Bloodlust (The Blood Series #1)

Chapter 35

  "I feel good today", I announce when I get into Nathan's car on the morning of the Halloween Feast. He texted me an hour ago fortunately waking me up since I had shut off my alarm clock and told me that he'd drive me to school. I nearly jumped at the thought of getting to spend some alone time with him. Lately he's always surrounded by our new posse or is simply nowhere to be seen. As cheesy as it sounds I've missed him. His smile, his laugh, his green eyes, the way he kisses me, just about everything about him.

"And why is that?" Nathan asks as he speeds away. I know that Amy is glued to the window and will probably fill my dad in as soon as she can and that's an issue I'm going to have to deal with once I get back to their house. But every mile we drive away means a little more time for me, every mile makes my heart a little lighter, every mile makes my smile a little bit brighter.

I wink at him. "Because you and me, we're breaking free."

Nathan chuckles and hearing that sweet sound I smile too. "No, babe, that was High School Musical. You and me, we've only got the high school", he reminds me and I frown for a moment at the thought of school and Oliver who will of course be there but then I hear something that cheers me up.

"Let's have the musical, too", I suggest and turn the radio up when Oh My Love by The Score () comes on. "I love this song!"

Nathan shakes his head and looks at me smiling while I sing and attempt to dance while in a seat belt. For the moment, Oh My Love is my jam, I listen to it whenever I can. My life isn't exactly rose pedals and long walks on the beach right now but listening to that one song fools me into thinking that it is.

"You are a lunatic", Nathan says as the car slides to a stop at the school parking lot populated my teens and their incapability to park.

"Better watch out then because I hear that there's a bad moon rising tonight", I wink at him and get out of the car.

I go round the car and take his hand. He looks at me surprised because we have tried to keep a low profile lately. Not that our dating could ever go unnoticed by this town but we have tried not to rub their noses in it because neither of us wants to hear what they think of us as a couple. But today I don't feel like playing by the rules we made to protect ourselves from their small minds. Today I want to kiss my boyfriend and not give a damn about who sees us. Today I'll hold his hand and let them stare. I'm in love and don't care if everyone notices.

Wait, did I just call him my boyfriend?

I blink in surprise. We so need to DTR. I don't like being unsure about anything, even less about my love life. I know he said he was mine but since I've only dated Troy I have no idea what that means. It feels weird to call him my boyfriend. He just seems like so much more to me than just a boyfriend. Anyone who has sort of settled onto one guy can call that guy their boyfriend. It sounds so trivial. But Nathan is something special.

"So what's the deal?" I blurt out. Oh lord. Remember the days when I still had a filter and didn't just let words fall out? Yeah, me neither.

Nathan brows are knitted together. "The deal?" he repeats.

"Are we, like, dating or, uh, something?"

Nathan laughs and I blush. "I sure would like to think so considering that I've been calling you my girlfriend for a couple of weeks now", he says and I feel like a complete idiot. Why am I so awkward when it comes to the matters of heart? Let me tell you, kids, I have no clue how I've gotten two boyfriends with this dreary set of social skills or more like their lack of.

After we get inside the school building I stop and wrap my arms around him. He returns the gesture but I notice a look of pain in his eyes when my hands touch upper back. Oh, right. I had forgotten about the burn mark. His punishment for revealing too much to me.

"Let me see it", I ask. He shakes his head and looks down. "Please?"

It takes me a while but in the end he agrees, probably just to get me to stop pestering him. We walk into a corner where he takes off his shirt. I try not to swoon at the sight since it's so not the time for that but you try not to when someone shows off their perfect body. As soon as he shows me his back all the thoughts I had about me and him in a small space are forgotten. The red skin strikes me just as horrible as it did before and tears prickle in my eyes when I think of the pain it must have caused him when they burned him.

He seems to be uncomfortable with me staring at it in silence since he starts talking. Babbling, almost. "It hasn't really changed. It's a curse mark, so it won't heal like other injuries. It will only disappear as soon as the curse is lifted. So when my punishment is done, the mark will go away as well. You shouldn't worry, Haley. It's not that bad really. I got off easy."

"Easy?!" I whisper-shout. If this is what they consider a light punishment I don't even want to hear about the hardcore punishments they give out to people who have actually done something wrong.

Nathan throws his shirt back on and turns to face me. "Haley, it's okay. I know what I'm a part of and I accept that the rules apply to me as well", he explains trying to calm me down but his words don't make me feel any less horrified. His world is so completely different from mine, it's unsettling.

"That's just sick", I snap forcing myself to keep my tears inside. I don't want him to have to console me when he's the one hurt. I turn away from him and continue to power walk to my first class when I notice someone staring at us. It's Callum. That little bastard must have seen me inspect Nathan's wound and felt so proud of himself for ratting Nathan out. I can't believe I used to be friends with someone as spineless as him.

After I've managed to throw Nathan off my trail I run up to Callum and grab his arm to make him look at me. At first he seems reluctant and looks like he thinks about running again but then a defiant look reaches his face and he sticks his chin out in arrogance.

"What do you want?" he snaps.

His uncaring attitude angers me even more. "I saw you earlier, spying on us. You like seeing that? Seeing the damage you've done? You know, they say that serial killers sometimes return to the crime scene to see all the pain and suffering they've caused. They enjoy seeing the panic, knowing that they've made it all happen. Is that what you're doing too? Does it make you feel better about yourself to see that he's hurting?"

By the end of that rant I'm no longer talking, I'm full-on screaming at him. An emotion resembling fear flashes in his eyes until the hatred returns. "Screw you, Haley", he spits at me.

I push him back by his chest. "No, screw you, psychopath. You're the reason he's hurt", I growl at him.

A haunting joyless smile plays on his lips when he replies: "It's real easy to play the blame game, isn't it Haley? When he shouldn't have told you those things in the first place. The Bloods would have found out about his flapping gums anyway. So what if they heard it from me? I just sped up the process a little."

I shake my head so furiously that my ponytail nearly hits Callum in the face. "That's bullshit and you know it. You are just angry at me for telling on you and you took it out on Nathan because you knew that would hurt both him and me."

Callum's face tightens with anger. "It wasn't your secret to tell", he snaps.

"No, it was yours but I knew you'd never tell Drea so I stepped in."

A dangerous scowl crosses his face. "Do not talk to me about Drea", he snarls.

I tilt my head a little to the right. "Why not? Does it hurt to know that you can't play the blame game because this is all your own fault?" I torture him. I'm so unbelievably mad at him for being such a jerk lately that I don't even care that my remarks have gone from harsh to downright vicious.

Callum's blue eyes go up in flames and he spits: "Yes, I can play the blame game because I blame you. Haley, you were my friend too. I should have had an equal share of your loyalty but clearly I didn't and I still don't. Some people always come first to backstabbing bitches like you, I should have learnt by now that I'm not one of those people."

He casts me one more deadly look and walks off. I stand there, feeling like I just went through a tornado. I have to admit, his words really stick a knife in me. I'm so anti-gangs that I kind of just jumped at his throat as soon as I found out about him being a prospect. I never gave him a chance to explain why he was a prospect or what had made him pursue it. He has acted like an idiot, yes, but he is right about my loyalty. I should have given him the benefit of the doubt and I didn't. There's a very simple reason for that. I have grown to think of Drea as my slightly reckless and a bit naive sister so whenever I think she's in danger I bolt to save her, no matter who gets in the way. And this time that someone was Callum.

"Haley."

I turn around and find my mom there. I'm so dazzled that I have a hard time spilling out words. Apparently I'm now having the opposite problem than this morning. "Oh. Mom. Hey. Hi", I then say in pieces. These social skills, seriously. How am I even allowed around people?

"Hi. Was that Callum Winchester you were talking to?" she asks and casts a curious gaze at Callum's receding back in the distance. Really? I see her for the first time since our massive fight and she only wants to talk about Callum Winchester?

I have missed being on speaking terms with my mother so I ignore all the weirdness in the air around us and nod. "Um, yeah. Although he's not much of a conversationalist."

"Really? His father was such loudmouth, you could never get him to shut up. Such an insufferable man. But very lovable, when he wanted to be. And proud like a lion", she recalls, shaking her head.

"Like father, like son, apparently", I mutter. Mom's description sounds very familiar. Callum can too be very charming when he wants to be. But lately we've seen his bad side too. The angry side I hadn't guessed that he had.

Mom raised her brows at me. "That's surprising. According to Callum's mother Anita he never even mentions his name anymore. I would expect him to act completely different from his father just to prove a point. Most kids do when they are trying to punish their parents. In Callum's eyes his father abandoned him when he left so he decided to abandon him too."

My eyes widen. "Callum's father left? When?"

"It was some time during the summer. Poor kid, Anita says that he's really broken up about it. He really needs his friends right now so I'm glad he's got you by his side", Mom says and gives my shoulder a squeeze. "Keep quiet about all this, okay? I doubt Callum wants anyone to know. I just thought that seeing as you guys are friends you should know what's going on. I've seen at work the most peaceful kids turn into very hostile little monsters after trouble at home so beware, there might be some major changes coming along his way. You just need to try to be there for him. Of course if it goes too far you'll contact an adult but otherwise just try to show him that you're there for him. I'm sure he really needs it right now. He needs to know that there are still loyal people who have got his back."

I know that Mom is as usual just trying to look out for others and give advice but every word she says digs a new hole in me. I'm like a paper plane flown into a puddle, slowly sinking in my guilt. I never thought that there was anything more to Callum's odd behavior than his need for a more exciting life. I had categorized him as just another stupid rich boy, so bored that joining a gang would actually sound like a good idea. I was so certain about my hypothesis that I didn't bother to look for any other explanations. I just made up my own and ignored his side of the story.

I guess I really did kind of let Callum down.