literature

Beautiful Ugly: Chapter One

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We were traveling across the Sahara desert in 110 degree heat. Okay, so maybe that's a bit overdramatic. But it was extremely hot. The sun beat down on me as I dragged the dead weight blue cooler through the sand. Every pore in my body was sweating and I was starting to feel pretty gross. I looked longingly at the ocean. So close and yet so far away.

"I think I see a really good spot over there," my stepfather announced in a voice that clearly said he was a master at picking perfect beach spots. I didn't particularly care how perfect it was, as long as I didn't die of heat stroke.

"You said that ten minutes ago," I grumbled under my breath, making my young brother, Bobby, snicker and my mother look at me reproachfully.

"Behave," she warned. "George paid a lot of money so we could have this family vacation."

"Yeah, well, George didn't need to," I replied. "Dad was always able to find cheap beaches for us to go to." A pained expression crossed my mother's face and I immediately regretted mentioning him. As quick as it had appeared, the sadness disappeared, replaced by anger.

"Your father is no longer here to do that," she snapped. Her steps quickened and she caught up with George. I bit back a retort, storing it away with the rest of my anger from the past five years. My father left in the middle of the night when I was 12. He just packed up his bags and ran off. Two years later, we got a postcard from him with a picture of a beautiful, younger woman and a baby. My mother hated him for that. As for me, I still couldn't believe what happened. It didn't seem like something my Dad would do.

I peered down at my shoulders and groaned. Already, they were beginning to grow pink. Were we ever going to stop walking?

"Aha!" George exclaimed. "Here we are!" I looked up. The sand was a soft white, sparkling under the sun. The wind was blowing a slight summer breeze over us and the seagulls were far, far away. I'm sure if I were to take out a compass, our view of the sea would be directly west, guaranteeing a beautiful sunset. Of course, I didn't care about any of this. I dropped the cooler, almost landing it on Bobby's toe and stripped off my cover-up.

"Race ya to the water," I told Bobby. He grinned and we took off, spraying hot waves of sand behind us.


Hours later, I sat on the beach blanket, munching on a cookie, and glancing around at the other people on the beach. Beautiful girls sashayed past lifeguards and surfers, giggling as men ogled them from afar. I sighed, wishing, not for the first time, that I had slightly more appealing features. More of an hour glass figure instead of the bean pole I was. Or perhaps flawless skin. I wasn't asking for much. I mean, I wasn't ugly. My appearance was adequate. But boys didn't stare at me like they did other girls my age. And though I'd never admit it to anyone, it kinda hurt. I grimaced and ran my fingers through the sand, feeling the tiny crystals trickle over my skin like water.

Something moved close to my hand, catching my attention. I stared at the sand. And to my surprise, it stared back.  Literally, an eye looked at me from in between the white grains of stone. I blinked and it disappeared. Was it just my imagination? Was I really suffering from heat stroke? It didn't feel like I was. George pulled me out of my reverie.

"Look, honey," he said to my mom," Sandy's playing in the sand." I gritted my teeth as he grinned like he was some high class comedian on freakin' comedy central. It hadn't been funny the first time he had said it or the 50 times after that. In fact, he had been using that joke and ones like it all week. And to be honest, I was getting a bit annoyed. Sandy really isn't that bad of a name even though I share it with people mainly over the age of 40. Unless of course you have a step father whose idea of a joke is a corny one-liner. Then, you're screwed.

I was about to make a snide reply when I was distracted.  I felt something tickle the palm of my hand, the one that was lying in the sand. I snapped it up and stared at it, searching for a bug maybe or perhaps a feather caught between my fingers. Nothing was there. I frowned, rubbing my palm. It hadn't really felt like a bug any way. It had felt more like.. Lips. But that wasn't possible. I rubbed my hand against the blanket, trying to rid it of the tingling sensation. I looked over at my mom and George and saw them talking to each other in low voices like adults always do.  She smiled, sending a knife through my heart. It wasn't fair that a man I vehemently hated had the ability to make her happy, instead of me. I turned away, blinking back tears.

I scanned the horizon, watching families sprawled out on blankets and little kids running away from the waves, shrieking joyously as the cold water licked their toes. A lifeguard caught my eye. He was muscular and blond, a few years older than myself and hotter than the sun beating down on me. Tan girls in skimpy bikinis tried to get his attention while they passed but he paid them no mind. Instead, he was staring straight at me. He met my gaze and didn't turn away.  He had perfect features with a face that could make your heart stop. And my heart did stop… But not for that reason. Something about this guy and his glance, gave me an extremely bad feeling. I was reminded of the time my grandfather was telling me and Bobby about his encounter with a hungry crocodile while he was in Africa. "He looked at me straight in the eye," he would say in his old, gravelly voice. "And that one look? It gave me the willies. I was shaking so bad, I dropped my camera." The feeling I was having was like extreme willies, like willies on crack. I felt like a bunny, my rabbit heart beating rapidly against my rib cage. Sweat began to form on my temple and it wasn't because of the heat. My legs tensed, ready to run, but I could not explain why they did. Something in the back of my head told me that this hot guy, whoever he was, was dangerous. Which was silly, really. I broke away from his gaze. I was being stupid. He was a lifeguard. The opposite of dangerous. It was his job to save my life, not end it. I chanced another glance at him and he grinned back at me, hungrily. Hungrily?! I gulped. I couldn't stay there, under his inspection. I had to get away and calm down.

"Mom..." I said, nervously. "I'm going to the… Bathroom… I'll be back."

"All right, honey," she replied, not even glancing up from her magazine. I stood up and started walking away, keeping my head down.  The bathhouse was much farther down the beach but my pace was quick. I didn't dare look behind me as my feet hit the boardwalk leading to the restrooms and the food shacks, which were deserted.

The girl's dressing room was empty and scattered with wet sand. I went over to a sink and turned on the cold water, splashing it over my face. I stared at the sink as the water swirled around the drain. I tried to slow my breathing and my heart beat. I'm just imagining things, I thought. I'm sure of it. Except I wasn't sure of it at all. I left the sink and grabbed a paper towel, drying my hands and face. Letting out a deep sigh, I exited the dressing room.

"Hello, Beautiful," said a voice. I jumped and let out a small scream. The lifeguard was leaning against the entrance, staring at me with smoldering blue eyes. My heart beat sped up.

"Um... Hi," I said, uncertainly. There was no reason to panic and run. He's not dangerous, I told myself. He's not dangerous. He's not-

"It's odd how empty this place is," He said with a smirk on his face. I laughed nervously.

"Yeah," I replied. "Which reminds me, I should get back to my family. They're probably really worrying about me." That was a lie. I hadn't been gone long enough for them to panic. Or even remotely think about me. I imagined my mom still reading her magazine, my brother still digging a hole in the sand in an attempt to reach China and George snoring loudly on his beach chair. I had to get back to them as soon as possible. I tried to walk away from the guy but I tripped on something hard. Before I could stop myself, I fell, scraping my knee against the wooden floor of the bathhouse and causing blood to dribble down my leg.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" The lifeguard was suddenly at my side, a dramatic worried look on his face. I wanted to say, No, I'm not okay. You tripped me, you bastard. But of course, what proof did I have of that?

"I'm fine," I said, standing back up. "I need to go."  Before I could move anywhere, his fingers wrapped around my wrist and pulled me back into a sitting position.

"Regulation says I need to take care of that," he said, staring me down. "Taking care of people is what lifeguards are for." I had no choice but to stay. He pulled out a band aid, keeping his hand tightly around my wrist.

"We'll just put a band aid on it," he said, staring at my knee. "But first…" He lowered his head toward the wound.

"What are you doing?!" I asked him, sharply, but he didn't respond. I tried to lash out with my legs but he pressed down on my feet with his free hand then let go. As if by magic, my feet could no longer move. I noticed now that his other hand had let go of my wrist but an invisible force still held it in place. His fingers traced over my other arm and lips, freezing them in place. I screamed but it was muffled, unable to move past my frozen mouth. His lips brushed against my knee.  I let out a whimper which caught his attention. He looked up at me and smiled. His eyes were no longer baby blue but an icy bluish white, his pupils were tiny black dots in the center. He brushed his blood smudged lips against my ear.

"You are tantalizing, my dear," he whispered, in a much higher, courser voice. It echoed with the whispers of other voices, saying the same thing. "And I'm keeping you all to myself. You're too delicious to share." I was seriously freaked at this moment. I mean, what was this guy? A vampire?

"Get away from her, Vulturis," said a voice behind us. I nearly jumped out of my skin, except, of course, I couldn't actually move. The lifeguard looked up and grinned. He looked at something or someone just out of my vision range. If only I could turn my neck just a little…

"What is this?" He said. "Another snack?"

"I'm afraid there are no meals for you today," the voice replied.  The sound of metal being unsheathed followed.

"You can't hurt me with that mortal toy, boy," the lifeguard responded and turned back to me. "Go away and stop meddling with my feast." He smiled at me and stroked a piece of hair away from my face. His eyes traveled down to my waist and I immediately regretted wearing a bikini. He leaned down and kissed the flesh to the left of my belly button. Desperately trying to convince myself that this was a dream, I shut my eyes tight. My senses went haywire, as I felt his teeth sink into my skin, like a very painful shot. I screamed and this time, the scream echoed loudly throughout the beach house. The teeth released me and I opened my eyes. His body was writhing on the floor, spurting blood from where the head used to be. Feeling weight in my own lap, I looked down to see the lifeguard staring up at me with cold, lifeless eyes.

"Holy shit," I whispered and jumped up, sending the head flying.  It hit the floor with a sickening thud. My stomach rumbled uncomfortably and the edges of my vision started darkening. I looked down at my stomach and saw it covered with the lifeguards black blood.  "Oh god.." My eyes rolled back and I collapsed to the ground.
Sandy is a normal teenager with low self esteem and family issues. That is, until she is given the gift of attraction. Suddenly, everyone wants her and not entirely in the ways she would like them to. It leaves her wondering, is beauty a gift? Or a curse?

Whoot! My first chapter to my first story. Excitement!!! Please excuse my, mediocre writing. I'm working on it. :P Also, to avoid any confusion, Volturis are not Volturi (Voltori? However you spell it). These are not vampires. Nor is this, in any way, affiliated or similar to Twilight. Hope you like! I shall be posting the next chapter... at some point. Feel free to comment and correct!

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"hotter than the sun beating down on me" xD