Read Beginnings (The Trifectus Series - Book One) for Free Online Page B

fully knew his secret, and he was scared.  He knew who my father was, and he knew that if I wanted to I could turn him in and have him killed.  I didn’t want that, though.  I wanted him.  I wanted to love him and have him love me back even more. 
    As I turned around the corner after him he was gone.  I stood there in disbelief.  Why would he be doing this?  Why couldn’t he just accept it like I had?  Why couldn’t he talk to me about it and let me love him?
    As I walked back inside, I saw Derek and Cara standing at the lockers smiling at me. 
    “What happened there?” asked Derek, laughing.
    “Yeah, you made James look a little pale there, if you know what I mean,” said Cara, laughing.
    What was that supposed to mean?  Did they know he was a vampire?  If they knew his secret, why wouldn’t they go to the authorities and turn him in?  Or, I thought, was this a dig at me?  Maybe they wanted to make fun of me for making a guy run away.  Whatever it was, I knew I needed to get to the bottom of it.
    As I walked to the bathroom, I couldn’t stop thinking about what had just happened.  What did I do?  Did I take things too far?  I shouldn’t have confronted him in school like that.  I was just fed up, though.  I didn’t want him to lie to me anymore and I certainly didn’t want him trying to avoid me either. 
    I went into a bathroom stall and locked the door.  I sat there with my head buried in my lap trying to keep from crying.  I didn’t want everyone to see me crying and think I was some weak little girl who couldn’t handle herself. 
    Just as I was starting to get myself together, the door opened and I heard a few girls talking.
    “So, Brittany, did you know it was her?” one girl said.
    “No way.  Some military guys stormed into our house last night and took her away.  They didn’t even say what they were doing at first,” Brittany said.
    “Well then, how do you know she was there?”
    “My father contacted some colonel and was given proof that Ashley was there and that she was involved.  I still don’t believe it, though.  I think she is being set up.  My father is working with our lawyers to get her out,” she said with confidence.
    I tried being as quiet as I could.  I didn’t want them knowing I was in here.  What if they questioned me?  What if they knew my father must have been the one who contacted her father?  I wouldn’t be able to live it down.  These girls had true power at this school and they could get everybody to believe whatever they wanted.  I had to stay on their good side, no matter what.
    As the day progressed, I tried to keep my distance from Brittany and her group.  There were only a few people at school who had parents in the military, and even fewer who had high-ranking parents.  It wouldn’t be hard for them to figure out my father was high-ranked and then deduct that I’m the daughter who took her sister away.
    As I got home that day, I saw my father already home.
    “How come you’re home already?” I asked.
    “Oh, I worked from home today,” he said.
    He barely looked at me when I got home.  It was almost as if he was mad at me.  What could he be mad at me for, though?  They had taken in Ashley and that got me off the hook.  Now he couldn’t blame me for anything.  I still felt like he knew somehow.  He knew I was the one there and he was just waiting for me to feel guilty and come clean.  Yes, I was the one there during the encounter.  Yes, I let Ashley take the dive for me because she is a cruel, heartless girl who deserves everything she has coming to her.  Somehow, though, I didn’t care.  If the truth ever came out, my father would be blamed.  His own daughter, the girl in love with the vampire: the girl who was there and saw everything.
    I went upstairs and turned on my computer.  As I was messing around, I saw Marcus come online.  Hm, I wondered.  No, I thought, I couldn’t do that to him. 
    I wanted to