Family comes first? You have got to be kidding me.

Chapter 5

I sat in the kitchen trying to over hear the conversation Bradley was having with my mom. We had to leave in the morning for St. Xaviers and I still wasn't completely sure why Bradley hadn't been going there. He had been in our high school for a couple of months and had always stared at me. My thought drifted away when my mom screamed.

I ran out of the kitchen and found my mom sobbing in the living room with Bradley standing awkwardly in front of her not sure of what to do. "She believed you?" I asked while rushing to my mom and trying to put my arm around her. She scooted away and tears sprung to my eyes but I choked them back.

"Yeah. If I'm telling the truth people believe me." I remembered his gaze when he told me about him being a vampire and realized exactly what he was talking about. I looked down at my mom and she was staring at me. She looked... scared. I had to fight the urge to start crying because that probably wouldn't do me any good.

"I'm going to go pack." I said before rushing upstairs and slamming the door to my room.

I grabbed a duffel bag and a suit case and then a little bag. I was definitely girlly and liked to have stuff. It would make me feel more at home there. I carefully folded every one of my clothes and placed them in the bags. I grabbed another duffel and packed my hair products, accessories, perfume, and toothbrush. Then I sighed at the empty room and went downstairs. By the time we were ready to go I had gone up and packed the comforter and pictures I owned along with all of my room decorations. I had seven bags and Brad gave me a glance that said WTF?

"I'm a girl. I need stuff." I said simply and he nodded his head taking my bags. My mom was going to move to an apartment close to St. Xaviers so that if I needed her I could call her.

When we got in Bradley's truck we placed all our bags inside. The school was one hundred and fifty miles away so I sighed and put in my iPod, leaning my head back and hoping for some sleep. When I looked at my mom she looked terrifed. I wasn't sure I could deal with the fact that she thinks I am a monster. I sighed and went back to listening to music.

When we finally got there it was the morning of the next day and we had all taken turns driving so we all got rest. We grabbed our bags and walked into the school. Bradley led us to the main office and once we were there we were greated by a nice looking lady who looked about forty. I smiled and she greeted us with a warm smile and a soft hello.

"You must be Leora." She said sweetly. I nodded my head. "Step in here and we will assign you to a room. You wan the usual room correct Bradley?" He smiled a warm smile at her and she chuckled.

Her office was the cleanest room I had ever been in and my mom was a neat freak. It was so clean that it smelled so strongly of Windex that I had to hold my breath to keep my eyes from watering. She sat down at her desk and gestured for us to do the same. She was about to open her mouth when my mother spoke.

"Can she have a big room? I couldn't bear with the thought of my daughter here alone cooped up in a tiny room." She smiled at me and it looked almost apologetic. She was sorry for looking at me with a frightened expression and I just nodded and gave her a look that said it was no big deal.

The headmistress out me into the biggest room available and walked me to it with my mom. My mom was going to help me decorate before leaving. Bradley had already gone to soak in the familiarities of school.

We decorated in silence and it was a bit uncomfortable. I secretly wished that my mom would talk to me because I was going to be uncomfortable in classes tomorrow considering it's the middle of the year and I'm the new girl. I had never been the new girl anywhere. I lived in my small town of Akpopa my whole life and everyone knew who I was. I was definitely popular at my old school and I saw how we treated newcomers.

After we got done decorating my mom had tears in her eyes. She hugged me and I sobbed into her shoulder. She then pulled away and held me at arms length looking at me. I wiped my eyes and gave her a small sad smile.

"I love you mom." Another tear escaped her eye and she pulled me in for another hug.

"I love you too honey. No matter what happens." She then kissed me on the cheek, picked up her purse, and left giving me a smile before shutting the door. I lied down on my bed and cried. I usually never cried and I started to beat myself up for it.

Decorating had taken up most of the day so I got in my pajamas and flipped on the TV. The Princess Diaries was playing so I decided to watch that and then go to sleep for an early night.

***

I was running. Running from a mysterious smoke that was trying to engulf me. "NO! I DON'T WANT TO BE A MONSTER!" I screamed. The only thing running through my mind was that I was a normal girl. I ran and stopped at the sight of my mothers body on the floor in front of me. Her neck had been gouged out and she was drained of blood. I screamed.

I woke up crying and sighed in relief when I realized it was just a dream. I got out of bed when I realized the time and went to the closet to change. I picked out a shirt that was open and crisscrossed at the back and had Out Of The Box on it with pink in the O's. I paired it with some bright pink skinny jeans. I then went and did my hair and make up. Once my hair was straightened and my make up was expertly done I went out of my room to the cafeteria for breakfast.

I was looking down and ran into someone. I looked up at Bradley's smirking face. I stameered an apology and he shook his head and grabbed my hand leading me to the dining hall.

Once there we walked in and and everyone stared. Bradley could tell I was embarassed and led me to a nearby table gesturing for me to sit. He came back with two trays that each had a couple glazed doughnuts on them. I smiled gratefully at him and he smirked at me causing me to giggle.

Once breakfast was done he looked at my schedule and realized we had all the smae classes. We walked together to first period which was some kind of combat training. I already knew I would suck but I reluctantly went. I was kind of happy I had classes with Brad. My stomach did a flip at the thought of his name and I stared at it in confsion. Was I interested in Brad?