A Heretic and Some Vampires

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I woke up earlier than I’m used to, but I was energised, so I didn’t bother trying to fall back to sleep. Instead, I took a hot shower and got dressed. Once I had my shoes on, I went down to the kitchen for a coffee.

“Standing in the shadows

I thought that I’d earned it

Feeling invisible

Believing I deserved it,” I start singing as I make a pot of coffee.

“I can’t remember what I was waiting for,

So no more

I’m finding my place on the stage

I’m gonna be leaving all those doubts behind

I’m step, I’m stepping into the light

Never hiding who I am ever again

That girl you knew she’s ready to ignite

I’m step, I’m stepping into the light.”

Suddenly there’s a bunch of clapping from behind me, and I jump. I turn around to see who it is, and much to my embarrassment, they are all there, including Kat.

“Clementine, that was just beautiful,” Kat says as she wipes a tear from her cheek.

“I’m so sorry,” I say as I lower my head.

How stupid do I have to be? Singing in front of people?! Ugh! Stupid Clem! Utterly stupid!

“Sweetie, why are you apologising? You have an amazing voice.” Kat says as she pulls me into a hug.

“Thank you,” I say quietly.

“How long have you been singing?” Dominic asks.

“I’m not a singer. I just mess around when I’m bored and sing whatever song pops into my head.” I say as I pull cups out and pour everyone a cup of coffee.

“Thanks.” They all say as they take a cup.

“Have you ever had singing lessons?” Lorenzo asks.

“No, I haven’t. My family could never afford singing lessons.” I say honestly, taking sips of my coffee.

“Ma, maybe we should get her lessons or something,” Dante suggests enthusiastically.

“That may just be the best idea you’ve ever had, Dante. I will talk to your father about it when he arrives tomorrow.” Kat says casually.

I just sit there staring at them in shock. Like, what? You can’t buy me singing lessons, that’s too much money.

“Clementine?” Dante says.

“Yes, Dante?” I reply as I give him my full attention.

“What was that song? I feel like I know it, but I don’t know from where.” He says as he leans on the table with his elbows as he continues to look at me as if he was witnessing the beauty of a flower for the first time.

“It’s from Legacies. Season 1, Episode 11.” I tell him.

“Of course! Legacies. I can’t believe I forgot. I love that show.” He replies, looking upset that he didn’t realise where the song was from.

I giggle at him and drink a mouthful of my coffee.

“So why did you apologise for singing?” Benji asks.

“Oh um... I sang in public once at a fair. Doing so, you can imagine the attention I got when I was done. Apart from the music of the rides and games, the Fair was quiet as a mouse. My girlfriend at the time invited me over to her place for the night, and I, of course, accepted since she was my girlfriend. I had nothing to fear. It turns out she was the only person I had to fear. After that night, she changed. I wasn’t allowed to sing anymore, even for her. If I was caught singing, she would hit me. Even through all of this, I still loved her.” I tell them.

The room was silent, and I could feel the anger rolling off of everyone. It was toxic.

“So, what happened?” Dante asked from beside me.

“After a few months of this happening, I slipped up, and she caught me singing along to the radio. She was driving, and because she was so focused on hitting me and not driving, she crashed. A tree branch went through her chest, she died instantly. I was pinned to my seat by a thin branch through my shoulder.” I show them my scar on my shoulder from the accident.

Their eyes go wide, and I feel them getting angrier the more they think about it.

“How about we stop talking about this and go shopping? I need to do some clothes shopping. And I want to get food.” I say as I stand up and put my cup in the sink.

“Yeah, I wanna get food, too,” Dante says as he washes his cup too.

“KEBAB!!!” Dante and I shout before we freeze and stare at each other.

“Kebab?” I say with a straight face.

“Kebab.” Dante nods.

We grin at each other. “Bestie!” We shout, and Dante picks me up into a hug and spins around. Our eyes meet briefly, but I still notice a rare emotion behind his bright reddish-blue orbs, slightly obscured by his pastel pink curls.  I start laughing when I see everyone’s faces. Dante lets me go, and we face everyone.

“Don’t judge, guys,” Dante says.

“Kebabs are life,” I say as I cross my arms with sass.

“You think?” Isaac says to his brothers.

“Yep,” Zac says.

“Definitely.” Ian agrees.

“Best friend soul mates.” Dominic nods.

“For sure,” Lorenzo adds.

“Ok, everyone. Let’s all get ready to go out and do some shopping. We still need to get a few things for school tomorrow.” Kat says as she walks into the kitchen.

“I’m gonna go get changed. See you in 10.” I say as I walk back to my room.

Once we were all dressed, we went straight to the mall and spent over 4 hours shopping for clothes and school items that the boys didn’t have yet. I decided to buy myself a new phone and ended up getting the latest iPhone.

As we were leaving, Dante and I went to get kebabs. They were delicious—hands down, the best kebab I have ever had.

We are now heading back to their house/castle.

So, we just got back, and I have to put my new clothes away. I pull out my iPhone speaker dock and plug in my old phone with my music on it. I search through my music for a song to listen to. I decide to listen to, Inner Demons by Julia Brennan.

As the song starts, I begin taking the tags off my new clothes and hanging them on coat hangers.

“They say don't let them in

Close your eyes and clear your thoughts again

But when I'm all alone, they show up on their own

'Cause inner demons fight their battles with fire

Inner demons don't play by the rules

They say, "Just push them down, just fight them harder

Why would you give up on it so soon?"

This song always reminds me of my mother. She used to sing it to me when I was little, and when I grew up, we’d sing it together whenever I felt down. I don’t know what it was,  but singing our favourite song together always made me feel a thousand times better.

“So angels, please, hear my prayer

Life is pain, life's not fair

So angels, please, please stay here

Take the pain, take the fear.”

“Clementine?” I hear Dante’s voice.

I pop my head out of my closet to see all the brothers standing in my room.

“Hey, guys, what’s up?” I ask, hoping they didn’t hear me singing just now.

“We heard music and were wondering what you were doing. When we reached your door, we heard you singing and didn’t want to stop you, so we didn’t knock; we just listened.” Dante says casually.

“I’m sorry if I disturbed you,” I reply.

My smile falls, and I turn around to pause the music.

“Did you need anything?” I ask as I walk back into my closet and finish putting my clothes away.

“Ma asked me to come and get you,” Dante says as he leans against the door frame as his brothers lean against my wall side by side.

“Ok. Let’s go then.” I reply as I tie my hair up in a ponytail.

Dante and the boys took me into the backyard, where Kat was waiting for me. Kat and I went on a walk through a maze of hedges. When we exited the maze, we were faced with the most beautiful garden I have ever seen.

“Kat, this garden is beautiful. Did you do this?” I ask in awe as I look around.

“I did. Thank you. None of the boys appreciates beauty like this. My husband does. He’s been on a business trip for a while now. So I’ve had no one to share this space with. I brought you here because I want you to use this place when you want to be alone.” Kat tells me as she strokes the petals of a beautiful blue rose.

“Thank you.” I smile at her before I turn away and close my eyes.

“I’ll leave you be. I have to start dinner. We’re having roast Silverside tonight.” Kat chirps before leaving.

I spent the rest of the day meditating in the garden. Once it began to get dark, I walked back to the house the same way Kat showed me to get to the garden. Dinner was ready just as I got back, so I sat down and ate with everyone. We talked about school, and Kat told me everything I needed to know.

“The school is Arcadia Private High School. It’s quite large, but there is a multitude of students from different backgrounds that attend the school, so you shouldn’t feel left out. During the morning assembly, the principal will call you, and maybe the boys, up on stage to introduce you to everyone since you are an exchange student. Do you understand?” Kat explains.

“Yeah, I got it. So, the principal will introduce me to everyone as a new exchange student, and then I go back to my seat?” I repeat to her.

“Exactly. The boys will make sure nothing happens to you. Won’t you?” She says sternly as she eyes the boys.

“Yes, mother.” They all respond as one.

I giggle at their tone.

“What’s so funny, Kebab Queen?” Dante asks teasingly.

Oh, Kebab Queen is Dante’s nickname for me. His is Lord Smoothie.

“You all sounded like robots, Lord Smoothie,” I say, laughing, to which Kat joins me, and we both end up in tears.

The boys just simply stare at us with judging faces before they shake their heads. The large clock in the hallway sounds 9 times.

“Bedtime, I think,” I say as I yawn.

I take my plate to the sink and rinse it.

“Good night, everyone,” I say politely.

“Sleep well, dear,” Kat says as I leave the dining room and head upstairs to my room.

Once I was dressed in my PJs, I climbed into bed and slowly fell into a deep slumber.