Risen (Book #6 of the Vampire Legends) (4 page)

Rachel couldn’t believe the luck
she’d just had. She was overjoyed that her friend was coming to pick her up and
that she wouldn’t have to spend the night on this creepy front porch. She wasn’t
even sure her grandmother lived in this house, so it would have been especially
sketchy for her to crash on the property.

She gathered up her bags and
walked to the end of the driveway and stood there waiting on the side of the
road. She knew she had majorly lucked out and was so lucky she actually knew
someone in this town.

A few minutes later, she saw
headlight coming down the road and music blasting out the car window. It was a
Dave Matthew’s Band song that she used to listen to over and over when the two
went to camp together. She knew this must be Kelly.

The car slowed to a stop right in
front of her and Kelly jumped out of the driver seat and ran over and jumped
onto Rachel giving her a giant hug. It was a very warm welcome, she thought to
herself, and felt so happy to have been saved from what could have been a very
dangerous night.

“Rachel, I can’t believe you’re
here!” Kelly said, in an energetic high-pitched voice.

“I know! It’s crazy. It was kinda
last minute but here I am!” Rachel replied.

“I’m psyched!” Kelly said. “We’re
going to have so much fun!”

“Cool!” Rachel said.

She felt excited that Kelly had
just rescued her, but part of her had wished her grandma had just opened the
door to let her in. She was craving a quite night at home with her grandmother
catching up with her. She hadn’t seen her in so long and knew she was the only
person who could help her make sense of herself. She was feeling lost in her
own body and couldn’t understand the changes that were taking place.

Then, she suddenly remembered the
letter from her attic. She began to panic thinking that she’d lost it or
forgotten to pack it. She quickly reached inside her backpack and searched the
pockets, but it wasn’t there.

“CRAP!” Rachel yelled.

“What’s wrong?” Kelly asked.

Rachel didn’t respond, and
grabbed her other bag and started searching its pockets, too. She couldn’t
believe it. The only thing she really needed to bring with her and she didn’t
have it. Then, she remembered putting it into her jacket pocket and pulled her
crumpled jacket out of her duffle bag. She reached into the breast pocket, and
there it was, just as she had left it.

“THANK GOD!” Rachel said, letting
out a huge sigh of relief.

“What happened Rach?” Kelly
asked.

“Oh, nothing! I thought I forgot
something at home, but I have it.”

“What is it?” Kelly asked. “That
piece of paper?” Kelly reached out to grab it from Rachel to see what it said,
but Rachel quickly snatched it back, hiding it under her arms.

“What?” Kelly asked. “Why can’t I
see it?”

“It’s nothing really. Just a note
for my grandmother,” Rachel said, trying to cover up her weirdness.

“Oh?” Kelly said.

“Yeah, from my mom. She couldn’t
come down with me this time, but wanted to give her a letter so I said I’d
bring it down for her. I just don’t want to lose it, that’s all,” Rachel said,
trying to sound nonchalant about the whole thing.

“Yeah, def. I understand,” Kelly
said, forgetting all about it.

“So, what brings you down here
anyway?” Kelly asked.

Rachel knew she was only asking
innocent questions, but she didn’t know how to answer them. She was kind of
down here on a secret mission, but she couldn’t tell that to her friend. She
knew Kelly wouldn’t understand. She especially wouldn’t understand her vampire
tendencies. She knew she had to be vague and non-descript if she wanted Kelly
to drop the topic.

“Oh, just here to see grandma.
Haven’t seen her in years and finally have some free time. So, my parents
figured I should come spend some time with her. She isn’t getting any younger
if you know what I mean!” Rachel said.

“Totally,” Kelly said, nodding
her head. “Does she live in that house?” Kelly asked.

“Um, yeah!” Rachel said, turning
around to look at the big white elephant standing ominously on the plantation.

“Yikes!” Kelly said. “That’s a
big old house!”

“Sure is!” Rachel said.

“What’s it like inside?” Kelly
asked. “I pass by this way all the time on my way to work, and always wonder
about it. I’ve never seen anyone around here, so I figured it was abandoned,
but apparently not!”

“Oh really? That’s so funny you
say that!” Rachel answered. She didn’t quite know how to answer her question,
but knew she had to make something up. She couldn’t tell her what had really
happened.

“Oh, yeah, it’s nice. Looks much
different on the outside than on the inside,” Rachel said, making it up.

“Gosh, I’d hope so. It looks like
a haunted house on the outside. And that graveyard is just creepy!” Kelly said.

“Totally is!” Rachel agreed.

“Well, that’s good at least.
Maybe I can come over one day and see it and say hi to your grandmother?” Kelly
asked.

“Sure! One day!” Rachel said.

Rachel hadn’t seen Kelly in a
long time and she was a bit surprised at how forward Kelly was with all her
interrogating questions and inviting herself over to her grandmother’s house.
Either way, she figured she’d let it go, after all, she was glad to see her,
even if she was taken aback by her personality.

“So where are we going?” Rachel
asked, changing the subject.

“We’re going to Infinity Club. It’s
the big club in town. I think you’ll like it!” Kelly said.

“They just let you in?” Rachel
asked, nervous about the situation.

“Well, yeah. I mean, I know one of
the bouncers there and they don’t even ID me anymore!” Kelly said.

“You have your fake right?” Kelly
asked, assuming that she had one.

“Well, not exactly!” Rachel said,
feeling ashamed.

“What do you mean?” Kelly asked.

Thinking up something to say, Rachel
answered, “Well, I didn’t think I’d be going out down here with my grandmother
so I didn’t bring it!”

Kelly laughed and said, “Oh that
makes sense now! I forgot you came to see your grandmother. I wish you’d have
known I was down here so you could have brought it.”

“Well, what should we do then?”
Rachel asked in a nervous tone. “Maybe you should just take me back?”

“Don’t be silly. I’ll get you an
ID from my friend’s house. She doesn’t live too far away. And actually you two
look alike. She’s super cool, I think you guys will get along, too!” Kelly
said.

“Sweet,” Rachel said, even though
she did feel a bit uncomfortable about the whole situation. She couldn’t
believe she was going to borrow a fake ID from a girl she didn’t even know and
about to go out in a strange city. It was all a bit overwhelming for her to
take in. Had she known what the night would bring when she texted her friend
she wouldn’t have even bothered, but now she got herself into this whole mess,
and she didn’t know how to get out of it.

“Shit! I can’t believe you’re
here, Rach! This is so rad,” Kelly said, as she reached into her bag.

“Yeah, I can’t believe it either,”
Rachel said, trying to maintain her enthusiasm.

“Wanna smoke?” Kelly asked,
pulling out a joint from her bag.

Rachel didn’t know what to do.
She didn’t want to seem like a loser in front of Kelly, especially since she
hadn’t seen her in so long, but she definitely didn’t want to smoke. After
everything that had happened to her already tonight, this was the last thing she
wanted to deal with. She should have known that Kelly was a burn out,
especially from her love of DMB. She should have seen this coming.

“Nah, I’m good,” Rachel said,
trying to brush it off.

“What do you mean nah?” Kelly
asked. “You can’t turn this down!”

“Yeah, you know I’m not feeling
so well right now. I have a bit of a headache anyway,” Rachel said, trying to
convince her friend.

“Oh, come one! Have you even
tried it?” Kelly asked.

Rachel didn’t know how to answer
this. On the one hand she wanted to sound cool and say yes, but on the other
hand, she hadn’t ever tried it and didn’t want to lie. She was stuck between a
rock and a hard place.

“Um, yeah, only a little thought.
Didn’t like it much thought,” Rachel said.

“Didn’t like it? Then you didn’t
give it a fair shot. This stuff is the bomb. You have to try it,” Kelly said,
passing her the joint.

“Yeah, you know what, I’m really
ok. Thanks for the offer, but you enjoy. Maybe next time,” Rachel said.

“Fine then!” Kelly said, “More
for me!”

Rachel laughed and tried to play
cool. She hated being in this situation, yet she felt she always managed to get
herself roped into them. She couldn’t wait for everyone to grow up around her
and stop being so immature.

“So, what have you been up to?”
Rachel asked, changing the subject again.

“Oh, ya know, the usual. We moved
down here a few years ago and now I’m just chilling,” Kelly said.

“What schools have you applied
to?” Rachel asked.

“Yeah, I don’t think I’m going to
go to college. I kinda just want to get a job and start working. I need money,”
Kelly said. “How about you?”

“I need to get on that. I’ve been
a little lax about the whole application process but I need to step up my game,”
Rachel said.

Thinking about college, she
immediately thought of her sister, Sarah and missed her terribly. She hadn’t
spoken to her in ages.

“You know Sarah’s at Syracuse,
right?” Rachel asked.

“Yeah, I saw that on FB. I see
all her pics!” Kelly answered.

“No way! I didn’t realize you
guys were friends,” Rachel said.

“Yeah, we still keep in touch a
bit,” Kelly answered.

“Here we are!” Kelly said, as she
pulled into a long stone driveway. The stones made a loud crunching noise under
the car tires as they drove over them. It was so loud, she was surprised she
didn’t wake the neighbors.

“So, whose house is this?” Rachel
asked.

“My girl, Kyra. You’re gonna love
her!” Kelly said.

“Sweet, how do you know her?”
Rachel asked.

“We go to high school together.
She was my first friend when I moved here.”

“Cool!”

“Not to mention, you totally look
like one of her older sisters. You so have to borrow her ID!”

“Yeah, ok,” Rachel said, trying
to sound excited.

As the car pulled up, Rachel got
a huge pit in her stomach. She didn’t like the sounds of what was going to
happen tonight, and the thought of borrowing a strangers ID freaked her out.
For one, she didn’t look a day over 15, at least, she didn’t think she did, and
there was no way she was going to pass for someone in their mid to late
twenties. She knew this was going to be an epic fail, and wanted to put a halt
to it before it even began, but the thought of camping out on her grandmothers
property was even less desirable, so she stuck it out.

“Hurry up!” Kelly yelled, as she
stood at the front door waiting for Rachel to get out of the car.

“Coming!” Rachel said, trying to
buy an extra minute before entering into this uncomfortable situation.

“Hey Y’all!” Trista said, as she
opened the front door.

Rachel got out of the car and
looked at the modest house that stood in front of her. It was small and made of
red brick. It was non-descript but cute in its own way. She looked over at
Kelly and Trista standing there waiting for her. She knew she had no choice but
to go inside. This was either going to be a good night or a terrible night by
the sounds of things, she just had to wait and find out.

Rachel walked into Trista’s house
with a smile on her face but inside she was dreading what was about to happen.
She knew this night was going to be uncomfortable for her, but she had to make
the best of it.

“Hi Rachel, nice to meet you!”
Trista said, greeting her with a hug.

Trista was holding a red plastic
cup and she reeked of booze. She reached into the bag that was over her
shoulder and grabbed a beer and passed it to Rachel.

“Here!” Trista said.

Rachel didn’t know what to do.
She thought that was a bit abrupt of her to just hand her a beer the second
they met.

“Um, no thanks,” Rachel said.

“You’re a goody, goody,” Kelly
said. “First you didn’t want to get in on my joint, and now the beer. Who are
you?”

“I’m just not feeling like it
right now. Relax,” Rachel said, trying to hold her ground.

“We’ll get her wasted by the end
of the night, Kel, don’t worry!” Trista said.

Trista and Kelly laughed, and
then looked back at Rachel who was standing there, looking back at the door,
wishing she could make her big escape.

 
“HA!” Rachel said, joking if off. “Funny!”

“So, anyway,” Trista said. “What
are you girls gonna wear tonight? This club is supposed to be hot tonight!”

Kelly reached into her bag and
pulled out a few different outfits. All Rachel could think about was how neon
and hideously bright they were.

“OMG! I almost forgot it was neon
night!” Trista said. “In that case, I need to reevaluate my look ASAP!”

“You forgot?” Kelly said.

“I assume you don’t have you neon
clothes with you?” Kelly said, looking over at Rachel.

“Um, nope! Didn’t think I’d need
those visiting Grandma!” Rachel joked and then laughed.

“It’s OK,” Kelly said. “You can
borrow what I’m not wearing.”

“Um, thanks, I guess,” Rachel
said.

She couldn’t imaging putting one
of those outfits on, let alone go out in public wearing them. This was going
from bad to worse and she felt like she couldn’t get a handle on things.

“BEIRUT TIME!” Trista said,
pulling a ping pong ball out of her pocket.

“Yes! You in?” Kelly asked,
looking over at Rachel.

“BAY What?” Rachel asked.

“Um, you’re joking, right?”
Trista said. “Who doesn’t know what Beirut is?”

Trista looked at Kelly and then
back at Rachel and let out a laugh.

“Where did you find this one?”
Trista asked Kelly.

“Oh, come on T, be nice!”

Rachel had never felt this much
pressure to drink and do drugs before and she didn’t know how to handle it.
Part of her wanted to cave in and just drink the beer, but the other part of
her wanted to stay strong and resist. She hated feeling like this inside.

“We’ll be right back, Rach,”
Trista and Kelly said, as they headed in towards the kitchen.

“You want anything to drink?”
Kelly asked looking back.

“OJ is good for me right now. I’m
parched from the trip!” Rachel said.

She stood there alone, surrounded
by her bags and the hideous neon outfits. She waited and heard the girls
laughing and giggling in the kitchen.

“Guys?” Rachel asked, hoping they
would come out. She didn’t know either of them that well, now that she’d come
to think of it, and didn’t want to barge in. So she waited and waited for them
to return. As she stood there, all she could think about was her mom and dad.
She wished that she’d never left and never found the letter in the first place.
If she didn’t than none of this would be happening. She didn’t know what was
worse, standing alone in Trista’s house feeling like a complete loser and
reject or not knowing where she came from and wanting to find her grandmother.
She replayed the events of the last few days over and over in her head trying
to distract herself from her current reality. How she wished Dana was here and
her friends from Pennsylvania, they’re used to her turning down drinks and
drugs and don’t pressure her anymore. They know it’s a complete waste of time.

A few minutes later, the girls came
back out stumbling and laughing hysterically.

“What’s so funny?” Rachel asked.

The two could catch their breath
to answer her and stood there bent over and shrieking at the top of their
lungs. It couldn’t have been more awkward for Rachel, but she let out a little
laugh and then took the glass of OJ from Kelly.

“Thanks,” Rachel said, taking a
big gulp of juice.

As she stood there drinking her
juice, she couldn’t help but notice that the girls were looking at her funny.
It was the look you give someone when they have something on their face or in
their teeth when they’re talking to you. Rachel couldn’t figure it out, but
figured they were high and drunk, so it didn’t really matter anyway.

“Let’s pic out our clothes!”
Kelly said, excited.

“Rad!” Trista said, picking up
some of Kelly’s overflowing neon outfits and carrying them upstairs to her
bedroom.

“So, tell me about this club?”
Rachel said, taking another swig of OJ.

“It’s the hottest club down here.
People come from all over to go here,” Kelly said, as Trista finished washing
her face to put on her make up.

“YEAH!” Trista yelled out from
the bathroom. “This club is sick. It won’t disappoint!”

“Oh, I didn’t think it would
disappoint!” Rachel added, trying to sound cool.

“Once you get through the door
the drinks flow like water in a stream and tonight it’s ladies night and the
first two drinks are free!” Kelly added.

“SWEET!” Trista yelled from
inside the bathroom. “I totally forgot!”

“Isn’t that awesome, Rach?” Kelly
asked.

Rachel knew that she was feeling
her out to see if she wanted to drink with them at the club. She knew that they
were already disappointed that she wouldn’t partake in the pregame festivities
with them.

“Wow. Very cool!” Rachel said,
trying to evade them.

“What’s your favorite drink?”
Trista asked, as she emerged from the bathroom.

“You know mine already! Sea
breeze!” Kelly said, smiling from ear to ear.

“And yours?” Trista said, looking
right at Rachel.

She didn’t have a favorite drink,
nor had she really tried alcohol before. She wouldn’t even know the taste of it
if it smacked her in the face. She had to think quick, because she couldn’t
confess that at this early hour. She thought back to her parents having cocktails
at dinner when they would go out to a restaurant. Her dad would always order a
scotch on the rocks and her mom would get a glass of Chardonnay , which she was
almost sure was white wine. Otherwise, she wasn’t familiar with the mixed drink
family.

“Um..I like Chardonnay!” Rachel
said, in a panic.

“WHAT?” Kelly said, “Chardonnay?”

“What you sit in a club and sip a
glass of white wine?” Trista said, looking at her. “Seriously, what MIXED DRINK
do you get?”

“Yeah, the hard stuff!” Kelly
added.

“Oh right, well rum and Coke is
good,” Rachel said, remembering that from a movie she’d just watched.

“Ah, an all time fav!” Trista
said, smiling back at her. “I knew you were joking about the wine. Wine is for
wusses.”

“Yeah, JK!” Rachel said, laughing
it off.

“Try this on,” Kelly said,
throwing an outfit over to Rachel.

She couldn’t believe how hideous
it was, but she went into the bathroom to try it on anyway.

“More OJ?” Trista yelled out.

“Um, sure!” Rachel said, “Thanks.”

She heard the girls giggle again
and then leave the room. What were they doing, she thought to herself. They
were acting so strange and stumbling around everywhere. She was surprised that
Trista’s parents didn’t come in and yell at her. If this would’ve been her
parent’s she would have been in so much trouble.

Rachel looked in the mirror at
this tight, somewhat slutty neon outfit and couldn’t help but laugh at herself.
She figured she’d better make the most of the night or else it was doomed to be
a long, terrible night out.

“Guys! Wait for me!” Rachel
yelled as she bolted out of the bathroom in her neon outfit. “Check me out!”

She ran downstairs into the
kitchen as the girls were pouring her juice into a red plastic cup.

“Here ya go!” Trista said,
handing her the cup.

“Wait, T, is Ashley home? We need
to get her ID for Rachel. She doesn’t have hers!” Kelly said.

“Yeah, totally!” Trista said. “She’ll
be cool with that!”

“ASH! WE NEED YOUR ID!” Trista
shouted down through the basement door.

“She moved her room downstairs.
Now, she basically lives in the basement. Rarely comes out to see us!” Trista
said.

“Come and get it, T!” Ashley
yelled up.

“Can’t you just bring it up? We’re
trying to get ready and don’t have much time!”

“NO!” Ashley yelled back. “If you
want it, you have to come get it!”

Trista looked at Rachel and said,
“It’s for you, why don’t you run down and grab it?”

“ME?” Rachel asked, looking down
the dark basement steps. “I don’t know where to go?”

“Oh don’t be silly! This is not a
mansion, you’ll find your way!” Trista said, practically pushing Rachel down
the steps.

“I wonder if she knows?” Rachel
overheard Trista saying to Kelly as they shut the basement door behind her.
Then, she heard Kelly laugh as they both headed back upstairs to finish getting
ready.

Rachel felt incredibly uncomfortable
and really felt like an outcast in this situation. She didn’t know how she got
roped into all this in the first place. She regretted ever turning on her cell
phone. She wondered what they were talking about but then heard a noise coming
from inside the two double doors. There was loud music playing and she could
hear voices and moans coming through the door. She stood there for a moment,
and waited to see if it was really what she thought she was hearing. The music
got louder and louder and so did their screams. Rachel started fumbling around,
making noise so that they would hear her downstairs. She walked over to the
door and saw that it was open a crack. She could smell the marijuana smoke
everywhere, it was almost making her high as she stood there, waiting for
whatever was going on to end. This couldn’t have been more awkward for her.

“UM, ASHLEY?” Rachel yelled,
trying to sound nonchalant.

The music blared back at her and
she was sure that Ashley couldn’t hear her.

“ASHLEY!”

“WHAT? CAN’T YOU HEAR WE’RE BUSY
IN HERE?” Ashley yelled out.

“Um, I’m sorry. Can I just grab
the ID?

A minute went by and Ashley
opened the door, looking quite disheveled. Her hair was all over the place and
had a towel draped across her body.

“HERE!” Ashley said, throwing the
ID at Rachel. “If you lose it, you owe me big time.”

“I won’t,” Rachel said, taking
the ID and running back upstairs to get out of the basement. She was feeling a
little bit off and suspected it was from the inhalation of the marijuana smoke
that filled the basement.

She ran upstairs and into Trista’s
room, holding the ID. She stood there and waited for the girls to notice she
was standing there.

“Uh hum,” Rachel said, clearing
her throat.

The two girls turned and looked
at her and then made a face at her.

“Did you smoke?” Kelly asked,
walking towards her.

“Yeah, geeze, Rachel! You reek!”
Trista said, spritzing her with perfume. “Try to make it a little less obvious
next time!”

“Um, no. Do you have any idea
what you sent me down to?” Rachel asked, looking at Trista.

“Yeah, to get the ID!” Trista
said, looking innocent.

“Yeah, exactly. That and a little
bit more!” Rachel said, rolling her eyes.

“Oh,” Trista said. “What do you
mean?”

“Uh, I think her boyfriend was
over or something. I’m surprised you couldn’t hear them from up here!” Rachel
said, laughing.

Suddenly Rachel began to feel
lightheaded and a bit dizzy. She walked over to Trista’s bed and sat down. She
noticed that Kelly and Trista were staring at her funny and she couldn’t figure
out why.

Then, all of a sudden, the room
started spinning around her and despite her efforts she couldn’t control it.
She didn’t know what was causing this. She put her head in her lap and covered
her eyes.

“You alright?” Kelly said,
letting out a little laugh.

“Everything OK?” Trista chimed
in.

“Yeah, I think so, just a little
dizzy, that’s all,” Rachel said, still looking down at the ground.