Reckless

Reckless - Chapter Thirty-Nine

R E C K L E S S . . . 

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE 

I sat in front of the mirror, cross-legged on my bed, examining myself from head to toe. My blue eyes were locked with the identical ones of my reflection in front of me. The reflection had the same long blonde hair, same wry smile, same thin features. She also had the same bruises and scars as me, a thing I wished would go away. It seemed unfair that the both of us should have suffered so much.  

My fingers probed the flesh on my neck and the small bruises that had bloomed there since Alexis's attack, an ugly purple colour that I couldn't hide no matter how much I tried. I remembered the expression on my mum's face as I climbed into the car, the questioning looks of the police as I told them of my latest attack, the wondering looks of the students who had seen me. 

Further along from the bruises, on the side of my neck, there was a small, thin cut. The blood that had flowed out of it had long since congealed, but the ugly red pucker mark was enough to remind me of what had happened just a few days ago. On the other side of my neck another injury served to remind me of Alexis's hatred, still covered by the piece of gauze that Blake had attached to it more than two weeks ago. I'd refused to take it off for anybody, not wanting to expose the ugly, torn skin underneath it. Other marks scarred my neck, fainter than the others but no less important. Each mark reminded me of a time a vampire had bit or attacked me, each one showing its own small array of bruises and puckered lines. 

Then there were the burn marks, showing all over my skin from where Jev had grabbed me. My arms were the worst, each one covered with red marks and the aftermath of blisters. 

Every time I looked in the mirror I saw not a girl with blonde hair and a pretty face but a girl who was forever marked with the scars and bruises of the past few months. I just couldn’t help my gaze from going straight to the marks; they seemed to be the most prominent things about me now. I wondered if the other girl hated me for ruining her skin like that, or if she would forgive me eventually. All I saw in my reflection's light blue eyes was regret and sorrow, the exact replica of mine. 

The sudden, piercing sound of the doorbell wrenched me out of my thoughts. My eyes were torn away from those of my reflection as my head snapped round to focus on my bedroom door.

My immediate thought, as it had been for the past two days at every knock on the door or unidentified sound, was that it was Chris. Just the thought of him set my heart beating faster and my palms sweating.  

Mort and the other hunters had seen neither hide nor hair of the supernaturals, but it was no use pretending that they weren't coming back – even Mort had admitted it when he’d phoned me. Chris wanted to change me, and he wanted to do it fast. What use would he have with a woman in her late twenties when he was so young himself? Wouldn't someone that old have trouble fitting in with the persona of a high school student that Chris and his friends filled so often? It was now or never if he wanted to change me. He had to appear sometime soon. 

With that in mind I leapt off my bed and sprinted down the stairs, taking them two at a time. I intercepted my mum half way down the hallway leading up to the door, skidding to a halt in front of her.  

"Don't worry," I said breathlessly. "I'll get the door." 

My mum raised an eyebrow. "You've been sprinting to the door every time someone's rang the doorbell these past few days. Are you expecting someone?" 

I shook my head vehemently.  

“Have you asked Sam and Claire to come over? You know you can tell me if you invite people over. You’re not grounded anymore, Anne,” she continued. “Or are you making sure it’s not that psychiatrist that Officer Colon wanted you to see? He told us that this Doctor Helyer isn’t coming until tomorrow.”