Awakening (Awakening, #1)

Chapter 14

I jolt awake, surprised at how long I've been asleep. When I check the clock next to me, it's five in the morning. I pull off the sheets and step out of the bed and gently pull open the curtains revealing the dewy, foggy morning. The trees in the woods beyond the house are camouflaged in the seemingly endless haze of fog. It's oddly relaxing and I find myself standing there staring for what feels like hours. When I turn around, Violet's standing in the doorway leaning against the door jamb with her arms crossed in a calm stance.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" she says just a little above a whisper.
"It is. I really like it here," I say. And we just stand there for a little while longer, drinking in the scenery. Unable to help it, my mind drifts off and I find myself thinking about the kiss we shared in the woods. A small smirk tugs at my lips and I look back at her. She looks up at me and says, "Hungry?" I don't respond right away because food is the last thing on my mind at the moment, or ever, really. I shake my head and she goes back to looking outside, staring ahead at nothing in particular. Mentally kicking myself for not realizing sooner, I ask the obvious.
"Is something bothering you? If it's the woods, I'm sorry, I-," I start.
"The woods?" she says, as if it's the last thing she would be worried about. This somehow makes me feel a whole lot better. "No. Last time I checked, I definitely didn't have any problems with that." I smile a little, and she goes on, her face darkening into a small worried frown.
"No, uh," she clears her throat. "I just heard from my dad, is all. Last night when everyone fell asleep. He called me as a matter of fact." I have no idea how to respond to this, but her dad must not be good news if she's this worried about receiving a call from him.
"What did he say?" I ask.
"He knows about you," she starts. "And surprisingly enough, he's not upset. Even if he was, to hell with him. He can't control me. Not anymore." She says the last part so softly, I could have imagined it. But I knew better.
"So what does that mean, exactly?"
"It means he gets to send someone over here to train you," she laughs. But what's funny? Clearly I'm missing something. "Because Awakened vampires are ruthless bastards and all they do is kill and wreak havoc. Clearly they haven't met you." I sit and wait for her to go on.
"Yeah. So we'll have to wait and see who he sends over. You need to listen and listen carefully, okay?" Her voice drops to a whisper. "I will always have your back. You hear me? No one can take you away from me. This whole deal doesn't change a thing." Then she leans in, her lips hovering just over mine. "You're special, you know that? You're not like anything I've ever seen before." And she leans in and kisses me with the most tedious of movements like I was some fragile thing, when in fact it was her that was the fragile one. Being near Violet always seemed to be able to remind me of the more innocent things in life. Being with her reminded me that there was in fact good in the world. That what happened to me might have been the best thing that could have happened.
We pull away after what didn't seem like nearly enough time, to a grunt mixed with a sigh from someone behind us. I look up just in time to see Elijah walk past the door into the kitchen. Violet gives me an apologetic smile and pecks me on the lips again before following him into the kitchen. It's times like this that I have to remind myself of the selfless, caring person Violet is.
"Talked to my dad last night. He's sending someone over for Jonah." I listen from the doorway.
"And you're telling me this because? Since when did you tell me anything involving your dad? Or anything else for that matter?"
I peek around the corner and see Violet flinch like she was slapped. She quickly composes herself and says, "Maybe after you lost the privilege." She says this with such venom in her words, it surprises me. There's no doubt that there was something between them. An unspoken tension that I wish she didn't have to deal with. It wasn't fair.
"Your words hurt me, Vi. Really they do, tell me more, please."
"How many times do I need to tell you to stop calling me that!" she sounds close to tears and I'm so close to intervening. A look of sorrow and deep sadness flickers over Elijah's face.
"I'm sorry," he says. "Violet."
It's too late though, because as soon as the words leave his mouth, she's gone. I hear a distant door slam, and then the house was still.
"How long have you been standing there?" he asks. I don't answer.
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Around two o'clock, everyone is awake and eating lunch at the table. I'm not that hungry, but Violet got me to drink about a fourth of a cup of blood from something she hunted earlier. She asked, and I simply obeyed. I, personally, hate the blood. It's disgusting, but anything for her, really. I finally learned the names of everyone in the house minus Elijah and Izzy. Quinn, the quiet red-head, Carter, the star quarterback for Wayview, and Donovan. I wonder if I ever knew any of them in my past life. When lunch is over and Violet's washing the rest of the dishes after refusing my help, I hear the car pull in the driveway before she does.
"Someone's here." she jumps slightly like she had forgotten I was there. She dries off her hands and says, "Must be our new guest."
When she opens the door and I lay eyes on the girl, I'm lost. We lock eyes and stay that way for far too long. I know this girl. I know her. By the way she's looking at me, I can tell this isn't all in my head. I'm freaking out, losing it. My head is pounding, blood is rushing to my ears and I can hear Violet's heart beating and this girl doesn't even have one-
"Jonah." Violet places a reassuring hand on my back. "Are you okay?"
This is the last thing I hear before I feel my eyes roll to the back of my head and I lose all focus and succumb to the blissful darkness.
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I wake up on my bed with a cold rag on my forehead. And it's moving. I jolt up and out of the bed in two seconds flat. But it's only Violet. I breathe an audible sigh of relief and sit beside her. "You had me worried, Jonah. Are you alright?" Her voice is laced with concern and I say, "Yeah, I'm...okay. Wh-who is that girl?" I can't fight the icy chill that runs down my back and spreads all across my body. Something isn't right, and I have no idea what it is and that bothers me to no end.
"I've seen her around school before. Her name is Teegan."