Rain Gently Tapping Against My Skin

Her eyes flutter open, and she sits up, looking around tiredly. Her eyes, though … they weren’t the raven-feather color that we all had grown so used to. They were dark brown. Really dark brown. They were her old eyes, before Raine had killed her.

“How did she …”, my sentence trailed off, as she looked at me confusedly.

“What’s wrong? Why are you all looking at me like that?”, Alison asks, staring at all of us oddly, as her sarcastic comment soon came, “You act like you’ve seen the undead.”

“Alison! Your eyes are brown again!”, Kevin yells, glaring.

“You all wanted her to be alive, so now she is.”, Donovan says, smirking. “If you still wanted her to be a Riddle then you should’ve said something.”

“How are you able to —”

“Very simple. I’m older than Kevin, by oh, seventeen years. You learn how to cure people when you’re surrounded by a group of psychic teenagers.”, Donovan says, rolling his eyes. “I just sucked out the undead.”

“Damn,” I breathe, staring at Alison with wide eyes from where she sat uncomfortably.

“Pay the nice man, Melody!”, Kevin says, nudging me. I glare at him, shaking my head.

“No. I don’t pay for loopholes.”, I say, glaring.

“Alright, but I can kill her.”

“No need. This should cover what we broke, then for a nice house.”, Kevin says, paying Donovan, who quickly disappeared.

“Kevin!”

“What?”

“You just paid a guy who probably took —,” I stopped as Alison showed me the fire, for only a short amount of time, though.

“Ouch, that stings,” she grumbles, as ice forms in her hands, and she drops it quickly. “Cold! Gosh, I hate this!”

“She — eyes — him — vampire — bite —,” Martin struggles for words, staring at Alison sadly. “She’s alive.”

“How? I know for a fact that my sword went into her heart!”, Raine says, glaring.

“I hate this! I wanna be a Riddle again!”, Alison yells, glaring around. “I don’t wanna live for the next three hundred years and die.”

“You’ll live for three hundred years?”, I ask, shocked.

“Witches naturally live longer than humans. But stress can cause an early death, and I think I just made a record.”

“You’ll get used to it. Because you’re staying human for awhile now.”, Kevin says happily, making me want to slap him.

“Here’s a hundred bucks. I’ve already lost.”, I say, handing her the money.

“Thank you. I love being right.”, she says, counting the hundred. “You may carry on. I’ve gotta go find a blood-bank.”

“What?”

“Huh? I didn’t say anything?”, Alison says, looking up quickly before jumping off the table and stretching. I noticed the faint gleam in her teeth, and I stopped her from walking past me. I hold her down on the ground, ignoring the shouts as I did so, opening up her mouth with my hand, seeing the two sharpened fangs gleaming brightly in the moonlight.

“Aha! Donovan turned you!”, I growl, pulling her up with me. “Sit.”

“No! I’m thirsty,” Alison whines, trying to stand up. “Please!”

“No, start talking and I’ll break into the blood bank.”, I say, glaring over her. “And don’t you dare, Alison! Vampire or not, I’ll still kick your butt.”

“Y’all gotta know there’s no other way to cure a vampire bite other than the turning.”, Alison says, running a hand through her hair nervously. “And, please, get me a rabbit, a deer? Ooh, how about a tiger! I’m really thirsty, Melody! And it’s getting hard to breathe …”

“Fine, here,” Josh throws her a kitten. I could see the hesitation in her, but she bit it. I back away from her, scrunching up my nose. But she let the kitten go, and it walked away dizzily. She was crying.

“Oh, gosh,” I say, running a hand through my hair.

“Help me,” Alison says through tears.

“What do you want us to do? Set you on fire?”, Kevin growls sarcastically.

“Y-yes.”

“No, Al, it’s okay. C’mon, you read all those vampire novels.”

“Yeah, but I hate this!”

“C’mon, Al, put down the fire!”, I say, glaring at her. “It’s not worth it. We’ll talk to Donovan … maybe he could —”

“NO!!!!”, she was sobbing now. I looked around at everyone, who seemed at a loss. I kneeled down beside her, and Alison hugged me immediately. She was so cold, it felt like I was holding a block of ice. But I ignored the feeling, ignored everyone’s uneasy expressions. Even Martin looked close to crying.

“C’mon, Al. It’s okay. You’re alive. You’re here. That’s something, right?”

“No. I’d rather be dead!”

“No, you wouldn’t. You’d much rather be here with all of us.”

“I knew he was bad news since the beginning.”, Kevin grumbles, dodging as I tried kicking him.

“Shut up, Kevin. Just go dig up your grave where you belong.”

“I’ll go when you go.”

“Stop it! At least you have graves! All I have to a bunch of bones and some dirt!”, Alison says through tears. “I hate him!! I hate him so much!!!”

“Déjà vu,” Josh says, shaking his head. “Kevin, didn’t this happen exactly five hundred years ago with you and Katharina?”

“Yep. Donovan turned her.”, Kevin says, rolling his eyes.

“Kill me, please,” Alison was so torn that I actually considered it.

“No. Here’s what we’re gonna do.”, I say firmly, looking down at her. “First, we’re gonna break into the blood bank. Then you’re going to bed.”

“If I can go to bed,” Alison grumbles. “Then what?”

“I’ll tell you when I think of it. But, I’ll kick your ass out of here if you attempt suicide.”, I say firmly. “Now, c’mon, we’ve got criminal records to make.”

♠ ♣ ♠

“Okay, she’s asleep. So what do we do?”, I ask, taking my seat around the table as dawn began to show.

“Put her in a bag and drop her down a river like a sad puppy.”, Raine says, looking around. “She’s a blood-sucking monster now. Not one of us.”

“Go to hell, Raine,” I growl, glaring. “We are not dropping Alison down a river. And I swear to Zeus if anyone even considers it, I will murder them.”

“Well, Raine was right with one thing. She’s not one of us anymore.”, Duncan says, glaring around. “And I don’t want her anywhere near Sophie.”

“No worries about that, Duncan. She wouldn’t even touch the blood I brought back.”, once again, I find myself comparing her to Alice from Twilight. “I eventually just choked it down her throat before she stopped breathing.”

“Oh, so you’re encouraging the little blood-sucker.”, Raine growls.

“No. Unlike a certain someone — Raine — who will remain unnamed — Raine — I’m trying to keep her alive — Raine.”, I say, smirking. “Now shut up before I call Africa for a lion.”

“Why a lion?”

“Because Alison says that she heard that lions were good.”, I shrug. “Anyway, what am I supposed to tell her? Raine, get out of here! I don’t wanna hear it!”

“We should go to Donovan. Maybe he can fix her …”, Martin was hopeful, too hopeful. Even I knew that wouldn’t happen. The only person Donovan ever helped was himself.

“Donovan can hardly help himself, Martin. He’s had problems since before we met him, back before Kevin was well, Kevin.”, Josh says, rolling his eyes. “Well, sorta like he is with Alison. Twenty-four-seven.”

“Is that possible?”

Kevin grumbles something, shaking his head, saying louder, “One time. One time had I murdered someone.”

They all backed away quickly, staring at him oddly. “Umm, Kevin, let me give you a piece of advice. There are some things that you keep to yourself. Like whether you have a criminal record.”, I say, rolling my eyes. “Now give me some lie to tell her to buy me some time.”

“Say you’re gonna talk to Donovan to see what suggestions he has on the blood cravings.”, Kevin says automatically. “It’s not really hard to lie, Melody.”

“Oh, Melody can’t lie. She screams ‘liar’ right after she says it from the guilt.”, Dylan says, rolling his eyes. “She once told me she was fine after she fainted at the soccer game, then nearly fainted again at practice.”

“I wanted to play soccer.”, I grumble, lying my head on the table tiredly. “Look, just make up a lie. And keep her alive.”

♠ ♣ ♠

It’s been over a week. Alison hasn’t been getting better. She stays locked in her house. Kevin and I are the only ones she really sees.

“Martin, stop! She doesn’t want to see you!”, I say, dragging him away once again.

“It’s been weeks, Melody! I need to see her!”, Martin was struggling pretty hard. “Plleeeaaaassssseeeeee! I can’t take this!”

“See, this is why I’m glad I’m a demon. Because my blood tastes so nasty that vampires don’t care about it.”, David says, smirking.

“Can you ask her if I could see her, Melody? Please?”

“I can’t, Martin. Today’s Kevin’s day to watch her.”

Martin grumbles something, sitting down angrily. The poor guy’s been trying to see her every chance he gets. But I know Alison really doesn’t want to see him. She’s scared that she’ll possibly loose control and drink his blood. But, as if I’d tell him that. He’d probably break into her house and force her to feed from him. Alison would probably become suicidal after that.

“Alright, it’s your turn to watch her.”, Kevin grumbles, pouring a cup of coffee. Martin gives me a hopeful look, while Kevin whacks him on the back of the head. “She doesn’t want to see you, Martin. Get over it.”

“Why can’t I see her?”

“Because she doesn’t wanna drink your blood.”

“Kevin, shut up,” I growl, standing up. “Alison doesn’t wanna drink blood at all.”

“Suurrreeee,” Kevin says, sipping his coffee and reading his newspaper. I stare at him oddly a moment, before heading toward Alison’s house. You’re probably wondering why we take turns watching her? Or why we have to watch her at all? Well, that is simply because Alison refuses to drink blood. Turns out that vampires have to drink blood or they stop breathing and die. Exactly! See, that’s why we haven’t argued in … well, since you read about me dragging Martin away from Alison’s front door.

“Hey, Al, how’s it going?”, it’s so sad to see her hiding from the sun. She’s been buying the lie about us asking Donovan stuff, which always makes me feel so guilty. I hate being such a liar. I close the door behind me, as I kneel down next to her behind the couch.

“I hate this, Melody. What did Donovan say?”, she asks, tears falling out of her eyes. I think a moment for a lie.

“He hasn’t called back yet, Al. But you need to drink!”, I say, picking up a bag of blood from the floor. “Doesn’t Kevin make you eat?”

“Oh, he feeds me,” Alison grumbles. “I’m not hungry.”

“Eat,” I say firmly, handing her the bag of blood. Her eyes flash red for a second, before going back to her impossible dark brown, that nearly seemed black.

At first glance, you’d never guess we were related. But I just recently saw the relation. We both had that kind of athletic build — even though Alison completely denied it. We both had the circular face, which made her look so much younger.

“I’m not hungry, Melody. I just ate. Really,” she pushes away the blood, scrunching up her nose. But I could see the faint gleam of her fangs, the glowing red of her eyes. All of it was signs that she was hungry. I had seen it so often that it no longer sent chills up my spine, no longer made me want to run away.

“Stop lying to me, Al. Eat, please? You know you’ll feel better after you eat.”, a knock from the door. Alison was gone in a flash, leaving me there in her living room. I sigh, standing up and answering the door.

Donovan stood there, smirking. Dressed in black from head to toe. From his black hair, to his black boots. But right this moment, I wanted to drive a stake through his heart. I settled for slapping him.

“Umm, nice to see yah, too,” Donovan says, rubbing his cheek.

“You damned bastard,” I growl, slapping him again. “You fucking damned bastard.”

I try slapping him again, but he catches my arm, as we glare at each other. “You really don’t wanna do that, Melody.”

“Well, you just ruined Alison’s life.”

“I saved her life.”

“She doesn’t even eat properly.”

“That’s not what I’m hearing from Kevin.”, Donovan says, inviting himself in. “Besides, I was just coming to make sure she hadn’t killed anyone.”

“We’ve been doing fine without you. Unless you can heal her.”, I growl, glaring up at him. “Now get your ass out of here before I get Kevin.”

“I just came to see Alison.”, he growls, glaring at me. “So run along and go do whatever.”

“Hey, Donovan!”, Alison says, smiling as she walked down the steps. “It’s so good to see you!”

I leave quickly, before Donovan can disappeared. I had to get to Kevin. If anyone could beat up a vampire, it was him.

“Kevin! Donovan’s here!”, and that was all I had to say before he was breaking into her house, attacking Donovan. I pull Alison away from the fight, which she was oddly struggling to break up.

“Keep away from her,” Kevin growls, punching him, soon dragging him out.

“What the hell!!!!”, Alison growls, pushing me away from her. She goes stomping away quickly up the steps, leaving me down there confusedly.

Alison hated Donovan. But yet she was acting like that? She couldn’t possibly … no. That’s impossible. Not after all he did to her.

I walk out of her house, millions of questions still running through my mind. Martin was trying to break in through the window, and I dragged him away.

“What’s your opinion on being a spy?”

“Why?”

“I need answers that I’m sure Alison wouldn’t give me.”, I say, rolling my eyes. “I think something’s going on with her and Donovan again. I’m asking you to basically be a lab rat.”

“You want me to make-out with her and see what happens?”

“Pretty much.”

“As long as I can see her.”, well, that was easier than I had thought.

I drag him into Alison’s home, where I waited a few moments before finally yelling, “Alison! Martin’s here to see you!”

“I told you I didn’t want to see him!”

“Aly, c’mon! I haven’t seen you in forever!”, Martin whines, already heading up the steps. I wait down there uncomfortably, looking around. I finally noticed the empty bags of blood that hadn’t been there earlier. I was starting to get worried. What if she did loose control?

Alison pops up, glaring, growling, “Get him out of here.”

“Tell me what’s going on with you and Donovan.”

“Nothing!”

“Didn’t seem like nothing.”

“Go to hell,” and she disappeared, leaving me there, as Martin came down sadly.

“I can’t find her.”

“You’re wasting your time with her, Martin.”, I growl, stomping out angrily. “That bitch …”

“What’d I do?”, Raine asks, snapping her head up.

“Nothing. I was talking about Alison.”

“What?”, Kevin was choking on whatever he was eating. “What the hell?!”

“She told me to go to hell.”

“She’s just angry because Kevin beat up Donovan.”, David says, shrugging. “She’ll get over it eventually.”

“Mind explaining that to me?”, I ask angrily.

“It’s a bond thing, Melody. He has her blood, she has his venom. It’ll pass.”, David says, rolling his eyes. “Besides, you’re the one who fed her the lie that he could help her.”

“Actually, I just told her we tried calling him and hadn’t called back because of what Kevin had said.”, I say uncomfortably. “It was partly true. Not an entire lie.”

“Was that what you told her to keep from screaming?”, Dylan asks, smirking.

“Yes.”

“’Kay. Then she’s lost all psychic ability.”, Kevin does a spit-take with just about everyone else.

“What?! No. That’s impossible.”

“Maybe not,” I say, shrugging. “She hasn’t shown any psychic-ness since the angel war. No visions, no power. She can hardly make a decent sized fire anymore.”

“The witch got what she deserved,” Raine mutters, smirking as I glare at her. I pick up a knife, throwing it at her head. It barely missed.

“Next time I’ll be sure to return the favor you gave me back during the angel war.”, I growl, glowering at her furiously. “Because you know what Raine? No matter how much you think Alison hates you, she could never kill you until you killed me.”

“Sure she could. Little miss witchy could probably kill me in a heartbeat now that she’s become a leech.”

I pick up another knife, throwing it straight at her. Sadly, I stabbed her arm instead up her heart. But that didn’t stop her from screaming.

“Now you have an idea of what it’s like to be stabbed with a sword to the heart.”, I growl. “One year of archery, and that’s the best I can do.”

“Nah, you could do better,” Dylan says, rolling his eyes. “You just weren’t focused.”

“Hmm, maybe,” I say, shrugging. “It’s your turn to watch her, Martin.”

“Alison said not to let him near her.”, Kevin growls.

“Then she can get over herself.”, I say, rolling my eyes as I spin around, walking away. “Make sure she eats, Martin. She gets grouchy.”