Drake clapped rhythmically. "Chug it, chug it, chug it!" He was sitting in the chair; I was standing in the middle of the room in front of the couch.

Mom and Dad were standing a little distance away from me, near the kitchen entrance and Corey was leaning against the wall, away from all of us whilst Trey was standing a few feet from Drake.

"Shut up, Drake." I retorted the holy water in my hands, waiting for me to drink.

The priest continued to go over verses from the bible; I was ignoring him best I could.

"Arabelle, drink it." Mom ordered.

"This is not sanitary." I stated. "I'd rather drink orange juice. Orange juice is holy, with the coming from trees and God created trees..."

Mom looked at me incredulously. "Just drink it. The sooner we get this over with them, the sooner your better."

"It's not going to do anything."

Drake was nodding. "She's right Mom, though when this was first performed to try and reverse vampirism it was believed to have worked successfully and therefore got credit for being able to work, the person in fact was actually not a vampire. It doesn't actually work. And even if it could, it's a very low possibility."

"How do you know so much about this stuff?" I asked him in amazement.

"I find it interesting." He replied.

"Tell me more." I insisted.

"Stop stalling." Dad ordered exasperatedly.

"I'm not I was simply interested in what he was saying." I claimed innocently.

"Oh, did I tell you Mom and Dad got me a slave?" Drake said to me.

"What?"

He nodded, smirking. "Yep, I don't know where she is, I think she's in the kitchen or something, I don't know I just told her to stay in there."

"You didn't have to go and pick your slave out?"

He shook his head.

"Lucky!" I exclaimed.

"Can we please stop getting sidetracked?" Mom commented.

"I don't want to drink this stuff."

"Just do it." She replied.

I took in a deep breath, glancing at Corey, who was standing off to the side of the room.

I put the glass to my lips, glancing around as everyone looked at me expectantly.

Just as I tipped the glass to drink I saw Corey look away but then my attention was brought to the immediate burning in my throat as the water slid down it.

It was shocking how as soon as the water came in contact with my mouth it felt like a scolding hot torch had been shoved down my throat; even my nose burned.

Each gulp of it sent a fresh wave of even worse scorching pain.

Thankfully I didn't have to drink much, the glass wasn't even one thirds full but it was still enough to get a full dose of pain.

I pulled the empty glass from my lips, my eyes watering.

Drake clapped enthusiastically.

I laughed animatedly, mostly because the pain was so overwhelming I could only release it in either laughter or tears and I chose the first one.

"How much does it hurt?" Drake inquired, smiling.

"It's not that bad." I laughed. "What's next?"

The priest came up and placed a cross against my chest, reciting bible verses.

I was laughing hysterically the whole time.

Everyone was giving me weird looks except for Corey who just looked concerned.

It wasn't just my throat that burned like hell; it was now my chest, my neck and even my eyes.

My cheeks felt hot but I'm not sure if that was just from me laughing so much or what.

I was starting to feel lightheaded; I put a hand to my nose and came away with it covered in blood.

"Should we stop?" Drake questioned slightly worried.

"No, keep going just get me a towel or something." My voice was submissive.

He got up and swiftly went to the kitchen, coming back a few moments later and handing me a white dishcloth.

I put it to my nose to absorb the blood rapidly gushing from it.

The priest set down the bible, still holding the cross to my chest and dipped his fingers into a small bowl of holy water, placing his fingers on my forehead and then chest, muttering more verses or whatever.

"Well, thanks." I said dryly. "That helped."

I rubbed my eyes, hoping to help the dry, burning sensation in them.

We were done after a few more minutes and by then I was feeling completely drained of energy; I couldn't even laugh anymore or make comments.

My parents went to go walk the priest out, thanking him for coming.

I sat down on the couch, taking the towel away to inspect it; seeing it completely drenched in blood.

I placed it back to my nose, feeling more blood run down.

"I think I'm gonna pass out." I muttered, leaning back against the couch.

Corey sat down beside me, a worried expression cast over his gorgeous face.

"You're really pretty." I sighed.

He smiled nervously, laughing softly. "Thank you. I think you're really pretty too."

I smiled faintly, feeling worn out.

He rested his hand on my forehead, playing with one of the short curly strands of my hair. "I don't even have to ask. I know you're not okay."

"I'm fine." I replied, my eyes slowly closing. "Absolutely fine."

And before I knew it I was surrounded by utter darkness, my consciousness slipping away.