The Briar Creek Vampires 01 - Kiss of Death

by Jody Morse Jayme Morse

  Lexi groaned. She decided that she had better shut up before it got any worse – if that was even possible at this point. Lexi couldn’t imagine anything worse than going on a date against her will. She had definitely underestimated just how much of a control freak her aunt really was.

  Once Violet was climbing back down the stairs, Lexi began opening the boxes. In the first box, all she found was clothes – jeans, tank tops, t-shirts, sweaters, dresses, bras, socks and underwear. Imagining her aunt and uncle going through her underwear drawer made her feel really uncomfortable. Lexi hoped that they hadn’t found the condoms that she had hidden at the bottom, just to be prepared in the event that she did ever did decide to lose her virginity.

  The next box was filled with personal items. Digging through it, Lexi found her laptop, framed photographs of her and Justin that she had always left down and her bedroom décor – a purple satin comforter and matching curtains, a fuzzy rug, a lamp and a trashcan. At least her room could feel a little bit more like home now.

  Lexi pulled out a small framed photograph from the bottom of the box. Glancing at it, tears filled her eyes. It was a photo of her and her mom at her fifteen birthday party, smiling into the camera with her Hello Kitty birthday cake in front of her. She felt a stabbing pain shoot through her heart and, unsuccessfully, tried to fight the tears that filled up her emerald green eyes.

  As the salty tears streamed down her cheeks, she turned her attention to the third box. Immediately, she recognized her mother’s jewelry box. Feeling a pang of loneliness, she reached in the box and began sorting through the jewelry. She found her mom’s favorite pair of pink earrings and her wedding band. It was a solitaire stone set in yellow gold. Lexi always liked to believe that her mom had kept it all those years because she hoped that Lexi’s dad would come back eventually. That didn’t seem likely, though. Hell, he hadn’t even called Lexi back when she told him he needed help. Maybe he did want to stay missing; maybe this was what he wanted.

  Lexi pulled out a familiar necklace. Pushing the negative thoughts about her dad aside, she pulled it on. It was a gold bat her father had bought her for her fifth birthday after she had proudly declared that bats were her favorite animal. She learned about them while watching animal planet – one of the few stations that Grandma Jean allowed – and for the next week ran around telling anyone who would listen the most interesting facts about them. Kevin had been the been the only one to listen to her talk about how they were one of the cleanliest mammals and how some bats, which were, coincidentally, called vampire bats, fed on the blood of cows and horses, for hours on end. Before her dad left for work one day right before he went missing, he made Lexi promise she wouldn’t take the necklace off. It had upset her when Tommy pried the necklace away from her, in an act to remove all traces of her “uncaring” father from the house.

  Lexi thought the necklace was long gone by now, and was somewhat surprised that her mom had somehow gotten it back from Tommy. Feeling her stomach growl, Lexi put the rest of the jewelry back in the box and trotted downstairs.

  As she reached the bottom of the staircase, Tommy nodded to her neck and asked her, “What is that?” his eyes narrowing into slits. She had forgotten to take the necklace off before she came down, but he couldn’t still hate her father enough to try to make her take the necklace off again, could he?

  “It’s the necklace that rightfully belongs to me. You won’t take it away from me again,” she retorted, sitting down at the dining room table across from him. Wheezing through his nose, Tommy snorted and mumbled something under his breath.

  Violet brought a tray of hamburgers into the dining room, placing one on Tommy’s plate and one on Lexi’s. As Lexi sunk her teeth into her juicy cheeseburger, an alarm sounded off in her head. Her mom didn’t eat beef.

  ****

  Chapter 13

  On Saturday night, Lexi stared at herself in the mirror, making sure that she looked good, err, ugly, enough for her date with Dan. She had on her baggiest pair of jeans and a raggedy old t-shirt that she had always worn to paint in art class. Lexi also made a point of wearing her hair up in a messy bun and was makeup-free. She hadn’t showered for two days, so she hoped that her hair looked extra oily. If this ensemble wasn’t enough to drive Dan away, she didn’t know what was.

  The doorbell rang and Lexi groaned. She really wasn’t looking forward to tonight, but she didn’t have a choice. Violet would know she was faking it if she tried to pretend that she was sick.

  “Lexi! Dan’s here!” Tommy called.

  Glancing at herself in the mirror one final time, Lexi held her breath and headed downstairs to the front door, where Dan greeted her with a single red rose and a cautious smile. He was wearing a black and blue button down and a form-fitting pair of jeans. Dan’s sandy blonde hair was neatly styled. Next to him, Lexi felt like a total bum.

  Taking the rose from him, Lexi hurried out the front door. She didn’t want her aunt or uncle to make her change her outfit before leaving.

  “You look beautiful,” Dan said once they were out of earshot.

  Lexi was speechless. “Thank you,” she managed to say. He must be joking, or desperate, she thought.

  “So, you hungry?” He asked.

  She shrugged. “Yeah, sure.”

  “Great, cause I already made reservations for us at one of the nicest restaurants in Briar Creek.”

  She hoped that she wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb, but maybe if she embarrassed him enough, he would go on his merry way.

  Once they were in his car, Lexi tried not to look at him too much. She didn’t want to give him the wrong impression. Even if she thought he was cute (which she did), it didn’t mean that they had a future together.

  “So I’m glad you decided to go out with me, finally.”

  “It wasn’t really my choice.”

  “I see,” Dan said, staring ahead at the road. “Well, let’s make the best of it then. Maybe I can help you change your mind.”

  “Doubtful,” Lexi muttered, as Dan pulled into the parking lot of La Margarita’s.

  “Hope you like Mexican,” he said, turning off the engine.

  Great, Lexi thought. A place that serves burritos is the nicest restaurant that Briar Creek has to offer. She had many years of “elegant” dates to look forward to. Lexi was definitely going to miss the sushi and French cuisine that she had taken for granted for so many years.

  Lexi followed Dan into the brightly colored restaurant. Once they were seated and served chips with salsa, she tried to think of something to say. Despite the fact that she was so against giving him a chance, Lexi really didn’t know much about Dan or his interests.

  She decided to try to give this date the benefit of the doubt, since she was already sitting across the table from him.

  “So, tell me something about yourself,” Lexi said, trying to break the silence.

  “I’ve been playing football since I was four years old. What about you?”

  “I like to paint.”

  “What do you paint?” Dan asked, stuffing a nacho in his mouth.

  “Portraits, Landscapes, Animals.”

  “What’s your favorite animal?”

  “It’s going to sound strange, but bats,” she blurted. After the swarming of bats around her aunt’s house, Lexi had decided that she didn’t like them so much anymore – they were too creepy. She hadn’t had time to figure out what her new favorite animal was.

  “That’s not strange at all. I like bats too. They’re pretty mysterious…and there are lots of them in Briar Creek.”

  “I’ve noticed.”

  “You gotta be careful though. Don’t go near them. They carry diseases.”

  “Oh, I won’t. Don’t worry,” she said, giggling. “So, what do you want to do with the rest of your life?”

  “I haven’t decided yet,” he said. “Maybe visit Europe.”

  “Why don’t you go there now?” A deep voice asked, interrupting them.

  T
urning, Lexi felt the butterflies start swarming around in her stomach.

  “Gabe!” She got to her feet, wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning in for a kiss.

  He pushed her away. “Do you really expect me to be happy with you right now, Lexi? I thought you hated Dan. It doesn’t look that way anymore.”

  “Gabe, you have to let me explain. My aunt made me –”

  “Yeah. I’m sure she did. She made you sit across from a guy in a nice restaurant. She even made you laugh! I thought you cared about me.”

  “Gabe –”

  “No. If you want to date this scumbag, then so be it.”

  Dan stood to his feet and said, “Dude, if you have a problem, let’s take it outside. You and I both know what this is really about.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. How about this? Let the best man win. Whoever doesn’t win backs off.”

  With her mouth hanging open, Lexi looked back and forth between the two guys. Well, here was the excitement she had always been after.

  “Are you sure about that, Gabe? Cause I’m a lot stronger than you, old man.”

  “Stronger doesn’t always mean better. I have a lot to lose, but then again, so do you.”

  “True,” Dan agreed, laying some cash down on the table and making his way to the front of the restaurant.

  “Gabe,” Lexi sad, grabbing his arm. “Don’t do this!”

  Shaking her off of him, Gabe stared at her and said through clenched teeth, “Lexi, if you know what’s best for you, stay out of this.”

  “But my aunt and uncle are never going to let me see you again if you get into more trouble! Especially if you get into a fight with Dan, their favorite person in the world.”

  “Well, I’m willing to take that risk if he backs off and leaves you alone. If I can’t have you, I don’t want him to have you either.”

  Lexi smiled. That sounded more like her Gabe, the Gabe she was falling in love with. “I don’t want him, I want you. You don’t have to fight him; my mind is already made up.”

  “No, Lexi. I do have to go through with this. It will solve the problem once and for all. You’ll see,” he said, kissing her on the forehead before going outside.

  When Lexi got outside, she saw a shirtless Dan throw the first punch. The force of it was enough to throw Gabe back into the dumpster. Recovering, Gabe flew on top of Dan and punched the right side of his face repeatedly. Rolling over, Dan pulled Gabe up by his throat.

  A flashlight shone on Gabe and Dan. “Boys, what are you doing?” A voice asked from the shadows.

  Lexi looked up to see Mayor Lawrence towering over them. “This is not the way we deal with conflict in Briar Creek,” he said, adding, “Dan, I’m going to have to suspend you from football practice for one week. And Gabe, I’m not quite sure what I’m going to do about you.”

  “We were just playing around,” Dan mumbled. “It was really no big deal.”

  “Well, it looked like a big deal to me, so I’m going to treat it as one. Both of your parents will be personally contacted by me tomorrow.”

  Lexi sighed. She knew that this had been a really, really bad idea. Violet and Tommy were bound to find out that Gabe and Dan had fought, once again putting Gabe in a bad light. Now, she could at least point out that Dan wasn’t all that innocent either, though.

  “Are you coming home with me?” Dan asked Lexi after the mayor had walked away.

  “Um, no. I think I’m going to go home with Gabe. Sorry, Dan.”

  “Fine,” he said through gritted teeth. “You shouldn’t put your neck on the line like that, but do whatever you want.” Noticing that Gabe was glaring at him, he added, “I mean...Violet is going to be pissed. That’s all.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure that’s all you meant. Come on, Lexi,” Gabe said, wrapping his arm around her waist and leading her to his car.

  As he opened the door for her, Lexi asked, “Gabe? What made you come here tonight?”

  “Someone told me that Dan made reservations here for two. For some reason, I had a feeling that it would be you with him.” He smiled and added, “It was the only way I could see you. I tried not to be mad at you for it, but seeing you with him made me insanely jealous.”

  “Well, I’m glad you did.” Lexi said, smiling back at him. Gabe got into the car and backed out of the parking lot. He reached over and held her hand. Lexi’s fingers felt warm against his cold skin.

  When he pulled onto their street, he pulled over to the side of the road. “I just want to let you know that no matter what happens, I love you.” He kissed her gently and whispered, “We will figure this out eventually. I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Me either,” she responded, leaning in for another kiss. “And I love you too.”

  For a moment, it was like they were the only people in the world. Nothing else mattered.

  As Gabe pulled up to her driveway, she saw her aunt running towards the car, screaming, “Lexi Anne Hunter! What do you think you’re doing?”

  ****

  Chapter 14

  Back safely at his house, Gabe breezed through the front door. Looking down, he straightened out his clothes that had gotten messed up on his way home.

  As he started looking through the fridge, a shrieking voice behind him made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. “I heard about what happened.”

  “Yeah?” Gabe asked sarcastically. “That was quick. Word travels fast around here.” Retrieving the package he was looking for, he slammed the fridge shut and threw it onto the table. Roughly pulling chair out, he sat down, biting through the flimsy plastic that contained his meal.

  “Don’t use that tone with me, Gabriel. Greg Lawrence came here on his way home.”

  He looked up at her with wide eyes. “It’s okay,” she continued, noticing his reaction. “He said he would let you off with some community service this time. But you have to be careful from now on. I don’t want you seeing that girl anymore.”

  Opening his mouth to protest, she interrupted him. “Shh. You looked drained,” she said, studying him, a worried expression on her face.

  “I’m fine,” Gabe mumbled through his meal, waving his hand at her nonchalantly. “I’m not going to stay away from her. Especially not right now.” From his spot at the table, he glanced out the dining room window across the street. “She needs me,” he said softly.

  “Gabriel! How could you do this to us? You know all she’s good for,” she shrieked at him.

  “I wish everyone around here would stop saying that,” he said through clenched teeth. “I’m old enough to know what I want for myself.”

  Crossing her arms in front of her chest, she leaned back and scoffed. “You may think you’re old enough, but this doesn’t only affect you. When they discover what you’re trying to do, you’ll be putting both of our necks on the line. You know what her family is like. We’re already on their bad side. Don’t make things worse. They have a lot of pull in this town.”

  “It isn’t right, mom” he said, getting up from his seat and pacing around the kitchen.

  “I know it’s not, but we don’t have any other option,” she said tenderly. Getting up from the table, she walked over to Gabe and wrapped him into a tight hug. “I know it’s hard. Please just do what’s right for everyone in this situation. There will be other girls,” she added cheerfully, taking his face into her hands and looking hopefully into his deep blue eyes. “I promise you’ll forget all about this one. She patted his arm. “Just think about it.”

  Staring out the dining room window at the house across the street, Gabe clenched his hands into fists around the curtains. “But I love her,” he whispered.

  ****

  Chapter 15

  The next morning, Lexi woke up when a text message beeped on her cell phone. Her aunt and uncle had returned her phone to her so that she could call them during her date with Dan if she had to and, after last night’s argument; they had forgotten to take it back.

  Opening the phone, Lexi found
that the text message was from Justin. She smiled. It was good to finally hear from someone who wasn’t from Briar Creek (aside from Gabe, that is). The text said: Hey Lexi! I miss u. Wanna hang out next weekend?

  She typed back: I wish I could, but I’m not in NJ anymore

  A few seconds later, Justin responded: Where r u? I don’t mind takin a road trip.

  Lexi thought for a moment. She was grounded, but what was her aunt going to do when Justin showed up on the front porch? She would seem really rude if she turned him away after he traveled all the way from New Jersey. Lexi wasn’t sure, but she decided that she was willing to take the risk.

  Hesitantly, Lexi answered: Ok, I’m in Briar Creek in PA. 567 Birchwood Rd. What day are u coming?

  Almost immediately, her cell phone beeped again. Saturday.

  Lexi felt a wave of happiness wash over her. It wasn’t because she still had feelings for Justin because she didn’t. It was because she finally had something to look forward to.

  She listened to her aunt speaking loudly on her cell phone downstairs. A few moments later, the front door slammed shut. Lexi got out of bed and hurried to the kitchen. Her stomach was growling and this was the perfect opportunity for her to get something to eat without having to see her aunt. After the scream fight they had gotten into about Gabe last night after she got out of the car, Lexi would be trying as hard as possible to avoid Violet from now on.

  Just as she put a strawberry Pop-Tart in the toaster, the doorbell rang. Thinking that her aunt must have forgotten her keys in the house, Lexi held her breath and headed for the living room.

  Opening the front door, she found Dan staring back at her. Lexi groaned. “My aunt’s not here.”

  “I’m not here to see her,” Dan said smoothly. “I’m here to see you.”

  “What do you want? I already told you...I like Gabe.”

  “I know, but just listen to me, Lexi,” he responded, stepping into the front door.