Page 3 of His Stolen Queen
It wasn't until I checked my phone and spied a message from David that I remembered what today was.
Happy birthday! We're gonna get lit tonight.
My lips curved up at his enthusiasm. He was more excited about me turning eighteen than I was. To me, it was just another day to get through. Maybe that's why I felt so…different.
I went through the monotonous task of getting ready for school, shaking out the restlessness I could still feel in my bones. No doubt David wanted to do something tonight. He was the social one out of the two of us, always trying to drag me out to places I had no interest in being. It was a wonder he was still friends with me—what with the number of times I turned down his party invites or just wanted to hang out in the library on our lunch break. A normal person would've become bored and infuriated before they stopped trying.
But not David.
He stuck to me like glue.
The moment I was introduced to my fifth foster family, and a thirteen-year-old blond boy beamed up at me from the couch; we were inseparable.
Or rather, he wouldn’t let me be separated from him. He always knocked on my bedroom door, invited me to play, and introduced me to his friends until I too became attached to him.
Even when his parents couldn't keep me when four-year-old twins needed urgent care, and I was carted off to another family—he stayed firmly attached to my side, staunchly referring to me as his foster sister.
He was the first and only person who represented some sort of normalcy. A calm among the chaos. A belonging that I'd been searching for my whole life.
After quickly showering, I went through my bathroom routine of brushing my teeth and moisturizing. Humming softly, I smoothed my face cream onto my cheeks and jaw. As I tilted my head slightly to the side and massaged the lotion into the skin of my neck, a sudden prickle of awareness bubbled up under my skin.
A tingle started from the base of my skull, and shot down my spine, causing my shoulder to roll on a shiver. I pulled my hand away, peering at it with a frown. My fingers touched and rubbed at the spot where my pulse beat erratically, attempting to recreate the peculiar response.
I stared closely at my reflection, my skin crawling with goose bumps, despite the warm steam still hanging in the air. When the sensation lifted and my mind cleared, I shrugged the odd moment away and continued with my morning routine.
The first half of school was uneventful. David had slid a birthday card into my locker, which was sweet of him. The few friends I did have wished me a happy birthday but otherwise carried on with their day. That suited me fine. I wasn't one for public displays and detested being the center of attention.
During lunch, I chose to sit in the courtyard to finish off a few sketches on my drawing pad. There was a local art competition I'd been thinking of entering. It wasn't due for another two months, but I liked getting a head start on things.
I was so engrossed in what I was doing, not paying any attention to the chatter and laughter around me, until a loud squeal interrupted my concentration.
Rachel, one of the seniors, had her legs kicked up in the air as her boyfriend playfully lifted her off the ground. Her head was tossed back in a fit of giggles before he gently set her back on herfeet. As she smoothed her T-shirt down, the design on it caught my attention.
It was a photo of a popular Vampire book series from a few years back that had been turned into a movie franchise. I focused on the actors pictured, noting the female's flawless and delicate features and her auburn hair, which stood out against her pale complexion. Her smoldering eyes peered at me in a dreamlike trance, and her rose-colored lips were parted slightly in a soft, barely there smile—as if she knew a secret the world wasn't privy to. Hovering over her was the reason she looked subtly smug. A pale-faced male Vampire was glaring down at an invisible spot.
I stared at the male actor, my gaze burning a hole in his manipulated features. I was caught in a trance, unable to turn away.
In silent horror, I watched as his face slowly swiveled to fix me with a penetrating glare, his eyes blazing black. My pupils flared, and I was frozen to the spot, my breathing heightening in panic. His lips parted and moved, mouthing words I couldn't decipher. I was too transfixed to shift, to blink the illusion away.
"My Queen."
"Alice. Earth to Alice."
My breath sucked in on a gasp, and I reared back as I blinked rapidly. David's concerned face came into focus, his keen eyes looking over my pale face with a frown.
"You okay?" he asked. "You were zoned out for a while there." He turned to where my focus had been, searching for the cause of my paralysis.
"I was just…" I glanced back at Rachel's shirt. The male vamp's face was back to focusing on some invisible spot below him, and his female mate was still holding her parted-lipped smile, her doe-like expression seemingly mocking my moment of confusion.
I took a deep breath and offered up a smile to David, wiping away my stupefied expression. "I was just thinking about our trig quiz next period." I could still feel my heart beating at a quickening pace.
David rolled his eyes and collapsed onto the bench next to me, his thigh touching mine. "You'll ace it, Alice. You're amazing like that."
He bumped my shoulder, his eyes softening as his intense stare scanned my features. His look had me averting my gaze, feeling a little uneasy, and his girlfriend, Courtney, pinned me with her murderous glare, so I quickly started busying myself with packing up my things.
There was a time when I thought David had a crush on me. I certainly didn't feel that way about him, but it was starting to get awkward, and I was unsure whether to bring the subject up. The last thing I wanted was for our friendship to be ruined. David meant the world to me.
But then he started dating Courtney at the end of our junior year, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
