A Vampire Tale

Chapter 22

  Brenda
I stood up from my chair, "fine. It's in the shed in the back yard." I led the way to the backyard and pointed to the shed.

"Man, it's already as hot as summer," he complained. I couldn't help but watch him with a smile planted on my face as he took out the black lawn mower. I walked over to the wooden fence and unlocked the door for him, holding it open as he pushed the heavy machine out to the front.

"Have fun in the sun, while I get to stay inside with the A/C," I teased playfully. He didn't speak, nor even glanced at me; he focused all his attention onto his punishment.

Seeing no reason to stay, I walked back inside to kitchen to begin my chores. I wasn't surprised to see mom make her homemade lemonade, which she only makes on hot, sunny days. Unlike Taylor, I didn't have a lot of dishes to clean, so I finished in less than fifteen minutes.

"Go give this to Taylor. It's starting to heat up out there," mom told me, handing me a cup of ice cold lemonade. I took it in my hand and went outside. I noticed that Taylor was sweating under the sun and watched as he removed his shirt. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, making him look like one of those Abercrombie and Fitch male models posing for a picture.

My neighbor's fourteen year old daughter, Jessica Newman, was outside with three of her best friends, just staring at his body mesmerized. Just by looking at them, I could tell they liked what they saw.

"Taylor!" I called out to get his attention. He looked at me then rolled his eyes. He thought I was teasing him. I walked over to him and handed him the cup. "This is for you, silly. We don't want you passing out from dehydration, especially when you only did half the yard."

He took it and drank about half before saying, "don't worry about me. I always finish a job, no matter what it is." I couldn't help but smile, knowing that he's telling the honest truth. He continued to drink the lemonade until the glass was empty. "Why are you staring at me like that? You have seen me shirtless multiple times already." I blinked, realizing I was staring at him, and looked away.

"sorry, your just so handsome that girls can't help but stare." He chuckled than went back to work. I picked up his shirt and the empty glass before making my way back inside. I placed the cup on the table, knowing he would want some more before leaving home, and threw his shirt in my room. Standing alone in an empty room with only your thoughts in mind, made me weary of going outside.

The image of Selena's blood drained body being stuck inside a closet; her blood covering that strange man's mouth, came back to me. I couldn't force back tears as I remembered his words.

"Your next, little girl." His voice was like acid, melting away my courage with no mercy. How will I continue going around as if nothing's going on? I wish I could talk to my brother about this, but ever since joining the association, Trey has spent every ounce of his free time training. He gets up at dawn and doesn't return until midnight. Most nights, he won't return at all. I can't talk to my father about this because he has no idea that creatures of the night even exist. As a tear escaped down my cheek, I quickly cleared it away. I was in no mood to cry about this, especially when I could be helping Taylor and his hunting friends.