Bleeding Love (25 page)

“Stop, Yvonne,” Adrienne
persuaded through gritted teeth. “I'm getting tired of your shit.”

“Oh, my shit?”

“Yeah, you're
jealousy. Stop it, already,” Adrienne then said. “You have more than enough.”

“More than
enough, but not the most important.”

“Is this a love
triangle?” Tristan sneered.

Adrienne rolled
her eyes. She couldn't believe Tristan had the audacity to be so blunt.

He kept at them, “So
both of you
 like
 Xavier?”

“Like Xavier?”
 Yvonne raised her voice. “She
doesn’t even know him 
that 
well. How can she like him?”

Frowning,
Adrienne said, “I don't know if I like him in that way.” She was playing with
her fingers, looking at her hands and not at her friends or Yvonne. “But I miss
him, so don't make it sound like I don't care about him.”

Yvonne stopped
and stared at Adrienne for a moment. She pressed her lips together, thinking.
No matter what she did or how she felt, nothing would ever happen between
Xavier and her. No matter how much she didn’t want to like Adrienne, or how
much she wanted the other woman to go away, it just didn’t matter. Yvonne was
never going to get Xavier. No matter how much she glared at the psychic
vampire, nothing was going to happen. And no matter how many times she planned
on embarrassing her, she was always going to finish last, always and forever.
She realized that it was better to give up now. To gracefully step back and go
forward in a different way.

“Just be
grateful, Yvonne. You have almost everything.” Adrienne said quietly.

Yvonne felt that
the other woman was being genuinely honest.

“You're the most
beautiful woman I've ever seen. And if you're in the Night Class, you're
probably much smarter than most of us, if not all.”

“You're smart
too, Adrienne,” said Tristan, backing up his friend.

“But Yvonne
doesn't have to try.” Adrienne now looked at the blonde. “You look gorgeous
without make–up. You’re smarter than Constance's most nerdy nerds even when you
don't study. You’re faster, and stronger than any girl I know. Be happy with
what you do have, no one is perfect.”

“And I guess that
one imperfect thing is Xavier?” she asked, slowly nodding her head in
understanding.

Adrienne smiled
cheekily. “I wouldn't call him imperfect.”

“So hold on to
him.”

Adrienne was
truly shocked when she heard Yvonne say this.

“I just realized
that fighting for him will get me nowhere.” Yvonne looked at her. “So hold on
to him. Make sure that you appreciate who he is.”

“Are we calling a
truce?” Adie said.

“Take it before I
change my mind.” Yvonne smiled.

“Truce,” Adrienne
said finally, gifting Yvonne with a very minute nod.

“So does that
mean you two are friends?” Brianna's voice was laced with pure hope.

Eyeing each other,
Yvonne and Adrienne shook their heads, and both said at the same time, “I
wouldn't go 
that
 far.”

“I'll just stop
my snide remarks,” Yvonne answered, flipping her light-colored locks. “That
doesn't mean we're friends, alright?”

“I wouldn't dream
of that.”

Before any more
words could be exchanged between the two, Yvonne turned on her heel with
Tatiana and Valerie following closely behind her.

Adrienne couldn't
help but stop for a moment and replay the last few moments. What happened had
just gone by so fast. One minute she was irritated with Yvonne, and then the
other, they made a truce. She couldn't help but grin. That was 
so 
weird.

“Do you mind if I
go after her?” Tristan asked. He looked at Adrienne nervously. He still had
feelings for his best friend, the kind that could challenge Xavier's, but just
like Yvonne, he realized that nothing would ever happen if he continued his
desperate attempt to hang on to her. She was Xavier's.

“Tristan, I'm not
your mother.” Adrienne couldn't help but laugh. “You can do whatever you want
really. No hard feelings, I promise.”

With one final
hug, Tristan, hoping to catch the blonde vampire, slowly let go of his best
friend before he jogged to one of the pink and violet decorated stores.

Now, it was only
Aidan, Brianna, and Adie. But even if Aidan and Brianna were still at her side,
Adrienne realized how alone she really was without Xavier.

It seemed like
everyone was being paired up with one another, and everyone took advantage of
that opportunity, everyone except for her. She had Xavier, an almost–perfect
person for her. He actually loved her already, and she didn't need to do
something drastic for that to happen. He was there, willing to be with her
anytime she desired. She frowned at the realization. She had always been the
one who was making their relationship more difficult than it really was.

“You two have fun,”
she said softly, slowly walking away from the couple. “I'm going to meet my dad
in a few hours anyway. I'll talk to you guys later.”

Smiling, she
waved goodbye, and Brianna shouted, “If you're feeling lonely, come to my place
when you are done with dinner! Aidan will make dessert for us!”

“I seriously will!”
he said, also raising his voice.

“I'll keep that
offer in mind. Thanks guys!”

Her smile grew
even bigger. She was so, so glad to have friends like them.

* * * * *

“So aren't you
ashamed you're hanging out with your principal?” Carter Stahl asked, teasing
his daughter.

They were seated
at the Chinese Restaurant in one of the corner booths. So far, the dinner was
good and the service was more than commendable. Even if this was a
father–daughter dinner, the food they ordered was enough to feed a family of
five. They had ordered three different kinds of dumplings until they realized
those wouldn't be enough and ordered Yang Chow fried rice, salt and pepper
spare ribs, and steamed fish that were topped with garlic.

“You're also my
father, 
Dad
,” she answered, laughing softly as she sharpened the
sides of her chop sticks. “And besides, this place is too pricey for any
student to go to. Even I wouldn't go here with friends.”

“So you're using
me, kiddo?”

“I'm using you
with love.” She gave him a cheeky smile before she stuck out her tongue at him.

After a round of
casual banter, Carter Stahl changed the subject and opened a serious subject.
With a heavy sigh, he asked his one and only daughter how she felt without
Xavier. “You holding up well, kid?” he asked her, looking intently at the
eighteen–year old vampire. “The house's been quiet, huh?”

Smiling, Adrienne
nodded slowly, her head bobbing up and down in a dull pace. Xavier again, Xavier,
Xavier, and Xavier,

“Why does
everyone assume that just because he's gone, my life has now become a black
hole?” she sounded like it was more an internal question. “Am I really affected
by his absence? Because I don't notice it, yet everybody seems to think so.”

“I don't think
you've changed,” he answered in all honesty. “It's just that everyone,
including me of course, has grown fond of the idea of Xavier and you. How do
you kids call it nowadays? The 'It' couple? Am I correct?”

“Oh no, dad!
Yuck!” Adrienne was laughing in her seat. “It sounds so gross to hear you say
that!”

“I'm not that
old, am I?”

“Dad,” Adrienne
stared at him in bewilderment. “Are you really asking me that question? You're
centuries old already! That's very far from being young, trust me.”

“So are you.” He
teased back. “Don't forget that you just stopped aging.”

“But I'm still
young, seriously! Unlike you,” she replied, still chuckling. “You've
accomplished so much already while I, I still have a lot of dreams I want to
pursue.”

Her father's face
grew sober as he straightened in his seat. He was glad he’d taken her to diner
tonight. They needed this time to talk. “It's nice that you started this topic,
Adie.” Carter Stahl was proud of his daughter, proud of the fact that Adrienne
had dreams, that even though she was given all kinds of luxuries, she still wanted
to accomplish something on her own. Not many heiresses were like that. “So what
are these, goals?”

“Oh god, Dad,” she
said, rolling her eyes. “I can't believe we're going to have another college
talk.”

“Well you're the
one that brought it up.” He breathed out a small sigh. “So are you still keen
on pursuing a degree in business?”

Adrienne smiled a
small smile before she shook her head. “Actually, I've changed my mind.” She
looked hesitant. “I've already applied to Yale, and they've offered me both
academic and athletic scholarships. I'm going to take archaeology.”

“Adrienne, I'm
really proud of you,” her father then said, eyes starting to water. “You've
never let me down, even when I never pressured you to excel, but you did, and
you did it all on your own. You did it without the use of your 
abilities
.”

She looked up from
her plate and returned her dad’s smile. She had to agree with him. He never
forced her to be smart or athletic or to do this and that. She wanted all the
things she had right now. She wanted to be an Honors student. She wanted to
compete in national and international tennis competitions. Yes, she had
undergone backbreaking practices and troubles to get to where she stood today,
but she realized that with the way her father's eyes glimmered in happiness and
all the scholarship opportunities she was being offered, everything was worth
it, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

“Thanks, Dad.”
She let out a small laugh. “It's nice to see you all-sentimental, really.”

“You've succeeded
and more, kiddo,” he answered sincerely. “And archaeology? I'd never think
you'd go into that.”

“I've been
thinking about it.” She took a bite from her rice. “And I feel that this course
will help me get a small glimpse of the past I can't remember.”

Nodding in
understanding, Carter Stahl then delved deeper and read his daughter's mind.

“I know I can
just ask you or Xavier for memories of me as a baby, but I also want to figure
out some of this on my own. I don't really know, but I can tell you that all of
a sudden I have a big interest in history.”

“Then you do
that. I'll just hang out in the background and help with any financial support,”
he said to her teasingly, his lips curving up into a small smile. “I don't
think the scholarships can sustain the money you'll need to buy a new wardrobe
for college.”

“And his
sentimentality finally vanishes,” Adrienne answered with a light chuckle. “But
seriously dad, will you really give me money to buy a new wardrobe?”

“It's either that
or an apartment kiddo.”

“I think that
or
is supposed to be an
and
, don't you think, Dad?”

“Don't push your
luck, Adrienne,” he then answered her, on the brink of guffawing. “Maybe you
can ask Xavier for one of the two as an early wedding present.”

Adrienne's eyes
turned dark instantly, her hazel brown eyes narrowed into thin, long slits.
Whatever she talked about and whomever she talked to, the end topic was always
Xavier. Yes, she missed him, but she didn't think her life revolved him, or did
it?

“Shut up, Dad.”
She bit her lip. Of course, she was only joking. “Don't remind me about him.”

“Why, because every
time you think of him, the more you miss him?”

* * * * *

Hours later she
answered the question her father had asked at dinner. Now that she was alone,
she could admit it to herself. “Yes,” Adrienne said softly to herself. Her own
breath tickled the skin on her arms, as she lay comfortably on her bed. “I miss
him.”

Shaking her head,
she muttered a curse at how idiotic she was acting. When she first woke up and
right before she slept, all she could think about was 
him.

She thought about
h
ow the house was so silent
without him. She wondered why her days seemed robotic and so planned out with
his absence. She was thinking all about these, all about him, as she tried to
fall asleep.

After hanging out
with her friends and her father, Adrienne was too tired to do anything. Yet her
mind kept going over and over the same thing. Her fiancé. She hadn’t bought
into the whole betrothed thing before, but now she thought that word had a bit
of a ring to it.

“I'll see you in
a month,” she then mouthed out in a whisper, remembering the last words she
said to him before he walked through the automatic doors of the airport. “Fuck,”
she cursed again.

She realized how
her feelings ran much deeper than she thought they did. She wasn’t just missing
him anymore. She was
really, really
, missing him. She wanted him now,
right beside her and at this very moment.

Xavier had only
been gone for such a short time, yet she had already realized that how much she
really liked him and needed him. She wanted to be with him.