“It was nothing,” Sarah said, as she handed over the diary as well. “I know you would’ve had my back, too!”
“A hundred percent,” Rachel said.
The two slunk back onto Sarah’s bed as the music played loudly around the room.
“So where were you anyway?” Sarah asked.
“I was with Benji,” Rachel answered. “He saved my life, you know.”
“From what?” Sarah asked. “It looked like a blood bath to me.”
“Yeah, it got pretty hairy, but lucky we made it out before it got really bad,” Rachel said.
“Thank God,” Sarah said. “I’m just so happy you’re back. You don’t need to go into detail now about the whole thing. You can tell me when you’re ready. I’m sure you have a lot on your mind right now.”
Rachel couldn’t believe her ears, her sister was the absolute best! She couldn’t believe she was being so respectful of her. Their relationship had really done a complete one eighty since they’d moved and she couldn’t be happier.
“Well, I’m actually gonna take a shower, and get ready for bed.”
“Cool!” Sarah said. “Oh and by the way, I have your cell, too. Found that in the grass at the castle. Figured I wouldn’t even tell Mom and Dad about it.”
Rachel took her cell and flipped it open to hit the power button. It was dead, but she was so grateful to have it back in her hands. She’d felt so disconnected without it recently and now she felt she could really get back in the swing of things and catch up with her friends. She wanted to let them all know she was coming back to school in the morning.
Rachel went through their adjoining bathroom and flipped on the shower. She then walked into her room to plug her phone in while she was in the shower.
The hot water felt so good as it hit her face and body. The smell of her soap and shampoo was refreshing after the sulphery junk she had to use at the castle. She felt like she was cleansing her soul from all the impurities of her “vampire” past. After all, she felt human, despite having just fed a few hours ago. She felt like herself and that’s all that really mattered.
As she got into her PJ’s she flipped open her phone to text her friends. She sent a group text to Jen, Liv, Kate, Emily and Taryn.
Hey Guys! I’m back. I’ll be at school tomorrow. Can’t wait to see you all and catch up! XOXO
She couldn’t wait to get to school, to see her friends and to catch up on what she’d missed since she’d been gone. She was feeling a little hesitant and anxious to see how this episode had blown up, but knew she’d be able to handle it. After all, she did have some new powers.
Chapter Nine
Rachel woke up to her phone buzzing like crazy. She opened it to find a flurry of texts from her friends, all excited to see her, but curious as to what happened and why she disappeared for a few days. Suddenly, she began to feel nervous about going back to school. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all, she thought to herself. Maybe Benji was right? Maybe she should have stayed with him. Then, she began to miss him terribly. She wished she had been a little nicer to him on the ramparts where they last spoke, but there was nothing she could do about it now. She had to forge on; she had to go to school.
As she got out of bed, she saw the sun was beaming through her drawn blinds. Part of her wanted to open her blinds and look out the window, but the other part of her knew she could get singed if she did. She fumbled around the satchel for Hex Lotion and found a few tubes of it in the front pocket. She quickly applied it and waited for it to harden to her skin. She hoped it wasn’t too late to apply it, but she hadn’t been out in the sun yet, so figured it would be fine.
Then, she opened her closet door. She felt refreshed to see all her clothes again, waiting for her just as she’d left them. She thought about what outfit would be best to wear on her first day back at school after she had been missing and turned into a vampire. Nothing jumped out at her.
Then, she saw her Mavi dark skinny jeans and a flannel button down shirt. She figured this would be a subtle choice, which wouldn’t call any additional attention to her. That’s what she wanted to avoid.
As she finished perfecting her outfit, she quickly put her makeup on and ran downstairs for breakfast. Her stomach was grumbling, and she hoped a bowl of cereal would suffice, knowing that what she really needed to do was feed. This was beginning to get trickier and trickier.
She didn’t want to be late for school, so she quickly scarfed down her bowl of Lucky Charms and ran out into the back seat of the car. She didn’t want to jump in the front and take it from Sarah, who was still getting ready. As she got in, she saw her brother, Mark, sitting there on the opposite side, with his headphones on, totally oblivious to the world.
“Rachel?” Mark said, sounding surprised.
“Mark! Hi!” Rachel replied.
“Wait? When? How?” Mark said, stuttering.
Rachel laughed, “I’m back. I’m ok now!” She assumed that’s what he was trying to ask her.
“But, when?” Mark asked, still surprised.
“I came back last night and went right to bed. I don’t think you were home,” Rachel said.
Mark leaned over and gave her a big hug. This was the first time she ever hugged her brother, or at least the first she can remember. She realized her absence must have really affected the family if Mark was happy to see her back.
“I’m so glad you’re back, Rach,” Mark said. “I was really worried about you.”
“Really?” Rachel asked surprised.
“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep. It’s been really hard for me. For all of us, actually,” Mark said.
“I know it has,” Rachel responded. “It’s been hard for me, too. I am just so happy to be back home.”
“Please don’t do that again,” Mark said. “It was scary.”
Rachel never realized how much Mark loved and cared about her. She never thought of him as having feelings or being sensitive, or even realizing that she existed in the world. But this experience proved to her that she really did matter and that Mark did love and care about her. Suddenly she felt better about coming back home and leaving the castle.
As her mom and sister stepped into the car, she sat quietly in the back seat thinking about what was about to happen to her. She was worried sick in anticipation of arriving to school. She hoped she would be received well and that people wouldn’t pay too much attention to her. She couldn’t help but wonder why this was a recurring theme in her life. Why was she always the center of attention at AHS?