Ravenous - A Vampire Romance

Chapter 2

Luna remained unfocused as her mind thought of her father's injuries. After mother had dialed for paramedics, her eyes scanned his body in horror. The next moments happened all too fast as the body was turned slightly, hoisted up, and dropped onto an uncomfortable looking stretcher. The burly two men carrying it hastily shoved it into the back of the small white vehicle and drove off with the sirens blaring shortly after it's departure.

"Honey are you okay?" Her mother inquired with a shaky voice. It was very obvious that she was almost on the verge of breakdown herself, but her priorities were making sure she appeared strong for her daughter.  She would be a shoulder to cry on, She would be a good parent, not the fragile rich-wannabe grown woman she was.

Luna looked at her for a second with her mouth agape as if she wanted to say something but nothing came out. Instead, she pressed her lips in a thin line and her vision unfocused as her mind mauled over what she saw. It had only been for a split second, but she was certain she had saw it. Two puncture marks on his neck. The fan girl inside her wanted to suggest vampire, but she knew such a thing was far from reality. It was likely a snake. But she had also observed that her father's skull had been bashed in with something heavy, perhaps a rock?

She sighed in defeat as her mind drew a blank. It must have been an outsider who had murdered him, Nobody in town had a snake, and there wasn't a pet store either. Dismissing her morbid curiosity, her eyes trailed to her mother. She would be heart broken, unlike Luna, who was indifferent to his death due to the abuse she suffered from him while he was in his drunken state. Her mother's entire face was was contorted in an grief-stricken way.

"Mama, it will be okay." She whispered as she embraced her mother. She felt wetness hit her neck as her mother bellowed in agony. Luna's mother would not be the strong parent today, her resolve had melted into nothingness as soon as the image of her beloved, yet strict handsome husband overtook her mind. Today she would be the mourning widow. Strength would be absent so long as he lived in her thoughts.

After long moments, Luna's mother had ceased her weeping, though the evidence was written all over her face with bright red nose, puffy eyes, and beyond-repair makeup. Luna patted her mother's shoulder in comfort as the last tears fell down her cheek. After a handful of minutes, Luna took a deep breath. It had seemed that she would have to be the one running the house, at least until her mother had gotten her act together and was able to be a proper parent.

"I need to go to school , but please clean up if you can."  Luna stated, taking one last somber look at her mother. Luna's mother nodded hesitantly. Luna smiled bitterly and went inside to dress.  Her eyes naturally darted to a dark figure hanging upside down from the tree. Her expression darkened and twisted into fear. she quickly threw on a basic comfortable white t-shirt, light blue jeans, and a pair of black converse. In a rush with her mouth agape, she threw her backpack on and cautiously exited the house, to the front yard where her mother still stood grieving. Her hand found her mother's shoulder and she took deep breaths.

"Mom, call the police, I just saw a man outside my window. Please lock the doors when I'm gone too." She spoke in a fast jumble. Her mother nodded in understanding and took out her phone.

Luna hesitated. She didn't want to leave. She was concerned for her mother's health. After all, mother had always been the nicer parent.

"Please, go on. Don't worry about me. I got it under control." She gave her daughter a reassuring smile.

Luna sighed deeply and nodded. Her mind was frazzled and yet blank at the same time. The whole way to the bus stop, her feet dragged and she kept her head low. Her eyes never left the concrete. Tears welled up and threatened to escape but Luna didn't want to let them leave. She couldn't waste grief over a father who has mistreated her since she was four years old, even if he hadn't done so in recent years. She would never forget the way his hand raised high into the air, and how it was brought down with enough force to knock her against the wall and leave a dark red mark on her cheek. She would never forget the concerned look on her teacher's faces and the horror in their eyes. She had told them everything was fine, she had just fell down stairs, But looking back at it now she sees that they had never believed her....But they also had never done anything to help her.

After some minutes of thoughtful walking, She reached the bus stop and her usual friends welcomed her with a goofy smile. They didn't notice her breathlessness or the way her face looked dead exhausted or how her eyes were a puffy  red with dark circles underneath them.

"You really downgraded." Laura, one of the  rich town girls, commented as she eyed up her outfit. The freckled red haired girl to her left lightly punched her shoulder and gave her a disapproving look.

Luna had often hung out with the other rich girls, however, it was a rather small group consisting of Luna, Karen, Sophia, and the leader, Laura. Most of the girls were actually really nice despite everyone thinking otherwise. Laura was really the only bittersweet one.

"Hey now, some of us like simple looks." Karen, the red haired girl, said with a beaming smile. She was usually the optimist in the group. The one other girl in the group, a brunette by the name of Sophia, nodded in agreement. They continued on the conversation about how excited they were to see the new hot teacher, and then about generic things such as fashion trends and favorite dishes.

Luna closed her eyes and took a deep breath in. The events of this morning had no doubt shaken her up, but there was still the lingering desire to fit in. All of it had seemed so natural, the usual morning banter, the fabulous clothing, and flaunting of money. Yet, there was a still odd chill lingering in the air. Had she imagined everything ? It seemed unlikely. The other girls had some show tell signs of the insane events of yesterday. Dark circles, some random cuts, and frizzy hair were displayed among their features, and that was obvious indication to Luna that everything from last night was real, but no one had spoken a word of it.

Before she could mention it, the bus pulled in and they all piled inside to their usual seats. Luna noticed instantly, that a lot of seats were unfilled. This, of course, went unmentioned with the group and they continued on with their deep discussion of how they enjoyed certain chick-flicks or how others were a miserable flop in their opinion. The bus pulled away in it's usual slow fashion and Luna's eyes again drifted towards something in her peripheral vision. A shadowy figure with intense red eyes.

At that moment it hit her. This thing was stalking her.