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“You know what,” Gabriel said, releasing Claire’s arm.
 
“I’m glad Sadie got out.
 
At least she didn’t have to stick around and let you dig your claws into her.”

Claire spat at him, unwilling to take that comment lying down.
 
“We both know you haven’t changed.
 
It’s all just an act to get in that girl’s pants.”

Gabriel rolled his eyes.
 
“Sure.
 
That’s my motive.
 
Just like I’ve worked so hard to get into yours!”
 
His voice was rising right along with his blood pressure.

Roseline was sure Claire’s howl could be heard by all of the neighbors.
 
“You jerk!
 
How dare you talk to me like that!”

“Why?
 
It’s the truth.”
 
Gabriel’s response was surprisingly emotionless.
 
Roseline couldn’t help but pump her fist in triumph.
 
So Gabriel hadn’t fooled around with Claire.
 
That was nice to know.
 

“You’re just trying to ruin my reputation!
 
Everyone knows you can barely keep your hands off me,” she screamed, making sure all of the questioning ears plastered to the windows heard.
 
“You can’t get enough of me.”

“We both know how much you’d like to believe that.”
 
His bitter laugh mashed Claire’s cry of indignation.
 
“And it’s not like you work hard to make everyone believe that you’re an upright girl.
 
You spend more time on your back than you do shopping!”
 

The sound of Claire’s slap didn’t surprise Roseline.
 
In fact she was surprised it hadn’t happened earlier.
 
“We’re through.
 
Do you hear me Gabriel Marston?
 
I never want to see you again!”

“Fine by me,” Gabriel replied, slamming the glass door in Claire’s face.
 
The eavesdroppers scattered, diving behind couches or slipping down the basement stairs as Gabriel stalked past.
   

Roseline remained crouched, wondering how long Claire would linger on the back porch.
 
She really needed to get inside and find William.
 

“Hello?
 
Yeah, it’s me Daddy.
 
Gabriel just broke up with me,” Claire cried into her cell phone.
 
Roseline rolled her eyes at Claire’s exaggerated sobbing.
 
“I don’t know what happened.
 
He just blew up and started accusing me of messing around with some other guy.”

There was a brief pause before Claire cried indignantly.
 
“How can you even ask me that?
 
Of course it’s his fault!”

“Whatever daddy.
 
Just come get me.”
 
Claire snapped her phone shut and stumbled towards the fence at the side of the house.
 

Roseline snuck out of the bushes as Claire unlatched the gate with great difficulty.
 
Claire lost her balance and plopped to the ground as the gate swung closed behind her.
 
Roseline silently raced across the moonlit yard and eased the glass door open.
 
Most of the drunken students had begun filtering out of the house now that the show had ended.
 
That would make it much easier for her to find William and get to heck out.

“William?” she called, cupping her hands around her mouth.
 
She wandered through the house, stepping lightly over snoring teens.

“He’s over there,” Gabriel whispered as he slipped up behind her.
 
He pointed to a crumpled heap on the couch in the basement.

Roseline rolled a snoring William over.
 
His face was covered with bright red lipstick and an impressive bruise was forming on his neck.

“Well at least someone had a good time,” Gabriel chuckled, sounding impressed.
 

Roseline nodded and bent down, bracing to lift William.
 
Gabriel’s electric touch stopped her.
 
“Let me.
 
He’s probably heavier then he looks.”

Frustrated with Gabriel’s intervention, Roseline was forced to watch him struggle to lift William’s dead weight.
 
“It’s no problem.
 
I’m sure I can manage him.”

Gabriel laughed, struggling to stand upright.
 
“You’d just crumble under his weight.
 
Especially in those shoes.”
 
His gaze trailed down the curve of Roseline’s calf but quickly shifted away.

Relenting, Roseline settled with following his slow pace up the stairs and across the side yard.
 
He knocked on the door before Roseline could stop him.
 
Her ears perked up as light foot steps approached.
 
“Oh no,” William’s mother moaned as soon as the door opened.
 
“I knew he’d overdo it,” she said, reaching for her son.
 

“I’ve got it, Mrs. Hughes.
 
Where do you want him” Gabriel grunted, crossing the threshold into his neighbor’s house.
 

“On the couch I guess.
 
I don’t want him ruining my new carpet!”

Roseline lingered in the doorway, unsure if she should enter or leave.
 
All of her clothes were still in Sadie’s room but she thought it best to sneak away.
 
Gabriel slipped out of the door as she turned, massaging his sore shoulder.
 
“That guy weighs a ton.
 
He should’ve been on our football team.”

“Thanks Gabriel.
 
Did you see Sadie?” Mrs. Hughes asked; worry lining her face as she squinted at the grandfather clock just down the hall.
 
It was ticking its way closer to 2:30am.

Roseline spoke up.
 
“She’s already home.
 
I think she left about an hour ago.”

Mrs. Hughes frowned, running her hands through her matted hair.
 
“Really?
 
I didn’t hear anything.
 
Well, thanks Rose.
 
I should probably go check on her,” she started to head off but turned back.
 
“Do you need a ride home dear?”

Roseline stifled a groan as Gabriel spoke up before she could decline the offer.
 
“That’s ok Mrs. Hughes.
 
I’ll take her home.”

Chapter 5

“My car’s this way,” Gabriel called, heading towards the far right side of his parent’s three car garage.
 
Flipping open a hidden panel, made to look like the rest of the bricks on the house, the door slowly clattered open.
 

“Gabriel, I’m really not sure this is a good idea…” she trailed off, her lips pulling up into a smile.
 
“A brand new Range Rover?
 
I have one just like this back home!”

Fane had talked her into buying it on a whim a couple years back and it’d quickly become her favorite.
 
Although her cherry red Ferrari was a close second!

Gabriel shrugged.
 
“It’s just a car.”

Roseline glanced at him over the hood.
 
Her slender fingers glided over the smooth paint as she fought back a stab of longing for her own car.
 

“It looks expensive, it’s foreign and it makes my dad look richer than he really is.
 
That’s the only reason why I have it, trust me.”

“Sounds like you two don’t get along so well.”

Gabriel smirked, shaking his head.
 
“Not at all.
 
Jump in.
 
You must be freezing out here.”
 
He hit the automatic unlock button and climbed up into the driver’s seat.
 
Roseline followed, somehow managing not to expose herself as she made the leap into the car.
 
“So…where to?”

Her mind was still screaming at her to jump right back out and run away, but she thought that plan would probably make Gabriel suspicious.
 
Instead, she resolved to get out of his car as fast as she could, while holding her breath of course!

“Um…you could just drop me off at Jimmy’s on
Brendon Street
.
 
I can walk from there.”

Piercing blue eyes gleamed out from the dark as he appraised her.
 
“What are you afraid of? Think I’m gonna stalk you if I know where you live?”

Stalking?
 
No.
 
But if he ever looked in her windows he would certainly start to ask questions that she wasn’t ready to answer yet.
 

“Of course not,” Roseline laughed, hating that it sounded forced.
 
Her palms felt clammy, her forehead beaded with sweat.
 
“It’s just that I’m kinda embarrassed about my house.
 
It’s a temporary thing until my mom can find something better, but she’s always gone for work so she’s barely even seen the place.”

Gabriel’s gaze softened.
 
“The first thing you should know about me is that I’m not hung up on status.
 
Sure I might look like I am, but it’s just a mask I wear to get through the day.
 
Under the designer clothes, expensive house and flashy car, I’m just a guy that wants to be normal.
 
I don’t care about the money.
 
Actually, to be honest…I hate it.”

“You hate money,” Roseline scoffed, rolling her eyes.
 
“Well I have learned one thing tonight.
 
You’re a terrible liar.”

“Ok.
 
Well not money in general,” Gabriel chuckled.
 
“Just Steve’s money.”

Roseline nodded slowly.
 
“I see.
 
You don’t like feeling like something you’re not.”

“Exactly,” Gabriel agreed, turning over the engine.
 
He backed smoothly out of the drive and paused in the street. “So?
 
Where to?” he asked again.

“Jimmy’s.”

Gabriel laughed.
 
“All right.
 
If that’s what you really want.”
 
He maneuvered the empty streets with confident ease.
 
“So you’re from
Romania
right?”

“Yes.”

“Ever see Dracula?”

Roseline spluttered.
 
“Are you serious?”

“Sure,” Gabriel shrugged.
 
“Isn’t that what all American’s ask you?
 
Vampires are all the rage here you know.”

How could she not know!
 
Everywhere she looked, handsome movie stars barred their teeth on movie posters and book covers.
 
Teenage girls fought over which guy should win the human girl.
 
T-shirts, calendars and even key chains promoted the romanticized idea of the vampire world but it was all so far from the truth.

“Yeah I think I’ve heard about it but its all just fantasy.
 
Vampires aren’t real,” she whispered, feeling a lump form in her throat.

“Really?
 
That’s a bummer.”

Roseline laughed at his pained face.
 
“Oh don’t tell me you actually believe those stories.”

“No way.
 
But the idea behind it is pretty cool.”
 
Her wince didn’t go unnoticed.
 
“You don’t agree?”

“In my experience, there are many different forms of evil.
 
Some are much older than others, more sinister and devious than humans could ever imagine.”
 
Roseline’s voice dropped to a whisper as she spoke of her past life.
 
Gabriel felt himself drawn in by the husky passion radiating from her.
 
He put the car in park; the neon bar sign provided enough light from above for Gabriel to see Roseline clearly.

“So you’ve seen something?”

Roseline blinked, as if waking from a trance.
 
She smiled, grasping the door handle.
 
“Nothing worth mentioning.
 
I’ll see you around Gabriel.”
 
Roseline leapt out of the car and slammed the door.
 
Instantly the icy wind curled around her with delightful vengeance.

“Wait a second!” Gabriel cried, scrambling to exit the vehicle.
 
“You have seen something, haven’t you?
 
Tell me.”
 
Roseline laughed, shaking her head.
 

“Oh man!” Gabriel groaned.
 
“Come on.
 
That’s like telling a guy that you’ve actually been to Area 51 and then refusing to spill.
 
That’s so not cool!”

Roseline paused, wondering how much she could say.
 
Obviously the truth was out of the question.
 
But a part of her wanted to let Gabriel in, just as he had done when he shared his art work.
 
“The things I’ve seen in
Romania
are a smoke screen.
 
A hidden world veiled behind human reality.”
 

“Why?” Gabriel asked, leaning closer.
 
His eyes widened with anticipation.

“Some things are not meant to be understood.
 
Humans don’t need to know the horrifying truths that are hidden from them.
 
It’s for their own good.”

A chill raced down Gabriel’s spine.
 
And despite the fact that the solemn tone in Roseline’s voice totally creeped him out, he was hooked.
 
“You’ve seen this hidden world, haven’t you Rose?” he whispered.
   

Closing her eyes to the pain, she nodded.
 
“But that is a story that I reserve only for my dearest friends…and you Gabriel Marston, are still a stranger.”

His pout was endearing but Roseline shook her head.
 
“Fine.
 
Then I’ll have to see about changing that.”

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me,” she chuckled.
 
Roseline left him next to his purring car.
 
The winds whipped around her, tangling her hair around her face, but she didn’t notice.
 
Her thoughts had drifted away, to a time so long ago.
 
To when life had been simple and death meant the end, not the beginning.
 

***

“Great news,” Gabriel crowed loudly as he slid into a seat next to Roseline little over a week later.
 
After the party she’d tried her best to avoid Gabriel.
 
The more time she spent with him the more confused she got.
 
The worst part…he wasn’t just a pretty face.
 
She really enjoyed spending time with him, which made it so much harder to keep up her abnormally rude pretense.

Not only had Gabriel begun meeting her in the hall to walk Roseline to her classes but he’d also managed to slip in a few lunches as well.
 
Her fight to remain indifferent was a losing battle.
 
Just seeing Gabriel made her stomach flutter and the hairs on her neck stand to attention.
 
Every nerve in her body was in tuned with his presence and fighting her natural urges was really wearing her out.
 
Her will power was fading quickly.

“Aren’t you going to ask what the great new is?” he pressed, his stunning smile too inviting to refuse.

Roseline rolled her eyes and used her finger to mark her place in her book.
 
She was reading Pride and Prejudice, for the millionth time.
 
And as she sat there, huddled away in the corner of the high school library, she found herself wishing fate had allowed her to find her own true love before she’d been turned into a monster.

But despite her terrible lot in life, Roseline had never lost the hope of finding love.
 
Fane had certainly tried his best to fill that roll…but it’d never felt truly right to Roseline.
 
But now, with Gabriel in the picture, everything had changed.
 
Maybe it was the lingering essence of him that wafted past her in the hall or the dreams that were so vividly tempting that had made her pick up the classic book again.
 

Or maybe it was because she had to.
 
That’s what she liked to think at least.
 
Her English teacher, Mrs. Carlson, had instantly picked up on Roseline’s meticulously well educated background and persuaded Roseline to take the time to volunteer as a tutor.
 
Why did she agree?
 

There was only one reason that could’ve talked her into spending an hour every morning before school teaching some simpleton the eloquent words of Jane Austen.
 
She was trying to avoid Gabriel.
 
He’d taken to waiting in the parking lot for Roseline to arrive with Sadie, and it was making her really uncomfortable.
 
The gentlemanly show of affection was much too sweet for her to respond snidely to.
 
So Roseline did the only thing she could…avoid him!

She fully expected some pimple faced pencil pusher, who’d never developed a romantic bone in his body, to arrive for their first tutor session.
 
But he didn’t even have the respect to show up on time.
 
At least Gabriel would distract her from chewing her nails as she nervously awaited her pupil’s arrival.

Resigned to hearing him out, Roseline sat back, crossing her hands primly over her book.
 
“I’m a bit busy at the moment Gabriel.
 
Can’t this wait?”

Gabriel grinned, shaking his head.
 
“Humor me.”

Her sigh was exaggerated and only made Gabriel’s smile broaden.
 
“Fine.
 
What could possibly be good enough to have you nearly bouncing in you seat?”

“I signed up for a tutor.”

“Ok…?” Roseline frowned, confused as to why Gabriel of all people would need a tutor.
 
He was a shoe in for valedictorian.
 
“You’ve lost me.”

“An English tutor?” Gabriel pressed, his eye brows bouncing suggestively.