BITTEN (Book #1) ON HOLD

3

Ember let me borrow something presentable for Caleb's family. I have tons of clothes in my closet but Ember is a "fashion guru" as others say so. She let me borrow her white tank top, black skinny jeans and her black combat boots. "I can't go there with just a tank top." I complained. "Can I at least borrow a leather jacket or something?" I asked and she squealed, her brown eyes twinkling with happiness. She ran into her walk-in closet, coming back with a leather jacket just perfect for me. "It's almost five thirty, come on." She stated, walking towards the door, making me laugh. "It's like you're the one he's asking to go." I told her, following her outside to my car. "Well, did you see his brother? I don't care if he's one year younger than me. He might even have the same age as me." She laughed out, getting inside my car, I sat on the driver's seat as she sat at the passenger's seat. As we drove to his house, Ember controlled the music. We were quiet, only to talk when I ask for the directions. Honestly, I'm really nervous, I've never met anyone's parents, maybe just once, twice but I got a feeling that I might seeing them a lot.

*

"Oh crap, I forgot my purse in the car, go on ahead." Ember stated with a rush, she started jogging to my car, she has extra keys, I gotta park a house away because of their cars. Then, I knocked but no one answered, I heard a loud moan. Worried that it might have been a painful moan, I opened the door slowly. The first thing I saw was feet, not standing but laying on the ground. I opened the door wider and saw four person-including Caleb, on the ground, blood on their lips. I let out a loud gasp, throwing my hands to my mouth, my eyes wide. They all turned their heads to me, as fast as they can. With one swift movement, a rush of air hit my face and with one last blink, the were all there, no blood, no body. I must have just imagined it. Ember finally came back, it was all in a rush. It made the world spin, or maybe it was just me. I held on to Ember's arm for safety. "Hello." The girl stated, smiling widely at us. Her teeth is so white. I couldn't speak, either I'm nervous or because I saw them drinking blood from another human being. Ember nudged me, snapping me back into reality. "H-Hi. Hey." I finally answered, smiling at them. Mrs. Thaddeus motioned us to go inside as the girl closed the door. She seems nice. His dad is scary as heck, emotionless, pale and old schooled. The other guy, he seemed to be all over Ember already.

Caleb finally walked up to me, smiling. My doubts and nervousness left my body. "Hi." He whispered as Ember got pulled by the girl. His parents walked behind him, Caleb stood beside me, facing his parents. "Mom, dad. This is Raina but call her Rain. Um, she's my first friend in school." His dad let out a small smile, I took a deep breath, smiling back. "I'm Joe. You should know my wife, since she's your substitute." I nodded, reaching out for a handshake, he took it and shook his hand. I shivered at the coldness. "Nice to meet you." I managed to tell them, they led me to the back yard. It was cold outside but the leather jacket helped me keep warm. I saw Ember and the guy talking while the girl is swinging on the, swing, of course. "The girl, she's fifteen. Her name is Meredith and the guy, Mark, seventeen." Caleb whispered to me while we stay behind, his parents were introducing themselves to Ember. "Thank you for coming." He added, looking into my eyes, I knew it. He looks better under the moonlight, I can see his eyes glowing in the darkness. "Anything for a new friend." I told him, his eyes drifted back to Mark, who has a painful expression. Ember must be killing him with her none-stop rant about things I don't understand.

Mrs. Thaddeus walked towards us, pulling her husband with her. "We're going to prepare dinner." She said as Mr. Thaddeus smirked, my eyebrows knitted as they walked inside. "Dinner?" I asked Caleb, looking up at him, he was already staring back at me. "Oh you don't want to stay? I can tell her-" I rose my hand up to cut him off. "It's fine, I can't leave Ember as well." I stated, looking at Ember, laughing with Mark. They're cute together, they should totally hook up. "Cute, huh?" Caleb asked, a smirk on his face. I forgot to answer as I stare at him in awe. How can he look so young? So handsome? Would you look at my eyes again? As if he heard me, he turned his head to me, our eyes made contact. There was something about his eyes that made me want to stare at it all the time. He smiled, looking at my lips and I swear to mama penguins that he knows what happening to me. "Do you want to go up front?" He asked and I nodded, we walked back inside, walking past the couple who's cooking fried chicken. We sat on the portch, close to each other for body heat. "Hm. Why did you come here in Sweden?" I asked, he seemed surprised but he answered either way. "There was a lot murder and lost persons, so we had to move." I shrugged, that seems an okay excuse.

"Why don't you want a boyfriend?" My eyebrows furrowed. "How did you know that?" He smiled, looking down before looking back at me. "Well, I can tell by your body posture and stuff but I can't read you. I can read everyone else, but not you." His eyes were sparkling, his voice was filled with shock. "And do I amaze you with that?" I asked in a joking manner, he smiled, without showing his teeth. "You certainly do." He answered and the way he said it, made my heart melt. He's sweet. We continued on talking, about school, my family, Ember's family, his family and people around us. His family owns a company back in his old country and town. That's why it was easier to go out of town. "Bob. The man in the coffee shop, he makes the best coffee and frap in town. I always go there." I told him and he bumped me a bit. "Do you want to grab a coffee sometime?" He asked, I laughed but I stopped with a cough. "That's the second time you asked me to do something with you." I told him, he shrugged but still, his eyes burnt holes on mine, full of hope, yet there is no soul. "Alright, fine." I answered, giving up, he smiled cheekily. "This time, Ember is not going with us." He stated. "Okay." We were interuppted when Mr. Thaddeus went out. "Dinner's ready." I nodded, getting up. "Do we have ketchup dad?" Caleb asked, Mr. Thaddeus nodded, pushing us inside and closing the door. "You like ketchup?" I asked, forcing myself to let out an Ew. "Yeah. The whole family does. Guess it's in our blood." The way he said blood made me shiver, not in a good way. I just saw-probably-saw them drinking blood. When I reached the table, I sat beside Ember, who was smiling and all shy around Mark. Damn girl, calm yourself. I've never seen her like this. So, gullible. We started eating, talking about my future works and normal stuff, they kept passing the ketchup, they put a lot for one person. Then, the ketchup seems weird, it has a different color. "What kind of ketchup is that?" Ember asked. Mr. Thaddeus cleared his throat. "It's from Alaska. We have lots of them there." That was the end of the coversation.