Chapter 4

It took a few weeks for Zach to get better. It was starting to get boring around school. I had to make sure that I didn’t go anywhere without Trent or Taylor around me. I felt that I was on a witness protection program. It was annoying. Zach came back to school about a week ago and everything was better. We haven’t heard from Jenna in a few weeks since the assembly and Zach seemed to be getting better with his blood lust every day.

 

Zach was walking with me in school the one day after the last class bell rang. He wasn’t acting like himself. I was wondering what was going on. “Zach are you okay?” He was on edge and just seemed pissed off at the world.

 

Not making eye contact with me, he said, “I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be fine?”

 

“Zach what’s going on with you?” I was generally very worried about him. I stopped him and grabbed his arm and turned him around to look at me. His eye didn’t have their usual brightness. He seemed irritated with me for being concerned about him.

 

“You wanna know what’s wrong with me Katie? It’s that I have to protect you from all these vampires and in the process, I almost get myself killed because of it.”

 

I was confused and didn’t know what he was talking about. “Zach I didn’t ask you to protect me.”

 

“I know Katie, and that’s what’s so damn frustrating. I’m putting my own life at risk just so I can be with you. I’m putting my family’s life at risk so I can be with you.”

 

“Zach what are you trying to say?” I was confused.

 

“It’s over Katie. I’m a vampire and you’re a human. It won’t ever work out between us.” With that he stormed off.

 

What the hell just happened? As he was walking off Zach bumped into someone walking pass him. “Dude watch where you’re going.” The passerby said. Zach froze like he was just offended somehow.

 

“Are you trying to tell me to watch where I’m going?” Zach asked. He grabbed the guy by the neck of his shirt with both hands and pinned him up against the wall. This wasn’t Zach. “Maybe you should watch where you’re going. Human.” His voice had some malicious meaning with it. I was scared of him and I have never been scared of Zach since the day I met him.

 

I ran up to him. “Zach! Zach, stop it!” He was ignoring me. He just continued to stare into the students eyes like he was a piece of meat that he was getting ready to kill. I tried to pull him off, but obviously I wasn’t strong enough to get a vampire off of a human. Trent eventually came and pulled Zach off of the guy. Trent then compelled the guy to forget what happened.

 

Zach looked like he was coming out of a trance. “Dude! What the hell?” Trent said.

 

“What the hell happened?” He seemed so confused.

 

Trent looked at him. “Dude what’s the last thing you can remember?”

 

Zach shook his head. “I remember going to class this morning. I remember kissing Katie at lunch and then she had to go to class so I stayed at lunch to finish eating. Then the rest of the day is a big blank.”

 

I was really confused. Why would Zach not remember like half the day? “Katie, what did Zach do before he started to go crazy on that student?” Trent asked. Zach looked at me and I could tell that the Zach that tried to break up with me wasn’t real.

 

“He was breaking up with me.” Zach stood straight up and came over and kissed me.

 

“You have to know that I would never-“

 

“You were compelled.” Trent said.

 

“I thought that vampires couldn’t be compelled.” I said. If Zach was compelled to break up with me then who would want that?

 

“Original vampires can compel other vampires.” Zach said. I could tell he was pissed off. “Jenna got to me somehow and compelled me to break up with you.”

 

“But why is the question.” Trent said.

 

“Because she wants me alone and vulnerable.” I said remembering what she told me at the assembly when she tried to get Zach’s family exposed making them leave town. Then I had an idea and I must have shown it on my face.

 

“What’s your idea Katie?” Zach asked. Damn he knows me too well.

 

“What if we pretend you never knew you were compelled and she got what she wanted?”

 

“I’m not following.” Zach said.

 

“If we pretend that we broke up and she thinks that I’m alone and vulnerable maybe she will let her guard down and we can find out why she wants us apart.”

 

Zach shook his head. “It’s too risky. What if you get hurt?” Why was he worried that I would be hurt? I thought I explained that it would only be pretend and that he would be around me the entire time.

 

“See that’s the thing. It would all be pretend and you can be just a call away if I ever need you.”

 

Trent looked at Zach and shrugged. “It actually is a good plan. We can make her think she’s getting what she wants.” He told Zach. Zach had on a skeptical look and I knew that Zach would need a little bit of convincing but I could slowly see that he was changing his mind on how he felt about the situation.

 

Zach shrugged and said, “It’s better than your last idea to use your blood as bait.” We all laughed at that because we all knew that it was true. I hated the idea of not talking to Zach but it was only until we found out what Jenna wanted and why she wanted me alone.