After a few minutes of holding onto my sister, I was about to prompt her again, but then she finally responded to my question on her own.
“Kai,” she said in a strained voice. “It’s my friend. It’s Gabriella.” She sobbed again, her words coming out in a whine. “And they removed me from the case when they realized my connection.”
Fuck.
Suddenly, I found myself holding my breath. Because it wasn’t just someone she knew more casually. It was the worst person it could possibly be. And not just for her.
For me, too.
Gabriella was twenty, only three years younger than my sister, and when they’d both noticed they frequented the same coffee shop regularly, they struck up a conversation over a book that quickly turned into a friendship. It also helped that Serenity occasionally had lunch at the Chinese restaurant next to the nail salon where Gabriella worked, giving them an easy way to hang out almost daily.
Even when my sister wasn’t in the mood for Chinese, she went anyway to socialize, and before long they were having lunch together every day at one of the many restaurants in the area.
From what I understood about Gabriella, she was extremely kind, although somewhat shy. She didn’t have many friends of her own, largely because she wasn’t interested in the stuff most of her peers liked to do, like partying. Instead, Gabriella loved to read, with the book she’d been carrying being what prompted Serenity to talk to her.
I’d only met her once briefly when she visited the house a few weeks ago, but I quickly excused myself after being around her for only a minute, because I’d never reacted to anyone like I was reacting to her. And it threatened to expose my secret.
Gabriella had red hair, green eyes, and was exceptionally attractive. However, unlike other redheads I’d known, her hair was so red that it almost looked dyed, and she kept it fairly short at just a couple of inches above her shoulders. She was about four inches shorter than me, two inches shorter than my sister, and had a massive wrack large enough to make any guy’s head turn and most girls jealous.
But the biggest attraction was actually her scent. Everything about her aroused me, but her natural smell was nearly overwhelming. I had no idea what caused it, wondering if the fact she was vegetarian, which I’d learned by eavesdropping, was the reason.
Technically, it wasn’t dangerous for me to be fully aroused, and it was actually something I allowed to happen on a regular basis when I was alone in my room…sometimes in my sister’s room, when she wasn’t home. But the problem was I couldn’t avoid revealing the fact that I wasn’t human.
I’d learned at a very young age that strong emotions and desires caused my body to begin uncontrollably transforming into my more devilish form, my hair turning white, my skin turning dark gray, my irises transitioning to a glowing gold while my sclera turned pitch-black. At the very least, if I hadn’t run upstairs when I did, then I doubted Gabriella would have ever returned, never mind my sister’s reaction.
I was sincerely afraid of Serenity’s rejection, in particular. She was the only family I had, and honestly my only friend. I couldn’t afford to lose her. I couldn’t take that risk.
However, the attraction I felt toward Gabriella was so strong that just thinking about her was making me aroused now. And pissed, when combined with the knowledge that she was probably being tortured at that very moment. Between the two emotions, I could feel my body threatening to turn gray underneath my clothing, my chest definitely darker now, as well as the back of my neck and the skin along my spine.
I took a deep breath in an effort to clear my mind, knowing there was nothing I could do right away, without Serenity suspecting something was wrong.
Yet, I didn’t want Gabriella to suffer either. While I’d never been tortured myself, I knew that even minutes of something unpleasant could feel like hours, depending on the severity of the situation.
Taking another deep breath, I sighed heavily and spoke up again. “Let’s go inside, sis.”
She nodded in agreement, her hands and legs trembling as she grabbed her purse and attempted to stand up. I offered my support, since it was obvious she was struggling on her own, helping her walk up to the house.
The front porch was only about five feet wide and two feet deep, from door to stairs, the overhanging roof just big enough to allow someone to be comfortably out of the rain if they were waiting outside. The window on the right side of the door peeked into the kitchen, whereas the left one looked into the living room.
Granted, the front windows had sheer white curtains hanging over them, preventing anyone from seeing inside during the day, and allowing them to only see shadows at night. The only other way to see into the house from the front was through the door, which had a decorative half-circle window near the top.
I carefully escorted my sister into the house, keeping my thoughts controlled, and helped her sit down at the kitchen table. Realizing from the scent that the soup was beginning to burn slightly, I went ahead and turned off the stove entirely, glancing at the clock as I did so.
It was just after 7 PM, which meant it would be dark soon, given the time of the year.
In a way, I was almost glad the victim was Gabriella…Or rather, I was thankful I’d been given the opportunity to meet her at least once. It could be difficult for me to help in a situation when I didn’t have much to go on, but coming into close proximity to her allowed me to nail down the most important thing that would help me find her.
Her scent.
Just thinking about it was enough to almost expose me again. I could feel the base of my hairs rise slightly, being well familiar with the sensation, knowing my hair would begin rapidly turning white if I wasn’t careful with my thoughts.
“Do you feel like eating?” I asked gently, trying to distract myself.
I began preparing a bowl even if she said no, since I hadn’t eaten yet myself. When she mumbled that she wasn’t hungry, I added a few extra scoops, considering I ate a ton more than her. I then sat down at the table and began working on my dinner while Serenity stared into space.
I suspected she was beginning to feel numb as it settled in that there wasn’t any hope for her friend — her best friend. It was actually kind of amazing how close two people could become in such a short amount of time, but they really hit it off. If it wasn’t for the fact that they looked so different, someone might even think they were sisters by how comfortable they were with each other. As it was, most people would probably be shocked to discover they weren’t childhood friends or something similar.
Unexpectedly, Serenity bolted from her seat, almost knocking over her chair. “I’m going to try to find her,” she announced, not waiting for a reply. “I know I probably won’t be able to, but I have to try. I can’t just sit here and do nothing.”
I nodded to indicate I understood, not about to suggest she do anything different. This case wasn’t at all like the others. Plus, this was good for me too. It meant I could go searching for her sooner without having to worry about my sister wondering where I’d disappeared to.