Bitten

Chapter Five: Puzzle Pieces.

I am awoken by the shrill scream of my mother. I quickly jumped up to see what all the commotion is about, unzipping my tent as I do so.

There kneeled my mother, drenched in the blood of my father, who lay lifelessly in her arms.

"Rosie! Get back in your t-" before I could hear the rest of what she was going to say, everything is blank. It's as if I passed out. Or more like blacked out. My memories jump from that, to getting out of my tent and seeing what looked like a mountain lion running in the opposite direction.

I fumbled around the tent for my phone, dialing 911 after finding it.

They tell me not to leave the tent, but I have to know where my parents are. If they are okay.

I set the phone down and unzip the tent, seeing nothing.

I step outside and behind our tents, lay the mangled bodies of my parents. Limbs tore, blood everywhere. I quickly run back into my tent in a screaming and crying frenzy.

I lost it that day, and the day after that and the day after that. I haven't been the same since.

I wake up breathing heavily and sweating profusely. Tears uncontrollably run down my face, drenching it. I'm no stranger to the nightmares though. In fact, I invite them. They help me to remember the missing memories I have from that night. Although dreaming about it kills me, every time I do, I get more and more missing pieces to the puzzle. I blacked out that night but in my dreams, I remember.

•

Days pass, and then days turn into weeks that I don't hear from Tiberius. I can't believe what I said to him, how horrible of me to even ask such a thing.

Of course, my suspicion about his mother was complete nonsense. He and Serena were adopted. He was on the phone with his adoptive mother, Elenor, that day at the diner.

He probably thought I was nosy and rude now. The only person who showed any real interest in me probably didn't like me now.

"Rosalie! Wait up," Claire called from behind me as I walked to my next class.

It had been 2 weeks since the tour of Serena and Tiberius's home that Friday and I hadn't made much progress in the socializing department to say the least.

I paused, waiting patiently for Claire to catch up to me. She was a short girl, even shorter than me somehow, and her legs reminded me of t-rex arms when she ran like this.

When she finally reaches me, she is out of breath and holds up her finger before speaking.

"Okay, so, there is this bonfire tonight that literally everyone is going to, usually I sit these events out but since I've never actually been to one I figured maybe, well if you want to, if you aren't-"

"Spit it out Claire." I laugh impatiently.

"Okay, do you wanna go? You know if you aren't too busy?" She asks. Her pleading puppy dog eyes squint up as she smiles shyly.

"Yeah sure, I was already thinking about going anyway after Alysa begged me," I laugh but Claire's smile halfway fades.

I don't think she likes Alysa and her possy of cheerleader friends very much. It's kinda messed up because they are all super nice, some of the nicest people you'll meet, to their friends, or people they like. But to anyone else they come off as cold and rude. I'm guessing this is how Claire saw them.

"But Alysa is probably going to be with her friends all night anyway," I reassure her.

"Okay! Well I'll see you there then. Do you want me to pick you up or is Alysa driving you?" She asks.