Broken Glass and Bleeding Hearts

The cold air rushed in through my nose and mouth, burning as it made its way into my lungs, as I ran. I hadn’t fed in three days and that was taking its toll on me now. My body was saying that I needed to stop and rest or fed, my mind, however, knew the truth. I had to keep running or we’d both die.

I could hear Angelica behind me, along with what sounded like another pair of feet running behind her. There was something in my mind that was screaming that she had another partner somewhere else in this place, who was just waiting to be called into action. As much as I didn’t want to believe this, because I don’t know how my mind knew this, I knew that I had to.

The rain outside was quickening again. It had been at a steady pace when I’d arrived here but now it was at an all out downpour. Thunder crashed outside again and Angelica’s laugh ricocheted off the walls; the combined sound causing my ears to buzz in discomfort. A ways down the tunnel I could hear rats scurrying to get out of the way but I couldn’t see them. These tunnels, wherever they were located, weren’t lit very well. The oil lamps that hung on the walls provided very little light when the chase had started but now they were almost all burned out. Just as I braced myself what my senses told me was a dead end the thunder crashed again.

“Marvelous timing for this wasn’t it Ellie? I’m sure you can appreciate the dramatic affect that the storm adds!” At hearing Angelica’s words I wanted to rip her head off, but I restrained. I knew that I wasn’t going to walk out of here tonight and I’d excepted that. After all it was why I came here. But if I didn’t at least try, didn’t make it fun enough for her, then she’d go after Matt the second she finished with me.

We were approaching the wall that I thought to be a dead end now, meaning it would all be over soon. When we hit that wall my 16 years of life would be ended and this nightmare would finally be over. In spite of myself I relished the thought. My suffering would be over and Matt would live. He’d hurt and mourn for a while but inevitably he would move on; he’d have to. The only regrets that I felt was that I wouldn’t be able to tell everyone good-bye and how much I loved them, and of course that I’d never find out who the third vampire was.

“You can stop now Ellie, its just a dead end ahead!” Underneath her menacing tone there was something else. Something that sounded like hope, hope that I would think it was a dead end. If she wanted me to believe that then there has to be another tunnel or room before we reach the wall!

Focusing all my power from my other senses to my eyes I focused on what was ahead. It was extremely hard to see but there was the faint outline of missing stone a few feet from the wall. I wasn’t sure if it was a room or another tunnel but it was the only other option that I had.

“I’m not as stupid as you think I am Angelica!” I yelled and forced my legs to move faster, praying that it was another tunnel. She was yelling commands at the other vampire as I turned the corner ran into another tunnel. It felt like I should sing praises but I didn’t have the time.

As my legs began to sting in pain I cursed myself. I should have known better than to go three days without feeding when I knew this would be coming. Without the sufficient amount of blood in my system my vampire reflexes, senses, and speed would begin to dull soon. Unfortunately I was reaching that point right about now.

“You are slowing up there aren’t you?” Angelica’s voice grew more taunting each time she spoke. I suppose knowing that you are actually in control and you will get what you want does that to people. “It doesn’t matter anyway. I will win and we both know it. Even without our little deal there is still four of us and one of you.” Somewhere inside this set off a string of panic. I had known there was three of them, not four. Had someone else I thought I could trust betrayed Matt and I or was it a stranger?

“Who is the fourth?” I called out. I’d rather know without the surprise. I was running out of time and it would be nice to know who would be there to witness my murder. My eye sight was dimming by the minute, which put me at even greater disadvantage. This was the reason I missed who it was.

“Me.” A strong sounding male voice cut in, seconds before I felt a hard blow to my head. Then everything went silent and black.

I awoke to the sound of dripping water. Not the sound of rain, that had its own distinct background sound, but the sound of the water that was dripping onto the stone floor. It was instinct to try and move my arms and legs, and I could move them a little, but they were being held by something. Whatever was holding them to the ground, I assumed, was linked to a cuff. There was a cuff on each of my wrists and each of my ankles. “What in the hell are these?”

“Chains Ellie, they are chains. I told you not to hit her too hard you dimwit.” I heard what sounded like heels coming towards me. I’d been out long enough that she could change I guess. “If you had your power built up completely you probably could have snapped them but unfortunately you don’t. They are re-enforced steel and especially made to handle weak vampire such as yourself. I’m sure when you agreed to our little deal you didn’t expect all the dramatic effect I planned for.”

“It isn’t like I sat around wondering what you’d have planned for my murder! I’ve been too busy trying to make the most of the last few days of life that I had. As I’m sure you would be if the tables were turned.” My voice sounded weak and shaky and there was no doubt that the four monsters in the room with me took it as horror. I probably should have been scared but I wasn’t. To be honest I’d never felt so brave before.

“Hmm,” She bent down in front of me, allowing me to see her face for the first time tonight. “I would have been. Then again maybe I would have been planning my escape too. Such a brave girl you are though, I bet you aren’t even scared.”

It was instinct to lung at her but I was only jerked back by the chains. “Will you just get it over with you bitch?” For some reason she found this hilarious, which only infuriated me more.

“Just remember, you are the one who was in a hurry.” As soon as she finished her sentence I felt something sharp against my stomach. It took a minute to realize what it was. She’d worn stilettos.

“High heels? What you couldn’t come up with a more effective weapon?” Then a fist collided with my jaw. I heard one of the others get slapped but I had no idea who or why. Then Angelica stepped onto my legs and I felt the heels of her shoes break through the skin. This time I scram out in pain.

She stepped off of my legs, pulling the heels out with her. Pain burned in the holes as blood escaped. “Well don’t be silly, they are specially modified heels. They will do much more damage.”

She walked around me and repeated the process on my other leg, earning the same result. The room went silent as I forced the tears to stay where they were. I had promised myself that I would not cry; I would just wait for death. If she kept poking holes in my flesh then I’d bleed out soon enough.

I felt her foot against my chest, pushing me pack. The heel broke the skin but didn’t go deep enough to cause too much blood flow. “All of this could have been avoided. All you had to do was give me Matt.”

“He isn’t a prize or a pet! He is a person Angelica! The decision was his!” She kicked my jaw this time to silence me. Somehow this action caused the inside of my cheek to tear open and blood poured into my mouth.

“I thought you said we could help.” It was the same distinctive voice that I had heard before I’d been knocked out. He sounded familiar but I was unable to place where I had heard his voice before tonight.

“Well I changed my mind.” This time the heel went into my arm. Was there a reason she had to drag this out? “Revenge Ellie, revenge. That is why I am dragging it out. You should really watch what you say. You are weak enough that your mind is losing control. Too much blood loss.” Then she sank her heel into another spot on my arm.

What felt like years later she’d managed to leave more holes than I’d ever imagined possible. I’d stopped crying long ago because I no longer had the strength. I was sure that there were tear stains left in their place but I’d never know for sure. Torture was losing its fun for her; she’d kill me soon. I never though that I would wait for death, to hope for death, but she’d proven me wrong.

As I drew in another breath I could feel the ache in my chest. Breathing was becoming a chore in itself. When the air reached my lungs it was forced back out and as the cough came from my mouth so did blood. “Please just get it over with.” My voice sounded more pathetic than it ever had, and if I had the strength to care it would have pissed me off.

“Truthfully after how much you’ve gone through I’m half tempted to let you go. I never thought you would last this long. But then again that would defeat the purpose of all this. So we’ll make this a mercy killing.” She paced as she spoke, drawing snickers from her henchmen. When she finally stopped I braced myself for it.

I was expecting a high heel to the heart. I was braced for feeling it pierce into my chest. But she didn’t go for the heart. Instead she went for the jugular, tearing it out with her fangs. It would take seconds. “Tell everyone I love them,” was all I got out before everything went black.

When I sprang up in my bed the alarm clock glowed 4:13. I’d experienced so many different nightmares but never that one. After each and every one of them I had expected Matt to show up but I didn’t this time. Angelica’s plan had changed or something was about to change because Matt had not been there in this one.

I spent most of Saturday with Zacky. We were trying to find out who could be working on her side. By that evening we had given up and met up with the guys at the spot. Tensions had been greatly reduced from the previous night and things almost felt normal again.

Jimmy showed up on Sunday morning. I was preparing to go to breakfast with my mom, aunt, and uncle when he knocked. “Do you have some time before you leave?” He asked when I opened me bedroom door.

Glancing over at the clock I answered, “Around 30 minutes.” He sat down and I returned to my bathroom, leaving the door open. I knew that Jimmy would get to the point without my help so I started to apply my eyeliner.

“Are you okay with Dalton being here? I mean I know people think it is weird that you never talk about him but I understand. Its gotta hurt you.” I’d suspected that was the reason Jimmy was here so early.

“It is too hard to think about him let alone talk about him. I mean I know what happened isn’t his fault, I shouldn’t take it out on him. But it just makes me feel like why was he good enough to deserve a father and I wasn’t? What could I have possibly done when I was that young to drive him away. Maybe it is ridiculous to think that way but I can’t control it. Its just always there when I think about Dalton or I’m around him, there is no off switch for it.

“I’d love to be able to enjoy the fact that I have a half brother but I can’t. It would be nice to just spend time with him because he says that is what he wants but I can’t. I just freaking can’t! Its like there is this little voice in my head screaming that he has a dad and I don’t because for some reason he was better and I want to know why. That is the worst part I want an explanation but there isn’t one. My so-called dad is just a drunken asshole and that is all the reason I’m ever going to know.

“Its just so hard. I want an explanation why he cheated on then left my mom. I want to know why he refused to even try and keep contact with me. Most of all I want to know that it isn’t my fault that he did what he did to my mom.” With a sigh I shook my head and then returned to applying the eyeliner, feeling frustrated with myself all over again.

“Does Matt know about any of this? I mean how you feel about it all?” The undertones of Jimmy’s voice told me he already knew the answer. We both knew Matt too well, and we both knew what his reaction would be if he did know. I just shook my head and sat the eyeliner pencil down. “That is the worst part isn’t it? Having to keep secrets from him like that.”

Again I sighed and nodded. “But if I tell him then he will lose it and probably go after the thing, demanding answers. His temper is far too quick for me to tell him anything like that. I know what he would do just as well as you do and it wouldn’t be pretty. It just isn’t worth it.”

Without a word Jimmy just walked over and hugged me. “Well if you need someone to talk to I’m always here. I will listen and I won’t do anything you don’t want me to. Now if you will excuse me the fact that you will be having pancakes made me hungry for them.” He smiled at me and then left, no doubt to go get pancakes.

On Monday morning Star seemed to be herself again. She was currently blabbing about her date from Friday. For some reason I just couldn’t pay much attention to what she was saying. I was waiting for Matt to come back with Zacky so she would stop and breathe. “Sounds like you had fun.” I finally added when she paused.

Enthusiastically she nodded her head and then jumped into the second round of details. If I said that I didn’t feel like beating my head against my locked then I’d be lying, because I really did. Sure I was happy for her but I could care less about how he held her hand through the movie.

“Doesn’t Dalton start school officially today?” She finally asked, taking a breath afterwards.

“Yeah I think he does.” In my head I was cursing the universe. I had completely forgotten that he was starting today. That was why Jimmy had wished me luck when I got out of my car earlier.

“Are you going to introduce us?” She placed her hands together and pouted. I should’ve seen that one coming, but it still freaked me out a little bit. Thankfully before I could answer someone tried to jump on my back.

“What are you doing Zacky?” Matt’s voice asked as I leaned on the lockers for support and Zacky got off my back. I could already guess what was about to be said.

“What does it look like I was doing? I jumped your girlfriend.” Zacky laughed as soon as he finished his explanation. In spite of myself I couldn’t help but join him. The glare on Matt’s face was a scene that I would want to remember forever. Priceless didn’t even begin to cover it.

“Shut it Baker.” Zacky put his hands in the air and stepped aside, allowing Matt to stand next to me. I reached over and high-fived Zacky which only made Matt snicker.

I didn’t expect Dalton to just run up to me, give me a hug, and the smile like a maniac. But that is what he did. “Stay right here, there is someone I want you to meet.” Then he ran off again. It took a second for this to fully sink in.

At first I thought he might have made a friend already. It would be quick but it wasn’t impossible. After all who else could he want me to meet? There was no way he knew someone in this school that he wasn’t friends with. It was only his first official day here.

It appeared that Matt and Zacky where echoing my thoughts, looks of slight confusion on their faces. There was much more on Matt’s than there was on Zacky’s. Unfortunately you could only deal with the secrets that we had so much before things started becoming less and less shocking.

“Well I’m going to leave now. I’ll see you guys later.” Star looked between the three of us and started backing away, which was a little strange.

“Later.” Matt, Zacky, and I all responded at the same time which seemed to really shake her up. She turned around and hurried away from where we were waiting. As she went around the corner at the end of the hallway I saw Dalton reappear.

“Who do you think it is?” I asked looking over at Matt and Zacky. Matt shrugged and Zacky’s face paled. That was never a good sign to see from him. I felt my stomach flip as I grew anxious.

Matt was looking straight ahead, Zacky was looking at the floor, and I was watching them. It was awkward and unnatural for us but my voice was gone now. “Ellie thanks for not leaving! I want you to meet my cousin.” Zacky and Matt both cursed and their eyes widened as they looked up.

With a deep breath I looked away from the guys and to Dalton. Then I gasped. “Ellie this is my cousin Angelica. Angelica this is my half-sister Ellie.” He was grinning but both Angelica and I were glaring at each other.

“Oh we’ve met.” She stated dryly, looking slightly confused.

“Shit. How in the hell is she your cousin?” I asked glancing between them.

“Her mom is my aunt. My mom’s sister.” He was looking confused now but I didn’t want to explain it, nor could I explain it. All I could think about was how horrible this was.