Prologue

The lights flickered furiously and the windows rattled. The unknown shadows flashed across the walls. I sat in the corner of my bedroom, shaking with my legs curled up to my chest, my arms wrapped around my legs and my face buried in my knees. My long brown hair draped around me like a blanket. I shut my eyes tight but I knew He was there… tormenting me.  His scent, although I've only smelt it a few times before, was recognized in my brain.
My head shot up when the lights finally went out and darkness fell.
"G-go away…" I stammered, doing what a ten year old could do.
"Never…" I heard his wheezy voice in my head, although I knew He didn't speak, his stench filled the room and I could hardly breathe.  
I buried my face in my knees again and shut my eyes trying to convince myself that it wasn't real… he wasn't real.  
"I'll always be here, my dear, I promise..." He whispered, vanishing into thin air, I could still smell him.
The lights came on suddenly and I knew he was gone… for now.


















Chapter 1

Alarm clocks are really irritating, especially at 5:50 in the morning, but I've got one anyways because if I didn't I'd never get my happy ass out of bed. After pushing the off button and kicking the sheets away from me, I roll out of bed, switch off the fan and stumble down the hall into the bathroom.  
I pee because that's the first thing I do in the morning then brush my teeth and wash my face because I'm a teenager and if I don't take care of myself then I'll get zits and shit blah blah blah. After drying my face I stare into the mirror, noticing dark circles underneath my eyes. And as if a gross face wasn't enough, let's throw in a one hundred ten pound weight on a five foot two girl. I add: Lose some damn weight, to my to-do list.
I bend down to reach under the sink for a brush. When I stand back up I jump back towards the closed door. I am paralyzed with fear, gasping for air. His smell is too much for me in such a small space, vermilion eyes are fixed on my sea green ones. I will my hands to cover my nose—the nauseating smell is making my eyes water—but they reluctantly stay at my sides.
"Happy to see me?" He asks in a droning voice.
The fear starts to ebb and then the shock sets in. It has been so long, almost seven years now.  
"I'm not going to hurt you, my dear…"  I watch helplessly as he reveals his jagged fangs and reaches out towards me with boney fingers but then unexpectedly disappears.
Slowly I reach behind me, eyes still transfixed on the spot where his red eyes were only seconds ago; I turn the doorknob shakily and flip the light off before leaving and scampering down the hallway to my poorly-lit bedroom. The early morning shock caused my tiredness to be replaced with paranoia. I hope I never see him again.
I switch on the overhead light and turn off the lava lamp which sits on the corner of my dresser. I slide over to my closet and pull the doors wide open as I shut my eyes quick and brace myself for red hues. Finally convinced that I am alone, I relax and continue. Well, not really, I'm still kinda paranoid.
Hands on my hips, I peer around my wardrobe which desperately begged me for new clothes. Finally I decide on a pair of skinny jeans and t-shirt which I carelessly toss on the bed. The top drawer of my dresser is open so I close it then open the middle drawer to rummage around for a pair of socks that match, with no luck; I grab some mismatched ones then close the drawer. I glance at the clock to find I only have ten minutes left to be ready. I snatch a black bra from the floor that I'd worn the day before.
Quickly, I strip out of my pajamas, hook my bra and slide my socks on, furtively glancing at the clock as I go. I shimmy into my jeans and t-shirt, grab a belt, slide it on and close the closet. Before heading downstairs I make my bed, grab my bag and turn off the lights.  
It is still dark and so I dash down the hall to the stairs, then slow down, feeling with my right foot for the first step. I hurry down then tip toe into the kitchen so that I won't wake my father. I can hear him snoring soundly on the couch in the living room around the corner. After my eyes adjust to the darkness I find the switches on the wall of our new house. There are three and so I try each one until I find the one that works for the kitchen. The area I'm standing in lights up immediately and my eyes flutter, adjusting again but to the brightness of the room.
My stomach growls and I open cabinet after cabinet until I found a box of pop tarts. I choke them down and then head out the door, locking it before running down the porch steps and down towards the bus stop.
As I make it further down the road an odd but very familiar scent fills my nose and I gasp for air. I slow down to a walk and peer behind my right shoulder quickly. His hovering long black cloak catches my eye and my body tenses up, I stop breathing for a few seconds. I keep walking at a semi-fast pace, not wanting him to catch up, although I know that if he really wanted to he could appear at my side in an instant.
As I draw nearer to the bus stop, I settle my breathing as much as I can. There are only a few drowsy kids already standing there when I, and my tormenter, arrive. He floats beside me, a little too close, and inspects all the other students as I do.
"You envy her, don't you, Anika?" He points his boney finger towards a beautiful red-head, "She is so much prettier than you… You could never amount to anything close to her beauty…"
My face turns almost the same color as her hair when I drop it to the asphalt. Defeat and embarrassment flood over me. He was right.
"Shut up…" I murmur.
I see a few faces turn towards and peer down at me out of the corner of my eye. How intimidating, sometimes being short wasn't so wonderful. What are they thinking anyways, "Oh look, here comes the crazy new girl..."
"Excuse me," I say softly, covering my mouth and faking a cough. To my great relief, they turn away to face the roar of the yellow bus approaching us from the left.
He finally disappears from my side when the bus turns in and opens its doors. When I step onto the bus everyone's glazed, sleepy eyes stare at my blushing face, or at least it feels like they are. Most seats are already taken, and no one looks like they want any company. I quickly walk down the aisle to look for an empty seat, finally locating one in the middle of the bus. After everyone is seated the bus is off—loud roar even louder—to the next stop. We have about seven more stops until we finally head for school. I lean my head on the seat in front of me, iPod blasting in my ears.
I'm sure to go deaf sooner or later.

My eyes open as we turn into the bus parking lot in front of the school. I'm anxious to go in but apparently we have to wait for a bell to ring for us to be able to leave the buses. Sitting as patiently as I can, my leg bounces out of control and I can't stop it. Usually, Adam would have sat on it for me. The rest of the buses enter the parking lot and a few kids in the back of the bus giggle and chat quite loudly. I wish I knew them.
Time drags on until it's finally 7:15 and we are let off the bus. Everyone fills the tiny aisle of the bus, exiting as quickly as they can. Although all they look like is packed cattle rushing into a slaughter house.
The hallways are very crowded with girls and guys catching up on each others lives. [Even though in a few years they'll never see each other again and none of it will matter.] It's the first day of school and the air smells strongly of anxiety. As I speed down the hallway soft brown eyes met mine. I think I forgot how to breathe when a tiny smile spread across his face. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I shake it off, not wanting to get into any of that trouble. Boys are trouble. I speed further down the hall, a couple catch my eye. They are very cute together, but the girl doesn't look too happy. Maybe she's just tired. I know I am.
I find a less crowded hallway and sit down with my back to the wall and search through my backpack for my schedule. I find it at the bottom of my bag folded into a tiny square. I unfold it quickly and scan class names. Teacher's names I can't pronounce for my life are listed and the room numbers look impossible to find, this place is huge.
And I hate that people keep side-glancing at me.