Enticing Blood

*chapter two

Melanie padded down the hallway until she reached her parents bedroom and swung open the door. She then hurried to her father's side of the bed and reached underneath and groped around in darkness for the jar that was placed there for safe keeping. Her hand finally hit something hard and indeed glass, so she grabbed it and pulled it out to reveal a clear jar with a blue lid that was stocked full with bills ranging from ones to hundreds. Melanie reached in and fished out a single twenty dollar bill and placed the stash of money back into its rightful spot. She tipped back on her heels and stood, hurrying back to the entryway of her house.

As she neared the entrance, she could see through colorless and disjointed patterns on the glass and saw that the pizza guy was still standing on her porch. She reached forward and opened the door, causing him to stand straight and smile.

Melanie gave him the money in exchange for the pizza, so he handed the two boxes over with the receipt and a pen located on top of the first box. She grabbed the pen and clumsily signed her name on top of the cardboard lid, then handed it back to him. She thanked him, and shut the door with her heel and walked back to the living area. Not knowing what else to do with the pizza, she set them down on the coffee table and decided it was good enough for now. Letting out a heavy sigh, she fell back into the couch cushions and brought her knees under her chin.

Every now and then, Melanie would look at the pizza that was slowly getting cold, and her stomach grumbled in response. She knew it was pathetic, but she felt like if she ate her pizza, Isabel would get mad at her for eating without her. It was tradition for them. But Melanie also knew she would get mad at her for not eating at all.

Her stomach grumbled again as if begging her to choose the second option and she pressed her hand against her abdomen, feeling a sharp pain cut through her body from the hunger pains. Her body was all out of calories from the club earlier that night, and it wasn't liking the idea of running on fumes. The aroma made it that much worse and finally, she gave in. Sighing, Melanie got up and fetched a paper plate from the kitchen and went to return to the living area, but briefly stopped to pour herself a glass of lemonade. Lemonade and utensils in hand, she walked back to the boxes that called her name with the aroma of cheesy goodness wafting from the contents inside. She eagerly flipped open the cardboard lid and seized a greasy slice, slapping it onto her plate with satisfaction. She sat down, propping her feet on the table and leaned her back into the leather couch as she took a greedy bite.

The house was eerily silent while she ate, and she felt like she was starting to go crazy from the faint tick and tock that sounded from the clock that was hung right above the television, so she flipped on the TV to some horror movie that was airing.

She finished her slice of pizza so she leaned forward and took a sip of her lemonade, and went to grab another slice, but Melanie froze in her tracks. Something caught her ear, something so small she almost missed it. It was in the distance of her house, maybe on the other side.

Melanie froze, her hand pausing mid-way of pulling out the pizza slice. The long rope of cheese was still attached to the rest of the pizza, nearly on the brink of breaking free completely. She listened closely, trying to tune out the screams from the TV and after a couple of moments, she heard it again.

It took her a second to realize just what it was that was playing; her phone's ringtone.

Melanie dropped everything and was up on her feet in seconds, her body moving faster than her mind could ever possibly keep up with. She darted down the hallway as her adrenaline began to pump through her veins. Her vision started to tunnel as her feet quickly moved her to her bedroom where her phone rested, just on top of her bed. The screen was lit up and she quickly collided with her bed, her hand seizing the cell phone. Just as she grabbed it, to her horror, the phone stopped ringing and the vibrating ceased inside her palm. Everything became silent and still, except for her heart.