Destined to Die (The Briar Creek Vampires, #3) by Jayme Morse & Jody Morse

by Jayme Morse

  “I know you’re right, but it still hurts.” Lexi wiped away a tear with her sleeve.

  Craig looked down at his hands, which were only centimeters away from Lexi’s own hands. “I know what it’s like to be hurt. The best thing that I can tell you right now is that you shouldn’t dwell on it. You should find ways to keep yourself occupied so that the pain doesn’t eat you up. I know they tell you to cry, but it only makes it harder to waste your time crying.”

  Lexi sighed. She was going to try really hard not to cry too much over this, but it wasn’t because it would make things worse for herself. It was because she didn’t want to cry in front of Anna. She didn’t want to tell her what had happened; she didn’t want to admit to anyone, even herself, that Veronica had won, fair and square.

  “Why don’t you do something fun with me tonight?” Craig asked. “It’s Saturday night. You shouldn’t spend too much time cooped up inside your dorm room. Live a little. I promise I can keep your mind off of it.”

  Lexi remembered that she had promised Anna that they would have a girls’ night as soon as Austin and Gabe left to find her dad, which was probably right around now. “I’m sorry. I can’t. I already made plans with somebody else.” She didn’t mention that she wished she hadn’t.

  “Fair enough,” Craig said. It was dark out, but in the glow of the dim light, Lexi was pretty sure that she noticed a pained expression on his face. “If you change your mind, my room is right next to the North stairwell. Room 114.”

  “Okay,” Lexi replied. As Craig got up and began walking away from her, she yelled, “Craig? Thanks.”

  Craig beamed a big smile at her. “No problem.”

  When Lexi got back to the room, Anna was pulling her nail polishes out of the drawers. There was also a collection of chick flicks lying on the bed. The movies included How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, The Proposal, Mean Girls, and John Tucker Must Die. They were all some of Lexi’s favorite movies. If she absolutely had to endure this girls’ night, at least Anna didn’t want to watch really lame movies. With Anna’s seemingly eccentric tastes, Lexi figured that she would pick out something really strange to watch. It surprised her that she actually had good taste in movies.

  Lexi sat down on the bed. “So, I guess they left already.”

  “Yep,” Anna said, turning around and looking at her. She had pulled her purple-streaked hair into a floppy bun on top of her head. “What happened between you and Gabe before they left?”

  “N-nothing,” Lexi stuttered, sure that she wasn’t doing a good job at convincing Anna that nothing had happened. “Why? Did he say something?”

  “Well, he said that he wanted to talk to you,” Anna replied. “He seemed sort of shaken up and not like himself at all. Did he ever get to find you before he left?”

  Looking down at the floor and trying to hold back more tears, Lexi shook her head. She knew that if Gabe and Austin were gone for too long, she was going to blurt everything out to Anna. There was no way she could keep this much inside for too long. Anna was the only person she felt comfortable in confiding in – besides Mary-Kate.

  Thinking about her half-sister made her feel sort of empty inside. She had always wanted a sister, especially during those holidays and vacations where her mom was never really around. And here, she had a half-sister, who she wasn’t even able to get to know. Lexi knew that Austin said that it would be a bad idea for Mary-Kate to come to Huntington long-term, but what about for the day?

  “Can you do me a favor?” Lexi asked Anna. “I want to call someone, but I don’t have a cell phone. Do you think I can use yours?”

  Anna hesitated. “Who do you want to call?”

  Lexi sighed. “I want to see Mary-Kate.” Anna made a face. “She’s my sister. It’s really weird, but . . . I don’t want to lose the bond that we were starting to have just because I came here. So, I want her to visit. Just for the day. Will you let me call?”

  Anna sighed. “I guess.” She handed Lexi her cell phone, which was covered by a hot pink zebra print cover. Lexi remembered that she didn’t actually know Mary-Kate’s phone number when Anna picked up a duffel bag and pulled out a piece of yellow paper. “He left me a list of all the important phone numbers in case we need to call them when he’s gone.”

  “Thanks,” Lexi replied, smiling up at Anna. She dialed the number that Austin had scribbled down on the list in his chicken scratch handwriting. Mary-Kate answered her phone on the first ring. “Hello?” she asked hesitantly.

  “Mary-Kate? It’s Lexi.” She wasn’t sure why she was whispering, but she hoped that if anyone was nearby, they wouldn’t be able to hear her voice through the phone.

  “Oh, my gosh,” Mary-Kate replied. “Is everything okay? Is you-know-who okay?”

  “Austin?” Lexi asked. “Don’t worry. He’s fine. I’m just calling because . . . I just missed you.” She really hoped that she didn’t sound lame, but what did it matter? She did feel lame right now. Her sort-of-but-not-really-boyfriend would rather be with their teacher. Anna was the only friend she really had, and she couldn’t even tell her about it. Not that she would tell Mary-Kate either, but it would be nice to hang out with someone besides Anna for once.

  “Aww, that’s sweet,” Mary-Kate chirped. “I miss you, too. I hope that this whole ordeal can be over really soon so we can work on being friends again.” She lowered her voice. “And sisters!”

  “Do you want to come see me? Sometime tomorrow?” Lexi asked.

  “Where are you guys staying?” Mary-Kate asked.

  “Huntington High,” Lexi replied. “There’s tight security, though. If you can meet me outside the school around one, I’ll get you in. If you want.”

  “Of course I want to see you! And I want to see Austin, too.”

  “Oh, umm, Austin’s not here, actually,” Lexi said apologetically. “It’s a long story, but he’s out looking for my . . . I mean, our, dad.”

  Mary-Kate paused. “Why? What happened to him?”

  “We don’t actually know,” Lexi explained. “That’s what he and Gabe are trying to figure out.”

  “Oh, well, I still want to see you,” Mary-Kate said. Lexi couldn’t help but notice a tone of disappointment in her voice, but she chose to ignore it. If their roles had been reversed before Gabe had cheated on her, she probably would have felt the same way if she really wanted to see him.

  “Okay, great. I’ll see you tomorrow around one, then,” Lexi replied. When she turned to Anna to give her cell phone back to her, she was gone. Groaning, Lexi got up and grabbed her key from the top of the dresser. She went into the hallway and began looking around, but she didn’t see Anna anywhere. Lexi guessed that she had probably annoyed Anna somehow because she hadn’t devoted all of her attention to her.

  Lexi went back into their dorm room and climbed into bed. She glanced at the clock. It was only nine o’clock p.m. Deciding that sleep was probably the only thing that could possibly help her feel any better right now, she rolled onto her stomach, shoved her head into the pillow, and drifted off to sleep.

  ****

  Chapter 13

  Veronica smiled down at her. Her lips looked particularly red as she flashed one of her cruel smiles. This time, Lexi noticed her fangs. Getting down on her knees, she sunk her fangs into Gabe’s flesh. Lexi heard him moan. Veronica looked up at her, the blood dripping down her lips.

  “He wants me, Lexi. I can do things for him that you will never be able to do. You can never give him the same pleasure that I can. You’ll never be good enough for him as long as I’m alive.”

  Lexi bolted upright in bed, panting and shaking. The clock said that it was ten o’clock p.m., and she was in her dorm room. It had all just been a bad dream . . . a realistic and terribly frightening dream.

  Climbing out of bed, Lexi glanced across the room. Anna had sprawled out on her own bed and was snoring softly. She probably wouldn’t even notice that Lexi was gone, which was good because Lexi didn’t want her to know where she was go
ing.

  Closing the door gently behind her, Lexi followed the narrow hallway until she had reached the North stairwell. Room 114.

  She knocked gently on the door. It took only seconds for Craig to open it, almost as though he had already been waiting for her, like he knew she was coming. Lexi wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his, kissing him with more passion than she had ever kissed anyone and let all of her problems be washed away.

  *

  The next morning, Lexi woke up against Craig’s smooth, tan chest, which looked like it belonged on the cover of a romance novel. Sharing a bed with him had been much different than sleeping with Gabe. With Gabe, she always felt like she was protected and in love; with Craig, she felt a lot of sexual tension. She wasn’t really sure who she felt more attracted to because they were both different in their own way. Lexi just felt a certain attachment with Gabe because it felt like they had been together for so long. Spending the night with Craig was so new to her.

  “Oh shit,” Lexi muttered out loud, thinking about Anna. How was she going to explain not being in the dorm room if she had woken up without noticing her? Quickly, she climbed out of bed. She felt glad that she hadn’t taken any clothes off last night, so she didn’t have to worry about having to get dressed.

  “Hey,” Craig said, stirring in his bed and smiling at her. “Where are you going?”

  Lexi walked over to him and kissed him gently. “Back to my dorm so my roommate doesn’t notice I was gone.”

  “Okay,” he said, sitting up in bed. “Will I see you later?”

  “Maybe.” Lexi smiled at him before walking back to her dorm. She liked that, even though he was her teacher (again), things were pretty simple between them. Aside from the time she had caught him drinking Mary-Kate’s blood, things really weren’t all that complicated between them.

  Not as complicated as they were between her and Gabe, at least. Craig hadn’t tried to kill her yet, even if it was for her own good. There also weren’t any jealous ex-girlfriends or vampire creators that Lexi knew about yet. It felt like being with Craig was the closest thing that she could have to a normal relationship . . . if it ever got to that point.

  Lexi just hoped that it wasn’t a bad sign that the only time she ever got involved with Craig was when she was trying not to think about Gabe. She didn’t think it meant that she liked him any less, and technically, things might have worked out before if he hadn’t caught her with Mary-Kate. It wasn’t her fault that Gabe had come back and seemed really genuine for a while.

  Lexi felt a twinge of guilt about cheating on Gabe, but that obviously hadn’t stopped him from cheating on her with Veronica. Lexi figured that two could play this game; if Gabe wanted to fool around with their teacher, Lexi could certainly do the same. Not that she was spending time with Craig just to piss off Gabe when he got back. She really did like him.

  Having two guys in her life who she was interested in made her feel sort of slutty. She vowed that she wouldn’t be a total slut; she would at least stay a virgin right now. She wasn’t ready to lose her virginity to Craig – or Gabe, for that matter. Lexi wasn’t going to have sex with just anyone; it had to be someone who could prove that they were special first. So far, neither Gabe nor Craig had.

  When Lexi was back in their dorm room, she found Anna in the same exact spot where she had left her. She breathed a deep sigh of relief. Glancing at the clock, she realized that Mary-Kate was going to arrive soon.

  Lexi changed into a pair of dark wash skinny jeans and a daffodil yellow sweater with a lacy white camisole underneath. She brushed her long blonde hair, noticing that she really needed a haircut. Not that she could just walk into a hair salon and get it done that easily. There would probably be a “Wanted” ad on the hair stylist’s mirror that would send her straight to state prison or into the arms of someone who just wanted to drain her of all her blood.

  By the time Lexi got ready, it was nearly one o’clock. She stepped outside and began searching for Mary-Kate’s car. Just as she was about to walk over to the sidewalk, a tall guy walked towards her. “Alexandria Hunter?”

  Lexi nodded, deciding that it wasn’t worth correcting him. No one seemed to understand that she hated being called by her full name. It was mostly because of her dad; he’d always called her Princess Alexandria during their tea parties. When he left, she decided that she didn’t want anyone else to call her Alexandria and chose to go by her nickname, Lexi, at all times.

  “What are you doing out here?” the guy asked her.

  “I’m waiting for a friend,” Lexi replied coolly. She eyed him up and down. His raven-colored hair was cropped short and was almost a perfect match for his nearly black eyes. Even though he was wearing a white t-shirt (which was unusual because it was really cold outside), Lexi could see his clearly defined six pack. “What’s it to you?”

  “Sorry, I should probably introduce myself.” The guy laughed a deep, sultry laugh. “My name’s Noah. I’m one of the security guards here, so it’s necessary for me to know who goes in and out of Huntington at all times.”

  “Oh, so you’re . . . a werewolf?” Lexi asked.

  Noah nodded. Lexi glanced at him again. So, that was why he was so muscular and wasn’t even dressed appropriately for December. According to all of the mythology that she had ever learned about, werewolves were supposed to really strong and hot. Temperature-wise, that is. Noah’s body temperature might be high, but he was definitely hot in other ways, too.

  “Well, my friend Mary-Kate is coming to visit me,” Lexi went on. “I hope that’s okay, isn’t it? She’s not bad or anything like that.”

  “Mary-Kate Lawrence?”

  Lexi nodded. “You know her?”

  “She used to date my cousin, Brandon,” Noah replied. “She’s a good girl. I see no reason why she can’t visit, just as long as she doesn’t spend the night here. School administration doesn’t take kindly to overnight visitors.”

  Lexi stared at Noah dumbfounded at the name he had just mentioned. “Are you talking about the Brandon who works at Splish ‘N Splash?”

  Noah nodded. “Yeah, he does. He told me that you worked with him.”

  Part of Lexi wanted to ask why Brandon had mentioned her to Noah, but the reasons were probably obvious. Aside from her being so popular in the vampire world, she and Brandon had almost dated. That was before she had found out that he, too, was a vampire. “So, let me get this straight,” she said to Noah. “You’re a werewolf who works at Huntington, but your cousin is a vampire who lives in Briar Creek?”

  Noah nodded and grinned at her. “Shocking, I know. Every family has its issues, I suppose. Mine just happens to be that we’re two different species and should be enemies.”

  Lexi smiled. “I know how that feels.”

  Just then, she saw Mary-Kate’s car pull up alongside the sidewalk. Before she had the chance to ask Noah if he had told anyone that Austin was still alive, he had already walked away. Lexi didn’t have time to worry right now about whether or not he was on their side. She ran towards her sister’s car instead.

  “Lexi!” Mary-Kate yelled, pulling shopping bags out of the trunk of her car. “I brought some stuff for you.”

  “For me?” Lexi asked, surprised.

  “Well, Austin told me that he didn’t have time to bring all of your clothes when you left, so I did a little shopping. Let’s go inside so I can show you everything.”

  When they were back in Lexi’s dorm room, she was in the middle of trying on a plum-colored dress that Mary-Kate had bought her. The dress hugged her hips in all of the right places and actually made it look like she had some cleavage. She wished that she had a special occasion coming up soon so that she could actually wear it.

  All of the jeggings, sweater dresses, and Victoria’s Secret velour outfits that Mary-Kate had brought her fit similarly. Lexi was going to have to remember that Mary-Kate would be a great shopping buddy if she ever needed one. If she was ever able to leave the
confines of Huntington or one of Ben’s houses and actually go on a mall shopping trip again.

  “So, what exactly is going on, Lexi?” Mary-Kate asked. “Austin hasn’t called me in weeks. I’m clueless.”

  Lexi frowned, surprised that Austin hadn’t called Mary-Kate to fill her in. She’d just assumed that they had been keeping in touch often for some reason. “Well, like I told you, they’re looking for our dad. He hasn’t communicated with them for months and his phone’s been disconnected, so they’re pretty sure something is going on with him.”

  Mary-Kate looked down at the floor. “I hope he’s okay,” she said, playing with the hem of her sweater.

  “Me too.” Lexi sat down on the bed next to her. “I’m sure he’s fine. They’re probably just overreacting.”

  “Let’s hope.” Mary-Kate looked up at her and smiled. “Anyways, how do like it here?”

  Lexi shrugged. “It’s okay, I guess. I feel like a caged poodle, though. I hate not being able to do anything.”

  “Hopefully this will all be over really soon,” Mary-Kate said sympathetically. “Then, we can work on being a family.”

  “Really?” Lexi squeaked.

  “Of course! I’ve always wanted a sister. I hope that we can go to the same college together. I’ve always wanted to go to NYU, but we can go wherever you want to go, I guess. Somewhere on the West coast might be kind of cool. Maybe we can even be roommates.”

  Glancing away, Lexi tried to hide the fact that she was becoming teary-eyed. It had been a long time since she felt like she had any family who really cared about her. She hadn’t even known that Mary-Kate really wanted to be her sister, even though she had been a good friend to her so far.