The Unexpected Betrayal (Sequel to The Perfect Half)

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I finally calmed myself down and cleaned up anything that could give a clue to what had happened. I couldn't let anyone know about this. I heard a car pull in as I finished my homework. My mom walked in followed by, my dad, Kendall, and Vincent.

"Hey, how was it?" I did my best to keep my voice calm and even.

"Great, we had a nice talk." Kendall replied and kissed me. I pulled back with a fake smile. I swear my heart was beating a million times a minute.

"I'm glad you had fun." I said as cheerfully as I could muster. My dad left soon after. He shook Kendall's hand. I felt a burst of happiness, but was overshadowed by many other emotions. I walked into my room and closed my door. I wasn't going to sleep tonight.

In the morning, I climbed out of bed and got dressed. Kendall was at the kitchen table, like usual, ready to take me to school. My mom stood in front of me with chocolate chip pancakes. "I made your favorite."

"I'm not hungry." I stated.

"Are you sick?" Kendall asked worriedly.

"No, I'm not." I said.

"Are you sure?"

"Why wouldn't I be sure?" I snapped. He looked wounded. I felt horrible. I was stressed, but it wasn't Kendall's fault. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." He responded.

"Let's go to school." I took his hand and we left. I went through school feeling guilt consume me. Lying to the people I care about was so wrong. Especially lying to Kendall. He was the most moral person I'd ever met. I forgave Landon, but they wouldn't, not now anyway. If I told them a fight was going to break out and I would be stuck in the middle. When I got home, my mom and Vincent were at the table. They were talking softly and when they saw us they stopped. Fear twisted in me. Were they talking about Landon? I heard a knock at the door and my mom went to answer. She came back and turned to Kendall and Vincent. "Will you let us talk in private?” They nodded and left.

 Landon walked in. He still had that guilt-stricken look on his face. I broke the silence.

"Mom, do you know?" I stared at her.

"Yes, Landon I can't believe you would do something like this and to your own sister." She scolded him.

"Mom, I forgave him." I defended him.

"No." Landon said. "Vivvy, don't defend me. I deserve this, remember."

"He's right. He deserves to be punished." My mom said. There was yet another knock at the door. My dad walked in. "Hello." He called. He saw our faces and knew something was wrong.

"Landon stabbed Vivian in the back, literally." My mom explained. Kendall ran into the room and smashed Landon into the wall. It all happened so fast, I didn't have time to react. Vincent came in next and pulled Kendall off Landon. They both did this with their vampire speed. No one moved after that. No one talked. Vincent stood by a wall, holding Kendall back.

"Calm down, Ken." He warned.

"Kendall, it's okay." I reassured him. He walked up to me and took my hand.

"What if he hurts you again?"

"He won't." I was almost positive this was true.

"Kendall." Landon said. “I regret hurting my sister. Will you let me explain?"

"Yes, please do." My dad said.

"When I was in Nebraska, a man named Connor Morgenson found me. He told me that Vivian was becoming power hungry and was going to hurt a lot of people."

"You believed him?" Vincent asked.

"Not at first, but then I came here and saw..." He broke off.

"Me with vampires." I finished. He nodded. My mom and dad looked at each other and nodded. They had a plan. My mother grabbed her purse. "We'll be right back. Vincent you come too."

"Where are you going?"

"To speak with Connor Morgenson." My dad answered.

"Ken, be good or you'll deal with brown eyes." Vincent said.

"Is that a joke?" I asked.

"No, you're pretty scary." I grinned and shook my head. They went out the door. I turned to Kendall, who was glaring at Landon. This was going to be forever.

"Are you two hungry?" They nodded. Then there was awkward silence.

"What should we eat?" I tried again.

"It doesn't matter." Landon said.

"You decide." Kendall agreed. I rocked back and forth on my heels.  The doorbell rang and hurried towards it. And you wouldn't believe who it was? Connor Morgenson.