The Vampire Hunter's Daughter The Complete Collection (34 page)

The next day, I woke a little later than I
wanted. I had slept in again, and it was about nine. I rolled over
and was surprised not to feel any pain in my calf. I gently pulled
the blanket over and bent my leg at the knee to check and see how
the wound was healing. I peeled the tape off around the square
bandage, peeked at the wound and discovered that it was covered in
a thick, bumpy scar tissue.

Gross!

It actually looked like a big, huge wart or
something. It was nasty, but at least I could cover it with my
pants. I sat up and slid my legs over the side of the bed, then
slowly stood, testing the ability of my legs to hold me up. Once I
was all the way up on my feet, I took a few tentative steps.

Nothing, no pain.

Yay for vampire super-healing!

At least I wouldn't need the crutches any
more. It did seem a little strange that just the day before I
couldn’t even get down the stairs without help, but I sure as heck
wasn’t going to complain about it.

After a quick shower, I dressed and went in
search of Luke to take me to the hospital so I could see Gavin. I
needed update him on everything that had happened.

I found Luke at the kitchen table reading the
newspaper.

“Morning.”

He smiled and set his paper down on the
table. “Feeling any better this morning?”

I nodded and headed for the fridge. “Yeah,
actually, perfect. Look!”

I turned, left the fridge door hanging open,
stuck my leg out toward him and wiggled it around.

“No crutches!” I declared with a smile.

He raised his eyebrows. “How is that
possible? You were shot all the way through your calf.”

I let my pant leg fall back down, grabbed an
apple and a bottle of water out of the fridge, and closed the
door.

“Vampire super-healing,” I told him, then
uncapped my water and took a big swig.

He shook his head in a combination of
amazement and surprise. “I should have known.”

“It’s okay," I said, and I shrugged. "I only
realized it was happening because I cut myself last year, and then
I was punctured by a branch when I tried to escape from Trevor. I
think it’s getting stronger as I get older, because it’s only been
a few days, and this was more than a scratch.”

Luke’s paper crinkled while he folded it into
a square. “It makes sense that it would get stronger as you get
older.”

I grinned. “You should see my fire power
now.”

He chuckled. “That good, huh?”

“Yup!” I polished my apple on my shirt. “Can
you take me to the hospital today?”

“Absolutely. I already expected you'd ask.
I’m ready when you are.”

He scooted his chair out and stood up.

“Let’s go now. I’m ready.”

I hurried out of the kitchen and grabbed my
sweatshirt off the hook by the door.

When we arrived at the hospital, I left Luke
at the nurses’ station to chat with his lady friends while I went
in to see Gavin. I worried his mother would be in his room. I
really did not want to meet up with her again.

I crept up to the door and tried to listen. I
could hear voices through the door, but they sounded more like part
of an action scene on television. I rapped lightly on the door
before I opened it a crack.

“Gavin?” I whispered.

I couldn’t see him because the curtain was
drawn across his half of the room. As I had suspected, his
television was on, and it was blaring male voices above the sound
of revving car engines.

“Gavin?” I tried a bit louder, as I entered
the room. I pushed the curtain aside and saw he was asleep.

I studied him for a moment before I woke him.
He slept on his back, with his head tilted. He had an oxygen
cannula in his nose, and his outturned wrist had an IV inserted. I
hated to wake him, but I wanted him to know I’d come to see him. I
smoothed down my hair, moved to the chair beside his bed and
scooted it close to the bed.

After thinking about it for a minute, I
gently took his hand in mine. He woke up then, his long eyelashes
fluttered open and exposed his pretty green eyes that were so
similar to Drew’s.

“Hey,” I whispered.

“Hi,” he said, his voice weak.

“Do you want some water?” I asked. He had a
pitcher and a plastic cup on the rolling table near the head of his
bed.

“Sure,” he nodded slightly.

I let go of his hand and poured water into
the cup until it was about half full.

“How are you doing?” I asked him, handing him
the water.

He adjusted his bed so he sat up more. “I’m
doing better. I guess I’ve been better.” He finally smiled. “I’m
glad you came to see me.”

“I came to see you yesterday, but your mom
was here.”

He rolled his eyes like he already knew how
she’d acted. “Yeah, sorry about her. She’s just
overprotective.”

“Yeah, I’d be the same way if I had a kid,” I
said.

In my head, I thought, She has two kids, not
one. Maybe she should try protecting the other one every now and
then.

“I’m just glad you’re okay,” I finished.
“That’s all that matters.”

He nodded and closed his eyes.

“Are you tired?” I asked.

“Yeah, it’s these pain killers. I sleep all
the time.”

Suddenly, I didn’t feel comfortable at all. I
had come to tell Gavin he and I couldn’t continue any kind of
relationship, but there never really was a relationship in the
first place. It didn’t seem right to say anything about that now.
It all seemed petty compared to him lying there recovering from a
gunshot wound and major surgery.

“What is it, Chloe?”

“Hmmm?” I had drifted away while considering
my reasons for wanting to talk to him. “Oh, nothing. I was just
thinking.”

“About what?” Even in his drug-induced haze
he managed to raise his eyebrows in question.

I smiled and hoped it looked real. “It’s
nothing. Just worried about you, is all.”

God, I am the biggest liar in the world.

I left Gavin at the hospital without telling
him how I felt and probably had him thinking the complete opposite
of what I wanted to tell him. Sometimes it felt like I failed at
everything I tried to do. I wondered when I would actually succeed
at something.

I had gone up to my room after we got home
and stayed there all night. I didn’t want to see anyone or have to
talk to anyone, especially Drew.

The next morning, I woke at five and slid out
of bed quietly, trying not to wake Alice. There was something I
wanted to do, and I figured I could take my run while I was at it.
I dressed in black yoga pants and tank top with a pink hoodie over
the top. I brushed my teeth, brushed my hair and pulled it into a
ponytail. Finally, I grabbed my MP3 player and earbuds off the
dresser on my way out the door.

I tiptoed down the stairs, trying to be as
quiet as I could, and turned the corner to go into the kitchen. At
five in the morning, I should have expected others might be up, but
when I slammed into Drew coming around the corner, I yelped in
surprise and punched him in the face out of reflex.

“Ow!” Caught totally off guard, he covered
his nose with his hand. “What the hell, Chloe?”

“Oh, my god. I’m so sorry!”

I moved forward instinctively to try to look
at his nose.

“I didn’t mean to hit you… you surprised
me.”

He grunted and held his hand up in the ‘just
give me a minute to recover’ signal. After a couple of deep
breaths, he removed his hand from his nose, examining it to see if
there was blood. Finding no blood, he whispered, “Why don’t you be
more careful?”

I tried to sidestep away from him because he
was in my path. “You scared me. I didn’t know you were down
here.”

He sidestepped also so I couldn’t pass. “I’m
always up this early.”

“I know, but I haven’t been here for a while,
okay?” I sidestepped back the other way. “Let me get by!” I hissed
at him, trying to keep my voice down.

He surprised me by grabbing my upper arms and
pulling me toward him.

“No,” he said simply and lifted his hand. I
felt one finger run gently down my jawline. I tried to pull away
from him. I didn’t want to play his
kiss-me-one-minute-ignore-me-the-next games that morning. I had
plans for the day. My efforts were useless, however. He cupped my
face with both hands and kissed me.

Oh, man.

I kissed him back. I let him pull me close
and wrapped my arms around his shoulders as his moved to my
waist.

When it was over, which was far too soon in
my opinion, I pulled away and ran for the door. I didn’t want him
to say anything like before about how he shouldn’t have done it or
how we wouldn’t be doing it again. I didn’t want him to ruin
it.

The only thing I heard before I jammed my
earbuds in was him calling out for me to wait.

While I ran, I chose ear-blasting,
blood-pumping music that wouldn’t make me cry.

What the heck am I going to do about
this?

I just didn’t think I could take any more. It
was time to make some kind of decision, on both ends. I still had
Gavin to deal with. He would probably be upset if he knew I was
going to choose Drew over him. Oh, for crying out loud. I never
thought in a million years this would happen.

I ran the trails through the woods, over the
tops of the dirt and crunchy autumn leaves, with music blaring in
my ears and sweat running down my face. When I emerged from the
woods on the edge of town, I ran down the side streets all the way
to the other side of town, toward the cemetery… toward my
mother.

I didn’t even slow when I passed through the
tall iron gates that surrounded the small cemetery in the woods. I
ran between, and probably over, some of the graves, trying to
remember where my mother’s plot was located.

Finally, as the sun began to rise, I arrived
at the spot under the huge maple trees, which now had golden
leaves, and I dropped to my knees before her headstone. With a
yank, I ripped the earbuds out and let them fall to the ground. My
fingers dug into the grass surrounding her plot.

I had been holding back tears since I’d left
the house, but as soon as I looked up and my eyes met her name on
the headstone, the dam broke.

“Why are you gone?” I screamed at her. “You
should be here to help me!”

I fell back onto my butt, wrapped my arms
around my knees and rocked back and forth until the tears
diminished.

“I need you,” I whispered to her, hoarsely.
“I need you.”

No one spoke back to me. Her ghost did not
appear. The sounds of nature were all that could be heard around
me. My mother’s headstone, where Sostrate had first appeared,
remained the same. No demi-goddess appearances for me today, I
guess. It was just me, talking to my dead mother.

I’d half expected… no, I had hoped and wanted
Drew to come after me. But he hadn’t. So I sat there until the need
to pee drove me back home.