B007Q4JDEM EBOK (21 page)

“He's probably just worried about you.”

I nodded, not wanting to talk any more on the subject. “I think I
know
what I want,
” I said.

“Great,” h
e smiled. “I'll probably just get a cheeseburger. Boring, huh?”

“
Probably more e
xciting than my grilled cheese,
” I chuckled. I had missed spending time with him.

Mitch returned with our drinks and asked for our orders. He winked at his brother as he left with the information. Jason's cheeks flushed again. “
So any idea what happened to that boy from music class
?
Karen and I haven’t seen him since.
”

My eyes widened somewhat at his mention of Salem. “I don't know. I haven't really seen him since then
either
.”

“Weird. Maybe he got suspended, or moves a lot or something. Or maybe he got sick too.
”

“
Maybe..
.” I mumbled. “How's Karen?”

“She's doing fine. She's been worried sick about you
too though
.”

“Oh,
” I frowned and played with the wrapper from my straw. “Well, can you tell her that I'm fine?”

“Of course,
”
h
e grinned. “Would you believe she is actually jealous that I took you out?”

I blinked and dropped the paper. “What?”

“I guess she kind of likes me,” h
e shrugged. “I never noticed
it before, we’ve all just been friends for so long, ya know?
”

“
Wow. I didn’t know that either
,
” I meant that more about him having interest in me than Karen being interested in him.

“You have missed a lot
of
school,” h
e commented as I took a sip of my soda. “None of it has been very exciting, though.
This isn’t going to screw up graduating with us is it?
”

“That's not surprising,
” I laughed. I had forgotten what it was like talking to someone who understood what my life was like outside of vampires.
“And no, I should be fine…I’ll j
ust
have
a lot to make up.”

Mitchell returned with a round tray of food. He placed a plate before each of us and sat a bottle of ketchup on the table.

“Thanks,
” I said as he walked away. I had also forgotten what it was like to have food served to me without the use of magic
, and how long it takes to have a meal cooked
. I could hardly imagine what it would be like to cook
anything
again. I laughed to myself at the thought and Jason looked at me awkwardly.

“What’
s so funny?” h
e asked as he bit into his cheeseburger.

“Nothing,” I mumbled,
“I'm just happy to be here.”

“Oh,” he smiled, “m
e
too.”

We ate in silence. So far this was going a lot better than I had feared.
Maybe
Salem had been right all along and there was nothing going on outside of friendship...but I still had my doubts.

“Hey, Alex...” Jason's voice broke the silence suddenly, and he reached a hand across the table.

I gulped as his skin touched mine. “What?”

“Thanks a lot for coming
out
with me today.”

“No problem,
” I smiled, eying his hand. “I've
had fun
.”

“
Me too
,” h
e looked away for a second. “I was kind of hoping we could do it again sometime.”

“Yeah, maybe...” I said with a frown. I was glad he wasn't looking directly at me.

“I was kind of thinking maybe
next we
ek we could see a movie, maybe…
If you’re up for it?
”

“We'll see,
” I replied, not wanting to hurt his feelings.

“Do you have other plans
or
something
?”

“
No…not exactly. If something comes up I’ll let you know.
”

“Okay,” h
e smiled again. Mitchell returned, gave him the check and walked off. “There's something else I wanted to talk about.”

“What is it?” I asked reluctantly.

“My parents...” h
e sighed,
barely able to speak the words, “m
y parents are getting a divorce.”

“What! How did that happen? They've always seemed so happy!”

“Exactly. They've
seemed
happy. But they haven't been. It was dad's idea, he said there is no more passion in their marriage and he doesn't want to
go on
if things are going to stay that w
ay,” h
e explained. “I'm
thinking
’
of looking for a place to move to. I can hardly stand the
arguing and fighting
anymore. With the money I get at Howard's, I should be able to aff
ord
something
’
small.”

I frowned, “I'm so sorry, Jason. I had no idea.”

“
Yeah, me either really
,” h
e said, smiling just sligh
tly. “It will be okay, though.
Do you want me to take you home after this?”

“Sure
,
” I mumbled, deep in thought about Mr. and Mrs. Banner. They had always been such a cheerful, happy couple. It was bizarre thinking it had all been a facade.

Jason let go of my hand long enough to pay for the meal and get out of his seat. As soon as we were standing, he reached over casually and took it again and didn't let go again until we reached the car. He once again opened the door for me before getting in on his side.

“Alex,” h
e said calmly, buckling himself in
and glanced at me
, “I had a nice time, really.
”

“Yeah, it was fun,
” I said,
looking
back
at him. That was my first mistake. I was shocked at how close he was to my face. “Jason-” before I got the rest of my words out, his lips were against mine. I pushed him away, possibly a little harder than I had intended.

“I'm sorry,” h
e mumbled, “I shouldn't have done that.
I don’t know what I was thinking.
”

“It's okay...” I said quietly, averting my eyes. “I just...I just wasn't expecting it, is all.”

“You liked it, then?” h
is voice was hopeful.

I couldn't answer him. “Let's ju
st wait before we do that again,
” I murmured. “Just take me home, please.”

“Okay...” h
e sounded upset, but I tried to ignore the urge to comfort him. “I'm sorry. I hope you aren't mad at me.
I just…
”

“I'm just...surprised, that's all.
Let’s just go.
”

When we got to my house, I said bye quickly and ran inside. Salem was waiting patiently on the sofa, reading a book. I hesitated for a moment, then walked into the room and greeted him. He could tell that I was
upset
.

“What happ
ened?” h
e asked as he set the book aside. “Did you not have a nice time?”

“I did up until the end,
” I grumbled and slumped down on the couch. “Jason kissed me.”

Salem stared at me, a flicker of
anger
illuminating his eyes
with a hint of crimson
. I had never seen him react in such a way, it was startling
. He clenched his fists t
ightly. “Salem...” I whispered as
I backed away slightly,
“Your eyes…”

“Did you...” h
e didn't finish the sentence
as he ignored me
. He sighed and looked away from me. “Did you return it?”

“No!” I shouted. “I
can’t believe you would even ask that!
”

“I just wouldn't be completely surprised if you sa
w something better about him,” h
is lips we
re set in a firm, straight line, “t
he warmth, the lack of worrying about Paul, living a normal life
again
...”

I shook my head in anger. “
You obviously don’t know me as well as I thought
!” I got up to leave the room, but the cold fingers lacing around my arm stopped me.

“Don't leave, Alex,” h
e whispered in a gentle voice. “I apologize for my behavior...”

“
You’re the one that said I should go
.
You’re the one that said-
”

“You're right,” h
e sighed, turning me around to face him. His expression was more relaxed, and his eyes were natural again. “I'm not used to having competition.”

“You don't have any competition. He's my best friend, who clearly thinks I want to be more than that...and I think I have Paul to thank for that later.”

Salem didn't reply, instead he put his arms around me, dipped me downward slightly and kissed me deeply. My head was spinning, but I wasn't complaining – it was a good feeling this time. He pulled me up and kissed me again, this time more gently. “I want my lips to be the only ones to
ever
touch yours,” h
e whispered in my ear.

“
Salem..
.” I replied quietly, pressing my body against his. Those three words came to mind again and I pushed them away.
“Salem…why were your eyes red when I told you that?”
             
“Anger can cause that to happen,” h
e frowned. “Unfortunately, it’s not something easily controlled.”

“
Oh…” I
said
as I thought it over. “
I should get ready for tonight.
”

He regrettably loosened me from his embrace and I sauntered upstairs to shower. I got dressed in an entirely black outfit – Paul insisted it would be easier to sneak around the cemetery if I blended in with the darkness. I could hear a car pulling into the driveway as I wandered downstairs. I wasn't ready yet...then again, would I ever be?

“Salem?” I said as I entered the kitchen. I sighed sadly, realizing he said he would leave before Paul and I did. I wondered if I would
even
notice him when I got there – part of me hoped I wouldn't, and I truly h
oped Paul
didn’t find him
.

When I went to open the door, I peered through the window and noticed in shock that the rain had turned to snow. Gentle flakes were whirling through the air, illuminated by
the lights on Paul's Wrangler - s
o much for blending in with the surroundings. I grabbed my crossbow from one of the kitchen drawers and headed out to the car.

The drive to the cemetery was tense. I avoided eye contact with Paul as I furiously thought over what happened between Jason and me. I decided to wait until a later time to bring it up. There were far more important things I had to focus on – like getting a grip on my nerves. Paul pulled the car over about a mile away from the cemetery to make it less conspicuous. We walked the rest of the way in silence, my jaw tightly clenched as I fought the urge to yell at him.

The graveyard was surprisingly beautiful and depressing at the same time. Snow covered the ground, sprinkled across the tops of the tombstones and the realistic silk flowers lain before them. There were sparse trees spread throughout the cemetery, all of them bare of leaves and seemingly as dead as the corpses in the ground. I wondered where Salem might be hiding, but I tried to avoid searching for him. A sudden crunching sound reached my ear and I turned to look at Paul – from the look on his face I knew he had heard it, too.

“Be very quiet,” h
e whispered in a tone so low that i
t was hardly audible. “Someone’
s here.”

I nodded my head, following slowly behind him as he crept toward a large crypt in the very back of the cemetery. I noticed we were surrounded by a tall wrought iron fence from all sides but the small gate we had entered through. I hoped I could run fast enough to reach the gate, or else
climb
over the fence, if necessary.

Someone whimpered from behind the crypt. My heart leapt in my chest, thumping loud and hard as we approached the tomb. Then, a voice came – it was a woman speaking in a comforting voice.

“I
t
won't hurt
long
, precious,” she said soothingly, “j
ust relax.”