My mother pulled me out of school for the rest of the week. She came up with a story so far fetched that all my teachers believed I was on my deathbed. She really seemed worried by the so called vampires. Appearently hundreds of years ago, our own witch clan was nearly wiped out by vampires fighting for territory. Our clan managed to chase them away, but by then we were so weak and vulnerable to attacks for decades. She said that a vampire could easily kill a young witch like me, who doesn’t even know how to control her own powers. That was true, I hadn’t meant to hurt those three girls on the first day of school. But the stomach ache they all got at the same second was not a coincidence. It was me.
Victor had arrived the very next day and me and him had to spend all our days in my house while my mother, my aunt, his mother and my grandmother who had come home as soon as she found out, investigated.
It had been three days since I hadn’t left the house. I knew the popular girls were all over Caleb by now. And fine. All power to them. I was just not meant to have a normal relationship, romantic or not, with anyone. But I was bored. I never spent so much time at home. I didn’t particulary enjoy spending it among people, but I was out. Suddenly, I had a crazy thought. I shook Victor who had fallen asleep next to me.
‘Wake up!’ I said excitedly. ‘We‘re going to visit...an aquaintance of mine!’ I don’t know whether my deciscion was triggered by boredom or by the fact that I really wanted to visit Caleb.
‘What? Are you insane? We have to stay here where we’re safe. We can’t leave the house when there’s obvious danger.’
‘Come on! Nothing‘s happened for ages. It‘s all just rumours anyway. Victor, are you not bored at all?’ I looked at him, wide eyed hoping for a puppy eyes expression.
He laughed at my attempt and got up.
‘Yes I am. Let‘s go meet this...person.’
Ten minutes later we were hacking through the forest that would take us to the old mansion. I was happy to finally be out of the house. I figured that since Caleb had visited me, I owed him a visit, too. Besides, I could check what homework I missed. That was my excuse for visiting him anyway.
Sooner than later we were in front of his door. No vampire attacks until now, I thought lightly as I rang the bell. Victor grabbed my hand all of a sudden. A chill ran through my body. When he touched me, he could show me what he was sensing. And he was sensing vampires close by.
‘We can‘t leave’ I whispered. ‘Our best bet is to be let in, then they can‘t hurt us. You do have your stake, right? They must be somewhere in the forest.’ He nodded in agreement. It was best not to speak. From what we had learned, vampires could hear better than most witches. A stake through their heart meant death. And they could never walk into anyone’s house uninvited. Although the same did apply for witches.
Come on, Caleb! I thought, as I rang the door again. I could feel them approaching. Had they sensed us? Suddenly the door flung open. It was Caleb, but he looked so tired and very crabby. When he saw me though, he smiled.
‘Hey there, Eva. And hi to your friend. What are you doing here?’ There was an edge to his voice. Maybe we’d interrupted something. Maybe he had company. Maybe it was Amy. I shuddered in disgust.
‘Oh, you know how I‘ve been sick’ I said pleasently. ‘So, I was wondering if you could give me the homework I‘ve missed. And you know, I do owe you a visit.’
He chuckled nervously, but said nothing. After an awkward pause, I raised one eyebrow and asked straight out:
‘So Caleb, aren‘t you going to ask me to come in?’
