The Vampire That Loved Me, Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Isabelle woke up the next morning to her alarm going off. She didn’t remember setting it. I fell asleep, she thought; Ricky must have set it for me. She smiled to herself and began getting ready.

Vanessa’s car was gone by the time Isabelle walked out to her car. She was late as it is and was glad that she hadn’t needed to move her mother’s car, which would’ve made her even later. She jumped in the car and threw her bag onto the passenger’s seat. She heard a crinkle of paper as she did so and she lifted her bag up. There, on the seat, was a note. She opened it.

Dear Isabelle,

Good morning. Hope you slept well. I hope you got all your homework done as well. I’ll see you after school. Bye.

Sincerely,

Ricky

She smiled and put the note in her pocket. She started the car and sped off towards school.

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Isabelle checked in with her homeroom teacher and went to her locker. Sure enough, Emma was already there. Emma was one of those girls that is ready an hour before school and shows up 15 minutes early. Isabelle chuckled to herself and walked over to Emma.

She yawned. “Good morning.”

Emma laughed and asked, “Rough night?”

Isabelle opened her locker and got her books for first period. She set her bag and her books on the floor and closed her locker. She looked at Emma and smiled. “Oh yeah,” she said and winked.

Emma looked at her puzzlingly. Isabelle laughed. “That math homework, it’s a killer,” she said and laughed again.

“Oh,” Emma said, pretending to sound sad and disappointed. “I thought our little Isabelle had finally grown up.” She laughed and winked.

“No! Unlike the rest of you, I choose to keep my innocence,” Isabelle replied.

“Why?”

“Because that’s what I choose to do. We can’t all find the love of our lives in high school.”

Emma and Adam had been together since their freshmen year. They were inseparable. Both had been faithful to the other ever since the day they met. They were head over heels in love.

“You’re just jealous,” Emma said jokingly.

“Oh yeah, real jealous,” Isabelle said, giving Emma a playful punch in the arm.

The bell rang just then, and Isabelle picked up her bag and books off of the floor. She waved goodbye to Emma walked to her first period class.

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The day seemed to go on forever. Classes that normally seemed to fly by seemed to take hours. Isabelle, in her last period class, had the sudden urge to just jump up, grab her stuff, and head for her car. She wasn’t really into school, but she didn’t really hate it either. It was just something that she tolerated.

She looked up at the clock and then over at Emma sitting next to her. Emma was looking at the clock too. Only ten minutes until class was over. Isabelle sighed and looked out the window. Her eyes were drawn to the man leaning against her car.

The window looked out upon the student parking lot. She could see the tail end of her car sticking out behind a small compact BMW. There hadn’t been a car parked next to hers during lunch. The man, dressed all in black, was leaning against the back end of her car, watching the cars passing on the road in front of the school. She thought it was Ricky, but the hair was a lighter color. She was trying to make out facial features when the bell suddenly rang. She grabbed her stuff and jumped up out of her seat. She rushed to her locker, waving a goodbye to Emma, and raced toward the doors leading to the parking lot.

When she reached her car, the man was still leaning against it. He didn’t notice her standing behind him, so she cleared her throat loudly and he turned around.

“Can I help you,” Isabelle asked.

“Yes you can. I’m looking for Isabelle,” the man said.

“Well you’ve found her,” Isabelle said. She asked “Now who are you?”

The man avoided the question. He said, “I’m going to just get to the point. Stay away from Ricky. It’s too risky both for him and for you.”

“Whoa, wait, hold up a second. Who are you to be telling me who I should and should not hang out with,” Isabelle asked. She was quickly losing her temper.

“Listen to me! I’m sure you already know what he is. And I’m sure he’s told you the story already. Why would you want to risk your life like that?”

“I don’t think that’s any of your business,” she shouted. “Listen, I don’t know who you are or how you know Ricky, meaning I’m not about to tell you anything! So, if you’ll excuse me, I have to be getting home now,” she said, and sidestepped him to open her door.

He gave a loud, frustrated sigh and opened the driver-side door of the BMW parked next to her. He backed out and sped away.

She slammed the door angrily, clicked the lock button, and rested her head on the headrest. She breathed a long sigh. It was an exhausting day. She was about to lean forward to start the car when Ricky tapped lightly on her passenger window.

She looked over and smiled. She clicked the unlock button and he opened the door and slid into the seat.

“Well, don’t we look a little flustered today,” he said jokingly.

“Actually, I’m really not in the best of moods. Some guy just corned me at my car and talked to me about you. He said I shouldn’t hang out with you anymore,” she replied.

“He did what,” Ricky asked, his voice quickly rising.

“He told me that he couldn’t believe I’d risk my life hanging out with you even after knowing what you are and what you’ve done,” she replied sadly.

“Who was this man,” Ricky asked, trying to remain calm.

“I don’t know. He didn’t give me his name.”

“Well what did he look like?”

“Almost exactly like you. His hair was lighter though.”

Ricky’s brow creased as if he was in deep thought. He suddenly looked up at her, looking very serious.

“I have to go,” he said. “I’ll be back in a while. I promise. I’ll pick you up at your house and we’ll go out to dinner or something.” He leaned over, kissed her, and got out. He’d parked his Mustang right next to her, so he was gone about as quickly as the other guy had been. Her car must look ridiculously cheap next to these expensive ones. She sighed and started her car. She headed home.