Sequel: Wrists Intact ›
Hearts Intact
And One Foot Out The Door
When I woke up it was light outside but yet we were still in the car. Honestly, how far were we going? It hadn’t been that late when they rescued me, so it being light meant that we were probably out of the province.
“Where are we going?” I asked. Apparently no one noticed that I was awake because all of them jumped.
“Away.” Pete said. I glared at him. He was being so helpful! Not.
“Away where?” I asked impatiently. Apparently I was funny because Pete, Patrick and Ryan all laughed.
“Don’t you worry your pretty little head about it.” Ryan said, running his hand through my hair. I just stared at him.
“What?” He asked, looking like he was trying his hardest not to laugh.
“Seriously, where are we going?” I asked. No one answered. Seriously, why did they all think that I shouldn’t be told anything? I’m not five; I think I’m quite old enough to know what’s going on.
“I feel like I’m talking to myself.” I muttered. There must have been something weird about what I just said because everyone, including Pete who was supposed to be staring at the road, all looked at me with surprised expressions.
“What’d I say?” I asked. There were several long, awkward seconds before someone answered me.
“So you’re like, not freaked out at all?” Ryan asked in disbelief. Now it was my turn to stare at him for several seconds before replying.
“Um, no, not really.” I answered. He, Pete and Patrick all looked as if they just couldn’t believe it.
“Are you lying?” Pete asked. Seriously, I was ready to kill one of them.
“No, I’m not lying!” I said impatiently. They were really starting to get annoying. And I was already frustrated by the fact that I didn’t recognize any of the scenery outside the car. I really had no clue where we were going.
“It doesn’t freak you out that Pete and I are vampires?” Ryan asked. I thought for a second.
“Not really, I mean, it all makes sense.” I said. They continued to stare at me as if I had three heads.
“Really?” Patrick asked. I glared at him.
“Yes, for the thousandth time yes!” I said. I was starting to get really annoyed now. But, to my further annoyance, all three of them burst out laughing.
“I swear to God I hate you people!” I muttered. And of course, to my delight (here’s some sarcasm for you) they all laughed even harder.
“So is anyone going to tell me where we’re going?” I asked a few minutes later. None of them said anything so I glared at them. I didn’t say anything, it was useless.
The landscape was starting to change from fields and trees to well; I guess you could call it desert-y. Now I was getting really nervous. To my knowledge there was no desert anywhere in Canada. If there was, then they’d just discovered it and I hadn’t been informed.
“Okay seriously, where are we going?” I asked, unable to hide my nervousness from my voice. Ryan put his arm around me and pulled me closer to him. It was a little weird, I won’t lie.
“Don’t worry about it.” He said soothingly. It didn’t calm me down, it just made me madder.
“Don’t say that!” I said, trying to push away from him. Needless to say, it was useless. I’m a weak person naturally so I didn’t have any chance against a super-strong vampire. Man, it’s weird to say that.
“You can tell her, she’s going to find out in a little while anyway.” Pete said. Finally, now I had a reason to like him!
“Fine, we’re going to Las Vegas.” Ryan said. Did he seriously just say Las Vegas?
“Las Vegas, as in the Las Vegas in the states?” I asked in disbelief. Well this caused Pete, Patrick and Ryan to all burst out laughing.
“Of course the one in the states! What other Las Vegas is there?” Ryan said, still laughing. I couldn’t even glare at him, I was too surprised.
“And why are we going there?” I asked.
“You’re going to be staying with Ryan for a while. We’ve cancelled the rest of the tour. Now that you’ve been attacked we know that the evil vampires are trying to make a move. It’s not safe for you to tour anymore.” Patrick said a-matter-of-factly. I just stared at him.
“And what about my brother? And Devin and Jimmy?” I asked.
“They’re coming too, Brendon and the others are bringing them.” Pete replied.
“Do they know about you guys being vampires?” I asked. Pete shrugged.
“I’m sure Brendon or Spencer explained it to them.” He said. I could just picture that. Skylar defiantly wouldn’t believe it, I’d always been the one to believe in ghosts and things, not him.
After a while, we finally arrived at the city. I didn’t say anything else. I was pretty mad at them; I apparently didn’t get any say in anything anymore!
After what felt like forever we came to a stop in front of a house. It looked normal, kind of boring actually. It was white, like every other house on the street. There was nothing unusual about it at all.
“This is where we get off.” Ryan said, opening his door and getting out. I was about to ask Pete and Patrick if they were staying too when Ryan grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the car.
“Hey!” I cried but he ignored me. In a voice so low I couldn’t hear what he was saying, he said something to Pete and Patrick. Pete just nodded and Ryan closed the door. Then the car pulled away. Nice, this day was totally awesome! Not.
“Come on.” Ryan said, pulling me forward. I had no choice but to go with him. But after a few steps my legs started to shake and I nearly fell. I guess after being in a car for so long did have its consequences. Unfortunately Ryan noticed and picked me up.
“Hey, put me down!” I cried. This was horrible, I hate being picked up! Ryan laughed and grinned at me.
“I always forget how fragile you humans are!” He said. I glared at him.
“I hate you, I hate you so much!” I said. He just laughed again.
By now we’d reached the door and Ryan had to unlock it so he had to put me down. He did, but unfortunately he kept one arm around my waist, to keep me from moving away. And as soon as it was open he picked me back up again.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked angrily. I really, really hate being picked up.
“Because you can’t walk right now.” Ryan said, ignoring my tone. Damn him for having a point!
I started to say something but I stopped when I saw the inside of his house. It was so cool looking! I could only see the living room area but the walls were painted a crimson red and there were song lyrics written all over them. It sounds weird but believe me, it was so cool!
“Wow, I love your house!” I said. Ryan chuckled and carried me into the kitchen. Then, finally, he put me down.
“Sit.” He said, pointing to a chair. Reluctantly I obeyed. It was kind of awkward really.
“You should eat something.” He said, going over to the fridge and opening it. I shook my head even though his back was to me.
“No thanks, I’m not hungry.” I said. To be honest I was starting to get kind of worried. What if the evil vampires went after Skylar and the others?
“You really should eat.” Ryan insisted, looking over his shoulder at me. I shook my head again and he sighed and came and sat in the chair next to me.
“I’m not hungry.” I repeated. He didn’t say anything; instead he just stared at me. It was unnerving.
“Stop that, it’s creepy!” I said finally. Ryan looked surprised.
“Do I still scare you?” He asked. I had to think about that for a second, and then I decided to be truthful. Slowly I nodded.
“A little bit.” I admitted. Ryan looked hurt.
“I’m not going to hurt you.” He said.
“I know.” I said slowly. He’d only told me that a thousand times.
“But you don’t believe me.” He said, his face falling. I didn’t answer. I didn’t know what to say; he was right, I didn’t really believe him.
“Why not?” He asked. This was a conversation I really wanted to avoid.
“Where am I sleeping? I’m really tired.” I said quickly. Ryan looked hurt but he showed me to the guest room. As soon as he was gone I closed the door and collapsed on the bed. Then, finally I let myself cry.
*******
It was four days later and there had been no word from Skylar and the others. Ryan didn’t say anything about it but I could tell her was really worried. I was really worried, I’d tried calling Skylar’s cell phone but there was never an answer.
It was still awkward between Ryan and me. After a big argument he’d bought me new clothes. I didn’t want to wear the same thing but I hate when people spend money on me. When I told him that, Ryan said that I was being stupid and to grow up. We weren’t really getting along that well, as you can probably tell.
Right now I was sitting on my bed with my knees pulled up to my chest. I couldn’t help but wonder if the evil vampires had somehow caught up with them. What if they were dead? There was no way I’d be able to live if Skylar, Jimmy and Devin died. Those guys were my only family, the only reason I was still here.
I rested my head on my arms and closed my eyes. I couldn’t help it, I was crying. Skylar and I had never been apart this long and I missed Calgary like crazy.
“What’s wrong, why are you crying?” Ryan’s voice made me jump. I hadn’t heard him open the door. Great, the last thing I wanted him to see was crying.
“No reason.” I said quickly, looking away from him. For several long seconds he stood in the doorway. Then, he came over and sat next to me on the bed.
“Don’t worry, they’re fine.” He whispered, putting his arm around me. I couldn’t help it, I glared at him.
“How do you know? For all we know they could be dead!” I snapped. This caused even more tears to come.
“Izzye I promise you they’re going to be okay.” Ryan said.
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” I said immediately. Ryan was silent and I swiped furiously at my tears. I hate crying in front of people almost as much as I hate being picked up.
“They should’ve been here by now.” I whispered.
“You really care about them, don’t you? Skylar, Jimmy and Devin, I mean.” Ryan said. I nodded.
“I love Skylar more than anything, it’s like, when we’re apart, there’s a part of me that is missing.” I said. Ryan nodded slowly. He couldn’t quite understand what I meant, he didn’t have a twin.
“And Jimmy and Devin have always been there for me, through everything.” I said, my voice dropping down to a whisper.
“When you say everything, you mean everything, don’t you?” Ryan asked. Slowly I nodded.
“What about the things you haven’t told them?” Ryan asked. I froze, how did he know about those?
“I never told them what happened but they know something did. And yes, they were there too.” I said darkly.
“Why don’t you tell them what happened?” Ryan asked softly.
“There are some things others don’t need to know!” I said.
“And I’m sure that whatever happened is not some of those things.” Ryan said. I was silent.
“You’re always sad, even when something good happens, why?” He asked. I didn’t answer. I hated him, I hated him so much right now.
“And then there’s another part of you that is always scared. What happened to you, what made you like this?” He whispered. I looked away, still refusing to answer.
“And the other’s, they always watch you as if they’re afraid you’re going to break.” Ryan continued.
“Stop it!” I whispered. I wished he would just go away and leave me alone.
“They want to help you, but you’ve built a wall around yourself and you won’t let anyone in.” He said.
“Stop it!” I said, louder. Ryan ignored me.
“What happened that made them look at you like that? Who hurt you?” He asked. And at his words it all came rushing back.
“Hey Mel, are you in here?” I asked, walking into the house. It was dark, impossible to see very far a head of me.
“Mel, seriously, this isn’t funny, where are you?” I called, my voice wavering with fear. Slowly I climbed down the stairs. The basement was dark and my hand ran along the wall, searching for the light switch.
“Mel come on, we have to go before he finds us!” I said. There, I found the switch. I flicked it on and it took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust.
When they did I screamed. The carpet was stained with her blood, her eyes, life slowly fading from them, stared up at me.
“Izzye…” She whispered.
“Izzye, Izzye, are you okay?” Ryan was saying, gently shaking me. I realized that he had me in an embrace and I was shaking uncontrollably.
“No, Mel!” I whispered, fresh tears filling my eyes. Ryan held me even closer to him.
“Who’s Mel, Izzye, what just happened?” He asked, his voice full of concern. I wasn’t listening though. All I could think of was Mel, lying on the floor, bleeding, dying.
“I failed her.” I whispered. Ryan pushed a lock of hair out of my face.
“Failed who?” He asked. I didn’t answer, I couldn’t. All I could see was Mel’s eyes as she died.
Then I didn’t remember anything.
“Where are we going?” I asked. Apparently no one noticed that I was awake because all of them jumped.
“Away.” Pete said. I glared at him. He was being so helpful! Not.
“Away where?” I asked impatiently. Apparently I was funny because Pete, Patrick and Ryan all laughed.
“Don’t you worry your pretty little head about it.” Ryan said, running his hand through my hair. I just stared at him.
“What?” He asked, looking like he was trying his hardest not to laugh.
“Seriously, where are we going?” I asked. No one answered. Seriously, why did they all think that I shouldn’t be told anything? I’m not five; I think I’m quite old enough to know what’s going on.
“I feel like I’m talking to myself.” I muttered. There must have been something weird about what I just said because everyone, including Pete who was supposed to be staring at the road, all looked at me with surprised expressions.
“What’d I say?” I asked. There were several long, awkward seconds before someone answered me.
“So you’re like, not freaked out at all?” Ryan asked in disbelief. Now it was my turn to stare at him for several seconds before replying.
“Um, no, not really.” I answered. He, Pete and Patrick all looked as if they just couldn’t believe it.
“Are you lying?” Pete asked. Seriously, I was ready to kill one of them.
“No, I’m not lying!” I said impatiently. They were really starting to get annoying. And I was already frustrated by the fact that I didn’t recognize any of the scenery outside the car. I really had no clue where we were going.
“It doesn’t freak you out that Pete and I are vampires?” Ryan asked. I thought for a second.
“Not really, I mean, it all makes sense.” I said. They continued to stare at me as if I had three heads.
“Really?” Patrick asked. I glared at him.
“Yes, for the thousandth time yes!” I said. I was starting to get really annoyed now. But, to my further annoyance, all three of them burst out laughing.
“I swear to God I hate you people!” I muttered. And of course, to my delight (here’s some sarcasm for you) they all laughed even harder.
“So is anyone going to tell me where we’re going?” I asked a few minutes later. None of them said anything so I glared at them. I didn’t say anything, it was useless.
The landscape was starting to change from fields and trees to well; I guess you could call it desert-y. Now I was getting really nervous. To my knowledge there was no desert anywhere in Canada. If there was, then they’d just discovered it and I hadn’t been informed.
“Okay seriously, where are we going?” I asked, unable to hide my nervousness from my voice. Ryan put his arm around me and pulled me closer to him. It was a little weird, I won’t lie.
“Don’t worry about it.” He said soothingly. It didn’t calm me down, it just made me madder.
“Don’t say that!” I said, trying to push away from him. Needless to say, it was useless. I’m a weak person naturally so I didn’t have any chance against a super-strong vampire. Man, it’s weird to say that.
“You can tell her, she’s going to find out in a little while anyway.” Pete said. Finally, now I had a reason to like him!
“Fine, we’re going to Las Vegas.” Ryan said. Did he seriously just say Las Vegas?
“Las Vegas, as in the Las Vegas in the states?” I asked in disbelief. Well this caused Pete, Patrick and Ryan to all burst out laughing.
“Of course the one in the states! What other Las Vegas is there?” Ryan said, still laughing. I couldn’t even glare at him, I was too surprised.
“And why are we going there?” I asked.
“You’re going to be staying with Ryan for a while. We’ve cancelled the rest of the tour. Now that you’ve been attacked we know that the evil vampires are trying to make a move. It’s not safe for you to tour anymore.” Patrick said a-matter-of-factly. I just stared at him.
“And what about my brother? And Devin and Jimmy?” I asked.
“They’re coming too, Brendon and the others are bringing them.” Pete replied.
“Do they know about you guys being vampires?” I asked. Pete shrugged.
“I’m sure Brendon or Spencer explained it to them.” He said. I could just picture that. Skylar defiantly wouldn’t believe it, I’d always been the one to believe in ghosts and things, not him.
After a while, we finally arrived at the city. I didn’t say anything else. I was pretty mad at them; I apparently didn’t get any say in anything anymore!
After what felt like forever we came to a stop in front of a house. It looked normal, kind of boring actually. It was white, like every other house on the street. There was nothing unusual about it at all.
“This is where we get off.” Ryan said, opening his door and getting out. I was about to ask Pete and Patrick if they were staying too when Ryan grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the car.
“Hey!” I cried but he ignored me. In a voice so low I couldn’t hear what he was saying, he said something to Pete and Patrick. Pete just nodded and Ryan closed the door. Then the car pulled away. Nice, this day was totally awesome! Not.
“Come on.” Ryan said, pulling me forward. I had no choice but to go with him. But after a few steps my legs started to shake and I nearly fell. I guess after being in a car for so long did have its consequences. Unfortunately Ryan noticed and picked me up.
“Hey, put me down!” I cried. This was horrible, I hate being picked up! Ryan laughed and grinned at me.
“I always forget how fragile you humans are!” He said. I glared at him.
“I hate you, I hate you so much!” I said. He just laughed again.
By now we’d reached the door and Ryan had to unlock it so he had to put me down. He did, but unfortunately he kept one arm around my waist, to keep me from moving away. And as soon as it was open he picked me back up again.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked angrily. I really, really hate being picked up.
“Because you can’t walk right now.” Ryan said, ignoring my tone. Damn him for having a point!
I started to say something but I stopped when I saw the inside of his house. It was so cool looking! I could only see the living room area but the walls were painted a crimson red and there were song lyrics written all over them. It sounds weird but believe me, it was so cool!
“Wow, I love your house!” I said. Ryan chuckled and carried me into the kitchen. Then, finally, he put me down.
“Sit.” He said, pointing to a chair. Reluctantly I obeyed. It was kind of awkward really.
“You should eat something.” He said, going over to the fridge and opening it. I shook my head even though his back was to me.
“No thanks, I’m not hungry.” I said. To be honest I was starting to get kind of worried. What if the evil vampires went after Skylar and the others?
“You really should eat.” Ryan insisted, looking over his shoulder at me. I shook my head again and he sighed and came and sat in the chair next to me.
“I’m not hungry.” I repeated. He didn’t say anything; instead he just stared at me. It was unnerving.
“Stop that, it’s creepy!” I said finally. Ryan looked surprised.
“Do I still scare you?” He asked. I had to think about that for a second, and then I decided to be truthful. Slowly I nodded.
“A little bit.” I admitted. Ryan looked hurt.
“I’m not going to hurt you.” He said.
“I know.” I said slowly. He’d only told me that a thousand times.
“But you don’t believe me.” He said, his face falling. I didn’t answer. I didn’t know what to say; he was right, I didn’t really believe him.
“Why not?” He asked. This was a conversation I really wanted to avoid.
“Where am I sleeping? I’m really tired.” I said quickly. Ryan looked hurt but he showed me to the guest room. As soon as he was gone I closed the door and collapsed on the bed. Then, finally I let myself cry.
*******
It was four days later and there had been no word from Skylar and the others. Ryan didn’t say anything about it but I could tell her was really worried. I was really worried, I’d tried calling Skylar’s cell phone but there was never an answer.
It was still awkward between Ryan and me. After a big argument he’d bought me new clothes. I didn’t want to wear the same thing but I hate when people spend money on me. When I told him that, Ryan said that I was being stupid and to grow up. We weren’t really getting along that well, as you can probably tell.
Right now I was sitting on my bed with my knees pulled up to my chest. I couldn’t help but wonder if the evil vampires had somehow caught up with them. What if they were dead? There was no way I’d be able to live if Skylar, Jimmy and Devin died. Those guys were my only family, the only reason I was still here.
I rested my head on my arms and closed my eyes. I couldn’t help it, I was crying. Skylar and I had never been apart this long and I missed Calgary like crazy.
“What’s wrong, why are you crying?” Ryan’s voice made me jump. I hadn’t heard him open the door. Great, the last thing I wanted him to see was crying.
“No reason.” I said quickly, looking away from him. For several long seconds he stood in the doorway. Then, he came over and sat next to me on the bed.
“Don’t worry, they’re fine.” He whispered, putting his arm around me. I couldn’t help it, I glared at him.
“How do you know? For all we know they could be dead!” I snapped. This caused even more tears to come.
“Izzye I promise you they’re going to be okay.” Ryan said.
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” I said immediately. Ryan was silent and I swiped furiously at my tears. I hate crying in front of people almost as much as I hate being picked up.
“They should’ve been here by now.” I whispered.
“You really care about them, don’t you? Skylar, Jimmy and Devin, I mean.” Ryan said. I nodded.
“I love Skylar more than anything, it’s like, when we’re apart, there’s a part of me that is missing.” I said. Ryan nodded slowly. He couldn’t quite understand what I meant, he didn’t have a twin.
“And Jimmy and Devin have always been there for me, through everything.” I said, my voice dropping down to a whisper.
“When you say everything, you mean everything, don’t you?” Ryan asked. Slowly I nodded.
“What about the things you haven’t told them?” Ryan asked. I froze, how did he know about those?
“I never told them what happened but they know something did. And yes, they were there too.” I said darkly.
“Why don’t you tell them what happened?” Ryan asked softly.
“There are some things others don’t need to know!” I said.
“And I’m sure that whatever happened is not some of those things.” Ryan said. I was silent.
“You’re always sad, even when something good happens, why?” He asked. I didn’t answer. I hated him, I hated him so much right now.
“And then there’s another part of you that is always scared. What happened to you, what made you like this?” He whispered. I looked away, still refusing to answer.
“And the other’s, they always watch you as if they’re afraid you’re going to break.” Ryan continued.
“Stop it!” I whispered. I wished he would just go away and leave me alone.
“They want to help you, but you’ve built a wall around yourself and you won’t let anyone in.” He said.
“Stop it!” I said, louder. Ryan ignored me.
“What happened that made them look at you like that? Who hurt you?” He asked. And at his words it all came rushing back.
“Hey Mel, are you in here?” I asked, walking into the house. It was dark, impossible to see very far a head of me.
“Mel, seriously, this isn’t funny, where are you?” I called, my voice wavering with fear. Slowly I climbed down the stairs. The basement was dark and my hand ran along the wall, searching for the light switch.
“Mel come on, we have to go before he finds us!” I said. There, I found the switch. I flicked it on and it took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust.
When they did I screamed. The carpet was stained with her blood, her eyes, life slowly fading from them, stared up at me.
“Izzye…” She whispered.
“Izzye, Izzye, are you okay?” Ryan was saying, gently shaking me. I realized that he had me in an embrace and I was shaking uncontrollably.
“No, Mel!” I whispered, fresh tears filling my eyes. Ryan held me even closer to him.
“Who’s Mel, Izzye, what just happened?” He asked, his voice full of concern. I wasn’t listening though. All I could think of was Mel, lying on the floor, bleeding, dying.
“I failed her.” I whispered. Ryan pushed a lock of hair out of my face.
“Failed who?” He asked. I didn’t answer, I couldn’t. All I could see was Mel’s eyes as she died.
Then I didn’t remember anything.