Burning Souls (F.T Sequel)

Chapter Twelve

A/N: *strokes imaginary beard* WELL, here you go.

-xoxo, Sophia

...•...

I feel a light tap on my shoulder, and someone clears their throat. I'm sitting cross-legged with a rigid back, in the middle of my cloud-like bed, staring at everything and nothing at the same time. I tilt my head up - my eyes still unfocused and unblinking - to find Julia looking down at me with slight worry, standing next to my bed. "Umm..." She clears her throat again and looks around uncomfortably, "Are you alright Em?"

"I'm just fab!" I reply in a steady and dead-like, monotone voice, "What would possibly make you think any differently?" I realise that I sound a tiny bit sarcastic, but only just a tiny bit. Meanwhile, Julia looks at me as if I've grown a second head. She looks out the window with wide eyes, where the morning colours are beginning to come to life, and then back at me and says calmly: "You've been sitting like that for the past six hours. I saw you come in at two in the morning, and you still haven't changed position. Are you really feeling okay?"

"I'm just fab." I repeat, my teeth grinding together.

"Emma Sanders." She warns, crossing her arms. I narrow my eyes at her and she lets her arms fall to her sides with surrender, letting out a heavy sigh and running an exasperated hand through her bed-head hair. "Fine, be like that." Then she looks at me again, a small and mischievous smile pulling her lips upwards, "I'll just get Caleb to make you spill it."

With that warning that makes my eyes go wide with fear, she smiles proudly and spins around, grabbing her things before heading to the connected bathroom and slamming the door shut for extra dramatic effect. I look down at my legs, close my eyes tightly, and take in an unnecessary breath, which seems extremely necessary in this second. I then raise my head again and catch sight of my appearance in the floor-length mirror by the door. I still look exactly same since last night, but... worse. Then, Hunter's mouth on mine, his hands running over my body, hell, him all over me, rises to the surface of my mind and a blushing glow spreads across my cheeks instead.

Damn it.

I take in a deep breath to steady myself, and with a determined nod, I slide off of the bed and start assembling the things I'll need to get ready. Just ten minutes later Julia comes back out, and when she sees me waiting there, toiletries in hand, she stops in her tracks. I flash her a wide smile and breeze past her, into the bathroom. "You're still telling me!" She calls after me, and I grin to myself before locking the door behind me and isolating myself in my own little world.

...°...

I come back out showered, groomed and dressed in a pair of ripped jeans and a loose heather tee-shirt, my blow-dried hair tumbling down my back in natural, golden waves. It's truly amazing what a shower and clean clothes can do to a person. I throw my things hastily onto my bed and grab my old sneakers, opening up the bedroom door and silently closing it behind me. Still, that tiny click seems to take up a whole lot of space, bouncing off of the walls and echoing all the way down the hallway. I let a curse fall from my lips and wait, listening out for any sound beyond. I hear nothing, and let a relieved sigh escape me. I'm not about to meet anyone on the way, not before I've spoken with Hunter and straightened things out. I'm sure everything's written all over my face, and Caleb's an extremely good face-reader.

I quickly lace up my sneakers and softly pad over the wooden floors, skipping over the boards that I remember creaked last night. Every door I pass is has been left slightly ajar, and I can't hear any sounds coming from them. It's only seven thirty in the morning, and usually all the vampires keep to themselves this early. Vampires don't need sleep, but we can still be extremely grumpy at this time. So where is everyone?