Chapter 7 - Two ways

It was the next day in the afternoon. I was lying down on the couch flipping through the channels on the TV. Autumn and Nick were just about to leave. Jordan was sitting on the couch by my feet and Nile was sitting in the chair closest to me. Nick came up behind the couch.

"So you three going to do anything today?" Nick asked.

"We don't know yet." I answered.

"Just text me to tell me where you're going."

"Okay."

"Hey, isn't your birthday coming up this Saturday?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Hey, you never told us." Nile said disappointed.

"Sorry. It just never came up."

"You're turning seventeen." Nick added.

"Yeah, exciting."

"What do you want for your birthday?"

I shrugged. "I don't really have anything in mind."

"We'll figure something out. Why don't you invite Shelby up? She can come up Friday and spend the night."

"Yeah, that sounds fine. I'll give her a call tonight. She's working this summer. Hopefully she'll get out of work early."

Nick sighed. "I wish I was a teenager."

"You're twenty two."

"Going on twenty three in August. I'm old."

"You're not that old." I argued back.

I heard Nile and Jordan laugh slightly. I already knew what they were thinking. Nick thinks he's old . . . Nile and Jordan have been living for . . . who knows how long. I've never really asked them.

"Nick come on." Autumn said holding on to Jaylee's hand.

Jordan looked at Jaylee and as soon as Jaylee saw him she hid behind Autumn. I wonder if she has any connections with vampires. Is that why she's so afraid of everyone. Because of what might have happened when she was little.

"I'm coming. Have fun you guys." He said a little sarcastic.

"See you later."

I watched them leave and heard the door shut. I heard them go off the porch.

"How long have you two been living?" I asked.

Jordan and Nile looked at each other.

"One, two thousand years." Jordan answered.

I laughed to myself. "You guys are old."

"It hasn't been that long."

"That long? That's a long time."

"Some vampires are older than us."

I stood up. "I don't even wanna know how long a vampire has lived." I walked around the couch.

"Where you going?" Jordan asked.

"I'm hungry." I said going toward the kitchen.

When I went in there Jordan was already opening up the fridge. I didn't even see him pass me. I ignored the fact went over to the fridge.

"Autumn really needs to go shopping." Jordan added.

"I know."

Jordan shut the fridge.

"How can I get fat with these?" Nile said.

I looked over and he had some organic bars in a box.

"I don't know. Maybe Autumn wants to eat healthy." I said.

"You only live once. Why live organic?" He said sarcastic while putting the box back in the cupboard.

"How do vampires die?" I asked out of the blue.

Jordan turned around to the counter. "There are two ways to kill a vampire." He said then turned around to me with a knife in his hand. He had his fingers on both sides of the knife. "There is a special kind of knife. Kind of like this one. It's silver but thin. Almost like a spear with a very sharp point. It carries a poison in the metal." He twirled the knife in his hand. "There are very few. Some vampire hunters have them. To use it you must pierce it into a vampire's heart and twist it."

I flinched at the sound it would make. Thinking about it just freaks me out.

"Or," Nile continued, "you can pull them apart and bury them in a certain soil. It's easy to get that special soil. Many vampire hunters make it."

"What's the soil made out of?"

"I . . . don't think you want to know." He said.

"Probably not."

Jordan stuck the knife back into the holder.

"Have you two been in situations like that?"

"Not that extreme but we've been in trouble a couple of times." Jordan answered.

"Of course you two have."

"Enough of talking about this I'm starving." Nile said. "Do you want to go to the mall?"

I glanced at Jordan who agreed to go and so did I. As we started heading out the door I texted Nick to tell him where we were going. We ate at one of the fast food places. We were all satisfied because I don't think any of us wanted to eat what Autumn had. I was looking around in the mall while people walked by. But for some reason I was looking for pale skinned people. I don't know why.

"Can you tell if someone is a hunter?" I asked looking over to them. I didn't want to say 'vampire' hunter aloud. I didn't know who was listening or if someone was watching.

They were both leaning back in their chairs looking around like I was.

"Most of the time." Nile answered. "They have the scent of others."

"What about Monique?"

"Actually before Jordan brought it up I really didn't suspect anything."

"If they are that good of hunters they use a special spray to cover up the scent."

I didn't ask anything else.

"Even though it's a couple of days before your birthday did you want to pick out something?" Jordan asked. "It will be an early birthday present."

"Really?" I asked.

He nodded.

I thought about it. "Sure."

"Pick a store you want to go in."

"Aeropostale. Sense someone has to buy me a couple of things." I looked at Nile.

"Don't blame me. You left last time."

I smirked.

We stood up all at once but when Jordan did. He tripped on the ground.

"Are you okay Jordan?" I said bending down next to him trying not to laugh.

"Yeah, I'm okay." He said standing up fast.

I stood up next to him. "Are you sure? It's not like you to trip."

"I'm fine, I'm fine."

I rolled my eyes. He's just not acting right. He's been tripping, he's been getting weird scratches on him, and the time in the car she completely freaked me out. Nile looked at me knowing what I was thinking of. I dropped the conversation and went to Aeropostale.

"And just like last time you're in the store for twenty minutes!" Nile argued with me.

"You're fault." I whispered still looking at the clothes.

I glanced over at Jordan who was leaning against one of the racks but wasn't really paying attention to anything. Nile snapped his fingers in front of me.

"Stop staring." Nile said.

"Sorry."

I took a white t-shirt off from the rack and looked at it. It had black designs across the shirt and said Aeropostale. I gave it to Nile.

"Here you go." I said.

"You're going to get this?"

I nodded.

"Thank God." He whispered.

Jordan came over looking confused and had his hands in his pockets.

"Nile do you have my pills?" Jordan whispered.

"Why would I take yours?"

His eyes widened like he just realized something.

"What?" Nile said.

He rubbed his head. "I think I dropped them back there when I fell."

"Are you kidding me!?" Nile yelled.

Everyone stared at us. Nile turned his voice in to a whisper.

"This is your second time losing them." He continued.

"Not exactly. The first time was a mistake."

"You mean your stupid pills are out in the open somewhere?"

"Yeah." He said mad at himself too.

"See, leaving them in the car like I told you to last time -."

"Shut up and help me look for them." Jordan interrupted me.

I sighed. "Put the shirt back." I told Nile.

Nile didn't hesitate; he put the shirt back. Finding those pills was more important than a shirt. We went back to where we were sitting. No one was sitting there. That gives us a chance to look around. His pills were in a clear container. Not very big. It kind of looked like a tic-tac container. We looked around for them moving the chairs and looking to see if it was around the table.

"They're gone Jordan."

"Why do you keep losing them?" I asked.

"I'm sorry. It's not my fault!"

I groaned and looked on the floor around the people.

"Someone could have kicked it and it slid across the floor." Nile said.

"Or someone thought it was a tic-tac and ate it." I added.

"I don't think someone will eat it if it's already been open." Jordan said to me.

"How do you know? Some little kid could have opened it up."

"No I highly doubt it."

"That's what you want me to think."

"You guys!" Nile yelled at us. "Over there." He pointed.

We looked over under the table next to us. And there sat Jordan's small little red pills. Jordan sighed and picked them up. He threw them to Nile.

"Hold on to those." He said.

"Will do."

I shook my head at Jordan.

"Grab your shirt at Aeropostale and let's go." Nile said. "We'll do this another day."

I did as he said. Nile purchased the shirt for me and handed me the bag. We went home silent. I rethought everything back in my head of what happened the past couple of days. Jordan isn't this clumsy or forgetful about things. He would know if he had his pills right away. I know him. I guess a lot of things have changed sense I moved in with them. But still. Something isn't right. And I can't figure out what it is.