Cutthroat Carmine (Book 1)(COMPLETE) (Wattpad Featured Novel)

[ACT TWO]---10: [suhn-mer]

[---ACT TWO---]

Carmine is drenched in sticky sweat. Her bedsheets are twisted and knotted from all the nighttime insomnia. When will this torment end?

The first few days after Ritual Night are always the hardest. But it's a burden Carmine must bear alone. The memory of the dead girl's crushed skull last night drives Carmine absolutely wild. All night she dreamt about drinking from that pool of congealed jelly. About how she let go of her human inhibitions and sound judgment and let her feral side take over. She would have slurped up that crimson puddle like a smoothie.

Carmine buries her face in her palms, furiously shaking her head. How am I supposed to last another month like this?

She stands up and lightly tiptoes down the hall to the bathroom. A nice cold shower should wake her up and distract her for a few minutes. The house is bathed in golden morning sunlight and Carmine stops briefly to contemplate the fact that she is the only one in her family who doesn't mind the sun. Unlike Blake, Carmine appreciates the necessity of sunshine for all life on Earth. Even vampires rely on the sun, albeit indirectly. If the sun was extinguished, all living things on Earth would die.

Locking the bathroom door, Carmine slips off her thin robe and steps into the cold bathtub.

One of the only times Carmine feels good in her own skin is when she washes her body. In this moment of privacy, she explores the curves of her waist, her perfect, heart shaped bottom and her soft breasts. And she feels beautiful. As the soapy lather slides off her skin, she reaches for her razor and glides it across her long, muscular legs. Schwppt. Schwppt.

The gentle pitter patter of water on her back soothes her immensely and for a few precious moments she thinks about nothing except the feeling of the Gillette razor running up her inner thigh.

For years her family has dictated Carmine's behavior and dress code. In public, she is always playing a new role. Once a month she is the slutty seductress; a vicious and brutal hunter roaring with bloodlust. The rest of the time, when her hormones aren't on a rampage, she is an unassuming, invisible schoolgirl. At home she plays the role of the responsible sister and loving daughter. Carmine slips on a new facade as duty dictates and plays her character to perfection. But what about her true self? Long buried beneath decades of pretending, Carmine barely even remembers what it is like to play herself.

Who is she anyway? All her life she has struggled with identity issues. She is a human AND a vampire. Which makes her not a true human or a true vampire. The halfness of her blood alienates her from both worlds, often making her feel like an outcast.

Where does she truly belong?

After stepping out of the shower and patting herself dry, Carmine wraps her towel around her body and then walks back to her room. She picks out a simple blue dress and lays it on her bed. And no more stilettos for the next month, that's for sure. She reaches into her closet and lifts out a comfortable pair of sandals.

Carmine is filled with an inexplicable desire to go out on an aimless adventure. Her feet are still chafed and raw but pain has never stopped her before.To walk around for hours and reflect on her life. Her future. So she puts on her chosen outfit and quietly leaves the house while everyone is still sleeping.

On a quiet Sunday morning like this, the neighbourhood is completely devoid of people. Perhaps one or two early morning joggers or dog walkers will stop and wave hello, but for the most part, Carmine is undisturbed on her journey of self-reflection.

Without consciously meaning to, Carmine ends up on the cobblestone path leading up to the seawall. Why did my feet bring me here? To force me to relive the horrible memory of last night's rejection? Carmine stops. I should head back. Going back to the hotel will only re-ignite my wrath. Why bother...