boy was standing there, arms crossed, leaning on the lockers. Annaliese jumped.

 "Jumpy much?"

"Can I help you?" she asked him politely, or as politely as she could, at least. The sneer playing on his lips was irrirtating.

"Yes, actually, you can." He grinned, but it wasn't a happy grin--it was grin that said freak. You're a freak!  "I need you to tell me what you saw today. This morning. When you freaked out."

Annaliese narrowed her eyes, taking in his strong structure, his dark glistening eyes, his blue T-Shirt and dark jeans. His skin was a tanned color, almost as if he'd worked out in the sun a lot, as his dark hair fell over his eyes."Excuse me?"

"Whatever you saw, my friend Riley saw it, too," he replied, lowering his voice. "And she freaked out, as well, so that's how I know it wasn't a trick of the eye. So what did you see?"

"It's none of your business," Annaliese said coolly, resisting the urge to walk away. But she didn't want to seem rude.

"Actually it is." His smirk became wider. "And do you want to know why? Because if I can find out what Riley is seeing, then I can help her. And you."

A shiver ran down her spine, the type you only get when you know something isn't right. "I don't need help, first of all, and second of all, you must really be flattering yourself if you think I'll fall for your little smile, son of a bitch."

Anger flashed through his facial features, and radiated through his eyes, giving them a sharp glint that she didn't like. "Alright, then let's get to the threatening part of this whole situation. If you don't tell me then I'll make sure you wish you'd never come to this school."

Annaliese just laughed, despite her feelings of fear towards him. "If Riley doesn't want to tell you what's going on with her, maybe she finds it hard to trust you, and I'm not the least bit surprised at that assumption, either."

 She turned to leave, suddenly not caring weather or not she seemed rude. She just wanted to get away from him as quickly as possible. The boy gripped her arm, pulling her back. "Let me go!" she nearly shouted at him.

"My name is Christian," he whispered in a hiss, releasing her arm. "Welcome to AeroRidge."

***

Annaliese entered her house with a sigh and sat at the granite kitchen table, slinging her bookbag off of her shoulder.

"How was school today?" Uncle Ed asked, entering the kitchen.

"Alright," she replied, not wanting to be rude and not wanting to say anything about her and Christian's little....encounter. It had been one of the worst days of her life!

"Just alright?" He had busied himself to making tea, his back turned towards the sink,  turning on the stove and pouring the water so that it could boil.

 She stared around the fairly large kitchen, taking it in--it was way different from her old home, where she and her father lived in an apartment, and the kitchen was small and comfortable. Here, the kitchen was large and spacious, the walls painted white, and the borders red,with the granite counter tops and dark gleaming stove.

 "Yeah, I just had a headache all day." She also did not want to tell him about her little trick-of-the-eye-or-so-she-hoped-monster-encounter. That would only lead to trouble. More trouble than she wanted, anyway.

 Uncle Ed was silent as he finished making the tea, as Annaliese put her chin in her hand and listened to hissing of the pot on the stove and watched as the tendrils of smoke curled into the air and faded away. Finally, when the tea was ready, he handed her a steaming mug, poured himself a cup, and then sat across from her.

"Thanks," she replied, taking a sip that made her tongue burn, but she liked it.

He smiled. "Well, we just want you to feel welcome. And....I have something to tell you."

"Shoot for it," Annaliese urged, taking another sip of her tea.

His eyebrows drew up in concern, blue eyes twinkling. "Your cousin Dylan is coming over and is going to stay with us for a little while....Well, actually, he's been living here....But he had to go away for a little while, and now he's coming back. Permanently. I hope. Is that--"

"Uncle Ed, it's fine," Annaliese assured him, mainly because she could hear the uncertainty in his voice. "You took me in. I owe you a thanks. At least now it won't be so lonely."

"You have Aunt Tara!"

"And have I actually met her?"

He shrugged. "She's a very busy woman." His eyes kept that twinkle, and they held each other's gaze. "I think you'll get to meet her when Dylan comes home. Don't worry, he can be a bit of a loner at first, but you get used to it."

"Where is he coming home from?"

Now Uncle Ed looked even more uncomfortable. He shifted in his seat, gaze dropping to the table. "Rehab."

Annaliese sat there, never expecting that to be the answer. She wanted so badly to ask why, but thought better of it, thought that it would be rude.

 And as if he had read her mind, he asked, "You probably want to know why, don't you?"

The shock spread over her. "Yes, but you don't have to tell me if you don't want--"

"He had a spasm and attacked your Aunt Tara about a year ago. He bit her....And I don't think your Aunt has ever been the same since. Hardly coming out of her room, rarely talking, barely eating, going off into the night...." He trailed off.

"She'll get better. I'm sure of it."

"Yes, I hope for it."

"So when is Dylan coming back?"

"Tomorrow."

She nodded. "Tomorrow. Good to know."

"We'll see what he's like after tomorrow, then," Uncle Ed added, a new sad glint in his eye. Or it could be counted as sad, but Annaliese saw it as a curious way to look at things, and she liked it.