If she chooses me.
What if I’m not good enough for her? Can I even keep her fed on my own?
My doubts force me to shut my mouth. I’d been about to shout at Jason about letting her do what she wants with me, but what if she doesn’t want me. What if it really is just the bond causing my feelings. Am I forcing myself on her through the bond?
A shudder runs through my entire body as that thought solidifies in my head. I’m ashamed of myself. Down right disgusted. I have to stay away from her until the effects wear off. If I still feel the same after then I’ll tell her everything, but if my feelings fade then I’ll keep my distance. No one should be forced into something they don’t want.
Ignoring Jason’s glare, I shoulder barge him out of my way and head to the kitchen, drowning my sorrows seems like a great idea but first I need to feed everyone or Jason will try cooking and no one wants that to happen.
Twelve
Areyna
I wake to the guys banging on my door. After hiding in my room last night until I was starving, I went down for dinner only to find a covered plate with my name on it and neither of the guys anywhere to be seen. I ended up going to bed early and slept right through. I don't normally sleep that long, but I guess the stress of the last week has finally caught up to me.
The guys bang on my door again and I groan, rolling over, I roll too far though and end up on the floor with a loud thump.
My door flies open and two startled faces peer down at me. "Did you just..." Jason starts laughing. "Oh my god, she fell out of bed. What a way to start the day." His laughing keeps going, the sound following my mortified ass all the way into the bathroom.
When I emerge, freshly showered, it's to an empty room. I quickly get dressed, pack the schoolbooks into my new backpack and head downstairs for breakfast. To be honest, I'm nervous about going back to school. I got my certificate online, while in Laverton, so I missed out on a lot of the social interactions. While in Laverton I spent almost all of my time trying to figure out who I was before I ended up there.
Without actual identification I was unable to enrol in a normal school when I was fourteen, even though schools in our town are free; because feral vampire-human children living on the streets at the age of fourteen - who doesn't even know her own name - has ID, right? Yeah, no.
Sarcasm aside, I didn't have any clue who I was, it wasn't until I was thrown into Laverton that anyone even thought about trying to find out who I am. Right up until two months ago I was simply known asInmate 856. Jason and Richard gave me a home, a name, and a chance at life. I owe them everything. Which is why I feel like I’ve been acting like a brat. I vow to myself to try this school thing out. If they think it’s important then maybe it really is.
Walking down the stairs and making the guys speechless seems to be the latest thing. They stop walking towards the kitchen, Richard halting mid-sentence to stare at me.
"You don't think this is too much?" I ask twirling on the spot at the foot of the stairs. My Blue-black hair is done up in a pony tail off to the side, with loose waves flowing over my shoulder and my long fringe framing my face. I went light on the makeup, only applying a small amount of eyeliner. My blood-red lace shirt leaves a hint of cleavage showing, it's covered with my now clean leather jacket and instead of the matching skirt, I opted for a pair of my black skinny jeans and the new boots Richard bought me. I think I look hot, but is hot really the look you want for the first day at high school?
"I'll get the baseball bat." Jason says turning towards the kitchen.
"Forget the bat, we're going to need guns." Richard calls out to Jason.
"Oh, a couple of funny guys." I can't help checking them out though, their new looks have me more than a little in lust with them. Richard looks especially hot in his black t-shirt and black unbuttoned shirt with skinny jeans combo. Jason however has managed to tone his bad boy look down a little by adding a hoodie to his tight navy-blue t-shirt and jeans. I'm not sure I like how good they look, I've started thinking of them as mine and now that the possibility of other girls hitting on them is evident, I'm actually scared. I can't admit that though, so I just smile and tell them they look nice.
Before I know it, we've had breakfast and are in Richard's blue truck, heading to school. The closer we get the more nervous I become. "We've enrolled you in school as a senior, same as us, but we have no idea what classes we'll have together. We have to go to the office first to collect our timetables and sign some paperwork. Once you get yours, you'll have to head straight to class, Jason and I are going to have a meeting with Principal Jacobson, he's the only person in the school who knows who we really are. While we are there, I need you to refer to us as Char Talon and Jase Lance. We don't want any mistakes, so make sure you remember. If at any time you find yourself losing control just let the teacher know you have a medical condition and need to see the principal for your medication, he'll come get one of us, okay?"
"Okay,Char." I giggle at Richard's new name, it suits him, especially since all I can think about now is the idea that he's going to char the hearts of every girl he meets today. I'm used to Richard calling Jason, Jase so it isn't anything new to me.
"Also, we're going to be telling people that you are our..." He takes a deep breath then says, "Foster sister."
I frown. "What's so bad about that?"
"Nothing's bad about it, why would you think it was bad?" Richard asks in a rush as he pulls into a parking spot in the student parking.
"That, right there. The way you are talking as though you're saying something you don't want to." I lean forward in my seat looking into his stormy green eyes; he's clearly pissed about something.
"I just don't like the idea of people thinking we are related." He snaps turning the engine off.
I sit back, keeping my face blank.Would it really be that bad? Or is he afraid people will think badly of him if I lose control?I blink back the tears threatening to form. The pain in my chest however isn't so easily controlled. I snatch my bag up and get out. The two of them take longer than I thought they would to get out of the car, so I wait, leaning my back on the tailgate. I’m tempted to stalk off in a huff but seeing the sea of students standing around has me shrinking back against the car. I’m not sure I can do this.
"Come on, don't want to be late on our first day." Jase says as he gets out of the car. He seems almost eager to be going to school. Taking his example, I straighten my shoulders and put on a brave face. Fake it till I make it is going to be my new motto.
We make our way across the parking lot to the school building. The school is one huge dull-grey brick building with four floors, it looks kind of like a mini castle that’s been converted. If it weren’t for the full-sized sports oval and the parking lot, I’d assume it was a convent or some rich persons castle that they let fall into disrepair. There really isn't much else to the place. The guys told me that the school only has three-hundred and two students including us, so it's a fairly small school, topping out at twenty-five students in the biggest class and only seventy-two seniors, but to me this many people in one place is far too many.
Richard and Jason are investigating a couple of murders that occurred on the school grounds, outside of school hours, but no one is willing to talk to the police, hence the elaborate back to school undercover operation. It's just a shame they decided to include me in their work. I'd much rather be at home...
Holy shit it's him.