For a Thousand Years

Hello, I’m Catherine Bell. I’m nineteen with gray eyes and ink-black hair. I have a brother named Stephen. He is sixteen with brown eyes and brown hair. My family are vampires. We can drink human blood and not go into a blood frenzy. It takes a lot of practice though. The venom in our fangs can heal people. We can have kids if we want to. (My mom is pregnant.) Sun doesn’t bother us either. We’ve been alive for a thousand years. Well, Stephen and I have that is. We just moved from Florida to Lancaster California.

I’m in college again. I’ve gone to school multiple times but I still love going. Steph’s going to high school again. He loves it just like I do.

I put my hair in a bun and went downstairs. Steph was just finishing breakfast. (We can get nourishment from human food and blood.) I grabbed some bread and made toast. After it was done I poured a little blood on it and sat beside Steph. “So what’s on the agenda?” I asked him as I took a bite.

“You mean other than you leaving and me going to school?” He replied glaring at me.

I sighed. “I know you don’t want me living in a dorm, Steph.”

“Then why are you?”

“Because I want to.”

“Why?”

“It’s only fair. I’ve gone to college a lot and I’ve never lived in the dorms. Being vampires gives us time to do things we’ve never done.”

“We’ve been alive for a thousand years,” he grumbled.

Mom came in. “Your sister’s right, Stephen.”

“But we’ve been alive for…”

“I know.” She put her hand on her big belly. “This one hasn’t been though.”

I smiled. “It hasn’t even been born. We don’t even know its gender.”

She chuckled. “That’s true. Are you excited to live in the dorms, Catherine?”

I nodded. “I am.”

Dad came down. “Are you sure you want to though?”

“Yes, Dad.”

“But we’re vampires. We should stick together,” Steph complained.

“We don’t look like vampires,” I pointed out.

“So? We know we are!”

“You’re a dork. Wolves stick together like that. Not vampires. You do know that, right?” I mean wolves travel in packs. I know our family is a coven but we don’t have to stick together that much. Besides, I want to live my own life and I can do that with Step hovering around me all the time.

“Duh, I’ve been alive for the same amount of time as you,” Steph snapped.

We don’t count the years when we were human. “You don’t act like it.”

He glared. “At least I’m not abandoning my family.”

“Enough,” Mom said. “Catherine, you should get going.”

I stood. “Yes, Mom.” I got into my car and drove off. I parked when I got there and went to the office.

The woman behind the desk looked up. She smiled. “Hell, may I help you?”

I smiled glad my fangs don’t pop out like they used to. “Hi, I’m Catherine Bell. I’m a new student here.”

“You wanted a dorm room, correct?”

“Yes.”

She nodded. “Yes, we have one ready for you. You have a roommate. Her name is Alice Hunt.”

I nodded and she handed me a key. I walked to my room but no one was there. I unpacked and wondered what my roommate would look like. I pulled out my sketchbook and started drawing different kinds of animals. I drew Steph too and the rest of the family too. I even drew what I think the baby will look like but I ended up drawing something that has no hair and eyes. I threw that one away. It was just too creepy.

The door opened and a girl with blue eyes and blond hair came in. She froze when she saw me.

“Hello,” I said politely.

She blushed. “H-hello.”

Ah, she was shy and nervous. “I’m Catherine Bell, your new roommate.”

“I-I’m A-Alice H-Hunt.” She turned redder. “I-I only st-stutter w-when -I-I’m n-nervous.”

“That’s fine. You’ll warm up to me eventually.”

She smiled. “I-I h-hope so.”

I smiled. “There is something you should know about me.”

She sighed. “We a-all have o-our secrets.”

“True.”

“I-I just meant that y-you don’t have to t-tell me anything y-you don’t w-want to.”

“Friends share though.” I’ve had many friends but they all are dead. I’ve even had a boyfriend but he didn’t want to be turned so he could stay with me. I was with him until he died.

She blinked. “F-friends? You w-want to be m-my friend?”

I nodded. “Is that a problem?”

“I d-don’t have any f-friends. Everyone here h-hates me.”

“I don’t. Want to be friends?”

“Oh, yes, p-please.”

I smiled. “Now may I tell you what I was going to?”

She nodded. “I-if you want.”

I sighed. I’m going to tell her what I am since she’ll find out eventually. “I’m a vampire.”

She froze. “You probably shouldn’t have told me that.”

“Why?”

Her eyes turned purple. “My family and I are vampire hunters.”