My Immortal Playlist (The Siren Collection #1) (7 page)

“It’s Elliot,”
Henry sighed, walking past us until he was standing next to Noah.

“Okay, seriously, what’s going on here?” I asked. “You guys are conspiring against me? Me? What would…” my voice cracked and I felt my eyes begin to water, but I fought them back with all the strength I could muster. No matter how betrayed I felt, I couldn’t break now.

“Are you really about to cry?” Henry scoffed. “After what you did to us?”

“When are you going to get over it?” I cried out. Everyone, including Elliot groaned.

“This is why we’re here,” Noah replied, reaching behind him and pulling out the sheets of music, compiled into a stack. “I took this so I could barter with you.”

“What do you want?” I muttered, my hands instinctively reaching for the papers.

“We want a home,” Noah said. Henry nodded, and I lost all reason to cry.

“What?” I asked angrily. “Don’t tell me you want my house.”

“Not exactly,” he chuckled. “Listen. Henry and I have been talking since last night. He told me that the cure for our condition is in your blood. Of course, none of us want to hurt you. I think part of it is because of the spell cast over us, but we also think of how we felt before it all happened. As much as we don’t want to admit it - we all care for you in our own way.”

“So…you want to live with me?”

“Yes,” Henry replied. “The three of us can help you find a cure so you don’t have to hurt people, and so we can go back to normal.”

“Three?”

“Elliot gets to live with us too,” he said, pointing to my backpack. “He may be annoying, but he’ll ensure that we don’t go too far when it comes to your…um, blood. If we all work together professionally to find a cure, I’m sure he’ll be more than willing to help.”

“Perhaps,” he replied from behind me.
“But first things first. Where are my legs?!”

“I don’t have them,” Noah said casually. “I threw them away.”

“WHAT?!”

“They were gross, and I didn’t know Alex was close to you at the time. I’m sorry.”

“You can’t take someone’s legs and think it will be resolved with an apology!”

“I’m trying to make up for it now,” he said, turning his attention back to me. “W
e want a place to live. We’re tired of living on the streets. We can’t go home due to what we’ve become, and you have the room. So that is our deal. The music for asylum.”

“This is ridiculous,” I said.
“I can’t live with a vampire and two zombies. Male zombies and a vampire at that.”

“Is she really going to tell us what’s proper?” Henry scoffed, glancing at Noah.

“Fine,” I growled. “Whatever. You can live at my house. But there’s going to be rules. A lot of rules that I have yet to think up.”

“Our first house meeting,” H
enry smiled. I wanted to slap that smirk away.

“We’ll discuss all of that tonight,” Noah said, giving me a bow
and handing me the sheets of paper. “For now I must go and choose my room before you all get there.”

“Yeah, right,” Henry said, trying to shove Noah backwards
to get a head start. He didn’t move. Henry ignored his failed attempt and started sprinting out of the alley, Noah fast on his heels with a stupid grin on his face. The more I thought about it, the more irritated I got. I already felt guilty enough changing them. Now I would be seeing the result of my actions in the face every day.

“You’re
quiet,” I said, addressing Elliot.

“I was thinking.”

“About this arrangement?”

“I’m trying to figure out if it’s a trap.”

“And?”

“If they wanted to kill you, they could have easily done it already. Besides, they gave you back the music. Hardly a gesture of ill-will.”

“They’re annoying.”

“And so are you. You don’t hear me complaining.”

“You just said it. Just now.”

“It’s cold out here.” he
sighed and I shook my head. Whatever. At least I would have someone to talk to at night.

“Ready to go home?” I asked, realizing that when I said it, it
was meant for the both of us.

“Certainly.”

I was just about to turn around and leave when I heard an amused voice behind me shout my way, halting me in my tracks.

“That,” the voice paused,
“is the ugliest backpack I have ever seen.”

“Oh no,” I heard Elliot say
from behind me, facing the stranger. “It’s Lucas Hawthorne.”

“Run now, Alexandra!” Elliot half-whispered, but I barely moved. I tightened my grip on the sheets of music, but my feet couldn’t budge. My eyes refused to wander from h
is, and my breath cut short. I felt my fingertips go numb.

And he didn’t even do anything yet.

“Are you okay?” he asked, raising one of his rugged eyebrows. My throat went dry as I tried ignoring the excessive tapping on my arm from Elliot. Lucas took one step towards me and my vision became hazy.

It was like he stepped out of a fine men’s clothing catalogue. His black hair was slick and tussled, but in all the right places. His blue eyes were warm yet mysterious and his lips were full and inviting. His face was smooth as a baby’s but his jawline was as chiseled as his body. Even through the oversized leather jacket,
the baggy jeans and the black unlabeled t-shirt, I could see that he had been crafted exquisitely by the gods. It was apparent in his slack stance and amused countenance that he didn’t put any effort into his physique. He was just created that way.

“Alexandra, can you please sto
p looking like an idiot?” Elliot groaned from behind. “You’re embarrassing.”

“What are you doing here?” I heard myself demand to the demi-god in front of me. Lucas chuckled and crossed his arms. I closed my eyes so that I could gain my composure from within.

“Duh. I go to school here,” he laughed. “Same as you.”

“You know who I am?” I asked, my eyes fluttering open. Another groan from behind me followed.

“Not really,” he said, making me scowl. “But hey, that doesn’t mean we can’t introduce ourselves. My name is –“

“- I know who you are,” I snapped.

“So that means you know what I can do,” he said. The tone of his voice screamed dangerous, but all it did was intrigue me more.

“I have no clue what you’re talking about,” I said honestly. “All I know is your name.”

“Oh!” he said, taking a step back. “Well, that’s new.”

“What are you doing here behind the alley?” I demanded to know.

“Well, it’s just that I caught a glimpse of that Henry kid coming back here. I knew he went missing a while back so I came to investigate.”

“What are you? A detective?”

“No, not at all,” he said, glancing behind him. “I only look into things that interest me.”

“Well, it just so happens that Henry is a friend of mine.” I felt Elliot pinch my arm but I g
rimaced through the sharp pain. “And…he ran away from home because he was being abused. I would appreciate it if you kept that to yourself.”

“You think I’m trustworthy?” he asked, glancing behind him again.

“What is it? Why do you keep looking behind you?”

“
Let’s just say that I’m running from my own kind of trouble,” he laughed. “So I might have to cut this conversation short, but I never did get your name.”

“Alexandra,” I said. He stared into my eyes for a moment.

“That’s a sexy name,” he said, watching me melt without shame before him. “Sexy name for a sexy girl.”

“You…shut up,” was all I could manage to say. “You have no right to look at me.”

“Then stop looking like that.”

“No, you avert your eyes.”

“You could always make me,” he said slyly. I wanted to tackle him for all the wrong reasons. Beat him up and then see what his lips tasted like.

“Don’t you have somewhere to be?”
I huffed.

“You’re right,” he said, beginning to turn. “But don’t worry. We’ll meet up again. You’re starting to interest me just as much as your friend’s disappearance.”

“I already told you why he left.”

“Yeah, but
I don’t buy it. He doesn’t seem like the type to just take abuse. I remember his attitude in school. He wouldn’t run away. Even teachers avoided him.”

“Maybe he lashed out in school because he was sick of the abuse he endured at home
.”

“We’ll talk,” he said, giving me a curt wave and then sprinting out of the alley. I stomped my feet into the pavement, causing no damage whatsoever, and screamed internally. The last thing I needed was someone looking into Henry now, especially since he was going to be living in MY house.

“You should have gotten close and allowed me to shank him,” Elliot replied. I elbowed him in the side of the head. “You know I can’t feel that,” he retorted.

“
For now on, we can’t have these freak meetings out in the open. We all talk at the house, no matter what.”

“Are freak meetings going to become a recurring thing?”

“Who does that guy think he is anyways? Just butting himself into my business.”

“It’s not like he trespassed on your private property. Still, it does concern me that he’s taken an interest in you.”

“Me? You heard him. He saw Henry. Now he’s going to go searching for him.”

“
Do you know who Lucas is? His reputation?”

“No clue, but it sounded
like I should have been concerned.”

“He’s one of the founding members of Blood Snow.”

“What’s that, an ice cone flavor at 7-Eleven?”

“It’s a street gang. Their
activities are more prominent in the city, but occasionally their business extends here into our little town.”

“Then why is he going to school here
and not in the city?”

“Maybe his parents
thought it would change his course in life. I’m not a hundred percent sure. Though from what I’ve heard, before my transformation - he was still heavily involved. I’m most concerned that you have caught his interest though.”

“Well, he picked the wrong girl,” I replied, staring at the spot where he once stood. “I’m the last person to corner.
If he looks into Henry too much, it won’t be good for his health.”

“Still, you might want to just avoid him
for now. His type will lose interest once he’s found another plaything. Just stay out of his way and you’ll be fine. The last thing we all need is for you to kill a gang leader and his entire posse coming to rectify the situation.”

“Considering we have two zombies, a vampire and a siren, I think they would be the ones at the disadvantage.”

“Let’s not find out,” he said. “And forget the rest of class for today. Let’s just go home.”

*              *              *

As I walked into the door with Elliot on my shoulder, I could already hear excited voices coming from the kitchen. Rolling my eyes upon recognition, I walked casually into the spacious room and saw Henry and Noah leaning onto the counter, waving their hands around as they talked about all the wonderful things they were going to do together now that they were roommates.

“Having fun?” I muttered, interrupting them. I snapped my fingers at Henry w
hose elbows on the counter were giving me visions of undead bacteria. Yeah, I know that sounds weird.

“We already scouted out the place,” Noah replied, giving me one of his seducing smiles. Strangely, it was as if a wall had been put between us. It had no effect whatsoever. But I guess having your stuff stolen and extorted into giving your thief a home in exchange might do that.

“You have six bedrooms,” Henry said, nearly putting his elbows back onto the counter. Thankfully, Elliot had reached over and placed two coasters under them respectively. “What do you need all those rooms for?”

“Apparently the house was designed for cases like this. A home for the wayward youth and the recently deceased.”

“Speaking of which, we have something major to discuss with you.”

“You’re not painting the rooms,” I said, taking Elliot out of the backpack harness and placing him onto a chair.
“Oh, and I want rent money from all of you. It will help pay for food and stuff.”

“
We want to discuss roommates.”

“Who else are you trying to bum up in here?” I shrieked. Elliot almost teetered out of his seat from the vibrations echoing throughout the room.

“No one,” Henry winced. “We just want to talk about who your next victim should be.”

“Obviously,” Noah interjected. “You’re going to strike again. How long do you have left before you have to feed again?”

“How long do you?” I snapped, feeling like I needed to bury my head into a pillow. Things were better when I didn’t have to face my victims, let alone live with them. Now we were all sitting around like it was on big intervention, discussing the fact that I was going to get weak and strike again. Being that they were all affected by my condition, they probably figured it was only proper they get a say in how it all goes from here on out.

“I want someone who could be more like a servant,” Henry said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Maybe a social outcast. Someone so used to being trampled on that it won’t be such a change when he comes here.”

“Or who says it has to be a he?” Elliot spoke up. “A little more decoration could go a long way here. A little eye candy, if you will. A female, if you catch my drift, gentlemen.”

“You too?” I scoffed. He shrugged his shoulders the best he could as I turned to the other two. “You don’t get a say in who I…feed on next.”

“Why not?” Henry whined. “I mean, you’re not really going to just transform someone and force them to live on the streets, are you? You know it’s not going to stay that way, especially once he or she finds out where the rest of us are.”

“I’m with Elliot,” Noah nodded. “We should have more females up in here.”

“I’m not enough for all of you?”

“No offense, Alexandra,” Elliot said, choosing his words carefully. “But if you believe that any of us are going to fall in love with you, you’re delusional. While this…enchanting spell may
be in effect, and you are far more appealing to behold than any of us would be willing to admit, the fact remains that each of our relationships with you has changed drastically. Noah, please tell me this is true.”

I turned to Noah, eager to hear his answer. He had been so convincing last night in the basement
. Though Elliot said Noah was all about his own personal gain, and this theory became true when he stole my music, there was still a small part of me that still believed he was interested in me - that he didn’t think I was just some blood-sucking succubus that took the souls of others. That despite what I had done to him, he still saw me as before. The same Alexandra. The girl that I played every day and I wished so desperately to become every night.

But his eyes s
aid it all, even before his lips began to part.

“I’m sorry, Alexandra,” he whispered gently. I felt my jaw clench, not out of anger, but disappointment. Disappointment in the fact that I
still wasn’t accepted by anyone. To those I met I was either a walking lie, or their soon-to-be murderer.

“It’s okay,” my voice cracked a little. “At least we’re all being honest.”

“Did you think there could be a relationship between us?” he asked, but I had no real answer for him. I had felt airy last night, but I couldn’t be sure if it was him or his hypnotism. Perhaps that’s how they all felt about me. It was hard to tell what reality was from time to time.

“Well, at least we can all be friends,” I said, kind of by-passing his qu
estion. “At least I hope we can.”

“There’s no doubt about that,” Elliot said with confidence. “Regardless of the past, you can be assured that I will always be your companion.”

“And I your enforcer,” Noah winked. “I’ll make short work of anyone that tries to harm a single hair on your head.”

“And I
protect my investments,” Henry said with a cold glare in his eyes. “Yeah, I like you, but before all of this, it was more than that. I can’t say we’re going to be besties now. I’m not saying that we’ll even be talking with one another once I’m back to normal. But get me there, and we’ll see.”

“I understand, Henry,” I said as Elliot slammed a fist on the table next to him. I could hear his bones aching from where I stood.

“Henry, you are by far the most selfish human being I have ever met! It’s obvious that Alexandra is attempting to atone for her sins. The least you can do is not be a child!”

“Whatever. I said my peace," he muttered. “And for the record, I also vote for more females.”

“It doesn’t work like that,” I said. “My body usually chooses my victim for me.”

“That sounds awkward,” Henry groaned.

“No, continue,” Elliot said. “Perhaps there’s a solution within the process itself.”

“Well, it’s all about survival, I think…
well, it’s like a person being really picky with what they eat, but then they’re in a situation in which they’ve been starving for days. At that point, it doesn’t matter what their dietary needs were or what they preferred. They’re going to eat the first thing they can get their hands on. My body does the same. I might be able to choose my victim if it’s not too far from my deadline, but as it gets closer, I become less human and more siren.”