Daywalkers: The Awakening (The Daywalkers Series Book 1) Read online

  Daywalkers:

  The Awakening

  By: B.A. Rivera

  © 2019 B.A. Rivera. All rights reserved.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1—Melinda

  Chapter 2—Melinda

  Chapter 3—Melinda

  Chapter 4—Melinda

  Chapter 5—Melinda

  Chapter 6—Melinda

  Chapter 7—Theodora

  Chapter 8—Theodora

  Chapter 9—Melinda

  Chapter 10—Theodora

  Chapter 11—Melinda

  Chapter 12—Theodora

  Chapter 13—Melinda

  Chapter 14—Melinda

  Chapter 15—Theodora

  Chapter 16—Melinda

  Chapter 17—Theodora

  Chapter 18—Melinda

  Chapter 19—Melinda

  Chapter 20—Melinda

  Chapter 21—Theodora

  Chapter 22—Theodora

  Chapter 23—Melinda

  Chapter 24—Theodora

  Chapter 25—Scarlett

  Chapter 1—Melinda

  “Guys I’m fine.”

  Julian and Hayden were completely overreacting. I was barely even buzzed, let alone drunk.

  I stepped out of the car, almost toppling over when my boots hit the sidewalk. Luckily, Julian caught me. He was always there to catch me. He was such a great friend. NOT my boyfriend. Though, I knew he wanted to be.

  “You were saying?” he asked, holding onto me. He had his left arm wrapped around my waist.

  Okay, maybe I was a little drunk. But I’d been far worse and handled myself just fine.

  “You guys are being OD.”

  “Melinda, you’re going to have such a headache tomorrow morning,” Hayden said.

  Hayden was my best friend. She was also always the voice of reason. She was the only one of my friends that actually had their head screwed on straight. It was rather ironic considering she was a werewolf.

  Werewolves were supposed to have short tempers. Sometimes I thought Hayden may have been adopted. She was the last person you would suspect of being a werewolf. To be fair, she hadn’t experienced her first transformation yet. Maybe the temper didn’t kick in until then.

  “I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

  “Not if your sister gets a look at you,” Julian said.

  “I don’t care what my sister thinks.” I said it with more anger than I intended to. I shouldn’t be sniping at Julian. He and Hayden were only trying to help me. They were being good friends. I was the one that was a shitty friend. Recently I couldn’t seem to get a handle on things.

  I lost my way, as my mother would say. My mother wasn’t around to say it anymore. And it sucked. It sucked so bad.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “I just don’t care what Scarlett approves of. She doesn’t even know me.”

  Scarlett was my older sister. My older sister who I hadn’t seen in eight years. She left for college and then medical school. The only reason she was here now was because she was the only family Nick and I had left. She would never forgive herself if we ended up in foster care.

  “I’m sure she wants to know you,” Hayden said.

  When I shot a glare at her, she put her hands up in defense.

  “I just mean that she’s here. She doesn’t have to be. She could have allowed you and Nick to go into a foster home. But she didn’t. She dropped everything to move back to Falls Creek.”

  Saint Scarlett. She could do no wrong. Even my best friend was defending her. The truth was, she was a saint. Scarlett wanted to become a doctor. She wanted to save lives. That’s why she left. Or at least, that’s the reason my mom told me. Sometimes, I got the feeling there was something else. There was more to the story that I wasn’t privy to.

  “I thought you were giving her a chance,” Julian said. We were walking towards my house. The house I couldn’t stand anymore.

  “I am. It’s easier said than done.”

  When we got to the front door, Nick opened it right away. He was waiting to help get me upstairs.

  “Hurry up. Scarlett is in the shower.”

  “Evening Nickolas,” I said, grinning at him. Nick was my twin brother. He was older than me by ten minutes. He never let me forget that.

  “Melinda,” he said, smiling back at me. I missed his long brown hair. He used to have a mop on top, but he cut it after our parents died. Mom always wanted him to cut it. He couldn’t stand the sight of his hair after she died.

  I walked into the house, still leaning on Julian. Hayden closed the door behind her. Nick grabbed hold of me.

  “I can get her upstairs,” he said. He eyed Julian. “You two should head out.”

  Julian looked back at Nick in challenge. His blue eyes wouldn’t leave Nick’s brown ones. They had a lot of animosity towards each other. Nick claimed he got bad vibes from the guy. His words, not mine.

  He saw something I didn’t. Julian wouldn’t hurt a fly. Yeah, he was a pretty boy, but that didn’t make him evil.

  “Can we dial it down on the testosterone?” I said.

  “Let’s just get her upstairs,” Julian said.

  “I said I got her.”

  “Come off your high horse. Do you really think I haven’t been in her room before? I’ve probably been in there more times than you.”

  Hayden made a face at me. I hadn’t told her about my extracurricular activities with Julian yet.

  “Everything okay down here?”

  I sighed when I heard Scarlett’s voice. She came down the steps, looking at us in concern. She always looked at me with concern. The look was permanently glued onto her face.

  “Everything is fine,” Nick said. “Julian and Hayden were just dropping Melinda off. Great friends they are.”

  Scarlett looked at me. She rolled her eyes. She could tell from a mile away that I had been drinking. She smiled. “Great friends indeed. I think we can take it from here.”

  Hayden looked at me apologetically. Julian was still glaring at Nick. He released his hold around my waist and turned to smile at me. “Text me tomorrow to let me know that you’re okay.”

  “She’ll be just fine,” Nick spat.

  Hayden and Julian left. Leaving me alone with Scarlett. Nick was there too, but she didn’t have anything against him. Goody two shoes that he was.

  She sighed. “Melinda.”

  “Scarlett.”

  I walked forward, trying to get as far away from Scarlett as I possibly could. Nick followed close behind me in case I toppled over.

  I heard Scarlett following after us.

  “I thought you said she was in the shower,” I said to Nick.

  “I forgot my towel,” she said. “And I’m lucky that I did. Melinda this needs to stop. You can’t keep getting drunk and high.”

  I looked back at her in shock. “I don’t get high.”

  “Oh, so you hang out with skunks then?”

  I looked away from her. I’m sure I had guilt written all over my face.

  “Yeah, I used to be a teenager,” Scarlett said. “Way worse than you if you could imagine.”

  She was right. I couldn’t imagine that.

  I opened the fridge for some water. I didn’t want a headache in the morning. Hydration. Always remember to hydrate after a night out. Water was a lifesaver. And chips.

  Scarlett looked at me sadly. “I’m sad about our parents too but…”

  I scoffed. “You haven’t been home in years. How sad are you really?”

  Nick looked at me with a stunned expression. He turned to see Scarlett’s reaction. She remained stoic.
<
br />   I regretted it the second the words came off of my tongue. I was angry. But not at Scarlett. It wasn’t fair for me to use her as a punching bag.

  She nodded her head, pursing her lips. “I deserve that, I guess. Look, I know you are angry right now so I’m not going to dignify you with a response. But I am going to respond to your behavior tonight. You can’t keep drinking and thinking you’re going to get away with it. From this moment on, you are grounded. Two weeks. And every drink you have adds another week to it.”

  I rolled my eyes, opening the fridge to look for something to eat.

  Scarlett walked out of the kitchen, leaving me with Nick.

  “What the hell?” Nick said.

  “What?”

  “Scarlett didn’t deserve that. I get that you’re pissed at the world, but Scarlett didn’t kill Mom. Dad did.”

  I glared at him. He knew I didn’t like talking about it. I never wanted to talk about that night. It was enough that it was engrained in my memory for the rest of my life. “Nick.”

  “I’m sorry, but you have to accept that. And you have to stop acting like this. It’s not you.”

  “I’m not me anymore,” I said. I huffed with anger. This was not what I wanted to come home to. “I feel like I died that night too.”

  His look softened. “I know. But you didn’t. And we still have to live. You have to learn to do that without being numb.”

  He was wrong. If I stopped numbing myself; if I let that pain into my heart, there was a great chance that I wouldn’t be able to survive it.

  Numb was better than dead inside.

  Chapter 2—Melinda

  I woke up with a spitting headache. I didn’t drink enough water. If I had my head wouldn’t be in so much pain.

  I walked into the bathroom. I locked the door that led to Nick’s room before turning on the shower. I let the water warm up while I opened the medicine cabinet and grabbed the bottle of aspirin. I took two before getting into the shower.

  I let the hot water fall over me, imagining that every drop was bringing me one step closer to a happier me.

  There was a time when I was happy. I had a great family, amazing friends. I had it all. That proved that you should never take advantage of the good things in your life. They wouldn’t always be there. They could be taken away in one split second. One terrible night.

  I let my tears fall with the water. This was the only place I allowed myself to cry. My tears could easily blend in with the water. No one had to know I was crying. Not even the ghosts of my parents.

  I wondered if they were still here. Being a witch, I believed in an afterlife. The Spirit World. A veiled world that mirrored our own, but one we couldn’t see. Not until we took that final breath.

  I may have believed in it, but I didn’t know how the Spirit World worked. Was my mother still here, watching over me? Or were spirits unable to see the living world? Maybe that curtain worked both ways. It would sure help to know that spirits couldn’t just watch me. Especially during intimate moments. I’d die if I knew my mother and father could see me doing some of the things I did with Julian.

  I’m sure spirits have the common decency to look away. At least I hoped they did.

  After I washed a small bit of my sorrows away, I got dressed for the day. I threw on some jeggings and a burgundy Henley. I put a little make up on and put some product into my long dark brown waves.

  I dreaded going into the kitchen. I remembered what I said to Scarlett last night. Not my best moment. I was turning out to be the worst sister ever. I’m sure she thought I was a brat. It sucked that she didn’t really know the real me.

  That was my fault though. I wasn’t letting her know the real me. She came back into my life when I was experiencing the worst thing I had ever experienced. My world was falling apart. I was in no condition to do the sisterly bonding. I didn’t even know what we could bond over. I didn’t know her either. I remembered a teenage girl that I wanted to follow around all the time. She was a different person now. So was I.

  When I walked into the kitchen, Scarlett was sitting at the table drinking her coffee and reading something on her iPad.

  “Morning,” she said. She didn’t look up at me. She was mad.

  “Morning.” I made a beeline to the coffeemaker. I poured myself a cup before turning to look at Scarlett. I leaned against the counter, unsure of what to say. I could feel the tension in the room.

  There was already tension between us even before I made my stupid comment last night. I didn’t know how to act around Scarlett. I was still getting to know her. It was like Nick and I were living with a stranger.

  “I’m sorry.”

  That got Scarlett to look at me. Her face was unreadable. Her icy blue eyes bore into me like she was trying to gauge if my apology was sincere. I didn’t blame her for not trusting me. I was a serious case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde lately.

  “I had no right to say what I said to you last night. I know you cared about Mom too. It was wrong of me to insinuate otherwise.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I get a little feisty when I’ve had a few too many myself.” She smirked at me.

  I nodded my head in agreement. “Yeah.”

  “Melinda, you and I are still getting to know each other. I know it’s not going to happen overnight. Last time I saw you, you and Nick were eight. A lot has happened between then and now. But I do want us to be close again.”

  There was a time when I’d go to Scarlett with anything. Sometimes even more than Mom. I wanted that again. “Me too.”

  Nick walked into the kitchen, he stopped when he saw the two of us talking. He looked between us, a cautious look on his face. “All good in here?”

  I smiled at Scarlett and then at Nick. “Yeah, all good.”

  “Cool, because it’s way too early for me to referee a fight.” Nick grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl on the kitchen island.

  “Don’t be melodramatic,” I said. I finished my coffee and put my mug into the sink. “I’m off.”

  “Excuse me?” Scarlett said. “And where do you think you’re off to?”

  I looked back at her in surprise. “To see Hayden.”

  “Oh, no. You’re still grounded. Two weeks remember?”

  “That’s still happening?”

  “Yup.”

  “Can you do that?”

  “I sure can.” She got up and put her mug in the sink before leaving the kitchen.

  I met Nick’s gaze. “Damn. You’ve never been grounded before.”

  “I know. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

  “Typically, nothing. Have fun.” He grinned before heading towards the doorway.

  “Where are you going?”

  He turned around, a smile still planted on his face. “Anywhere I want, because I’m not grounded.”

  Maybe Scarlett wasn’t the pushover I expected her to be.

  Chapter 3—Melinda

  I couldn’t believe Scarlett grounded me. I was never grounded before. It seemed like an odd punishment. It wasn’t like she took my phone or anything. In reality the outside world was still right at my fingertips.

  The irony was, Scarlett was doing exactly what Mom would have done. She would have grounded me a long time ago. Scarlett was going easy on me compared to how Mom would have reacted.

  My mom was the best mother a girl could want. But you did not want to get on her bad side. She had this look that made you feel like crawling into a hole to hide. That was probably why I never did anything to get into trouble.

  When she was alive anyway.

  I wanted to feel close to her. Every day I felt more and more of her slipping away. I was lucky I had old videos of her. Otherwise I might have forgotten what her voice sounded like by now.

  Three months. Three months since I saw them take her body away. Somehow, it still didn’t feel real that she was gone.

  I decided to go through some of her things. We left everything the way she left it. None of us had the
heart to go through her things yet.

  Until today.

  When I got to the attic, I went straight for her trunk. She kept a lot of family artifacts in there. Things she was planning on passing down to the three of us. She didn’t get the chance to do that personally.

  I opened the chest. Fresh tears sprung to my eyes as I took everything in. It was so organized. Mom always was a neat-freak. I teased her about it. But now, I was finding myself doing similar things. It took losing her for me to realize that I was just like her.

  I started going through some of the stuff. I knew a lot of the items were magical in some way. I just didn’t know what purpose they served. She was very cautious about witchcraft. She didn’t practice anymore, and she didn’t want us to use our magic either. She said it could be dangerous.

  Maybe if she had honed her magical abilities, she would have been able to stop Dad from hurting her.

  I found a small box in the chest. I opened it and found a necklace inside. It had a green gem in the middle. It looked ancient.

  When I picked it up, the green gem glowed. On the back of the gem there was an inscription.

  “Ego me liberum erit sanguis eorum.”

  As soon as I said those words, I regretted saying them. Winds erupted in front of me. I watched as the winds picked up speed. I jumped back when a bright light illuminated the attic. I shielded my eyes from the brightness.

  Suddenly the winds stopped. The light was gone. I looked up. What I saw was more surprising than any light.

  Standing before me was a woman with long auburn colored hair. She couldn’t have been much older than me. She was dressed in older clothing. I’d say at least the eighties, maybe the seventies.

  She looked around the room before centering her gaze on me. Her blue eyes darkened with rage.

  I didn’t know what to say or do. It wasn’t everyday that a woman came out of a necklace in the middle of your attic.

  “Who are you?” she demanded.

  “Funny, I was going to ask you the same question.”

  She suddenly appeared in front of me in a flash. I jumped back, startled at her abilities.