Rachel waited a moment, swallowed as if to hide what she really wanted to say and then said, “No, that’s all. There’s nothing else.”

Rachel instantly felt guilty. Her mother had been so naive and trusting about the whole situation, and she hated lying to her. She wanted to tell her parents the whole truth about Benji, but after what had happened tonight, she knew she couldn’t. She figured it was better if they didn’t know.

“Meeting adjourned,” her dad said, as he stood up from the couch.

Rachel went upstairs to her bedroom and shut the door behind her. She stood there for a minute, trying to process what had just happened. She walked into her bathroom, put her face in the sink, and splashed cold water over it with her hands. She stayed there for a few minutes, leaning into her arms, glancing at her face in the mirror. Did that really happen?

As she stood in her bathroom, she ran the night over and over in her head—her conversation with her parents, being interrogated by the police officers, the fight, and Benji’s secret. Her mind was flooded with information and all she could think about was Benji.

Vampire?

Rachel tried to convince herself that she misheard him, but knew she didn’t. Rachel didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know anything about vampires, except for what she saw on TV at Halloween. She wondered for a fleeting moment, if it could be possible, and decided she had to find out more.

She walked downstairs to her family computer and typed into the Google search bar: “What is a vampire?”

33 million hits came back. She clicked on the first and read it.

“A vampire is a being who rises from his grave at night and lives off of the blood of humans by biting into their necks with their long, pointed canine teeth.”

Rachel stared at the computer screen. She couldn’t believe it. Benji couldn’t be a vampire. He didn’t have long, pointed canine teeth and he didn’t rise from his grave -- or at least she didn’t think he did. She remembered Benji had said he didn’t feed on humans. If so, what kind of a vampire was he?

Rachel cleared her Google search and entered a new one: “Are there different kinds of vampires?”

7 millions hits came back. Rachel glanced at all the headings, trying to figure out which one to read first. She sat there, her hands shaking as she directed the mouse over a site called, The Many Types of Vampires in the World today. Rachel read on, and she couldn’t believe her eyes.

There are many different types of vampires that live across our world. There are immortal, mortal and psychic vampires— and the most feared of all are the immortal vampires. Suddenly, Rachel remembered what Benji had said. Her mind flashed back to their conversation when he said he was born 3,000 years ago.

It couldn’t be. Was he…an immortal?

Rachel closed her eyes and held them shut, hoping that when she opened them, her computer screen would read something different. As she opened her eyes, she saw the word IMMORTAL again, which made her mind shake. She had no idea what this even meant, and all her Google searches were bringing back different information. It was clear that Google didn’t have all the answers about Benji because there were so many different types of immortal vampires.

Rachel stopped Googling, stared at the screen, and then began to laugh. She closed the browser window and got up from her computer. She couldn’t believe she had let herself get so carried away with this whole vampire thing. She knew this was all fictitious and mythic and that vampires didn’t really exist.

As she walked back upstairs to her room, she tried to figure out what was so different about Benji. If he wasn’t a vampire, she figured he must be schizophrenic or bipolar or something. He was acting pretty crazy on the bridge.

As Rachel got to the top of the steps she heard the front door slam shut. He heart started to pound. Was it Benji? Had he followed her home? Rachel heard her mom’s voice coming from the kitchen, “Sarah, is that you?”

“I’m home, going to bed,” Sarah shouted back as she flew through the front door.

It was nearing midnight and Sarah had just gotten home from the Homecoming Dance. It had seemed like days since Rachel left that dance, but it had only been a few hours. Sarah ran up the stairs and bumped into Rachel. Rachel could smell the alcohol oozing from her pores.

Sarah tripped and fell on the floor, and she laid there, her face planted into the carpet. Rachel didn’t know what to do. She had never seen Sarah like this before.

Rachel heard footsteps coming towards the staircase.

“Honey, are you OK?” their mom said, as she neared the landing.

Rachel knew she had to think quickly. She didn’t want to leave Sarah laying there, almost passed out from drinking too much. She didn’t want her sister to get in trouble. She knew Sarah had been through a lot lately with Gary, her ex-boyfriend who had broken up with her just a few days before. She knew Sarah was devastated and must have needed a release from the pressure of everything.

The footsteps began to climb the steps, and Rachel thought quickly. She grabbed Sarah’s arm and dragged her into her bedroom and shut the door quickly. Rachel helped Sarah up and into her bed, as the footsteps grew closer.

“Sarah are you in there?” their mom asked again, this time in a louder, more nervous voice.

“We’re here mom, just chatting about the dance,” Rachel replied, trying to cover for Sarah.

“Did I hear a thud?” Rachel’s mom asked through the closed door. Rachel heard the door handle jiggle – it was locked.

“Yes, sorry, I dropped some books, didn’t mean to alarm you,” Rachel said.

“Can I come in?” their mom asked, still holding the doorknob.

Rachel knew she had to do something, and fast. She couldn’t just let her mom stand outside the room talking through the cracks, but she also couldn’t let her in to see Sarah like this. Rachel walked over to the door and cracked it open and stuck her head out.

Rachel saw her mom standing close to the door trying to peek in. Rachel whispered, “Sarah’s upset about Gary, I’m trying to cheer her up. It’s not really a good time.”

“Oh,” her mom whispered back. “Thanks Rachel, you’re a great sister.”

Her mom kissed her on the top of her head and turned to walk away. Rachel was in the clear. She shut the door again. She knew she had just saved Sarah from a lot of trouble.

Rachel sat Sarah up and gave her some water. She helped her change out of her dress and into her pajamas. Sarah was slurring her words as she retold her night to Rachel. Rachel wasn’t really paying attention, though, her mind still stuck on Benji.

“Goodnight, Sarah,” Rachel said as she walked out of her room through their adjoining bathrooms. Rachel stopped in the bathroom and looked in the mirror. She couldn’t believe what had just happened. She had been so kind to Sarah and wondered if it had been her, if Sarah would have done the same thing.

As Rachel entered back into her room, she walked over to her desk drawer and pulled out her diary. She felt like she needed a release and knew she always felt much better after she’d written in her diary. She opened it with the key that hung around her neck and began to write.

Dear Diary,

I have a secret to tell you. I am not allowed to tell anyone. Benji told me he was a vampire tonight. I honestly don’t think I believe in vampires, but it still creeps me out. He said that he doesn’t feed on humans and he also said that he wouldn’t hurt me. I trust that he won’t hurt me, but I am nervous around him. I need time to figure things out with him. I ran away from him tonight and don’t know when, or if, I will see him again. I wish I could talk to someone about this. I need some advice but I swore to him I wouldn’t tell. I wish someone had been there to have see what happened tonight at the dance – how he fought off Rob and his friends. It was crazy. I don’t think what he did was humanly possible. I don’t know…

XOXO,

Rachel

She locked her diary and pulled up on the lock, to make sure it was secure. She didn’t want anybody snooping in her business, especially now. Rachel couldn’t help but think about the incident at Rye Playland. It flashed back in her mind like it was happening all over again. Next, her mind flashed to an image of Benji beating up Rob and his friends tonight. Her mind jumped to the feeling of his cold fingers between hers, and his bright blue eyes piercing hers. She quickly snapped out of it, as she breathed deep to slow her breath. She knew something was different about Benji, but she didn’t want to believe it.

She didn’t want to believe he was a vampire.

Chapter Three

Rachel woke up to loud banging coming from her bathroom. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, trying to figure out what could possibly be going on. She got out of bed and went over to the door – locked.

“What’s going on?” Rachel asked through the door.

“Leave me alone,” Sarah said. “I can’t find my cell phone.”

“You had it last night when you came in,” Rachel answered. I saw it.”

“I didn’t see you last night. How would you know?” Sarah replied as she opened the door a crack.

Rachel wondered what Sarah was talking about. How could she not remember last night? Was she too drunk to remember that she had saved her from potential life punishment?

Rachel whispered to Sarah what had happened the night before, and Sarah looked at her in amazement. Then, a look of embarrassment and remorse came over her face and Sarah thanked her for covering for her. Sarah hugged Rachel and began to cry.

Rachel had never experienced a moment like this with Sarah before. Perhaps they were getting closer, Rachel thought.

*

As Rachel’s mom pulled into the driveway of AHS, her heart began to thump. Her mind flashed back to the fight that had taken place just hours ago. She didn’t want to get out of the car. She began to feel a panic inside of her. As the car neared the front of the school, she could see kids standing near the scene of the fight, looking around. The scene had been roped off with orange tape, as if they were doing an FBI investigation. She saw the two police officers that were at her house the night before, guiding the kids past the scene. Rachel had no idea this had turned into such a big deal. She instantly felt guilty, and part of her felt like a criminal.