Oakshade looked average on the skin. But beneath the quiet streets and sleepy atmosphere, it was home to witches, werewolves, and vampires.
Some of the witches there were skilled in sigil tattoos, and rumor had it that one could keep me from spiraling and ending myself. Selene planned everything. She got a job at the hospital, where she could help patients and keep tabs on the blood supply for Vic and me. Vic and I enrolled in the local high school. She only attended her senior year to make sure I had a smooth transition.
We moved into an old mansion, one of the last Rossi Covenant properties. Selene said she'd been maintaining it ever since the others died. For the first few days, I stayed home. Eventually, I went to The Hut, a tattoo parlor in Oakshade, and got a sigil tattooed on my chest over my heart.
It didn't erase the torment. It just trapped it. The emotions were still there, buried and caged, and when I started to lose it, the sigil burned into my skin—a warning. If I tried to end it all, it would sear through me until I stopped. It became impossible to hurt myself. The pain was constant, unrelenting—a reminder that I wasn't free. I was trapped inside my head, with no escape.
During my first year at Oakshade High, I mainly stayed unnoticed, drifting through junior year like a hidden track on an album. Except for Ryan—the jock who made it his job to ruin my life.
Tall, athletic, blonde, smug. Piercing blue eyes. The quintessential golden boy everyone adored. But something was off. He was a loner who tore through everyone in his path. Even his friends weren't safe. He beat me up more than once. But my vampire healing fixed it fast. Still, it hurt. It made me want to retaliate. I didn't.
Instead, I hid under the bleachers during breaks, escaping into my iPod, letting the music drown everything out. On days Vic wasn't watching me, I'd ditch. She was usually busy with chaos or class anyway. But eventually, even running got old. The bleachers became my sanctuary.
Vic graduated that same year and started working at The Den. I still don't know if it's a pub, café, or inn. Probably all three.
The first day of school started with a hangover. Vic and I had raided the mansion's cellar the night before. As sunlight hit my face, I wished I'd never come to Oakshade. It was 7:00 AM. I had thirty minutes to shower, dress, and get out. Super speed helped. Still fell while pulling on my skinny jeans.
I mixed my blood bag with Monster Energy Ultra Black, my favorite. It was disgusting, but better than stale blood alone. It was enough to get me through the day.
I thought about skipping, but I owed Vic and Selene a peaceful start to the school year. So I went.
As I walked into Lukewell High and headed to my locker, a scent hit me.
Familiar. Crushing.
My mom's perfume.
It wrapped around me like a ghost. I froze. Then she walked past—a girl I'd never seen. She wore a necklace. Red crystal. Letter A. Just like my mom's.
My body locked up[1]. Tears streamed down my face, streaking through my eyeliner. Every drop mirrored the chaos in me. My chest ached. My breath hitched. My vision blurred.
If I blacked out, someone would die.
Then—a voice.
Soft. Familiar. Like a forgotten melody.
"Are you okay?"
It shattered the silence.
That voice. Sweet. Gentle. It made my dead heart stutter. I'd heard it before, faintly, over the years. But I never looked. I always put on my headphones and disappeared into music.
That voice pulled me back.
I didn't even see her. Panic kicked in. I stumbled away and ran to the bathroom.
Locked the door.
Washed my face. Redid my makeup.
Then I heard it.
A heartbeat.
Loud. Heavy. Alive.
Someone else was in the bathroom.
Every thump echoed in my skull. I could feel my control slipping. My hunger, rising. The pain, the rage, the grief—all of it surged.
I moved toward the stall door.
All I could think of was tearing into him. I felt his blood spray across my face. Sinking my teeth into his throat.
The darkness inside me clawed its way out.
Then—the bell.
It rang like a scream.
Snapped me out of it.
Instead of killing him, I waited for him to leave I punched the sink. Water burst. I smashed the mirror. Glass flew.
One second.
Stillness.
Shards reflected my face. Cracked. Unhinged.
I burst out of the bathroom. Hoodie up. Headphones on. Music blaring.
Each lyric numbed me. Became my drug. My escape.
For now.
[1] When the pain of my emotion's are too grant not even the damn burn from the sigil tattoo I got on my chest can keep me at bay.