Bound to a Bloodsucker

chapter one

"How was school?" Jack, my older brother, questions both my sister and me as he places bowls of food in front of us.
"Fine, I guess," I shrug, grabbing my spoon and scooping some soup into the silver utensil.
"I drew a picture!" Jenny, my younger sister, whips out a sheet of paper with a colorful drawing of the three of us. Albeit, Jack's head is in the sky on the paper and my nose takes up half my face and colored a brown color. But it's still us.
"Wow, you did a great job! Let me see," Jack reaches across the table to grab it from her. "Look at this. Great job, Jenny!" Jenny grins as Jack sets the paper down. "Nothing interesting for you, Jasey?"
"Nope." I sip my glass of water. "What about you?" My brother is nineteen. We don't have the money for him to go to college, and he doesn't want to live somewhere else because he knows Jenny and I would barely make it to eighteen without him. Mom hardly sees us. She works night shifts at the UPS warehouse starting at midnight and then she comes home at 6 am and sleeps until she leaves for her shift at Blazed Burrito Bar at 3 pm. She gets off work at 11:30 pm and goes straight back to the UPS warehouse.
"Normal day for me. Three loads of laundry, all of the dishes were done before I cooked, and Mom's room is clean because of me. Do you have homework?" Jack picks up a cracker.
"Finished it," I state, eating the last bit of carrots and chicken broth. "Thanks for dinner." I smile gratefully at my brother as I pick up my bowl and glass, carrying them to the sink.
"I'm done," Jenny picks up her heavy bowl still filled with some soup. Jack takes it from her, grabbing his own bowl as well. He sets them in the sink and I start on washing them while he retrieved the glasses and utensils from the table.
"I got this. You go out. It's Thursday night," Jack takes the bowl from me and begins scrubbing it. I place my hands on the counter and lean towards him.
"And who do you suppose I go out with? Kelly is staying at her boyfriend's house. I have no other friends," I smile. Jack shakes his head.
"You could make friends," Jack reminds me. Taking a large breath, I grab a dry towel and start drying the dishes Jack finishes.
"It's not that easy for me," I murmur, hating the road this conversation is traveling on. Jack's always getting onto me about being a loner. Well, he doesn't put it on those terms, but he thinks I'm lonely. "I just like being independent."
"And I'm not saying that's a bad thing, Jay. But girls your age thrive on gossip, partying, and boyfriends. I just worry that you'll be so shy and anti-social when you're released into the real world," Jack says and passes me a glass that was previously filled with water.
"I just can't get into that stuff like everyone else. I don't see the point. Rumors, back-stabbing, hang-overs, tears, sappy love stories, headaches, getting drunk, smoking, dressing to impress, heartache, high heels, sore feet, exhaustion, juggling schoolwork among everything else. I just don't see the fun in it. I see stress, but no excitement." My fingers begin to shrivel from the water and I can't imagine how Jack's look. "Can we just... finish the dishes and get to bed? I'm tired."
"Tired in general or of this conversation?" Jack queries, passing the last glass to me.
"Both."
**
"Can you read a story?" Jenny stops me from closing the door. Jack chuckles behind me and I sigh, nodding. I step into her room again and grab a random book from Jenny's shelf. Jack lies down beside Jenny and begins playing with her hair. I sit on the stool by her bed and crack open the book.
"Once upon a time, a young girl wandered into the woods. She wore a shimmery, blue dress." I turn the page. "A boy in a fancy suit greeted her as she stumbled through the trees. She began to fall, but the boy caught her." Jenny smiles as I continue. "The girl decided then, that the boy would be her prince. The boy and the girl met every night in the woods. When they were old enough, they finally married. The boy was the princess's protector. She was never injured. The boy was her prince. And they both lived happily ever after." I close the book and lift my eyes to see Jenny fast asleep. Jack and I team up to pull the blanket over her shoulders gently so she doesn't wake up. I put the book back on the shelf and flick the switch on Jenny's princess lamp. I crack the door open and step away, turning to my older brother. "Good night."
"Good night." He wraps his arms around me and I do the same, squeezing slightly. "Love you."
"Love you, too. Sleep well."
"You, too." He lets go and smiles, brushing past me to go to his room. My brother is more like a father, but all of us siblings are really close because we know what it's like to lose someone on bad terms.
My sock-clad feet softly scoot across the wooden floor towards the back room. My room is plain- white walls, a black, four-poster bed with white linens, hardwood floor, a simple black bookshelf, nightstand, and dresser set, and a silver mirror above the dresser. On the walls are drawings and quotes I've hand-drawn, painted, or printed from the computer.
After brushing my teeth, I change into some black sweats and a gray shirt with my school's red logo on the front. I plug my iPod into the speaker by my bed and play some music on low volume. I plug my phone in and place it on my dresser. The lamp clicks by my bed as I shut it off and pull the covers tight around my body. The music softly lulls me into a nice, peaceful sleep.
**
I have to be dreaming right? This can't be real. I was just in bed and now I'm in the woods?
Looking down, my appearance confuses me. I'm still in sweats and tee. Pajamas. What is going on?
I trip over a tree branch and begin to panic as I fall. But I don't fall. I lean, but then there's something around my waist. A rope, maybe?
I'm straightened into a standing position and the rope slides off. I spin around to see a male. A very attractive male. Okay so... not a rope.
"Who are you?" My voice is breathy. My heart races loudly and quickly. The male inhales and closes his eyes.
"You have to stop freaking out," his voice is strained but deep and husky.
"Oh, really? I just appeared in the woods and there's a random dude right in front of me. I don't know where I am or who you are or what I am doing here. I have the right to freak out!" My time is frustrated. How can he say something like that? I'm going crazy over here and he's criticizing me?
"I'm not criticizing you and you're not going crazy," he says. My eyes widen.
"Did I say that out loud?"
"No." What the hell? He's freaking me out. Maybe it's him who is crazy. "I'm not crazy."
"How are you doing that?" I demand, scanning over his flawless features. His hair is dark and shaggy, stopping at his earlobes. His eyes are a captivating, emerald green. His skin is beautifully pale with no scars or blemishes. He has the body of a god: chiseled jaw, slightly broad shoulders, long legs, thick muscles, veins in his arms that prove his strength, slim waist and thighs.
"It's a long, complicated story," he answers, an accent peeking through his excited yet irritated voice. He's irritated? He's irritated? I'm supposed to be sleeping! "I'm sorry. You can sleep as soon as you want."
"Stop!" I exclaim. He's reading my thoughts, but how? Wouldn't it be cool to control your dreams? I definitely wouldn't have a guy who can read my thoughts in my dreams if I could control them.
"This isn't a dream."
"That's it. I'm done," I fold my arms across my chest and begin walking. Darkness settles around me. It's then that I realize I can't see jack shit. The male chuckles behind me, and I know he just heard that thought.
"I'll help you get home," he states, leading the way through the woods.
"And how do I know you're not taking me to your dungeon where you'll kill me or rape me?" I ask. Smirking, he lifts and drops his shoulders in a simple shrug.
"I guess you don't."