Chapter 5
I didn't pack shit.
I'm not leaving anywhere, with a vampire, who he said not to trust. So I'm not doing anything he says anymore. I trusted him once and he teased me about it. That fucker. So now I do nothing and we'll see how he likes it.
It's almost the same time he came around. I have the TV on, half-heartedly watching some show that has pawn shop owners on it. Half of me is trying to pay attention, the other half is too excited to pay any attention because it knows Ace is going to be here any moment.
And that part of me terrifies me.
I shouldn't be excited. I should be dreadful. Dreadful that a vampire has been in my house more times than I want. Knows where I live, what my name is. He can share that to any other vampire and I can be ambushed in my sleep. Hell, he probably has people coming with him.
I have a gun swinging on my fingers. I don't trust him anymore, just like he said. I only trusted him for that one day and that's it. He knows it, too. And he's never earning that trust back. Not unless he's human.
"You're a stubborn ass, aren't you?"
I turn, gun stopping it's swinging on my fingers. I point the gun and aim, shooting it off. Ace disappears before the bullet can hit him. I swear under my breath, shoving the gun in my holster. I glare at his sheepish grin, whose now on the other side of the room.
"Yeah, I am," I retort at him.
He crosses his arms. "You tried to shoot me again. I guess our talk yesterday meant nothing."
"Apparently," I agree.
Ace stares at me for the longest time. "I was serious when I said I was coming back to pick you up."
I scoff. "You told me to never trust a vampire. Those are the only smart words that have left your mouth since I've met you."
He winces. "Okay, I take that back for just today. C'mon."
"No!" I snap at him. "I'm not going anywhere with you!"
He glares at me. "I'm becoming impatient. You either go willingly or I'll force you. You're choice."
"I don't even know where we're going!" I tell him exasperatedly.
"Somewhere where there's people like you," He tells me.
"I don't trust you," I growl.
He's then suddenly right in front of me, and I almost jump back a bit. But I manage to stand my ground. His eyes are a greem color, I realize. A bright, clear green. "I will never hurt you, Scar. You have to trust me on that one."
He says it so seriously I want to believe him. "I don't trust anyone." I pull away from him, stalking away to my room. I want him out of my house now. I don't want him here, I don't even want to be here.
He's following me in a matter of seconds. He doesn't peer around the room like it's the first time he's been in it. It's like he's been in here before. It's like he knows there's a picture of my dad sitting on my dresser, how my laptop is open to a Google page, and how my closet door is open, full of messy clothes.
He really has been stalking me, hasn't he?
"Go away."
He smirks, leaning against my dresser that's next to the doorway. "I refuse to leave without you. Start packing your shit."
"I'm not going anywhere!" I flip out on him. "Can't you get that through you're thick skull?"
He grunts, standing up straight. "Fine. We'll do it the hard way."
"There's no hard way. I'm not going anywhere." I cross my arms, serving my stand.
He's then in my face, looking half amused, half guilty. "Sorry, Scar. I'll pack some stuff for you."
"Sorry? What the hell are you talking about? I'm not...I'm not going...anywhere..." And then I see what he's holding under my nose. Some type of bottle that when you breathe in, makes you pass out for God knows how long. I try not to breathe anymore and step away from him, but he's holding me in place, and I'm too weak to protest. "You...sick...fucker..."
And then I'm out.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I wake up in a car.
And I start freaking the fuck out, because I remember vividly what happened before I blacked out.
I start kicking and screaming, trying to check if the doors are unlocked. I don't care if we're going 60 miles per hour, I want out. I'll jump out if I need to. But Ace is two steps ahead of me and they're locked.
"Calm the hell down!" Ace yells at me, glaring. He's driving, and I realize we're on a highway. I start taking deep breaths in, squeezing my eyes shut tightly.
And then I lash out on him. "You asshole! You kidnapped me! Fucker, as soon as I'm out of this car I'll - " I reach for my gun, but it's not there. Neither is my holster. I check my shoes, my shirt, my pants - no weapons. "You son of a bitch!"
He has the nerve to laugh when I start whacking his arm. He doesn't know or understand my panic. "I had to take your weapons off you. You're dangerous with them."
"And without?"
"...Adorable. You're only downside."
"Asshole," I mutter, finally calming down. "I really hope we're not far from my house because as soon as my feet hit ground, I'm walking home."
"Ha. You're funny."
I try to read the signs, but there's not many. In fact, there's not much of anything. Just a long, narrow highway with few cars and tall trees. The road is long and goes on straight, no curves or anything. Just straight ahead. There's a sign upcoming and I squint in order to see it.
A R I Z O N A
Brille - 3 ½ Miles
I sit back in my seat, staring at Ace. "Arizona? We're in Arizona?"
"Smarter than she looks."
I ignore his comment. We're two states over. I live in California; we're in Arizona. I have no money on me, I have nothing on me. How am I suppose to get back? He really did kidnap me. I have absolutely nothing.
Suddenly, he veers off the highway, into the town called Brille. Never heard of it, but it doesn't look too cheery. There's trees that are huge and healthy all around. The houses look like family houses; big and on repeat. They all look the same. Even the people look the same; families after families. This isn't cheery for me. I hate repetition.
He pulls so many twists and turns I don't see where we're going. And then there's too many trees to see anything. All I know is that we're on a deserted road. Five minutes later, the trees decrease, and out pops a lake. It's to the side, off the road, less trees crowding around. The lake is off, down more, far away from the road. And then it's gone as fast as it came; more trees replacing it.
I sigh, thudding back into my seat. I don't know what type of car I'm in; it must be a recent model because of the stereo. It's a dark blue, I can see out the rearview mirror. And then we're going deeper into the trees and then there's a house.
It's not a normal house. It's a loft. It's huge and it's spacey. And there's a car in the driveway. It's the only car here, besides the one we're in right now. And the lights are on in the loft. We're not going to be alone.
When we pull up to the house, I'm too busy admiring it to realize the doors are still not yet unlocked. So when I pull on them, I grow confused. "We're here."
"You have to promise me something," Ace says seriously.
"What?"
"Promise me you will play nice and you will not try and run away from this house."
I snort. He makes me sound like he's bringing home a new puppy. "Only if you promise me answers." I have no where to go. He seems to not realize this, though.
He nods. "Fine."
He unlocks the doors, and I give him a look as I exit the car. I stare up at the house; seems even bigger than a minute ago. I hear Ace shuffle around and I look back to see him opening the trunk. I go back there to see he has a suitcase. "Whose that for?"
"You."
I stare at him incredulously. "Me?"
"I told you I was going to pack you stuff." He smirks wickedly at me. "Even some bras and underwear."
I stare after him, horrified, as he continues smirking and walks into the house. I dart in after him, threats on my tongue. "This is why I didn't want to go! You are such a complete asshole! What if I - "
I stop talking abruptly, cringing back a little. Ace isn't here, but someone else is. More than one, in fact. There's two guys and one girl. They're staring at me like I've gone bat shit insane. They're on the couches, down the two stairs in front of me. The living room is in the middle, sunken in from the rest of the flooring.
"Who are you?" I bite off a bit forcefully. I don't mean to, but I'm caught off guard.
"They," I get an answer to my left. I look and see Ace coming down four flat stairs. "Are the people I was talking about yesterday."
I switch my gaze back to the people. The girl looks pissed off, the one with the dark brown hair is smirking, and the dirty haired blonde has no emotion. They all are dressed in black; tank tops, jeans, boots, t-shirts. All black. No other colors.
I glance down at what I have on. A bright red sweater with dark jeans and purple sneakers. I stand out. "Oh."
Ace turns to them and nods my way. "She's a tough cookie, this one."
"Doesn't look it," The girl comments. Her hair is long and straight, down to her ass. She's petite, tinier than me, but something about her tells me she's stronger than she looks.
A defensive look crosses Ace's face. "She is. See this?" Ace pulls down his sleeved arm, revealing the scratch from the sword I gave him. It's a scar now, a thin line, but still visible. "She did it to me. And she was asleep. None of you shit for brains could even lay a finger on me."
"Watch it," The dark haired guy growls, standing up and glaring at Ace. He has a pointed jaw and a mischievous glint in his eye. His brown hair is naturally spiky at the tips. Ace doesn't back down, though. The guy then walks past the couches, and to me, smirking. His hand goes out and before he can do anything, I have it twisted behind his back.
"Don't touch me," I seethe into his ear.
He winces and he's then not in my grasp anymore. He pulls out of it, staring at me with disbelief for one second, glancing his head over to Ace. He has a smug look on his face, mixed with pride. He's practically saying 'I told you so'.
"I was going to shake your hand," The guy says slowly, smirking, "and introduce myself."
I falter, grabbing my wrist and rubbing it. "Oh. Sorry. Bad habit."
His smirk widens and he reaches his hand out again. "I'm Riker."
This time, I shake it, staring into his eyes. He has hot eyes, and I didn't know that was possible until now. "Scarlett. But call me Scar."
"Sexy," Riker winks, his smirk coming around to show a bit of his teeth. This guy is dangerous, I can tell. But I don't know which type of dangerous yet.
Ace makes a noise and in two seconds flat he's near me, pulling me away from Riker. "Come, meet the others," He grunts, shooting Riker a look.
I'm pulled over to where the girl sits. She's pretty, even without makeup. She looks up at me with a nasty look. I stare down at her dully. "Hi."
"Stay out of my way, and I'll do the same for you," She snaps, in a girlier voice than I expected.
Ace sighs irritably. "You're suppose to be friends, remember?" He glances at me. "This is Lexi. And over there is Piers."
I look over at the dirty blonde guy. He's tall and tan. He's got a stubble going around his face, giving him a manly look. He finally smiles at me, showing the first emotion I've seen out of him. "Hey."
I don't smile back. "Hi."
Ace clasps his hands, smiling ruefully. "So glad that we're all friends."
I then realize something, eyes widening. My eyes fly to all three of their mouths, which are unopened. I whirl around to Ace, wanting my weapons desperately. "Are they fucking vampires? What kind of sick shit is this? Are you all planning to murder me?"
Riker snorts in the background. "Does she think everyone's out to get her?"
"Yeah," Mrs. Snooty says behind me. "She's the number one ranker. Of course she thinks like that."
"Shut it," Ace snaps at both of them, then looks to me with softer eyes. "No. They're the second, third, and fourth rankers of vampire hunters."