The Birth of Vengeance (Vampire Formula #1) Read Free Page A

the side table in the hallway as I walked into the kitchen. The filthy kitchen floor stuck to my feet and squeaked as I walked. The dirty dishes from the day before yesterday’s meal still sat on the kitchen side ready to be loaded into the dishwasher. I called Dad and had a brief conversation, as he seemed too busy to talk. Even after the accident, he still couldn’t be back until late, and told me to order myself a pizza, get some rest and we would discuss it tomorrow afternoon. I dialled straight away to the local pizza delivery, ordered a pepperoni pizza and watched a couple of forgettable films on DVD before crashing out on the sofa exhausted and scared. Scared of what had happened and scared of would happen next.
     

CHAPTER 2
     
    Daylight peered through the sides of the curtains waking me up. My legs felt sore, neck ached and my head pounded. I stretched out on the sofa squeezing the muscles in my legs out, slowly waking up and pulling off the blanket that covered me. I guessed my Dad threw it over me when he came in last night. The TV had been turned off and the pizza box lay on the floor with a few slices left. I sat up and began eating the cold pizza as I switched on the TV. I flicked through the channels to find something to watch while I ate my left over pizza, and thought about what had happened yesterday. I pulled the curtains and the daylight streamed through highlighting the dust as it blew back across the floor.
    The house, as usual, looked a mess with old cups of tea and coffee sat on the tables next to the sofa. The air smelt musty, as the windows hadn’t been opened and carpet not hoovered since my aunty came around four months ago. I shuffled into the kitchen still waking up and rubbing my sore neck from the accident. The dirty dishes still piled high on the kitchen side, the white kitchen floor stuck to my feet and my shoes made the familiar squeaky sound. I washed up a cup and made a cup of tea. I tided the dirty dishes away and cleaned away the mess, while taking warm slugs of tea as I went.
    I trudged up stairs and into the shower room to freshen up. I brushed my teeth and looked in at myself in the plastic cabinet mirrors. Was this really my life? My blue eyes tinged with blood and lack of sleep marked by dark circles underneath. I then flattened down my dark slept-on hair. I didn’t sleep well on the sofa but couldn’t be bothered to get changed and go to bed properly.
    I finished brushing and swilled out. I stared back into the mirror again and contemplated the events of yesterday. I always hoped that once I left school life would get better. In seven more months, I would have escaped and planned to do my A-levels at a local further education college instead of the school’s sixth form college. I wanted to get away from that place and those people as soon as possible. I couldn’t help but think what my Mum would have said to me if she were alive. I had spent nine months with her in her womb. She had already died by the time I was born; she didn’t get the chance to hold me for a single second. Through my life, I often thought of Mum when times got hard and would try to picture her and imagine what she would say. I had also kept her name, Harper. In the hospital, they put me down as Baby Harper on the forms purely for admin purposes. Dad never corrected the mistake. I guessed it helped him remember her, proof of her sacrifice.
    I stripped off, got in the shower and allowed the hot water to wash not just the dirt away but also my thoughts and feelings for a few minutes. I grabbed a towel and went into my room to dry and dress. I sorted through my least dirty clothes, and put on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt before walking downstairs with armfuls of washing. Dad finally stirred and joined me for some breakfast.
    He wandered through to the kitchen and his dressing gown hung off his small pale frame. The hours he worked at night and lack of daylight showed. He had lost his hair on top but had