Chad felt tired the next morning. His eyes burned like wild fire every time he tried to open them. He pulled the covers tighter around him, moaning slightly. He strained to remember the series of events that took place the previous night, but was unsuccessful.
His mother came in the room at six-thirty in the morning, complaining that he was not out of bed and ready for school yet. The moment she saw him, the words stopped.
“Chad, what happened to you?” she asked, hurrying over to his bedside.
“I think… I’m sick,” he moaned.
“I’ll say! You look horrible.” And he did. There were dark circles under his eyes, he looked white as a ghost. Perspiration ran down his face, and his breathing was heavy.
“Am I dying?” he asked. His mother laughed.
“No, Chad, it just looks like you have a bad flu. Oh, I better call you in sick at school.”
Chad nodded and watched his mother leave his room. He felt sick to his stomach and oddly hungry, although the thought of food only made him nauseous. The sun penetrated through the windows and directly onto his bed. He felt like shit. He didn’t need the sun preventing him from falling back to sleep. He wished his mother would come back into the room and shut the blinds. And soon enough, she did.
2
Thelma, Peter, Dorothy and Gerald woke up in the morning feeling much better than they had the night before. They had no recollection of the lady who visited them that night, but they felt a strange fullness in their hearts that they hadn’t felt since the disappearance of Kurt. For some reason they all felt like he was alive out there, he was okay, unscathed. They were certain he would be home shortly.
Thelma went on with her daily gossip, calling anyone and everyone to discuss the dinner party that would take place in one day, on Friday. She found out that the preacher and his wife still were yet to be invited. She also took note that there had been no food purchased from the grocery store by the newcomers. She heard from her best friend, Marie Mills that Mrs. Cramer saw Ivan Harvey walking up the dirt road to the old mansion after school yesterday. She also learned that Chad Penn had come down with a bad case of the flu earlier that morning.
Peter went off to his job, after kissing his wife on the cheek and telling Gerald to have a good day at school. Gerald went off to school feeling no remorse about his brother, who was still missing, and with a high expectation of the school day. It was the day they got their test results back, and he was expecting a full one-hundred percent.
Dorothy woke up feeling fully rested, which was a first in a couple of months. She stayed up late reading every night and worked almost all day long at the video store. The thought that her brother was still missing did not even cross her mind until a good while into her lunch break that day. The only reason she thought of him was because her co-worker brought it up by asking about him.
“I'm sure he'll turn up, he's just like this. You know how teenagers are,” she replied with a shrug, searching her bag for the dessert she'd packed.
3
Ivan drove his car up the treacherous dirt road that led up to the new Dyebuko Manor. He drove slowly, barely breaking ten miles per hour. His heart raced – for two completely different reasons – and he was white knuckling the steering wheel. Thoughts of Latianna sped through his head faster than NASCAR drivers raced. He thought of lying with her out in the field as they solved the world’s problems as he heard his mother phrase it once or twice. He thought of kissing her sweet lips with his, and he thought of resting his hands around her waist as she placed hers delicately around his neck.
It was all he could do to not think of the night before, about what happened in that graveyard. He knew it was not a dream; it was all too real to be a dream. Not to mention he remembered his dream last night. It was of Latianna, not vampires attacking him.
Did she really attack him? Maybe it was just one of those realistic dreams and he'd had two dreams in one night. After all, why would vampires come to Riverwolf Pass?
Ivan Harvey pulled into the Dyebuko’s driveway right after the sunrise. No one in town noticed him drive up the long and life-threatening road. No one knew that he planned to skip school. And nobody knew about his relationship with Latianna.
Ivan knocked on the door, half way wondering if it was too early. He heard footsteps from inside scurrying around.
“I’m coming, I’m coming. Don’t go away; I’ll be there in just a couple seconds,” Latianna’s sweet voice came from behind the two tall wooden doors. Ivan chuckled to himself; she should have known that he wouldn't go away if she hadn't have answered. He would have just sat there and waited, knocked a few more times perhaps, until she'd answered the door.
Latianna answered the door with both hands behind her back.
“What are you-” he started, but quickly changed his words when he realized that she was struggling with two strings that tied into a bow in the back of her dress. “I mean, would you like help with that?” he offered, holding out his hand, palm facing upwards.
“Thank you,” Latianna said, turning around. Her long locks, reaching her waist, made it hard for Ivan to grab the strings. He didn't want to pull her hair and hurt her, hurting her was the last thing he wanted to do. Her frame mesmerized him. Her curves were awe-inspiring. Her breasts perfectly placed amongst her dress, and the perfect size. Her stomach sides curved in and then came her hips, they were oddly large, but they suited her. Her dress was form fitting, but not too tight. It was not like the dresses you saw the teens wearing nowadays, the ones that squished your body. Latianna’s dress looked form fitting, and yet comfortable.
“Could you-” Ivan started, but couldn’t find the rest of the words due to him being so entranced by her goddess-type body, and then, even more happy to remember that she belonged to him. She was all his. She was his girl, and that made him happier than anything else had even come close to.
“Could I what, Ivan?” Latianna asked, turning her head slightly. Hearing his name escape her lips sent a warm feeling throughout Ivan’s heart, filling him from head to toe.
“Your hair, it’s uh,” Ivan searched his mind for words. “in the way.” How could he have forgotten those three words? He could not find a logical solution, though he did try.
“Oh,” Latianna said, her small hands reaching up above her head, down a tad to grab her hair, and then pulling it up and resting it upon her head. Ivan noticed the way her curls bounced when a couple strands of golden locks escaped her gentle grip.
Ivan’s fingers trembled as he tied the bow in the back of her dress. He was nervous about the rest of the day. He was nervous about just plain being in the presence of Latianna. His hands were clammy and he quickly wiped them off on his jeans. Latianna turned to face him, smiling graciously.
“Thank you,” she said kindly. Ivan was grateful for her quaint awareness of her manners. It was nice to know that someone appreciated what he did. He thought back for a second, trying to remember the last time someone gave him a mere thanks. He could not remember a single, solitary time. He only remembered being told to say thank you.
“You’re welcome, Latianna,” Ivan replied, loving the opportunity to say her sweetly unique name. He wanted to think of more ways to describe her marvelous name, but became sidetracked when he tried to think of what to say. He found it odd; on the way there, he thought of a million things to talk about. Then, when he came face to face with Latianna, he couldn’t think of anything.
Ivan wanted so badly to kiss her again. Her beauty and charm were both too strong for him to restrain himself. He had to kiss her, and yet, he was nervous that she wouldn't like it.
“Your face, what happened to it?” Ivan asked, noticing her cheek was oddly bruised looking.
“Oh, a uh, book hit me. I was unpacking, putting books on the high shelf and it fell down and hit me,” Latianna replied, looking uneasy.
“Sorry to hear that,” Ivan said slowly, tilting his head slightly.
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br /> “What happened to your eye?” she asked him. He gingerly rubbed where Alice had punched him the night before, realizing it must not have been a dream.
“Got in a fight with a friend last night, but it's okay, we worked it out,” Ivan said, forcing a smile.
“Oh,” Latianna said and then continued talking. Ivan didn't pay attention to what she was saying, he was too fascinated by her hair, her lips and her perfect breasts.
“Are you ready?” Latianna asked, raising both her eyebrows.
“Ready for what, exactly?” Ivan asked, wishing he knew what she was talking about. In which case he would not sound like an idiot who was not paying attention to her.
“To go out to the field, Ivan. I packed a picnic lunch for us even,” she said, smiling at him with her eyes as well as her cherry red lips.
“Oh, of course,” Ivan said, reaching out and grabbing her hand. The feel of their skin touching sent tingles down Ivan’s back. He never remembered feeling like that in the presence of a girl before. In fact, he could not remember feeling like that ever.
“Wait a second,” Latianna said, pulling her hand back away from his. Ivan’s heart stopped in a second. He wondered what he did wrong. “We have to get the picnic basket,” Latianna explained, relieving the worried expression that Ivan wore upon his face. Ivan smiled comfortably; ineffably happy to know that he had not done anything wrong… yet. The word “yet” loomed in Ivan's mind, unwanted by the vast majority of thoughts inside his head. Ivan didn't want to think about doing something wrong with Latianna. He didn't want to think of being without her, or making her mad, or sad, or upset or any emotion other than happy.
Ivan stood there, in the doorway, and waited for Latianna to snatch the picnic basket from the kitchen. He noticed her mellifluous voice humming. He wondered what it would be like to hear her sing. Surely, it was be purely wonderful. If she sounded that good just humming, he could hardly imagine how great she would be at singing. Ivan Harvey made a mental note to ask her to sing. Perhaps, a little later this afternoon, in the field, would be an appropriate time to ask. Ivan hoped that he would be able to remember to ask her. He knew if he forgot, he would be regretful by the end of the day.
Before long, Latianna returned with the picnic basket, full of sandwiches, strawberries and other various fruits, drinks, and a tad bit of chocolate for later that day. She also packed forks, spoons, and knifes, along with dainty little napkins. They would certainly add a nice touch to the picnic. She forgot to pack the blanket, but neither of them minded. They both liked the feel of grass on their legs.