Obsessed (Book #12 in the Vampire Journals) Read Online Free Page B

the
desperation.
    “Scarlet,” the
girl cried, pulling on her restraints. “I need to find Scarlet.”
    The psychologist
looked at the two officers as he left the room.
     
    *
     
    Maria looked up
at the officers. Somewhere in the back of her mind, the sane part of her was
still working, still lucid and awake. But the part that Lore had messed with
was in control, and it felt like a dark storm cloud fogging up her mind. She
had to get out of this place and she had to find Scarlet. Scarlet would be with
Sage, and Sage, she was certain, would be able to help her. He’d be able to undo
what his cousin had done to her.
    But no matter
how hard she tried, she couldn’t explain to anyone that she wasn’t crazy, that
she didn’t belong here, shackled like a convict. Even when her friends came to
see her, even when her mother held her hand and cried, Maria couldn’t get the
words out. Whatever Lore had put inside of her brain was impenetrable. And it
was getting stronger. With every passing moment, she felt her strength seeping
away. Her ability to fight Lore’s mind control was diminishing and the sane
part of her was becoming weaker and weaker. Maria was certain that if she
didn’t get help it would eventually disappear altogether, leaving her an empty
shell.
    The male officer
stood with his gaze tipped down to Maria. The female officer perched on the
side of her bed.
    “Maria, we need
to ask you some questions,” she said, softly.
    Maria tried to
nod but nothing happened. Her body felt heavy. She was exhausted. Fighting
whatever Lore had done to her brain was tiring work.
    “Your friend,
Scarlet,” the woman continued in the same gentle way. “Do you know where she
is?”
    “Scarlet,” Maria
said.
    She wanted to
say more but the words just wouldn’t come out. She watched in frustration as
the male officer rolled his eyes.
    “This is
useless,” he said to his partner.
    “Officer
Waywood, you need to be patient,” the woman snapped at him.
    “Patient?”
Officer Waywood cried. “My friends are dead! Our colleagues are in danger! We
have no time to be patient!”
    Trapped inside
her own mind, Maria felt her own frustration grow. She understood Officer
Waywood’s concern. She wanted to help, she really did. But thanks to Lore, she
could hardly utter a word. Getting the words out of her mouth felt like running
on a treadmill—all that effort and she never got anywhere.
    The female
officer ignored Officer Waywood’s outburst and turned back to Maria.
    “The man looking
for your friend, his name is Kyle. Have you ever seen him before? Heard her
mention his name at all?”
    Maria tried to
shake her head but couldn’t. The female officer chewed her lip and fiddled with
the notebook in her hands. Maria could tell by her gestures that she was
weighing something in her mind, trying to decide whether to tell her more.
    Finally, the
female officer reached out and squeezed Maria’s hand. She looked deep into her
eyes.
    “Kyle… he’s a
vampire, isn’t he?”
    From his
standing position, Officer Waywood threw his arms in the air and scoffed.
“Sadie, you’ve gone crazy! That vampire stuff is just crap!”
    The female
officer stood quickly, bringing her face up to the man’s.
    “Don’t you dare
say that,” she said. “I’m a police officer. It’s my duty to question this
witness. How can I question her properly without telling her what we know?”
Before Officer Waywood had a chance to respond, Sadie added, “And it’s Officer
Marlow, thank you very much.”
    Officer Waywood
gave her a displeased look.
    “Officer
Marlow,” he said, enunciating it through his teeth, “in my professional
opinion, introducing the idea of vampires to a mentally unstable witness is a
bad idea.”
    From her place
on the bed, Maria began to rock. She could feel the sane part of her, buried so
deeply beneath whatever Lore had done to her, starting to surface. Somehow, the
fact that Officer Marlow believed in vampires was