by Jenna Bernel
"Listen." Eli put on his serious face and turned in his driver's seat to look at Henry.
"Daniella's right. At first, they'll believe whatever you say because they'll only think about having you back, not why you disappeared. But if they keep pushing even after you explain that you ran off with a girl you were secretly seeing, I will come by and perform a one-time only Trance. After that, I promise they will immediately drop it and never speak of it again," Eli stated with stern confidence. Since Eli was an Infinity before I turned him, he has more abilities than the average Reborn that come in handy, like Trancing. Once a month, he checks in with all of our Reborns, so he knows how to help them adjust and keep their stories straight.
"Now here's my direct number. Call me anytime, day or night, even if you just want someone to go running with because you're sick of faking it with the slowpokes in track," Eli said with the reassuring smile of a mentor. He handed Henry a black business card with nothing but a cell number printed on the back. It was like we ran our own underground society, and Eli was totally the brains behind the operation. I was just the blood. Henry looked a little more relaxed when he took Eli's card.
"Say it one more time and you can head inside," Eli said, his face turning serious once more.
"I swear on my sister's life that I will never speak of you, Daniella or anything of my vampire life. I will always act within the normal capabilities of a human and never reveal my newfound Gifts. If I ever suspect I'm being watched or approached, I will contact you immediately." After his fourth time reciting it to us, Henry had our little safety credo memorized, although slightly robotic, but it was for his own good. Water coated Henry's lashes, and he looked at me with such gratitude, I felt the urge to cry, but quickly sniffled it back. He leaned across the seat and gave me a huge hug, and his whole body shook when we embraced. I felt his lukewarm tears on my neck where the now healed puncture wounds from his bite sat just last night.
"I don't know how to thank you." Henry’s voice was hardly audible since his mouth was buried in my hair as he tried to hide his emotions.
"Watching you walk through that door will be thanks enough." My own voice came out cracked and wobbly. He nodded into my hair before pulling away and composing himself.
"Eli…" Henry trailed off, lost for words of how to thank him as well.
"I know, dude, it's all good," Eli said, reaching out to shake Henry's hand. Henry gave Eli a firm shake, and took a big "Here I go" breath before exiting the car.
I quickly jumped from the backseat and hopped into shotgun beside Eli, taking up his hand. This was my favorite part. Henry walked down to his house, using a nice human pace like we taught him. He hesitated a moment, turning to wave at us before climbing the porch steps, and tentatively opening his front door. It was completely silent for a few seconds and my heart began to race with anticipation as I focused my heightened hearing onto his house. Then, a moment later, the shrieking scream of a little girl carried all the way into the street. It had to have been his younger sister, followed by thundering feet, shouts, cheers, cries and every possible celebratory sound in between when his parents entered the room.
I felt Eli squeeze my hand as he tried to discreetly wipe a tear caught in his eye; this was his favorite part too. He turned to face me, and both our smiles were beaming so brightly, we reflected a strange glowing aura at the completion of another successful mission.
"Henry makes it number twenty-three," Eli announced, and I leaned my head against the seat, feeling a weight lift off my shoulders. I folded my hands in my lap as Eli started the car, thinking of the welcome prospect of taking a nap during the four-hour drive home. Maybe now that Henry was back home and another mission was successfully tucked under my belt, I might coax my brain into a wink of real sleep.
"Number twenty-three," I sighed, "and on to the next." My words spilled out with a yawn as the car vibrations soon lulled me into slumber.
Chapter 6: Welcome to Mapleton
I inspected my skirt in the mirror, making sure my hemline wouldn't land me in detention. I measured it, just under four fingers above the knee, so I should have been safe. Besides, four of my fingers are comparable to one of Principal Gerhard's stubby sausages, so I was actually way above the cutoff. If I got detention from her again, it would just be because she's a cranky biatch who is dead set on making my life miserable. Sometimes it's so silly how I have to worry about the mundane crap at Mapleton Prep, while leading my bizarre double life that no one knows about.
At least this was my senior year, but with that thought, a surprise twinge of sadness sat heavily in the pit of my stomach. Even though none of them knew the truth of what I've become, my friends are like my family, and a more stable version at that, despite all the little day-to-day dramas. We all grew up together, and it's hard to imagine my life without seeing them every day, even Harper.
I turned into this weird half-ling the summer before my freshman year, and the pursuit of a high school routine with friends I trusted helped keep my life normal, despite my extra-curricular underground activities. I would miss them and the routine, since I had no idea what the hell I would do after I graduated. I'm sure Eli and I would have to move to a different city, maybe even out of the country, to start working our routine at another sector of The Basement in order to spread out our Reborn population, and keep us safe from suspicion.
I heard a familiar horn honk from my driveway, and quickly grabbed my messenger bag, filled with partially done homework and a boyfriend cardigan to cover my bare shoulders. It was another no-no, guaranteed to land me in detention. Alone in the house, I ran down the stairs at unimaginable speed, and was in the passenger seat of the silver Jetta in record time.
"Hey, thanks for picking me up," I said, out of breath and reaching for my seat belt.
"Sure thing. But you are aware that you have your own car, right?" Kate asked me sarcastically with a smile. Kate has been one of my best friends since forever and lives less than a mile away. I knew she didn't really mind picking me up. She just couldn’t resist giving me a hard time.
"Yeah, I would love to drive my own car, but I find it's harder for Missy Bitchy to keep tabs on me if my car’s always in the garage. Just because Conner's with my mom half the time doesn't mean Missy needs to try and nanny me when he's not home. She's always snitching to Bill, I mean, Dad about every little mishap under the sun. I have to start calling him ‘Dad’ more, or I'm going to get in trouble, so you for sure have to help me keep in check, okay?" I opened my bag to put a reminder in my phone. How do you schedule a reminder for every five minutes? Otherwise, I would definitely forget, and quickly land myself in the soon-to-be grounded hot seat.
"Okay, will do, but you can still call him ‘Bill’ in front of me if it makes you feel better," Kate offered, and I shook my head, tacitly saying that was no good.
"No, I have to start practicing all the time now because even if he's not home, as usual, and Missy hears me calling him ‘Bill,’ I'm positive she'll report back to him in another desperate ploy to kiss his ass," I said disgustedly. Kate scrunched up her nose, equally grossed out by the idea formulating in my head.
Missy is in her mid-twenties and attractive, in a too much makeup and bleach kind of way, and my dad is like over fifty years old with three kids and a receding hairline. But the way she giggles like a hyena at any stupid things my dad says, you would think she was talking to some sort of swoon-worthy movie star. I saw her resume once in his office, and it said she graduated with a degree in marketing from CU. Now why would a hot, twenty-something with a business degree want to move into our family suburban home outside the city, and watch a five-year-old all day? Hmm… that's a thinker. It seems to me that Missy was using her degree to try and market herself as a potential candidate for the position of Mrs. Madison the Second. My blood was starting to boil as I ran the unpleasant scenario through my mind, and it was time for a subject change before I had a meltdown.
"So what'd you do this weekend? Go to D
ale's party?" I asked, wondering if Kate partook in the midnight skinny dipping or chickened out again, not that I was any braver.
"I was going to, but my dad's agent called, asking him to take a last minute flight up to Green Bay to cover the Bears versus Packers pre-game show. He, of course, agreed, ditching Mom and their date night plans in the city; and she responded to the cancellation by drinking a bottle of chardonnay with a side of Xanax for dinner. She eventually guilted me into staying home to watch depressing TV movies all night," Kate sighed sadly. This wasn't her first guilt trip of couch-surfing on a Saturday night.
Kate Harring was famous around Mapleton because her dad was a former pro-football player turned sportscaster. Kate was tall and thin like her mother, but her features were all her dad’s: ash brown hair, hazel eyes, and a light wash of freckles peppering her cheeks.
Besides having a sweet, rosy look, and semi-famous status, there were lots of guys who wanted to go out with her. However, she usually lost interest in her boyfriends after a month or two because she ditched too many dates, forgetting why she liked them in the first place. She also often missed the great parental-free parties because her poor mother was always getting abandoned, and relied on Kate to fill the void. I felt bad that she was stuck with her self-medicated mother again, a former pro-model turned chardonnay connoisseur. I would have to try and stay in Mapleton over the weekend soon, if only so we could work as a team to help her flee the confines of their estate.
"Man, I was working, and you got to hang with your mom all weekend. We are some crazy party girls. Whoop whoop!" I shouted out, trying to lighten her gloomy face, and it worked as she laughed in agreement. I felt my own twinge of guilt when I mentioned work. I hated lying to Kate about working when I wasn’t. Sometimes I feel like I'm no better than my dad, when I too lie and run around behind the backs of people I truly care about.
"No wonder Principal Gerhard is always giving us the stink eye. We unruly kids are not to be trusted. Did you check your hemline?" Kate eyed me with fake suspicion, and I held up four fingers, confirming I got it covered.
"We really need a blow-off weekend," I said, and she nodded her agreement.
"I couldn't agree more; yesterday, if not sooner," Kate half screeched in unison with her tires as she swung a hard right into the school’s parking lot. I made a mental note to take some time out during my senior year for some much needed fun… I wish.
I parted from Kate in the entry hall of the school's main building, since she had a math class in a different building connected by one of the skyways. I headed to my locker to see if I could reuse any old worksheets to help fill in the blanks of my half-done Chem synopsis for an experiment I forgot to finish reading about. I tried to jiggle the locker’s latch free, but it always sticks. If I overdo it, I could accidentally rip it off the hinges, one of the downsides of hiding my strength, but I was so tempted right now.
"Come on, you piece of crap," I said through grinding teeth as I fought the urge to punch a hole through the metal and just reach in. Someone pressed against my back and towered over me. Reaching past my head, he gave the stubborn metal door a couple hard taps, and it popped open in an easy squeak. I'd recognize the familiar smell of fresh-cut grass mixed with leather mitts and earthy cologne anywhere. I smiled even before he leaned his shoulder against the locker next to mine, greeting me with his warm molasses eyes.
"Hey stranger," Evan said, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and hooking his thumb in his pocket with a hint of a smile, like he was getting ready for a photo shoot.
"Hey yourself." I already knew where he was going with the stranger comment, and if there was anyone I hated lying to more than Kate, hands down, it was Evan Clark.
"I thought you were going to Dale's party on Saturday?" Evan said worriedly, like I didn't tell him I was working, which I did.
"It was too late after my shift to go, so I stayed in the city," I answered with a shrug, trying to lie as little as possible.
Evan has been my best friend since fourth grade. I used to watch him and Will play baseball in our adjoining backyards. However, we didn't become close until one day when I stumbled upon a bully whaling on him behind the bleachers at school. I walked right up to them, and before the bully could even see my approach, I kicked him in the balls so hard, he fell over. He started to cry like a colicky infant, and I got suspended for two days, even after Evan and I both explained what happened. We've pretty much been tight ever since then.
Now that he's no longer the scrawny kid on the block, but the tall, chiseled, baseball team captain, he's always protective of me, like he still has to make it up to me all these years later. The protective attention he gives me drives his girlfriends crazy, and he's had his fair share of them. If they only knew how many nights he slept in my bed, it would really start a rumor mill, which is why we never let on how close we really are.
"Well, I went to your house anyway to check on you after the party, hoping Fred took you home. But the curtain was shut and the balcony was locked so I figured you stayed at Will's," he said, a bit bummed. I couldn't tell him there was no way I could let my dad's driver, Fred, take me home, when in reality, my dad didn't even know I was in the city.
"Sorry, you should stop by tonight," I suggested, and he nodded in agreement like he had something to get off his chest, probably another Harper drama at the party.
He sneaks out all the time to supposedly "check on me," but I think it's because he needs someone other than his baseball buddies to talk to, someone who will actually listen. Usually the subject involves his latest fiasco with his newest girlfriend, and there have been plenty of those since Evan started dating Harper. I'm happy to give a female perspective, but I'm not equipped to handle straight-up crazy, so I mostly let him vent.
I really haven't cared to venture into the snake pit of the Mapleton dating scene, especially after watching my parents suffer through a bitter divorce; or maybe I was the one who was still bitter. I didn’t think I'd ever really trust a guy with my heart, and having Evan in my life is probably as close as I'll ever get. Keeping my distance from love was for the best anyway, because that meant there would be one less person in my life I cared about to whom I'd have to lie on a daily basis.
"You missed another legendary party. Dale accidentally lit the lawn on fire, and Jake got his clothes stolen while he was doing the midnight skinny dip. It was hilarious!" Evan laughed, recalling the embarrassment of his friend. That's it; I'm officially renaming Dale's parties not-so-legendary. Speaking of the devil…
"Hey Dani,” Dale slung his tree trunk arm around my neck.
"Did you hear I set the lawn on fire again? Oh man, my ‘rents were so off the rails when they got back from Escapees Lane, pun intended." Dale shook my whole body as his arm jostled over my shoulder in laughter, and gave Evan a fist pump with his free hand.
His lame pun referred to the road that Mapleton kids have dubbed Escapees Lane because it runs parallel with the North Line train down to the city and is the fastest way to drive there. If they only knew better, they should have been trying to escape from the city, not into it. I shuddered slightly at the thought of one of them being lured away from a cocktail party. Dale felt my shudder even after he stopped shaking me, and pulled me in a little tighter.
"No worries, Dani. I'm not in too much trouble."
Like I really cared how much trouble Dale was in. Besides, I think it's like the third time he's set the lawn on fire, so whatever the punishment he received, I'm sure it was deserved. I'm starting to wonder if he might have some pyromaniac tendencies.
"So my parents are having new sod delivered today for the scorched patch, and my punishment is to install it myself. Evan and Jake are going to come over and help me; you in?" He smiled, squeezing my head against his hard chest, and half my face flattened unnaturally on its surface. I looked up at him with a scrunched nose because I had a feeling the kind of help Dale wanted from me was serving him drinks all afternoon while he actually did so
me labor that didn't require a baseball bat. Evan punched Dale's arm, effectively knocking him loose from my shoulder so my smooshed cheek could fill back in.
"You dope! She wasn't even there. She doesn't want to help us," Evan retorted, giving Dale another playful punch, this time in the gut. Dale coughed out a wind-knocked, lung full of air. "Good one," he half rasped, regaining his breath.
"I'm surprised Jake agreed to help after you stole his clothes during the skinny dip," I interjected to keep Dale from plotting retaliation on Evan.
"How'd you know it was me?!" Dale inquired, not so innocently.
"Lucky guess."
Harper walked up behind Evan and planted a kiss on his cheek, and he flinched slightly from the gesture in surprise.
"Sorrrry, I didn't realize you found me so repulsive," Harper snipped at him, looking insulted.
"Of course not, babe, I just didn't see you." Evan quickly caught himself, leaning in to kiss her, but she turned her cheek and gave him a face full of blonde hair. He sighed, stepping back in defeat.
"And I see you came to say good morning to Dani again before me. What a thoughtful boyfriend I have." Her tone was sweet and cute, but laced with pure threat, and I leaned into Dale ever so slightly in an effort not to make eye contact with her. Dale put his arm around me again and looked down at me, rolling his eyes at the typical Harper drama.
"Actually, I dragged Evan over here as my witness to all the crazy shit that went down at the party. I didn't think Dani would believe me when I told her I lit the lawn on fire again!" Dale explained enthusiastically to cover the falseness of his statement. He was trying to help his hung-out-to-dry bud, and I could see the gratitude in Evan's eyes.
I still couldn't believe Evan was going out with Harper. Yes, she's beautiful, popular, and the queen of our social group, but she's not really friends with anyone. Instead, she's frienemies with everyone. She's never been one to fully trust unless you like the way a blade of steel looks when it's protruding from your back. No one, not even vampire me, wants to get on Harper Smith's bad side. She has a little side hobby of causing eating disorders and spreading nasty rumors, so with Evan dating her, I feared I would soon be the next target of the Harper Rattlesnake Wrath. She’s been known to strike your rep dead with one bite. I don't even think Evan likes her anymore. He just doesn't want to find out what will happen if he's the one to end it, because Harper Smith has NEVER been dumped.