Bag of Blood - Vampire Mystery Romance (9 page)

Lena opened her mouth to ask,
how is such a thing possible?
But then closed it again even as she slipped her shoes off, her yellowed socks seeming out of place on the pristine carpet. Thinking about how Leslie had nearly made her collapse just by sending out pheromones (or whatever it had been) when trying to
eat
her… Lena was realizing that there may be more to vampires then she had originally known. And maybe Belinda wasn't actually a vampire, but maybe Mrs. Franz's suspicions that the vampdrug hadn't completely left her system weren't entirely unfounded.

"Belinda, I'll make you a snack, and I can read to you later," Elliot told his sister, smiling, "But it's important to get our homework done. Do you need anything?"

The girl shook her head
no
, setting her backpack down carefully on a glass coffee table and making herself comfortable on the stiff-looking sofa in front of the television. Reaching for the remote, Lena was surprised when she flipped to a cartoon-playing channel and settled back with a grin on her face.
Maybe she has her normal moments, too?

She heard a beeping noise coming from where she assumed the kitchen was, the ‘growling’ of a microwave, and then Elliot emerged with something that looked warm, cheesy and delicious. Three plates of it. Lena could feel her mouth starting to water. Elliot handed a plate of it to his sister, bidding her not to get it on the sofa, and then, carrying the other two plates, beckoned Lena follow him. Her heart began beating quickly; he didn't want her to go into his room, did he? Because Lena didn't think she could handle that.

But no, he only led her to a dining room, which oddly had doors separating itself from the rest of the house; it struck Lena as strange when she compared it to her house, which only had archways and not proper doors separating the different main rooms of the house.

Setting the plates of cheesy warm carbohydrate-filled
somethings
on the table, he had her take out the books and notes she needed to start working. She was unable to help herself, and lifted whatever
it
was and brought it to her mouth.
Bliss
. If she had a tail, it would be wagging furiously.
If he's trying to get to my heart through my stomach,
Lena mused, practically drooling,
he's done it. Are those tomatoes?

"Uh… Lena?" Elliot asked after a few moments. She quickly sank back down from food nirvana, feeling embarrassed.

"Sorry," she apologized for her momentary lapse of brain powers. "This is
really
good."

He beamed. "It is, huh? I invented it myself, secret recipe." Lena felt disappointed; were he to give her any bit of a recipe she would probably go home and make several thousand of these triangular wonders. He took a hearty bite of his own snack, smearing cheese across his jaw. Lena grinned.

They set out to work, Elliot watching as Lena attempted to solve her homework and, once she had stumbled her way to a conclusion, he patiently explained what she had done wrong. It was frustrating at first; Lena wanted him to tell her what she was doing wrong
right when
she made the mistake, to save her the trouble. But she quickly realized that this way was better; it taught her where her common mistake points were and to be extra vigilant during that part of the solving process.

They were just finishing up Geometry and about to start on Physics when the loud clattering of keys in the doorway signified that someone was there. A man's voice rang from the television room.

"Hi, Lindy!" the voice said.

"Hi, Daddy," was Belinda's quiet response. The man strode into the kitchen. "Well, if it isn't my favorite son!" he boomed cheerfully. He was a rather skinny man, dressed in a nice button-down shirt and dress slacks. Glancing at the clock, Lena was startled to notice that it was much later than she had expected, late enough for businessmen to return home. He seemed a bit on the nerdy side, with thick glasses perched on his nose.

"And who is this lovely lady?" Elliot's father asked his son. Lena smiled uncomfortably.

"This is Lena. She's my friend." Elliot explained, hastening to tidy up their empty snack plates. He hustled into the television room to grab his sister's plate as well.

"A friend, huh?" the man winked conspiratorially, and Lena blushed.

"It's not like that… I'm his Donor." Lena tried to explain. The man leaned back and laughed.

"Good one, son," the man commented as Elliot began rinsing off the plates in the kitchen sink. "You brought a girl home for dinner, literally!"

"I'm just helping her with homework, Dad, please, no more weird jokes." Elliot tried hard to keep the grin off his face; Lena rolled her eyes. The man held his hands up. "Alright, alright! I know when I'm not wanted. I'll get started on the
real
dinner." He let himself into the kitchen just as Elliot was placing the rinsed dishes into the washer and placed a pan on the stove; Elliot closed the kitchen door behind him as he returned to the table.

They were about a third of a way through the Physics homework, which was significantly more confusing than Geometry, even though Elliot continued explaining in his calm, contented demeanor. The home phone rang, but they ignored it.
This is much better than being home alone all night again,
Lena mused to herself as Elliot read over their next question.
He's a pretty good teacher.

Mr. Franz popped his head into the dining room, bringing with him a waft of delicious-smelling food sizzling on the stove.
Are all of these people top chef's or something?
Lena mused, incredulous.
I could live here forever and just gain a billion pounds from this wonderfulness.

"Elliot!" the man called. "It's Mrs. Metcalf. She says she needs to talk now; it's urgent." A confused crinkle formed between Elliot's eyes. "Gabriel's mom?" he took the phone.

"Hello?" there was a long pause where a fast-paced female voice could barely be heard by Lena. "Slow down—slow—I can't here you!" Elliot insisted, sounding worried. "What? No, I haven't seen Gabriel. No, he's not here. I don't know; I don't
think
he had plans today. Did you check Hannah Miller's house? You did? Oh…"

Finally, Elliot hung up, looking worried.

"Gabriel didn't show up at school today, even though Leslie says he drove with her and headed to class." Elliot told Lena. "Nobody knows where he is, and he hasn't come home at all…"

"Maybe he's just ditching?" Lena suggested.

"No," Elliot told her seriously. "I
know
Gabriel. He wouldn't do that. Lena, Gabriel is
missing.
"

After days flew by with no sign of Gabriel, it became obvious that Elliot was completely correct. Gabriel was gone;
not
ditching, he was
missing.

Hannah Miller was not looking quite so beautiful these days; she had lost her two closest friends within the span of a few weeks. It startled Lena to look at her; gone was the arrogant, wealthy snob of a girl. In her place was a lost looking mess. Her long black hair hung limp and greasy-looking to her waist, her once carefully chosen outfits now looked like they had been scraped off the floor. Her brown eyes were constantly wide, staring around, as if any second now, Rebekah or Gabriel would step out from behind a door and say,
just kidding, we're right here.
Lena couldn't help but feel bad for her, she had never seen anybody look so alone.

The police returned to Chillhowie, interviewing Hannah, Gabriel's teachers, and Leslie. Finally, turning nothing up, they called the school into the auditorium to talk. Lena recognized Officer Meyer right away, and shifted so that she leaned against Megan's shoulder. Megan sat to her right, Elliot to her left, with Robert seated to Megan's right.

"With all that's happened to this school in the past few months," Officer Meyer spoke in a clear, professional voice to the student (and teacher) population, "It's clear that this town is no longer safe. Two girls are dead; although Valarie was too old to be a student here, she was once a student. And as for the disappearance of Gabriel Metcalf… Of course, it could be a coincidence. But it feels too fishy to be taking any chances."

Megan leaned in to whisper to Lena. "This is getting scary. I don't like this. Did you know that Valarie girl went to High School with Vanessa?"

Lena was startled; she had had no idea. "How do you know stuff about my sister that I don't know?" she replied. Mentally counting, she realized that her friend was right; Vanessa would have been a senior while this girl was still a freshman.

Officer Meyer continued to speak. "We have decided to set up a Buddy system. No student is to be alone at any time; not on the way
to
school, not on the way home… not even between classes."

The whispers in the audience began anew; a slow, unsettling fear making everybody shift uncomfortably in their seats. They weren't even safe between classes? But of course they weren't, they reminded each other. Think of Rebekah.

Officer Metcalf began a brief explanation of self-defense and how it was used to protect yourself, not to harm others.

"Shout
loud
," he told them. "No tiny little squeaks of a scream. If you want to be heard, you have to roar." Lena reached a hand into her purse, touching the plastic handle of the miniature Taser. True to her word to her sister, she had not let it out of her reach. Although it was breaking multiple school rules, she couldn't help but feel better with it by her side.

"If any situation seems suspicious to you, even a little out of place,
leave.
Go to someone you can trust. You might be incorrect, but it's better to be wrong then to be dead."

The finality of that last word silenced the gossiping crowd, and everyone looked at each other uncertainly. Seeds of mistrust were already showing on their faces.
Was it a teacher?
Lena could practically read on their faces.
Maybe that boy who is quiet on the bus. What if it's my rival on the tennis team?

Elliot met her gaze, sorrow glowing in his luminescent eyes. Although he was never particularly friendly with Gabriel, they had been pitted together for years. When they weren't allowed to go to school, before the bills passed, the two had been homeschooled together by Gabriel's mother. This had to be hitting him pretty hard.

"If anybody knows anything about these events, I have set up a way to speak anonymously to a police officer. Please contact us in the front office at this number." The screen behind him flashed a phone number, and Officer Metcalf finished the assembly, releasing the students to return home.

"I'm driving Leslie home," Elliot told Lena as the two stood from the stiff wooden chairs. "Or, if what happens this morning repeats itself, she'll swipe my keys and drive
me
home after speeding around the neighborhood a few times."

Lena laughed. "Yeah… that sounds like her. Hey, did you talk to her about Gabriel? Does she know anything that she didn't tell the police?"

Elliot's face darkened. "I tried. She just dodged my question before sticking her head out the window and shouting 'yee-haw.' I'll try again but I got the feeling she didn't want to talk about him."

Robert bumped Lena with an elbow. "C'mon; I need to take you home now. I have… plans."

At Megan's blush, Lena rolled her eyes. "You don't have to hide whatever it is; I know you're dating. Sorry I'm the 'third wheel'."

Megan pouted as Robert quickly towed the two girls to his car. "You're not a third wheel, Lena! We love you! You're so cute! Isn't she cute, Robert?"

He rolled his eyes, grinning despite his attempt at gruffness. "Yeah, yeah, she's adorable. Get in the truck. Where's Claire?"

They glanced around for the freshman, eyes peeled, but all Lena saw was Hannah Miller walking off in the distance, feet dragging as she made her lonely way to her house.

"Robert, we need to give her a ride home," Lena pointed to Hannah. He shook his head.

"Oh no,
we
?
Who's
truck is this?
Who
had to work for two straight summers as a lifeguard to afford it? Who pays for gas money and maintenance and…"

When both girls glared at him, he gave in reluctantly. "Fine. You're crazy, but fine."

"Crazy?" Lena heard Megan ask as she slipped from the truck interior. "Not only are we not supposed to let people wander around alone, but she's sad! Some sicko killed her friend and her other friend is missing…"

Robert grunted, and out of the corner of her eye, Lena thought she saw Megan lean in for a kiss.
Oh, yuck…

She hurried to Hannah's side. "Hey, Hannah," she said, feeling strange as she tried to keep her voice gentle. Sad as Hannah appeared, she was still not on Lena's good list. Hannah turned to face her, and Lena nearly cringed. Hannah looked even worse up close, her lips were dry and cracked and she now had skin blemishes where it had once been perfect. It wasn't so much that these things were terrible, but on Hannah who was always so glossy and pristine, it just felt weird.

"Oh, it's you, Blood Whore," Hannah greeted, with no malice in her voice. It sounded as if it were an effort even to speak. "What do you want?"

Lena tried not to growl. "First, I wanted to tell you that my name is
Lena
. Two syllables—
Lee-nuh.
And second, come let Robert give you a ride home. It's not good to walk by yourself right now."

Hannah rolled her eyes. "Hey, they got my friends; why shouldn't they get me?"

Lena stared at her, struggling to think. Hannah was clearly slipping into a depression fast, and now wasn't a safe time to do so. Finally, she settled on the gold nugget her mom always spouted: "Because I said so." Glaring at Hannah in the eye, she turned. "Come on."

It actually surprised her when she realized that she was being followed, but she felt pleased nonetheless.
Because I said so
actually worked on people other than herself, who knew?

When she led the girl back to the Chevy, Claire was already in the front seat, and so Robert dropped her off at his home first. Claire looked like she wanted to run off the moment she was out of the car, but Robert honked the truck horn loudly, pointing at the door. Looking gloomy, she let herself in. Hannah was next; the girl sat in the backseat silently, knees tucked to her chest, murmuring instructions and looking incredibly young and lost. Her house was just as large and fancy as Lena had imagined, but looked foreboding and intimidating as the small girl stepped through the door.

Lena didn't like going home either, dreading yet another night alone, with her mother and sister at the hospital with her father. For the millionth time, she cursed her age; were she eighteen, she would be right there with them. Megan must have gathered this from Lena's poignant sigh, because there ensued much whispering with Robert. Finally, Megan turned.

"Lena, hun, do you want to go to the movies with us?"

Yes
, screamed Lena's heart, but she laughed and said cheerfully, "Nah; you two would probably get all smoochy and gross anyway. I'll just stay in tonight." Megan tried to argue, but it was fairly obvious; she wanted a night out alone with her man. Being the third wheel really felt lonely.

It had started to drizzle with rain when they pulled up to her house; it had been getting steadily colder and the clouds grew gradually more dark and heavy for the past few days; she supposed it had to happen someday. Even Robert was cracking under the pressure of the oncoming storm; he too was bundled up in a thick, soft-looking hoodie.

"See you later!" Megan called as Lena pulled her hat over her face and hustled to her door; fat droplets sprinkled on her, speckling the light fabric of her outfit with dark spots. Lena waved, then slid open the door to her house.
Aah.
At least the heater still worked. Starting to relax, Lena stretched, her spine cracking. Feeling hungry, she made her way to the kitchen where the tinkling of a bell caught her attention.
The heck?

A small gray ball of fluff rested in the sink. When Lena had walked in, it lifted its head, causing the bell tied around its neck to ring.

"Um… hi, kitty," Lena greeted, feeling confused. It yawned and fell back to sleep.

"Like my new cat?" Vanessa's voice behind her caused her to jump.

"Ness! I didn't know you were home!" Lena was pleased, though taken back; she really had been dreading spending the whole time by herself. She must have hustled inside from the rain too fast to see her sister's motorcycle.

Vanessa dipped her hands in the sink, fishing the cat out into her arms. Lena noted that it wasn't entirely gray; dark blue streaks marred the fur. Its orange eyes blinked sleepily at Vanessa's face, as if sizing her up.

"Yeah; my boss called me and told me if I didn't show up for work again I'd be fired." She ran her fingers gently through the fur on the cat's back.

"What?" Lena glared, indignant. "They can't do that!"

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Yes, they can. And they weren't
mean
about it; it's just business. So I went to work today, but I figured I'd wait to go back to school till Monday. Gah, I'm running behind…"

Lena waited for Vanessa to say something else, but when she didn't, Lena instead stuck her hands into the pantry.

"Graham cracker?" she offered the box to her sister, who waved it away. "Actually," her sister smiled cheerfully. "I've heard from a certain source that you've had after-school tutoring."

"What?" Lena nearly dropped the box. "Who told you
that
? And it was only the once!" she could feel her cheeks rapidly coloring. Vanessa did have a point, though; the help had actually made a significant impact on her understanding of her two most difficult subjects.

"A little birdie," her sister grinned, "named Megan. She also informed me that you turned in your sewing project a few days early, she helped you finish an essay, and she actually caught you studying a few times at lunch."

Lena was incredulous. "You're… stalking me by interviewing my friends?
Why?
" Vanessa frowned. "Not
stalking
," she pouted. She held the cat out to Lena, letting its legs dangle above the ground. It mewed in dismay. "She called me and told me she had found a cat underneath her porch, is all; she knew how much I missed Harley. So we just began chatting about the only thing we have in common, which would be you." Harley had been Vanessa's Siamese cat, and Lena did recall telling Megan how distraught Vanessa had been after her loss. The situation still seemed a little odd, but she reached out a hand to scratch its head.

"So what're you going to name…" Lena glanced down. "Him?"

Her sister smirked. "I was thinking Kawasaki," she said, "but it seemed too flashy. He seems more of a simple, humble type." Lena had no idea how you got that idea just from looking at an adult, undersized feline, but she just shrugged it off. "So I settled on Yamaha."

Wow, you're weird,
Lena mused with a smile.
But I love you.
Vanessa put the cat back in the sink.

"
Anyway
," Vanessa groused, emphasizing each syllable, "The
point
is, we had a bargain. So, you want to get some early dinner?"

Lena pointed to the window. "It's pouring outside." The grumble of thunder emphasized her point.

"So?"

"You drive a motorcycle."

"Uh-huh?"

Lena rolled her eyes. "You're right. Let's go."

She regretted it the minute the engine started to roar. She'd never been a fan of the two-wheeled ride; even regular bicycles gave her a bad feeling. She always felt much more coordinated on her own two feet. Now, blinded by fast-landing droplets and balancing awkwardly while gripping her sister around the middle, her heart began to race.