I Like Your Fangs

Chapter 15

I stared up at the ceiling with frustrated eyes. What have I gotten myself into? I had been rolling the question around in my brain for the past three hours, and I glanced out my bedroom window to the black sky outside. It was eight o'clock, but the days were shorter in Winter. I had been lying on my bed wondering about Jenna.

I felt so guilty, and every time I went to reach for my phone, something stopped me. For some odd reason, I couldn't bring myself to call her to apologize. It seemed so indecent of me, but I thought about the pain in her voice when I had insulted her.

I rolled off my bed and shuffled across the room to go downstairs. I was dressed in an over sized t-shirt and baggy sweats, and my hair stuck out in odd directions forming a disheveled crown around my head. As I walked down the hall towards the banister of the staircase, I gazed at the numerous picture frames that hung solemnly along the wall opposite of me.

Each one held a memory; a family photo, holiday dinner and one in particular that was my favorite. A candid shot, of my mom when she was pregnant with me. She was lying on the couch, asleep, with her knees curled in. But she looked so peaceful, and her arms were rested on her swollen, protruding belly.

I smiled, remembering how she told me the story of the picture, "You were so giggly, even as a baby. Your eyes would always light up whenever Daddy or I would walk into the room. "

The picture stared back at me with a melancholy silence, and I felt a lump start to rise in my throat. Maybe it was the thought of Jenna, or the picture, but my eyes began to water. I missed the days of innocence, when none of this drama could touch me. I was still giddy and...happy.

"Honey, are you alright?"

I turned, sniffling as I saw Mom walking up the stairs, her eyes squinted with worry. I rubbed my left eye with one knuckle and paused, as if wondering how to answer her question. But I was tired, tired of constantly holding things inside, and so I shook my head slowly. Her lips turned into a sad frown, and she walked towards me with open arms. I wrapped my hands around her small shoulders and buried my head into the hollow of her neck, inhaling her comforting aroma of cinnamon and fresh flowers.

"I like it when you come home from the shop," I blubbered.

I felt her nod against my head, and she kissed my hair softly, "I smell like the roses, don't I?"

I muttered a muffled 'yes,' as I smiled into her sweater. She was perfectly perfumed from all the flowers she had cut when she worked at the florist shop. Mom and Dad purchased it when I had turned five, and every holiday, at least every citizen of Lidell would say to relay a thanks to my mother for the beautiful flowers.

"Now, are you going to tell me what's bothering you?"

I sighed, pulling back slightly to see Mom's face. I wanted to tell her so badly, but what could I possibly say? I'm a vampire, my boyfriend is a vampire, and there's another vampire that wants to kill me. My forehead creased in sad frustration, and I exhaled shakily.

"I think I lost Jenna."

Mom's eyes widened considerably, and she tipped my chin upward to get a good look at me. I was serious, and she wore an expression of shock.

"What do you mean? You two are thick as thieves, you didn't lose her honey-"

"I was so mean to her today, Mom. You don't know what I said."

She placed her hands on either of my shoulders, gripping them firmly, "What did you say?"

Mom didn't know about Lukas, and I couldn't bring him up now. Besides, he was the reason for the whole fight between Jenna and I. And I couldn't bring myself to tell my mother that I had chosen a boy over Jenna. I shrugged off her hands and mumbled, "Nothing. I'll...tell you later. I'm going to go to bed. "