Bavaratose

By Charlotte Springfield

Seventeen-year-old Eleanor Ellingson is at the top of the social ladder at her school in Coseville and engrossed in adolescent drama until the night she realizes someone is watching her. Even though she is naturally creeped out, Eleanor has no idea that her life is in danger.

Isaac Vokel is hiding a dark secret and he is tired of being bullied by Eleanor. After he secretly follows her one night and he reveals that he is a vampire, he transforms her into one as well. But not just any vampire. A Bavaratose. A Bavaratose vampire is stronger, faster and hungrier than most. Unable to control her emotions and supernatural ways, Eleanor flees Coseville, away from the pressure, the humans, and the blood.

Bavaratose is an electrifying tale of teenage vampire romance as a high school student must determine whom she can trust in a world of bloodthirsty Bavaratoses.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: Oct 23, 2014
• ISBN: 9781483413952

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Springfield

Copyright © 2014 Charlotte Springfield.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of both publisher and author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

ISBN: 978-1-4834-1396-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-1397-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-1395-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014911213

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Lulu Publishing Services rev. date: 07/16/2014

CONTENTS

Chapter 1   Threat

Chapter 2   Secrets Are Best Kept As Secrets

Chapter 3   Mystery Man

Chapter 4   The Break Up

Chapter 5   My Plan

Chapter 6   Arrested. Twice?

Chapter 7   She Will Die

Chapter 8   A Good Day To Die

Chapter 9   Picking Up The Pieces

Chapter 10   Welcome

Chapter 11   She’s Alive

Chapter 12   First Kill

Chapter 13   Death At Your Fingertips

Chapter 14   Someone Stole Everything

Chapter 15   We’re Going Back

Chapter 16   His Diary

Chapter 17   Going Back To Coseville

Chapter 18   Flashback: Heather’s Fight

Chapter 19   She’s Back

Chapter 20   Day Of Questioning

Chapter 21   Someone Found Out

Chapter 22   Sisters Don’t Spy

Chapter 23   There Are More Coming (Part 1)

Chapter 23   There Are More Coming (Part 2)

Chapter 24   Undoing The Venom (Part 1)

Chapter 24   Undoing The Venom (Part 2)

Chapter 25   The Replacement

Chapter 26   That Was Hot!

Chapter 27   I Leave Tomorrow

Chapter 28   Here Come The Water Works

Chapter 29   Rejection

Chapter 30   Tacky Tacky Tacky

Chapter 31   Nostalgia

Chapter 32   Caught

Chapter 33   Goodbye, Melissa

Chapter 34   Bad Or Good

Chapter 35   Arabella

Chapter 36   Dead Again

Chapter 36   Eleanor’s End (Part 1)

Chapter 37   Eleanor’s End (Part 2)

To Mom and Dad,

who love me unconditionally.

To my brother,

who always believes in me.

To my sisters,

who keep me company in the library.

To my friends,

who entertain me no matter what.

To the iMachines hero,

who helped when I was in distress.

CHAPTER 1

Threat

I’ve been watching them and know everything. I’m still watching, and my life has never been so interesting.

I had only meant to follow Eleanor, but her friends got sucked in as well – and so did her sister, her boyfriend, and everyone in between.

I know more about their lives than they do. But it’ll end soon. As soon as I kill Eleanor, the pain will stop, and I’ll forgive them for the suffering I went through. My deep wound will heal … at a cost. And that cost will be her life.

CHAPTER 2

Secrets Are Best Kept as Secrets

‘H e’s there again, in the same spot with that creepy, blue thermos!’ Heather squealed as the whole table laughed at Isaac V okel.

‘What does he even have in that stupid thermos?’ Riley asked, half because she was genuinely interested and half because she enjoyed mocking him.

‘Blood,’ Eleanor snapped back dramatically, and the whole table began laughing again.

Eleanor, Heather, and Riley were at the top of the social ladder at their school in Coseville. Everyone obeyed them, so when Eleanor started teasing Isaac Vokel, the whole school did, too.

Isaac Vokel – with a name like that, it seemed like he should be bullied. But Isaac had some secrets, dark secrets. Everyone knew there was something going on with him: he never went to parties, he had great difficulty socializing with other people, and he always brought a dark blue thermos everywhere he went. No one was allowed to look inside the thermos, and no one knew what was in it. A few months ago, when Eleanor realized that she didn’t know anything about Isaac, she got angry because she was used to knowing everything. That’s how the bullying started.

‘Will you guys give it a rest?’ Melissa Deaport muttered. Melissa was Eleanor, Heather, and Riley’s rival.

‘Give what a rest?’ Heather enunciated the word like she was trying to start a fight. She was also curious, though – how could Melissa not hate Isaac? His frizzy, black curls corroded his face away, he wore nerdy glasses and old, fuzzy cardigans that created static electricity that made people’s hair puff up when they walked past him.

‘Whatever,’ Melissa spat as she spun on her Isabelle Marant sneakers, tossed her fake, blonde hair, and walked away.

Melissa Deaport was one of the school’s most hated people; she was always trying to be better than Eleanor and constantly imitating her. Last summer, she had brown hair and hazel eyes, but when she came back, she had Eleanor’s signature platinum blonde hair and deep blue eyes. She could have been mistaken for Eleanor, but she looked fake and was a lot pudgier. Eleanor and Melissa hated each other.

‘That girl should get a life,’ Bradley Kore, Heather’s boyfriend, commented.

‘Yeah, like I care,’ Eleanor spat furiously, fiddling with her ponytail.

‘Let’s go to volleyball practice; I’m bored,’ Riley, the sportiest one in school (thanks to her long, African limbs) commented, trying to change the topic. Riley was the calm one in the group. Even though she could be a bitch when she was angry, she was always trying to calm everyone down and prevent massive breakdowns from occurring. Her tall, tanned body and wavy, brown hair made her a hit with the guys.

‘Sure. Coming, Heather?’ Eleanor asked cautiously. Ever since Heather had been going out with Brad, she had stopped going to practice. She had never liked it anyway, and she only went to keep her weight down. Now that someone was going out with her, though, she felt accepted and refused to go.

‘No, thanks; I’ll stay with Brad,’ Heather said as she forced a laugh, trying not to show everyone that she hated exercise. Heather was the complete opposite of Riley and Eleanor in terms of fitness, but they were still best friends. Thick, straightened, brown hair ran down her back, and her pale skin complemented her naturally rosy cheeks and bright red lips. Heather always wore Chanel Rouge lipstick. Eleanor always straightened her long, blonde hair. Riley always wore her special, silver necklace with a handcuff charm on it that no one quite understood. Each girl had her own thing.

Brad and Heather were the town’s it couple: they did everything together and never left each other’s side. But for the last week or so, Brad had been distant and spent more time on his own, which worried Heather. In short order, she became clingy and a bit annoying. It wasn’t like she could help it: Brad was the hottest guy in school with his disheveled, brown hair and deep green eyes. He had an army of girls waiting to destroy Heather, to swoop in for Brad.

‘Do you think Heather and Brad will last long?’ Riley asked Eleanor awkwardly while they were walking to the sports hall.

‘Um, she’s being really clingy now, and he’s acting strangely, so not really. I think a week or so and they’ll be history,’ Eleanor explained to Riley, who couldn’t hide a grin when she heard Eleanor’s words. ‘Why? Are you falling for him?’ Eleanor added playfully, not expecting a serious reply.

‘You can’t tell Heather! She’ll hate me forever! Please don’t tell anyone!’ Riley pleaded, an anxious look forming on her face.

‘Whoa! I was joking. Oh my God, Riley, are you serious?’ Eleanor asked, tugging Riley’s hand as she began to speed up.

‘Since they’ve been going out, I’ve realized I have feelings for him. I tried not to think about him, but he’s … Brad! How could I not?’ Riley asked, giving Eleanor that worried look she always had when a fight was about to break out and she couldn’t stop it.

‘Maybe because Heather is going out with him! Oh my God, Riley, tell me the truth. Have you gotten with him?’

‘No, I wouldn’t do that,’ Riley looked down at the floor innocently.

If Eleanor knew one thing for sure, it was that she could trust Riley and Heather with her own secrets, but she couldn’t trust them with what they said about themselves. A girl can easily lie to bury a truth.

The remaining walk to the gym was awkward, and neither one of them said a word. Secretly, they were glad to be going to practice because it was so intense – they wouldn’t have the energy to carry on with their talk.

When Riley opened the gym door, she muttered, ‘Please don’t tell anyone,’ and Eleanor nodded. Still, both girls knew the secret would get out one way or another.

‘I’m going to whip your ass in volleyball, so be prepared,’ Melissa Deaport said, suddenly appearing from behind the door. Riley bit her lip nervously, hoping that she hadn’t heard their conversation.

‘I hope you do. After all the matches I’ve won, I would hope you could win at least one,’ Eleanor retorted, faking a smile and following Riley into the changing room.

‘Why does Melissa hate you so much?’ Riley asked Eleanor while getting changed into her Adidas shorts and T-shirt.

‘Long story,’ was all Eleanor said. She breathed deeply, trying to forget the real reason why she and Melissa hated each other.

‘No way! So there is a reason! And you never told me?!’ Riley exclaimed, narrowing her eyes at Eleanor and trying to tie her shoelaces.

‘You wouldn’t want to know why. Now let’s forget about this,’ Eleanor commanded.

‘But—’ Riley began.

‘Forget about it, Riley.’

Riley walked into the gym and started her stretches, thinking of all the reasons the two girls might hate each other but not coming up with any valid ones. Was Eleanor trying to hide something? What actually happened? Riley had hundreds of questions but knew that Eleanor wouldn’t even bat an eyelid in her direction if she asked.

There has to be another way to find out about Eleanor, she thought. But how?

CHAPTER 3

Mystery Man

Serena Ellingson stared out of her balcony window and saw her older sister, Eleanor Ellingson, pull up on the driveway.

‘Shit, she’s home early. Hide!’ Serena exclaimed to the figure lounging on her bed.

Serena ushered the person into her bathroom and waited for him to bolt the door shut. She knew her sister would come in and rant about her day before leaving to shower.

‘Serena!’ Eleanor called from downstairs, searching the bottom floor for her sister.

‘In my room!’ Serena called back, fixing her bed and hiding the extra pair of shoes by her door.

For the next forty-five minutes, Serena and Eleanor talked about their day, even though it was mostly Eleanor doing the talking. And then Eleanor left to get freshened up before getting her daily fro-yo.

‘Wait, can I borrow some shampoo?’ Eleanor asked, holding onto the doorframe. ‘Mine ran out yesterday, and I forgot to go buy some.’

‘Mine’s empty, too,’ Serena blurted out. There was no way she could let Eleanor see who was behind the bathroom door.

‘Um, no, it’s not. I asked Mum, and she said she just bought you a new bottle.’

‘I had a shower this morning and spilt half of it by mistake. Sorry, I only have enough left for one more wash.’

‘OK, let me have that last wash. Come on, Serena. I really need some shampoo.’ Eleanor gradually got more and more frustrated. Why isn’t Serena giving me some goddamn shampoo? she wondered.

‘No, use some of Mum’s. I need mine,’ Serena bit back and slammed the door in Eleanor’s face, feeling bad about the situation but also feeling like she could never get away with anything without her sister knowing.

Eleanor and Serena didn’t look alike, and barely anyone at school knew they were sisters. Eleanor went tanning once per week, but Serena was blessed with darker skin that had never seen a tanning bed. Serena also had light brown hair and hazel eyes, whereas Eleanor had platinum blonde hair and deep blue eyes. The fact that they didn’t look alike made it easy for Eleanor to keep track of Serena’s social life. People gossiped around Eleanor because they thought she was genuinely interested, but all she was interested in was Serena’s life.

Eleanor was furious that her sister was acting so rudely, so she swiveled around, stomped down to her mum’s bathroom, and grabbed some shampoo. On the way back, she walked past her dad’s office room.

Eleanor didn’t get her looks from her dad, but Serena did. Eleanor looked more like her mum; Serena got her tan, brown hair and hazel eyes from her dad. Both husband and wife and older sister and younger sister looked completely different.

‘Dad, what’s going on with Serena? She’s acting strangely,’ Eleanor asked politely, poking her head through the door.

‘I don’t know, honey, but what’s going on with you two? You both missed dinner.’ Jacob Ellingson frowned and looked up in disappointment from his computer. Not one of his two daughters had mentioned that they wouldn’t come for dinner, and a lot of food had gone to waste, something Jacob despised.

‘I’m so sorry, Dad, I ran a few extra laps and got caught up in a Skype call with Heather. I promise it won’t happen again,’ Eleanor lied. ‘But do you know why Serena is acting so strangely?’

‘It may be because of that boy you always talk about … I forgot his name, but she may like him and act differently around him.’

A guy? With Serena? Eleanor was stunned: no boy ever tried to talk to Serena because they all expected her to be a version of Eleanor, but that’s not what they got.

‘A boy I always talk about?’ Eleanor asked, confused. Eleanor had given up liking guys because half of them were too immature and the other half were gay.

‘Yes, that one you always laugh about. I forgot his name; sorry, honey.’

‘It’s okay. Thanks anyway, Dad!’ Eleanor called as she raced up the staircase towards Serena’s room.

Eleanor couldn’t think of a guy they always talked about, except Isaac Vokel. They always made fun of him and laughed about him. That’s probably the guy Dad meant. About to barge into Serena’s room, Eleanor refrained from doing so when she heard, ‘Fine, we can’t tell anyone about us though. Eleanor would kill me.’

It sounded like Serena talking, and the urge to burst into Serena’s room was intense, but she kept listening. Finally, she heard a male’s voice say, ‘I agree, no one can know about this.’

It didn’t sound like Isaac, but it may have been due to the distance and the door muffling the sound. Eleanor walked away, disgusted that her sister might have a thing with someone as low as Isaac Vokel.

Taking a shower, Eleanor tried to drain all thoughts of Serena and Isaac together, but it didn’t work. When she was towelled off, all she could think about was the gossip at school: ‘Eleanor’s sister is going out with Isaac Vokel.’ Eleanor was furious at her sister for being with Isaac (potentially) and wondered how she could be so oblivious and not realize he was always being made fun of.

When the hot shower didn’t work to get rid of the Irena (Isaac and Serena) thoughts, Eleanor decided to look at the sunset. That tactic had always worked to get her mind off things when she was younger, so she decided to give it a try.

The sun had already set, and it was a pitch-black night. Eleanor looked out of her balcony window, peeked over their massive lawn, and stared into the darkness behind the palm trees But Eleanor didn’t see darkness there. A digital Adidas watch was glowing luminously amidst the darkness.

Her heart stopped for a second; someone was watching her.

Bolting her window shut, she peered through the glass, trying to see whether the light was reflecting onto the person’s face. But when Eleanor looked again, she saw three fingers slide over the numbers on the