Craved. Morgan Rice

The tag was faded down to almost nothing, and she couldn’t possibly see how he could have read it. It freaked her out. How did he know her name?

      Yet, at the same time, she felt comfortable being around him. And given the state she was in, she liked having company. She didn’t want him to go. But at the same time, she thought of Maria, and how upset she would be if she drove by and saw her standing here with him. She would be so jealous. She would probably hate her for life.

      “You’re quite the mystery around here,” Scarlet said. “The new kid. No one really knows much about you. But a lot of people are dying to.”

      “Are they?” he shrugged.

      Scarlet waited, but he didn’t offer anything more.

      “So… like… what’s your story?” she asked.

      “I guess everyone has one, don’t they?” he asked.

      He turned and looked off at the horizon, as if debating whether to tell her.

      “I guess mine is boring,” he said. “My family… recently relocated here. So here I am, finishing out my final year.”

      “I heard you had like… a sister?”

      A smile formed at the corner of his mouth.

      “Word gets around here, doesn’t it?” he asked with a grin.

      Scarlet blushed. “Sorry,” she said.

      “Yes, I do have one,” he answered, but didn’t offer any more.

      “Sorry, didn’t mean to pry,” she said.

      He looked at her, and as she looked up her eyes locked with his – and for a moment, she felt her world beginning to melt. For the first time that day, all her worries drifted far from her mind. She felt transported.

      She wanted to stop staring, to put her feelings in check, wanted to summon thoughts of Maria and force herself to push him out of her mind. But she couldn’t. She was frozen.

      “I’m flattered that you did,” he said.

      He continued staring, then after a moment, he added, “Would you like to take a walk with me?”

      Her heart started to pound. She did want to walk with him. She wanted that more than anything in the world. But a part of her was scared. She was still reeling from her time with Blake. She still didn’t trust herself, her own feelings, her body, her reactions. And she was scared to betray her best friend – even if, in reality, Maria had no claim on Sage. Most of all, she didn’t trust herself. Whatever had happened between her and Blake, that impulse to feed, might still be there. As much as she wanted to know more, she felt the need to protect him.

      “I’m sorry,” she said. “I can’t.”

      She saw disappointment in his eyes as he nodded back. “I understand.”

      Scarlet suddenly heard the banging of doors inside her house, along with the muted sound of voices rising. It was her parents, arguing. She could hear it even from here. Another door slammed, and she turned and looked to the house with concern.

      “I’m sorry, but I have to go back inside now – ” she said, as she turned back to say her goodbyes.

      But as she turned back, she was utterly confounded. There was no sign of Sage. Anywhere.

      She looked both ways, turned up and down the block, but there was nothing. It was unfathomable. It was as if he’d just vanished.

      She wondered how he could have possibly run away that quickly. It was impossible.

      She wondered where he went, and if there was still time to catch up to him. Because now, she felt an overwhelming urge to be with him, to talk to him. She realized, in a flash, that she had just made the stupidest mistake of her life by saying no. Now that he was gone, every ounce of her ached for him. She’d been such a fool. She hated herself.

      Had she lost her chance for good?

      Chapter Four

      Still shaken from her encounter with Sage, Scarlet walked into her house lost in her own world.

      She was snapped out of it rudely as she walked right into the middle of her parents’ arguing. She couldn’t believe it. In all her life, she never remembered them arguing and now that was all they did; she felt a pang of guilt, wondering if it had to do with her. She couldn’t help shake the feeling that something bad had started in all of their lives, something that wouldn’t go away, and which seemed to be escalating, day by day. And she couldn’t help feeling as if it were all her fault.

      “You’re taking this way too far,” Caleb screamed at Caitlin behind the closed door. “Seriously. What’s gotten into you?”

      “What’s gotten into you?” Caitlin shot back. “You were always in my corner, always took my side. Now, it’s like you’re in denial.”

      “Denial?” he shot back.

      Scarlet couldn’t take it anymore. As if her day wasn’t bad enough – having to listen to this was putting her over the edge. She just wanted them to stop arguing. She just wanted their lives to go back to normal.

      She took a few steps in and pushed open the door to the dining room, hoping her presence would make them stop.

      They both stopped in mid-argument, as they wheeled and stared at her, like deer caught in headlights.

      “Where were you?” her dad snapped at her.

      Scarlet was taken aback: her dad had never yelled at her before, and had never used that kind of tone. His face was still read from arguing, and she barely recognized him.

      “What do you mean?” she said, defensive. “I was just outside, with Ruth.”

      “For an hour?”

      “What are you talking about?” she said, wondering. “I was only outside for a few minutes.”

      “No you weren’t. I went up and checked your room, then I saw you going outside, and that was an hour ago. Where did you go?” he insisted, walking around the table towards her. “Don’t you lie to me.”

      Scarlet felt as if he’d totally lost his mind. Not only was her mom going crazy, her dad was, too. She felt her world caving in.

      “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she snapped back, her own voice rising. But she was starting to wonder if somehow she’d lost track of time. If something was happening to her. If she had again gone somewhere, and not remembered. The thought of it made her heart pound, as she started to silently freak out. “I’m not lying. And I don’t appreciate your accusing me of it.”

      “Do you have any idea how worried sick we were about you? I was about to call the police again.”

      “I’m sorry!” she yelled back. “I didn’t do anything!”

      She was shaking inside at the brunt of his anger, and couldn’t stand it a moment longer. She turned and stormed out of the room, bursting into tears as she did. She ran up the steps.

      She’d had it with her parents. It was just too much. Now, even her dad didn’t understand her. And he had always, her whole life, been on her side, through everything.

      “Scarlet, get back here!” he shouted.

      “NO!” she screamed back, through her tears.

      She could hear her dad’s footsteps, following her up the steps, and she went faster. She hurried down the hall, to her room, and slammed the door behind her.

      A moment later, his fist banged on the door.

      “Scarlet. Open the door. I’m sorry. I want to talk to. Please. I’m sorry.”

      But Scarlet turned off the lights and jumped into bed, curling up. She sat there, crying and crying.

      “Go away!” she screamed.

      Finally, after what felt like forever, she heard his footsteps disappear.

      It