Scarlett Blood

Chapter 1

"Mom, I promise I will be safe! I need to go, or I'm going to miss the bus."

My sister Hazel, my Dad, Mom and I were standing just outside the bus station. It was nine in the morning, and the hour-long car ride here had been interesting to say the least. Hazel had been forced to take the passenger seat while my Mom sat in the back with me, lecturing me about 'the big dangerous city.'

"Remember, don't go out by yourself at night," she'd said firmly. "And never wear your headphones when you're out walking. Avoid parking garages, too, you've seen the news. Oh, and if you meet a boy, use-"

"Mom!" I'd interrupted her, looking pointedly at my twelve-year-old sister, who definitely did not need to hear our mother lecturing me about s*x. It hadn't stopped her from dropping not-so-subtle hints about what not to do, though. Poor Hazel.

Now here we stood, with minutes before the bus left, and I was being squished into a bear-hug while our mother sobbed. Over her shoulder, Dad was smiling with adoring amusement, and my sister was rolling her eyes. I patted Mom's back, then untangled myself with some difficulty. I looked into her light blue eyes, red-rimmed and puffy now, while I held her at arms length in case she attacked me again.

"Mom. You need to calm down! I'm only going to be a few hours away. You want me to go to school, right?"

She nodded. "I just can't believe it went by so fast. Oh, Howard!"

I let her go so she could bury her face in my Dad's chest. He shook his head a bit, but kissed the top of hers. "Come on, Mary. They all leave the nest eventually. Scarlett will be fine."

Of course, that only made her cry harder.

I sighed, then opened my arms to my sister, who reluctantly stepped forward. She was entering her 'attitude' years, as our parents called it, where apparently showing affection to her older sister was considered to be lame. I squeezed her just a bit, holding her there so I could whisper into her ear.

"Look after her, okay? And be good. Don't be causing unnecessary trouble."

"Yeah, whatever," she said, but she hugged me tighter for a few seconds.

"I'm going to miss you. Love you, Haze."

She turned away without replying, but there were unshed tears in her eyes. I looked at my family, standing together, my heart aching. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared. Not only was I moving out, but I was moving away. No more cows and fields and manure, or kids racing their cars down the back roads, or campfires under a sea of stars. Instead, I was headed to a land of lights, traffic, and noise. The Big Apple, New York City. After I'd been accepted to my first choice, NYC University, both my parent's had exploded with pride. It hadn't dawned on them until last week that I was really leaving, right around the time I started packing.

I sighed again, picking up my suitcase in one hand and my old green duffle bag in the other. A small black bag was secured to my back. "I'll call you as soon as I get to the apartment, okay?"

"You have the cash I gave you?" Dad asked.

"Yup. Okay. I love you guys!"

With a small smile, I turned away, walked the seven steps to the bus doors, and then the two steps up. Three more to my seat, where I stashed my suitcase underneath and the duffle bag in the overhead compartment. I sat, pulling my bag off my shoulders into my lap. The bus doors closed, and that was it. I waved to my family from the window until I couldn't see them anymore. I leaned back in my seat, tilting my head to continue looking out the window. The grass, fields, houses and farms streaked past. Nervous excitement settled into the pit of my stomach; I was really leaving home. For the millionth time since I'd received my acceptance letter, I wondered how the big city would feel to me, a small-town country girl. I was going from three hundred people to over three thousand, all in the span of a five-hour bus ride.

I looked down at my old black tee and faded blue jeans, and even more worn sneakers. Typical, cliché country style. Would I find people I clicked with? I had some good friends I was leaving behind today, all of whom had wished me all the best at the bonfire two night's ago, but that's all they were. Good friends. I'd never had a best friend, like most other girls. I got along with everyone, more or less, but I'd never felt the need to immerse myself in sleepovers, parties, drama, boys, or anything a 'normal' teenager' would want to be a part of. I'd never snuck out, never made a prank call. Looking back, I almost regretted not being a little more rebellious.

I shrugged off my internal thoughts, reaching into my bag and pulling out my sketchpad and a pencil. I flipped to the drawing I'd started last night, beginning where I'd left off. When I eventually glanced out the window again, I was shocked to see multiple lanes of traffic on either side of the bus. I checked my watch, not overly surprised that I'd been lost in my art for three hours. If left to it, I would draw endlessly, losing sleep if I was really into whatever project I was working on. While I was looking at the rows of cars, an odd sense of Déjà vu washed over me, puzzling me, since I'd never been further than an hour away from home in my life. Yet the feeling stayed, nagging at me.

I put my sketchpad away and got up, heading to the small bathroom at the back of the bus. No sink, just a toilet. The feeling intensified when I closed the door, turning into a swell of anxiety. I frowned, taking a deep breath.

It's just the nerves. There's nothing wrong.

I repeated the words to myself until there was a knock on the door. Finishing quickly, I opened the door to a disgruntled looking woman. With a muttered apology, I made my way back to my seat. I pulled out my phone, which had been set to silent, and sighed when I saw all the messages and missed phone calls. From Mom. Of course.

Mom: How's it going so far? Is the ride comfortable? I put some anti-nausea medicine in your bag just in case.

Mom: Are you okay? Where are you now?

Mom: Scarlett! Answer me!

Mom: I'm calling you. Pick up!

Mom: SCARLETT!

I scrolled through the rest, all the same, except they got more demanding near the end. I quickly typed a response.

Scarlett: Mom... CALM DOWN! I'm not sure where I am right now but I'm definitely out of the countryside. I'm FINE. I'm not going to check my phone every five seconds. I will call you when I get to my apartment, okay?

She responded less than a minute later.

Mom: You better. Love you.

Scarlett: Love you too.



I went back to staring out the window, catching my reflection in the glass. Like Hazel, I'd adopted Mom's light brown hair and fair skin, but unlike her, or the rest of my family, I had deep green eyes. Our late grandma had always told me it meant I was special. I didn't know if I believed that - she had been prone to saying all manner of odd things in her advanced age.

At some point, I dozed off, only to be jolted awake by the bus driver announcing we'd reached our destination. With everyone else aboard, I grabbed my luggage, then shuffled off the bus. A whirlwind of emotions, I stopped on the sidewalk, taking that first deep breath of city air. It wasn't nearly as clean or fresh as what I was used to, but it added to the excitement. How could I have ever thought anything was wrong? I was here, and I was ready.