"Just us, as far as we know." Remmie answers rubbing the back of his neck; it seems to be a nervous habit of his.
"You told Jase and I that you're the leader of some clan, what is that about?"
"The Felcon clan of hybrids. It's what we call ourselves. I figure if there are others like us out there, they'll leave us alone if they think we're a united front." Torren gets up from the seat and moves towards me. "All of us are just trying to survive the best way we know how. You however put us in a very precarious situation. If you go rogue and begin killing humans you'll bring the attention of the vampires down on us and believe me, you donotwant that to happen." He holds his hand out to me. "Join us, we can keep you safe."
"Over my dead body!" Richard is on his feet and moving towards us before I can react. Derrin is quicker, however. He grabs Richard by the back of his shirt, holding him back. "I can arrange thatcop."
"No!" I don't want anything happening to Richard or Jason, but at the same time, I do believe Torren, I need to be with people who are like me, people who can help me control the vampire side of me. "Let him go." I whisper.
Derrin pushes Richard to the ground, I flinch but remain where I am. "Jason, Richard, you two should go." The lump forming in the back of my throat makes my words come out rougher than usual, but I don't let the tears form.They'll be better off without me.
"Unfortunately, that's not an option." My head snaps up to look at Torren. "You've somehow bonded with them, without you, they will lose their minds, either killing themselves out of grief or hurting anyone they see as a threat to their relationship with you."
"Quit talking about us like we're not here." Jase snaps, finally joining in on the conversation. He's been like that since I met him, always waits and thinks before speaking or doing something. Richard is the rash one out of the two of them, jumping in and acting without thinking. Jason is Richard's balance, whether they realise it or not.
"Look, the simple fact is, she needs to feed and your blood is not enough to keep the blood-lust at bay. Whether you like it or not, she needs us."
"Torren is right, baby. You need them." Jason surprises me by agreeing. "But, I have a few conditions if we are going to join forces."
"Join forces? What the hell are you talking about Jason, we don't need their help, we don't have to go along with this bullshit. She is ours; we've protected her and kept her safe this long, we can keep doing it."
"Areyna, why don't you go ahead and tell the human the truth, I'm sure he'd love to know just what those blood bags he's been forcing you to choke down are doing to you."
I stand there glaring at Derrin, he has no right to interfere.I don't care if the blood bags make me weaker than I should be. I don't care if the blood makes me sick. At least I'm not hurting anyone.
"What is he talking about Rose?"
Still I refuse to answer. If Jason and Richard knew the truth, they'd just lock me back up in Laverton, I don't want to go back.
"You've been poisoning her. What did you think was happening all those times she started zoning out? All the times that spunky personality lost its spark? The anticoagulants in those bags are slowly leaking into her veins, killing her from the inside. If she continues to drink them, she will get weaker and weaker, eventually dying." The way Remmie speaks makes me think of one of those killers from the movies, he's so calm, it's actually scaring me.
"We'll stop using the blood bags then. We can still take care of her." Richard growls the words, his anger turning his face a horrid shade of red.
"Slowly starving to death from lack of blood, what a fun way to die." Again Remmie's voice sends a shiver of fear up my spine. I thought he was a good guy, a nerd who loved to play video games. He's nothing like I thought he would be. "I've been watching you; you know. You walk around in a daze, barely holding that thirst of yours at bay. I'm curious though, I'd love to see what happens if you continue on this way."
"Okay, Rem, I think they get the picture." Torren commands.
"Yeah, lay off man, you're creepingmeout, again." Derrin's laugh startles me. "Besides, I won't let them hurt her anymore, she's too cute to let her die." I squeal as he pulls me into his side. "I'm keeping her." He drops a kiss on the top of my head as everyone else stands there staring at him. Jason and Richard glare, but neither of them say a word. Torren just shakes his head, a smirk playing on his full lips.
Remmie on the other hand has a puzzled look on his face. "Why do you just stand there? I would have thought you'd be fighting to break out of his arms, isn't that what you did earlier?" I blink, unsure what he's asking.
"He wants to know why you're letting me touch you." Derrin whispers next to my ear. "He's a bit creepy but he's just a big old nerd. Always has to know the answer to everything."
"I..." How do I tell them that I'm not afraid of them? I'm genuinely curious, although I have so many questions and I finally have a chance at getting some real answers so I probably should step away from Derrin. The only problem is, I also feel a connection to these guys; something more than what I feel when I'm with Jason or Richard.
The bell rings, saving me from having to find an answer. "I should get to class." I mumble stepping away from Derrin.
Derrin laughs again, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. "That's a great idea, let's go to class."
"Yes, let's go to class. Art today is going to be fun." Remmie smiles, taking my hand. I frown.Do we all have the same art class?
* * *
I getmy answer the moment they all start walking behind Derrin, Remmie and I. I pull my hand free from Remmie's, then slip out from under Derrin's arm. It's one thing to not react to their touches in private, but I am not about to let others see them treating me that way. I can't risk getting a reputation for being a slut, all the girls on those teen drama movies who act like sluts are treated badly and even beaten up.
None of the guys try to touch me again once we are among the other students, but I can feel their gazes on me. I keep close to Derrin, so I don't get lost but the further into the crowded hallway we get the more people bump into me. Torren glances at my frowning face then takes my hand, pulling me to his side. "Just breathe. It gets easier the more time you spend around them."
Seventeen