"Sam?" I ask, "What are you doing? You shouldn't be here, it's not safe."
I quickly walk to her, grabbing her arm when she stands up and pulling her towards the door. Samantha doesn't take her eyes off me. Her eyes are swimming with concern, and she looks like she has something to say.
She suddenly pulls her arm out of my grip with a little too much force, making me jolt towards her instead. Sam seizes my shoulders to steady me and looks me in the eyes. "Ange... I have to tell you something, and you have to promise me that you won't overreact."
What can she possibly say to me that will send me on the loop?
"I promise." I swear to her.
"How do I put this," she pulls the corner of her mouth and furrows her brows. "Remember how I went away with extended family for a month on summer vacation? Well I... I came here, to this lodge."
I blink in surprise. I never expected that she would come to a place filled with monsters. I wonder if it was on purpose or if she was forced to come. Either way, she's here now and even if the fact takes stress off my shoulders I still feel terrible.
"Why here? Why not a lake-house or with your brother in San Francisco? Sam, do you know these people?" I ask, realizing there are a lot more people in the room other than Jesse, Sam and me.
"Angela, these people are my family."
Once I hear those words, my eyes widen in shock as the realization hits me.
This is all real. This is really happening.
I step away from her, shaking my head. I turn to Jesse, who is no longer in the room. I look back at Samantha and let out a sharp sigh.
"Are you a vampire?"
She looks at me with saddened eyes and says: "It wasn't my idea, and my word meant nothing when it happened..."
I take a step closer. "Answer the question." I demand, my voice sounding darker than I intend. Somebody to my left stands up and signals everyone to follow. Sam waits until we are the only two people in the room.
Her eyes begin to water. "Yes, Angela. I. Am. A vampire."
"Wha- and you never told me?"
"I was going to the night it happened, but they said if I did I was never going to see you again."
"For how long have you kept this a secret?" My voice rises as I hold back a cry.
She looks me in the eyes. "Five years. I've been a vampire for five years, and I couldn't tell you. I'm so sorry you had to find out like this." A tear rolls down her cheek, and she sniffles.
"I can't believe you'd lie to me like that... I can't believe any of this." I try to keep myself from crying, but it's too late. "How could you?"
I look away and close my eyes. I can't let her see me cry because of this. She knows how strong I am. She knows what hurts me. She knows trust is a big thing for me and she breaks what was ours. We told each other everything. I know her deepest, darkest secrets, and she knows mine, but she never—ever—told me this. I had to find out on my own, with no help, no signs, no secret messages—nothing.
I can't stay here, not now. I have to get away from here. This is too much.
But I can't leave her either. If I'm a vampire and so is she, then we have to stick together. It shouldn't matter if our trust is broken or not.
This is just a massive bump in the road, and I'm acting like it's the end of the world. Since when was I so emotional? It hurts, and I don't know what to do about it. Sam was crying, she can see how betrayed I feel. I guess she understands how much it hurt me. Even though it's going to be difficult, I should apologize for doing exactly what she asked me not to do.
When I turn back around and open my eyes, Samantha isn't there. Where could she have gone?
"She went for a walk." a familiar voice says. I look around to find Jesse leaning on the front door frame.
I quickly walk up to him. "Well, I have to catch up to her."
He blocks my way with his arm. "Or you can follow Susan, here," He gestures to a blonde teen sitting on the front stairs. "to your room. Did I mention you have no choice?"
Susan looks up at me with her light brown eyes and hurries to be in front of me. "Let's go?" She smiles.
I look out the door again, searching for Sam and wanting to follow her. My eyes then shift to connect with Jesse's. I can see no room for argument. A sudden wave of exhaustion crashes into my limbs, and I reluctantly face Susan.
"Sure, maybe I can get some sleep." I reply.
She begins walking towards the hallway with me following closely behind. Jesse calls me from the door.
I stop while Susan keeps walking. "Yeah?"
"Be careful of who you befriend. A lot of vampires aren't who they seem to be." he says as if he were whispering in my ear. Somehow, I am still able to hear his voice clearly.
"I'll keep that in mind."
I hurry to catch up with Susan just as she turns the corner. She leads me through a series of hallways and some stairs that lead to the second floor. Once we reach the fourth room on the right we stop.
"This is Samantha's room. If you don't want to stay in here, you're more than welcome to sleep in my room." she says with a sincere and hopeful tone.
"It's fine, I'll sleep here tonight. Thanks for the offer." I smile at her and open the door. She gives me a key to the room, tells me where she'll be if I need anything, and goes on her way, leaving me all by myself.
When I walk in, I notice that Sam's room is much like the one at home. The walls are pink and the drapes are purple. There's a desk next to her bed with a small, pink lamp, and a few stuffed animals sitting on it. Her bed has floral sheets with white pillows. Posters of One Direction hang on the walls. Ew. Across from her bed is another bed with white sheets and pillows. My bed. I look in the mirror on top of the desk and sigh at my reflection.
I should shower.
I walk about three doors down to Susan's room and knock on the door.
She cracks open the door and smiles when she sees me, opening it just enough to fit her body through. "Hey, what's up?"
"Do you know where all the towels, shampoo, and bathrooms are? I was thinking of taking a shower..."
"Sure, there's a bathroom right behind you, and everything else you need is inside. Oh, and I'll bring you new clothing." she offers, stepping out of her room and moving to close the door behind her.
"Thanks, but I'll borrow some of Sam's." I say with a smile.
She returns the smile, wishing me a good night, her hand on the doorknob. I wish her the same, turning to prepare my shower.
**********
As I walk in the room I see Samantha lying on her bed with a book in her hands. She notices when I sit on my bed and remove the towel from my head. Sam lays the book on the desk, her expression showing sadness and regret.
I begin to brush my hair when she lightly sits on my bed. I set the brush down and gently hold one of her hands.
"Sam, I'm sorry for acting that way. I understand why you didn't tell me." I tell her sincerely.
"It's okay... I'm sorry, too." a confused look spreads across my features. "I shouldn't have walked away like that. I was just overwhelmed and we both needed some space."
"Oh, no, Sam. You don't have to apologize for that. We just had an argument—a very small one. Don't feel bad, it happens to everyone." I comfort her by pulling her into a hug. "You'll always be my 'Sister from another mister.'"
Smiling, I feel Samantha giggle. She pulls away. "And you'll always be mine."
We both laugh at my remark. She offers to brush and braid my hair. I accept and while she brushes I ask her about the family.
"Marie is the woman you go to for clothing. She sews, orders, and fixes anything you need fixed. I'll show you where she is tomorrow. There's Anthony, the man in charge of weapons and training, which you'll be going to on Monday. Um, Susan shows every new girl around. I'm sure you met her already. Oh, and Jesse knows everything about the history of anything and brings the new vampires to the first place they need to go." She begins to braid my hair.
"What about Boss? Who's he?" I ask
"He's a man named Jeremy Blake. He runs everything in this family. The wars, recruitment, anything you can think of that has to do with vampires."
"So he runs the place?"
"Yeah. He tells Jesse to cuff the vampires and cover their mouths but he just wants to see their reactions."
"I figured, I mean all Jesse did was put me in the backseat of his van."
"You rode in a van?"
"Yeah, why?" Samantha already finished braiding my hair, so I turn to face her.
"What was going on when they picked you up?" she asks, looking casual and sounding curious.
"It's kind of hard to remember but... there was.. a group of men, huddled above something on the ground. It looked like they were examining whatever was there and... a lot of people were hurrying back-and-forth like something needed to be done." Sam looks at the carpet but doesn't reply. "Is that usually what happens?"
She snaps out of what held her thoughts, turning back to me. "Uh- yeah, I think so. You know, we've been through a lot today. We should go to sleep, it's already midnight."
"Oh wow, I didn't even notice. I guess I am kind of tired." I say, yawning in the process.
"Alright, get yourself comfortable and I'll turn off the light."
Samwalks to her bed, pulling off the sheets, and laying down. Ialso lay down, hearing her flip the light switch. I close my eyes and quicklydrift to sleep.