SCOUT
“Are you all right?What’s with the sunglasses?” Deanna asked as she came into the back to say hi.
I blinked rapidly but didn’t take them off. I couldn’t. I had no way to explain how my dark brown eyes were now bright red. I could smell her… blood. I could hear it too. Pulsing and moving through her. My mouth watered, but I quickly swallowed and focused all my energy on talking to her normally.
“I’m just a little hungover, you know.” I shrugged.
“You look different. Did you get new makeup?” She leaned in, peering at me.
I leaned away. “No, I mean, maybe. I got a lot of stuff over the summer.” I flinched, thinking of Desi.
Our entire story had been one big lie.
But I wasn’t going to let it continue, which was exactly why I was here. “I’m actually just waiting for John to come back and talk to me.”
“Are you coming back?” She perked up and then frowned an instant later. Her eyes didn’t switch over though, revealing that she wasn’t as sad as she pretended. “That means that you and that guy broke up.”
“I don’t really want to talk about it. I just want to get back to where I was.” The idea saddened me deeply. Returning to my life before Desi was… depressing.
All I ever did was work. Work, and sleep, and work and sleep. I wasn’t happy. I hadn’t been happy in a long time. I couldn’t have what I wanted, because that life belonged to someone else.
Aleida.
“Woah, what are those?” Deanna pointed to my mouth.
I slammed my mouth shut quickly, which forced me to breathe through my nose. My tongue ran across the new sharp pointed teeth that had sprung up last night. Along with my eyes and the sudden disappearance of all my scars. I didn’t know what was happening to me, but I didn’t have time to focus on that. I needed a job. I couldn’t let myself depend on Desi ever again.
My throat was dry, and the longer I stayed breathing in the scent of Deanna’s blood, the more on fire it felt. I spun around and started out of the back. This was a bad idea, returning to the diner. I should have just looked for a new place to work. But who was going to hire someone with red eyes and… fangs?
“I’m going to wait out here,” I said, rushing out. I knew if I left that Deanna would come to my house later and try to catch me off guard. I couldn’t let that happen. She came by and offered me something to drink and eat. Despite not having eaten since yesterday afternoon, the thought of regular food made me want to vomit. I was just… thirsty.
“Water, please?” I asked. She brought me some, and I drank it quickly, but it did little to quench my thirst. I still wanted… her blood.
“When is John coming in? On the phone, he said he’d be here around nine?” I asked her when she returned with another glass. It was nearly ten.
“Let me go ask. Maybe he called in and I didn’t hear about it.”
I lowered my head to the table and closed my eyes. I was so confused. One moment Desi and I were fighting about his upcoming wedding; the next I was back at my house, pouring sweat and vomiting blood.
I’d spent all day feverish and sick, and despite not knowing what was going on, my instincts were screaming various things to me. The biggest being, stay away from the sun. So, I waited, showered, and finally came here when night fell. I don’t know what had happened, but I was different, and I didn’t know what to do.
“Scout!” The familiar voice made my head bolt up and look around. Desi rushed over to me. He grabbed my shoulders and squeezed. “Are you okay?”
I shoved him away. “Of course, I am, why wouldn’t I be?” Involuntarily, I inhaled deeply and took in the scent of him. The smell of Desi’s pulsing blood hit me like a brick wall. I was stunned, and my new fangs suddenly began to ache. Why did he smell so good?
“Scout, we need to get out of here. There’s so much I need to explain to you.”
“I don’t need to talk to you. I have it all figured out. You lied to me so much. What’s stopping you from doing it now?”
“Because you’ve changed!” he hissed and snatched the sunglasses from my face. The busy diner grew quiet as people stopped talking with their friends and family to stare at us in curiosity. Deanna cleared her throat just as I grabbed them and was sliding them into place.
“Hey guys, uh, John can’t make it in today. And if you are going to argue, we can’t have that here.”
“It’s fine, I’m leaving,” I said.
“Me too,” Desi declared.
“No, I don’t think you are.” Aleida stormed in, along with three large men. They remained by the door, but she stormed right over to me and shoved me back. I stumbled but didn’t fall. I straightened myself and then froze. In the lights, I could see her better, and it was then that I noticed her eyes. They were red too.
