by Jenna Bernel
"So how'd it go with your dad last night?" Evan asked, taking a sip of his drink before leaning back on his hands to stretch out his long legs in front of him. His dark brown hair looked closer to black at night, and it absorbed the colors of the orange and gold flames, giving his whole face a soft glow. He really was steaming hot. I don't know why this just occurred to me. I guess it's just weird to think about a friend in that way.
"Terrible, my worst fear has come true," I said, matching his pose in the sand, although my red-painted toenails barely reached his mid-calf.
"Yuck, him and Missy, for real?" He asked, looking over at me in disbelief, and I nodded, not really wanting to think about it.
"Who's Missy?" Alicia asked, her ears immediately perking to the possibility of gossip.
"My little brother's nanny," I said, deflated. Why fight it? It'd be all over Mapleton soon enough.
"Didn't that same thing happen with Dave's dad?" Sienna interjected, and I saw some heads nodding into the fire, recalling our first baseman's family skeletons.
As I predicted, no one within earshot seemed affected by the news, no one but me, that is. In this town, family drama was mainstream, and nothing jaded us anymore. If it wasn’t divorcees diddling nannies, it was housewives on happy pills, cheating spouses, or worst of all, like Evan's dad, who kept an apartment for his secret girlfriend in the city that his mom pretended not to know about. I almost laughed to myself. It would take nothing less than a vampire walking into our school to make our group blink twice. I was tempted turn vamp and flash my fangs just to see if they'd even react, and Alec jumped to the forefront of my thoughts.
"Are you okay?" Evan asked, noticing my tense silence. He put his warm hand on my back and started rubbing soothing circles to comfort me. I saw Alicia and Sienna looking at each other in a side glance at Evan's gesture, telling me Harper was probably wirelessly streamed into this party, just like Kate was wired into the lunch table, but I didn't even care. Something was nagging at me all day that was so much more important than Harper and our high school gossip. I couldn't get that strange vibe coming from Alec this morning out of my head when he asked if I trusted him.
"Hey beautiful," Alec's call pulled my attention to the lawn, and he gave a nod that only I could make out. From this distance I could see his striking features, peaking in perfectly symmetrical shadows against the backdrop of the flames. There was tension pinching in his eyes again as he approached, because Evan was still rubbing my back, or at least, I assumed that was what was wrong. Kate looked toward Alec, who was almost to the sand, and whipped her head back to me, wide-eyed, like the tone had been clearly set. I had a gut wrenching feeling this was going to go very bad, very fast.
"Who was he talking to?" Evan asked to no one in particular with an underlying panic in his voice. Alec's feet hit the sand, and my heart started to pound in my chest when his eyes locked onto mine, paired with a warm smile. Some in the circle picked up on the growing tension, and started to look at each other as they put it together. I could see them resisting the urge to pull out their phones and text about me behind my back, right in front of my face.
"What's going on?" Evan asked, sitting up straight to look me in the eye, and I looked past him, screaming at Kate through my make-believe ESP to do something!
"Jake! Don't you want to prove to Dani how cold that water really is?" Kate said in a rush. Oh crap! A devilish smile spread over Jake's face when he looked at me, as if he suddenly remembered my joke and had this plan all along.
"I sure do," Jake said, half tackling me as he lunged over to my spot in the sand, knocking over people’s drinks in the process. I let out a little shriek when he hoisted me up over his shoulder and started running us toward the cold water with fast determination. I half-heartedly tried to fight my way out of his clutches, since the alternative was equally unappealing, and cheers and chants erupted from the beach, encouraging Jake to dunk me.
"Timber!" Jake yelled when he dropped me, sacrificing his own dry pants for the cause, since he was in up to his thighs. A freezing cold chill hit my face when the icy water enveloped me. I let out a little gurgle of bubbles before immediately recovering to a standing position next to Jake, who was still mostly dry. I smoothed back my sloppy, wet hair splayed over my face as a thunder of cheers broke out on the beach, and I could see that Jake had his hands thrown up to the sky like he just batted a game-winning homerun.
I hooked my foot around his ankle, clipping it out from underneath him as I pushed back on his chest, and he flipped onto his back in a mammoth splash, before disappearing into the dark water. I left him there to recover from the soaking surprise, slowly walking back in, as another roar of laughter and cheers, with hands held up for high-fives greeted me at the water's edge for my revenge move. I really must stop making jokes about guys and their equipment. It seems like a touchy subject, that invariably made them feel the need to retaliate with swift justice.
Alec was waiting for me beside Kate, amongst the crowd, which had doubled in size as they spilled out from the house to see the show. The weight of my drenched clothing felt heavy, and I struggled every step of the way. I think it was a sign. Alec quickly unzipped his lightweight hoodie and draped it over my shoulders, rubbing his hand over my arm to help warm me up. Although I couldn't die from hypothermia like a normal person, I could still feel the cold seeping into my bones.
"That's the best you can come up with?" I asked Kate for initiating my freezing body core temp.
"Pretty much. You handled yourself okay," she said in a shrug.
Alec dipped down to my ear, "I would've stopped him, but… " he whispered against my dripping hair. I knew he couldn't have gotten to me fast enough without breaking the laws of physics.
"No, I know. Don't worry about it," I said out loud, since Kate had no clue what we were talking about. Alec hugged me tighter, landing a kiss on top of my head and leaving his lips there.
"Can we go somewhere? I need to talk to you," he said quietly into my hair, kissing me again. Before I could respond, Evan came barreling through the people next to us and shoved Alec, knocking him loose from our embrace.
"What the hell are you doin', man!" Evan yelled, shoving Alec again. It was way beyond over-reacting, and much more than I ever expected, even for Evan. I wondered if it was because he too, kissed the top of my head many times when we talked all night in bed. Maybe it struck a nerve.
"I'm kissin' my girl. You gotta a problem with that?!" Alec countered, stepping around me, shoving Evan back, who stumbled into the sand. I winced, praying Alec didn't get carried away and break something.
"Your girl?!" Evan barked, like it was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard, as he jumped back up to his feet, stepping towards Alec.
"Evan, stop!" I said, moving between them, putting my hands on Evan's chest. He looked down at me and saw in my eyes that Alec wasn’t full of it. His fighting expression faltered into a mixture of wounded shock and anger. It was probably the same exact face I had when Alec walked into my life, unannounced, changing everything forever. I could see Evan was reacting about as well as I did.
"This yahoo? Are you kidding me, Dani?!" Evan demanded I reply to his question straight, and with an answer he wanted to hear as he stepped away to look at me fully. I wanted to respond, but I felt frozen, although it had nothing to do with being drenched in ice water.
"Alec and I are… I don’t know, whatever you call it… He's my," I stumbled over my words, all confidence lost, as the huge crowd formed around us to witness the debacle.
"I call it her boyfriend," Alec said behind me with much more confidence, putting his hand on my shoulder, and I reacted by pressing against his chest. I could smell the strong rose water pouring from his skin, as he struggled to restrain his territorial vamp instincts from the confrontation. I needed to get Alec out of here before his instincts overtook him completely, and he rips Evan to shreds with his fangs.
"Last week in bed you said you wanted nothing to do wi
th this asshole!" Evan spewed, knocking Alec's hand off my shoulder again, and a gasp resonated through the crowd at Evan's word slip, which included my own.
"Whose bed?" Someone shouted from the crowd, trying to instigate Evan's testosterone-fueled rage further.
"Yeah, that's right, Alec. Where are you when I'm sleeping in Dani's bed?" Evan rebutted, standing taller.
"Evan!" I screamed. My insides liquefied. I couldn't believe he just said that out loud!
"I didn't see you there last night," Alec taunted, and Evan growled with anger, spinning out of my blocking path. He dove sideways at Alec, and they both rolled into the sand.
"Stop it!" I screamed, terrified Alec’s instincts would win, and possibly snap Evan's neck in half. Jake, Dale, and a bunch of other baseball guys stepped in, pulling them apart. This was one of those torturous instances when it killed me not use my Gifts. I could've broken this up before it even started.
They were both blistering with rage, covered in sand, as they struggled to collect themselves. I caught Alec's eyes, and saw that he gained back some control, but I lost mine. I felt sick to my stomach over this whole thing. Evan totally screwed me. Now everyone was going to think I'd been hooking up with him on the side, and Harper would have my head on a platter for breakfast. Alec was no better, creating insecurities and having me wondering if he even liked me, or if I represented some sort of trophy as a big F---you to Evan for challenging him the first day they met. I'd be known as the bed-hopping whore of Mapleton Prep by Monday. The crowd was gaping at us and the whole mind-blowing scene. Everyone was holding their breaths, staring at me, waiting for me to say something.
"I swear to God, if either one of you follow me, I'll kill you both," I said, dark and rumbling, with a depth that even scared me. I turned to Kate.
"Take me home?" I asked like a wounded, rescue kitten with a quiver rattling in my voice. She swallowed down a lump of pity while nodding, and agreed to save me from the firing squad of accusing eyes. Kate grabbed my hand and quickly pulled me along with her back toward my car. My legs wobbled so badly, for the first time, I could barely keep up with her.
Chapter 21: Shut it Out
Kate and I split from Dale's party as soon as I closed the car door, and Alec and Evan didn't dare come after me, following my death threat. They were standing immobilized as I walked away. Kate offered for me to stay over, after what I now think of as the most humiliating moment of my life, but I just wanted to go home. I wished her luck on her date with Eli. I felt sure her love life had much higher hopes than mine.
I was relieved that Missy wasn't at the house. I guess she couldn’t wait to get to her new apartment in the city, paid for by Bill, her new sugar daddy, just as she planned all along. It was like she was his bought-and-paid-for, getting stashed away until he was ready for her. That was probably what Dale's party guests were saying about me right now.
I was so mad at Evan. He’d already tried calling me, but I didn't pick up. He texted a bunch of apologies, themed with “sorry,” but I ignored them. I didn't even want to deal with it right now, or think about what got him so unglued. Until tonight, he had never done anything to disappoint or hurt me, and I still couldn't believe he spilled about our nights in my room. It was the worst possible secret he could've used in his trash-talking fury; and with the exception of Kate, no one would believe we never did anything. We never even kissed! Alec was on my list too. He'd been jealous of Evan from day one, instigating this whole prize fight between them, and somehow in the end, I was the one who had to pay.
I peeled off my soaked clothes, now including Alec's hoodie and decided to take a long, hot shower. As I let the water pound the horrible night away, I felt my skin begin to warm beneath its flowing blanket and the color returned to my lips. My insides twisted and tore at me. My heart felt prickly, like it was protecting itself from being shattered. Deep down, something else was tearing me apart and I couldn't take it anymore. I didn't want to feel this way for another minute. I shut it all out. I concentrated on my breath, allowing my mind to go blank, and called on my blood, commanding my heart to slow its beat. The rate slowed when the power found its way into my veins, releasing the vampire, and my pulse ticked to a stop.
I instantly felt different, no longer caring what anyone thought of me. I may have had more instinctual control than other vampires, but those unpleasant human emotions coursing through me a moment ago tucked themselves away into my heart, transforming from a throbbing stab to a much more bearable, dull sting.
I smiled to myself, being half-vamp had some perks that had nothing to do with saving lives, and sprang my fangs before finally turning off the steaming shower. I began to towel off and get dressed, slipping into the short, cotton nightie I decided on for bed, and wrapping up in my knee-length robe while I inspected my fangs in the mirror. As I ran a comb through my hair, I used my free hand to poke the pads of my fingers over the razor edged tips, thinking about how much damage they could really do, and I smiled again, enjoying the power. A smile looks so unnatural when you have daggers protruding from your gums, but I thought I’d stay this way tonight so I could actually get some sleep, before keeping the fangs tucked away for comfort, along with my human emotions.
I stepped into the hall, and my breath caught as my nose filled with a rose water ocean: Alec. I ran to my room, throwing the door open to find him sitting on my bed. I instantly changed my mind about the fangs. They flipped out from their hiding place as I hissed.
"Okay, let's just take it easy. I brought you your shoes back," Alec offered, holding up my favorite Pradas that I left behind on the beach.
"Great, you brought them," I said, pulling them from his hands, and chucking them so hard, one of the heels stuck into the wall like a dart.
"Now go," I said darkly, as my fangs retreated back in. I was losing control of my instincts quickly, and this was definitely not bloodlust. Some other things vampires do very well are fight, rage, and destroy.
"No. I want to talk this out." Alec said, standing up, and his challenge only made it harder not to tear him apart.
"I don't want to talk, so go," I said, pointing out my door.
"We have important things to discuss. I’m staying." He dug his heels in.
"Leave," I gritted through my teeth.
"Make me." Alec crossed his arms over his chest, and I saw his own instincts clouding the depth in his eyes. I dove at him, smashing his back into the wall, and he grabbed my wrist, spinning me around until my back was pressed into his chest, with his arm locking me against him.
"Is that the best you got?" He whispered into my ear.
I stomped on his instep with my heel while twisting his arm underneath him, which forced him to turn into the wall. His face looked unnaturally squashed to one side as his cheek pressed against it, and I felt like a cop preparing to cuff him. He pushed back against my hold just enough to run vertically on the wall. He flipped up and over my head, landing behind me. I spun to face him, and he wrapped me in a bear hug, pinning my arms at my sides before I could break his nose again. I squirmed in his iron grip with little success, and then remembered the move I pulled on Jake in the water. I hooked my foot around Alec's ankle, throwing my weight into his chest until his back hit the floor with a hard thump. His grip faltered just enough for me to pull free, and I sat up to look at him, resting my hands on his chest as I straddled his hips.
"How was that?" I countered, raising my eyebrow in a dare.
"Not bad, but if you'll recall, I'm the one who taught you that move in the dugout," he said with a smirk, reaching up to cup my cheek. All the fight in me instantaneously fell away, but something else rose in its place, and desire washed over me as my breath became more rapid and shallow, desperate to inhale his cologne. Alec saw it in my eyes, and he pulled me down into his chest, my lips crashing into his with heated fervor. I wrapped my arms around his neck as his hands ran over my bare legs. He ferociously untied my robe, the thick blanket being too much for him to take, and
he pulled it off me as he sat up, never leaving my lips, and kissing me with unrelenting need. I untucked my legs to move them around his waist, fully sitting in his lap, ready to spend the rest of the night in his addictive embrace, where it felt like I was meant to be.
My blood lit up like fireworks from his touch, and the heat flooded my veins as feelings so much deeper than instinctual lust overtook me, turning me. Our lips were forced apart when the oxygen pumped through my beating heart, and I threw my head back again, sucking in a desperate breath. My chest heaved as I returned my eyes to Alec. It was like we couldn't help bringing out the human in each other. He smiled wide, holding my legs around him, and jumped to his feet. Walking to the bed, he laid me down on its cushy pillow.
Lying next to me, he propped up on his elbow to look at me and asked, "Can we talk now?" His expression looked troubled, and I suddenly wondered what happened after I left the party. All those terrible, anxious feelings flooded my mind, and my face reddened. I self-consciously fixed my cotton nightie, pulling it down as far as it would go, which was only mid-thigh, trying to pretend Alec didn't just see my lacey underwear. My jaw clenched when I thought about everyone calling me a tramp behind my back. Or possibly not behind my back; they might even say it right to my face. I supposed I'd find out on Monday.
"I'm too mad to talk," I said, the anger returning to my voice.