Fate of the Vampire (16 page)

“Great,” I grumbled at her. “You could have just called me earlier.”

“I know, but I was feeling vulnerable because you’ve been blowing me off lately.” Blossom said it in a fake pouty voice, but I knew there was some truth behind it.

Baking and decorating sugar cookies actually turned out to be fun, even with Sheila there. I was expecting a constant flow of snarkiness directed at me, but there really wasn’t that much. But Sheila apparently did have something against a girl in our class named Haley Scott. “She is such a mega-slut,” Sheila said, warming to her task of tearing into the girl.

“Haley?” Blossom asked, wrinkling her nose in disbelief as she shook red sprinkles over a row of candy cane cookies. “Are you sure about that? I’d be more willing to believe she’s Amish than someone who sleeps around.”

I had to agree with Blossom. I didn’t know Haley Scott very well, but she appeared to be a shy girl who dressed fairly conservatively and pretty much kept to herself. “Who does she sleep with?” I asked as I spread a thick layer of white frosting across the belly of a snowman cookie. Any of those terms like “sleeps around” or “gets around” or “puts out” really bothered me because they’re all about slut
-shaming the girl while leaving any boys potentially involved as completely anonymous.

“Lots of guys,” Sheila said
, helping herself to a handful of chocolate chips.

I wasn’t going to let her off that easily, so I prodded her
. “Yeah, but who specifically?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Sheila said. I could tell she was annoyed I was pushing her for details, but she was the one slandering another girl. “Tommy Sherman says she’s pretty much there whenever he wants it. It’s like ordering a pizza.”

“Tommy Sherman?” Blossom said, doing little to hide her disbelief. “I seriously doubt that.”

Tommy Sherman was on the verge of handsome. He was the star of the basketball team and really popular. But given both their social standings, I seriously doubted that he and Haley had ever been alone in the same room together, let alone had sex. “Are you sure she’s just not his math tutor or something?” I asked. As far as I knew
, Haley was wicked smart. “I seriously doubt Haley would go for a guy like Tommy Sherman.”

Sheila shrugged. “That’s not what Tommy says.”

I knew that high school boys were more than likely lying about any sexual conquest they were bragging about. It did surprise me that Sheila didn’t realize that boys would lie about that kind of stuff. “I’m sure he’s exaggerating,” I said, picking up a tube of green frosting to add some stripes to a couple of Christmas ornament cookies.

“Well, what about you?” Sheila said, going on the offensive. “Where’s this magically delicious Vanderlind boyfriend that we’ve heard so much about?”

That’s what I got for trying to defend Haley. Sheila wouldn’t dare get angry with Blossom, who was also calling her on her slut-shaming, but she had no problem with targeting me. Blossom immediately tried to come to my aid by saying “She doesn’t always talk about him,” but that only made Sheila focus on me more.

“Seriously, Aurora. Where is Mr. Wonderful? Is he coming to Blossom’s party
, or will there be a last-minute excuse?”

“What are you trying to say?” I asked, resisting the urge to squirt the green frosting in her face.

“I’m saying that you accuse Tommy of lying, but you’re not so handy with the truth yourself. Are you?”

“She’s not making it up,” Blossom prote
sted, outraged on my behalf.

Sheila swung around to look at her. “Oh? And have you seen this mysterious Vanderlind boyfriend?”

“No,” Blossom had to admit, “but I’ve been standing right next to her when she’s called the castle.”

“But you’ve never actually met him?” Sheila pressed, a look of triumph flashing in her eyes. “So, tell us, Aurora,” she said, swinging back around on me. “Is this boy like an imaginary friend? You totally think he’s real, but the rest of us can't see him?”

I wondered, and not for the first time, why Blossom chose to hang out with someone as nasty as Sheila. Their friendship was sporadic. Blossom would at some point get sick of her bitchiness and blow Sheila off for a while, but they always drifted back together again.

“Well?” Sheila said, interrupting my ruminating.

“He’s coming to the party,” I said as matter-of-factly as I could muster. “It’s not a big deal.” I started frosting again.

“Sure it’s not,” she said with a significant eye
roll. I guess she could sense the chronic insecurity just hanging off of me.

Thankfully, Blossom was able to turn the conversation away to less volatile topics after that. I tried to participate and sound light hearted, but in the back of my brain I was constantly thinking
How the hell am I going to get my vampire boyfriend to Blossom’s Christmas Eve party?

By the end of the day
, I was sticky with frosting and feeling slightly sick to my stomach. I tried to blame it on all the sweets I had been sampling for the last several hours, but part of it was dreading the call I was going to have to make after the sun was fully down.

I drove home as the sun started to set, forcing myself to focus on the road. It was tempting either
to keep constantly scanning the sky for hostile bloodsuckers or to sit for two cycles of a red light, chewing my lip and wondering what was going on with Jessie.

By the time I pulled in the garage, I had psyched myself up to calling him. He was my boyfriend, after all. I didn’t want to be one of those girlfriends who
were too clingy and needed constant attention, but I was entitled to call him once in a while. Wasn’t I?

Even with all my mental prep, I waited a good forty-five minutes before picking up the phone. I didn’t like when people called me first thing when I got up in the morning, so I figured the same held true for vampires when they first got up at night.

Once I couldn’t think of any other excuse not to call, I pulled out my cell and hit Jessie’s number.

“Wanderlind Castle,” Viggo answered.

“Hi, Viggo. It’s Aurora,” I said, knowing my voice sounded way too chipper.

“Miss Aurora, it is nice to hear from you. Vould you like to speak to Mr. Jessie?” he wanted to know.

“Yes, please,” I told him, my foot tapping out an involuntary tempo.

“Please hold,” Viggo said
, and then I heard him put the phone down.

The castle was large. Castle size, in fact. And I didn’t think they had any kind of intercom system or anything, so it didn’t surprise me that I was left waiting for a good five minutes before I heard Jessie’s melodious voice. “Hello?” he said. “Aurora?”

“Hi,” I said, trying not to sound breathless.

“Is anything wrong?” he asked immediately.

“No,” I told him. “Why?”

“I was just wondering why you called.” His voice sounded guarded.

“Um, Jessie …?” I said. “It’s perfectly normal in this century for a girl to call her boyfriend. You realize that, don’t you?”

I heard a different male voice in the background say, “Is that the girl?”

“Aurora,” Jessie said. “Would you please hold the line for a moment?” Before I could answer, I heard the phone being muffled against something, probably his chest. There was a brief conversation between Jessie and the unidentified male, but I couldn’t make it out. After a few moments, he came back online and said, “Okay, I’m listening.” I knew he wasn’t really listening.

“Blossom’s Christmas party is tomorrow night,” I told him, deciding to forego repeating the explanation as to how the reason I called was because we were in a relationship and it was perfectly acceptable for me to call. “It’s outside, so there won’t be any problems about an invitation,” I hurriedly added before he had time to protest. “I was just wondering if we’ll be going to the party together or what?” I couldn’t summon the nerve to ask him if I was still invited to the castle later in the evening. He hadn’t brought it up since first mentioning it.

“Aurora, I don’t think it’s advisable for you to go out after sunset right now,” Jessie said, his voice strained, letting me surmise that the someone else was still listening. “In fact, I would discourage Blossom from having a party at all.”

When a vampire tells you not to go out at night, it’s usually advisable to listen. And half of my brain was shouting at me,
Listen to him! He obviously knows what he’s talking about.
But the other half of my brain was thinking
Sheila will never let me live this down if I don’t show to the party. She will mock me forever.
It’s absurd to prioritize high school BS over self-preservation, but it was compounded by my feeling insecure about calling and not hearing from him the previous day. And that he’d completely stood me up just the other night. As the icing on my cake of insecurities, there was the fact that someone was eavesdropping on our conversation. I heard the anonymous male voice say, “Oh, let her go to the party. She’s a young girl. She needs to socialize with people her own age.” The voice was as smooth as Jessie’s but with more than a hint of arrogance.

“Jessie,” I said, my voice coming out sharper than I intended. “Would you mind letting me know who else is listening in on our conversation?”

“Oh.” Jessie apparently hadn’t realized that I could hear the commentary on the other end of the line. “My cousin Dorian just arrived, and he has a lot of opinions.” He said the second half of the sentence with significance, and I could tell he was probably shooting the cousin a few daggers with his eyes.

“Okay, fine,” I said with a sigh. All I needed was another Vanderlind who didn’t like me and felt the need to express his opinions. Jessie’s brother was quite enough, as far as I was concerned. “Here’s the deal,” I told him. “I’m going to Blossom’s party tomorrow night. I would really like it if you were there. Hell, you can even bring your cousin, if it’s that big of a deal to you. But just so you know, I’m going to be there.” It was a dirty bit of manipulation on my part. I was pretty confident that if Jessie thought I was in danger, he wouldn’t tolerate me going to the party without him. He would have to attend. I wasn’t proud of myself, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to spend the rest of my high school career being mocked by the likes of Sheila.

I heard the cousin exclaim, “A mortal party? With young people? I haven’t been to one of those in almost a century. Please tell your young mortal that I am RSVPing yes.”

“Aurora,” Jessie said into the phone
, and I could tell he was not pleased. “This is a very bad idea.”

“Is that how you treat your mortal?” I heard the silky voice of Jessie’s cousin exclaim in the background. “And this is a modern way to behave?” I could almost hear him rubbing his chin as he thought about it. “Fascinating.”

I felt a wave of remorse wash over me. I had just invited my vampire boyfriend and his cousin, who I had never met but who sounded like a typical arrogant vampire, to my best friend’s Christmas party. There would be dozens of mortal teenagers there. In fact, there would be almost every friend I had at Tiburon High. I was being stupid and pigheaded and selfish. “You’re right,” I said, after a few more seconds of internal struggle. “Forget I even said anything.” I could suck up being mocked by Sheila. It wouldn’t be the end of the world. Better to keep my friends safe than save my ego.

I heard Jessie exhale a long, quite audible sigh. “No, I understand,” he said. “It’s important to you.” After another long pause, he added, “As long as it’s outside, my cousin and I would be happy to attend.”

“Seriously?” I whispered. I’d already given in. Didn’t he realize he had won?

“Yes, I am being very serious,” Jessie said. “Is it still your intention to attend my mother’s Christmas Eve party once we’ve made an appearance at Blossom’s celebration?” he asked, his voice crisp with irritation.

“I …” I stammered. What was I about to agree to? Was I that much of an idiot? Was I the kind of girl who puts her friends at risk just to serve her own ego? A little voice in my head said,
Yes. That’s exactly who you are. You’re selfish and insecure. Admit it. Say yes.
“No,” I finally managed to say with a sputter.

“No, you do not intend to spend Christmas Eve at the castle?” he asked, his voice sounding a little hurt.

“No, I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant.” I felt like my tongue was intentionally saying words I didn’t want it to say. I started over. “I would be happy to spend Christmas Eve with you and your family,” I told him. “But we don’t have to go to Blossom’s. I’ll make up an excuse.” I knew I’d have to deal with Sheila’s snarkiness, but that was no excuse for risking Blossom and the rest of my friends.

“I can’t believe you are denying your pet this one small pleasure after all the suffering you’ve caused her,” I heard
Dorian say. “And me, too, for that matter. Did it ever occur to you that I might like to attend the party? It’s all I really want for Christmas.” I could tell the vampire was feigning hurt.

“Would you cut it out, already?” Jessie said. I assumed he was addressing his cousin.

“We really don’t have to go,” I repeated. “To Blossom’s, I mean.”

Dorian
countered, “Oh, but listen to her. She wants to go so desperately. We really should.”

“The two of you need to stop it right now,” Jessie snarled. “Aurora, we’ll be over to pick you up at half past seven to attend both parties.”

“But …” I tried to protest.

“I will see you tomorrow,” Jessie said, no longer listening to me. “Good
night.” I heard him hang up the phone. It felt rather abrupt.

That did not go at all the way I’d expected. I’d had a complete change of heart and definitely did not want vampires at Blossom’s party. No matter who the vampires happened to be. What if
Dorian tried to use his vampire influence over one of the other guests? Vampires had some control over most mortals when they wanted. Their eyes got all intense and fiery, and it felt like the most ridiculous amount of peer pressure imaginable. I had experienced it first hand on more than one occasion, and it was definitely hard to fight off. All you wanted to do was please the vampire, no matter the request. I was going to have to keep a close eye on Dorian for the entire party. Why had I been so foolish as to include him in the invitation? As it was, I felt stupid and selfish for bringing it up in the first place.

Lying in bed that evening, I couldn’t fall asleep. I missed Jessie. I was addicted to having him come by every night. I could feel my body craving to be with him. And sleeping with him had only made my cravings worse. It didn’t matter that we’d only cuddled. The mere touch of his hand or brush of his lips was more thrilling than the intimate kiss of any other boy.

At some point
, I abandoned the thought of actually falling asleep and got out of bed to sit by my window with the curtains open, staring out into the dark. I thought of the many nights Jessie had spent sitting on the opposite side of the sill, telling me about his life and me sharing what little there had been of my life to tell. It was so wonderful just to be able to look at him, to reach across the small barrier and touch his arm, to feel him watching me … I suddenly had the uncomfortable feeling that someone was actually watching me.

I tried not to freeze or frantically whip my head around, not wanting to react and give myself away. Casually, I let my eyes drift from tree to tree. Was someone out there? Was I being observed by a member of the undead? It had happened before
, and I definitely had that same creepy feeling.

I strained my ears, listening for any snatch of conversation or the sound of a twig snapping. I was grasping for any indication of where my potential voyeur was perched. I guess I wasn’t acting as natural as I hoped and the vampire knew I was on
to him because in the blink of an eye, a member of the undead stepped out of the air and onto the porch roof.

I was so startled
, I almost fell over backward and had to grip the window sill to keep from shrieking. It was the old man. The one that had been spying on us in the graveyard. He strode directly up to my window and stood there, looking at me. He didn’t move like an old man. In fact, he stood tall and moved fluidly. His face was wrinkled yet firm, not sagging like the skin of the elderly. He had a scar that slashed through his left brow and down his cheek. I realized it must have been something he received before being turned. His eyes were dark and shaded by heavy brows, but I could see the intensity underneath, burning like embers at the end of a bonfire.
He’s trying to get me under his influence
, I thought and tried to hurriedly turn away, but it was too late. I found that I couldn’t move. I could only stare at the young old man.

“You are the companion of Jessie Vanderlind?” the vampire asked, his eyes boring a hole into me.

“No,” I told him. I actually didn’t want to tell him anything but felt compelled to speak.

“I have seen you together,” the vampire insisted. “More than once.” His dark eyes became almost red
; he was staring at me so intensely. “Are you his companion?”

“No,” I said again. I was being truthful, but it took every bit of my strength not to tell him the details of my relationship
with Jessie.

The vampire scowled at me. He fidgeted slightly from foot to foot, which somewhere in the back of my brain I knew was uncharacteristic for the undead. “What are you to Jessie Vanderlind if you are not his companion?” he asked.

“I’m his girlfriend,” I said. I didn’t want to say it, but he obviously wanted to know so badly that the words came sliding out.

“His girlfriend?” the vampire asked, his upper lip curling in disgust. “But you are a mortal. How is that possible?”

“We’re in love,” I told him. It was a simple truth.

The vampire adamantly shook his head. “No!” he said, thumping the window glass and making it vibrate. “I don’t believe you. A Vanderlind would never be with a mortal. Tell me the truth. Tell me how you know Jessie Vanderlind and why you think you’re in love with him.”

I didn’t want to tell him, but I found I couldn’t stop myself. My brain was urging me to just close the curtain and hide in my bed, but my body refused to obey. “Jessie was in love with my great great aunt Colette Gibson, and they were going to be conjoined. But she was killed by another vampire. We met a few months ago and both felt a very strong connection. I frequently have dreams that are probably actually Colette’s memories.” Then I found myself saying something that I had never said out loud before. In fact, it was something I hadn’t even been willing to admit to myself. “I don’t understand how reincarnation works, but there’s a strong chance that I was Colette in a past life.”