by Amy Miles
Sadie giggles behind a gloved hand. “Kinda fitting, huh?”
They eagerly join in with the chants led by Rosewood’s cheer squad. Roseline pumps her fists and actually finds herself swept away until she senses a mood change as the head cheerleader’s piercing glare finds her among the crowd.
“Yikes. I think Claire’s got it in for you,” William mutters as he darts a glance her way. Sure enough, the cheerleader’s beady little eyes are drilling into Roseline’s forehead. People all around begin to follow her gaze. Most nod in understanding, thankful that they are not the one stupid enough to cross Claire. It is social suicide to get on her bad side.
“This is going to be a long night,” Roseline sighs.
Twenty-One
Roseline is careful not to bend the metal railing as she jumps and shouts like a mad woman. Rosewood Prep and Claremont High are neck and neck coming up to the final ten minutes of the game. She never dreamed football could be this intense but, then again, it isn’t exactly the game that has drawn her attention.
Gabriel has been spectacular throughout the entire night. His throws are longer than she has ever noticed before. He dives in and out of his opponents, taking them out as if they were limp practice dummies. His speed is unmatched, and his accuracy is off-the-charts amazing.
The crowd is going wild. The deafening roar has not faded for over an hour.
“Can you believe him?” Sadie cries. Her face is flushed with excitement. Obviously her frustration with Gabriel disappeared as soon as he threw the first touchdown. “He’s a shoo in for MVP.”
Even William has to admit Gabriel is in top form. “It’s no secret I don’t like the guy but, man, does he have an arm. Who knew he could throw so well?”
Their words slowly sink into Roseline’s mind and, when they do, she feels sick to her stomach. They are right. Claremont can barely keep up with Gabriel. He is practically a one-man team tonight. She turns and focuses on him as he dives over the end zone with the ball safely cradled in his arms.
“Who does that?” William laughs, hooting right along with the rest of the crowd.
“He’s not a man…he’s a machine!” Sadie crows, stomping with all her might on the metal bleachers. “I don’t know what you’ve done to him, Rose, but keep it up.”
Roseline’s face pales and her hands begin to tremble as icy apprehension creeps up her spine. Something is wrong. Gabriel has always been a skilled player but tonight he is spectacular.
She narrows her gaze on his throwing arm as he leaps up to slam the ball into the ground. Dirt cakes his biceps but it does little to hide the evidence that she feared. He has grown.
Not in the sense of gaining an extra pound of muscle or adding a little definition to his already toned body. No, now Gabriel is ripped. There is no way a seventeen-year-old boy can look like that.
“Hey, are you okay?” Sadie asks, noticing Roseline for the first time. Beads of sweat have formed along her brow, despite the plummeting temperatures. She feels weak in the knees. If it were not for her death grip on the railing, she might have passed out completely.
“I’m not sure,” Roseline says, shaking her head to clear her frantic thoughts. “I think I need to sit down for a minute.”
William leaps over the seat to Roseline’s side, easing her down. With his arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders, Roseline begins to breathe easier. Maybe she is wrong. Oh god, she hopes she is!
But there are too many odd things happening to Gabriel. First are the glowing eyes she hasn’t completely ruled out. Obviously not a human thing to do. Second, his blood calls in to her in ways that should not be possible for mortal/immortal relationships. Third, his reflexes are spot on and his physique is definitely changing. It is almost as if nature is working to perfect him in ways that defy human logic.
And what about the bond? They have never shared blood or consummated their relationship. Definitely not the second bit! So then why have they entered into a life bond together?
Roseline groans, leaning heavily on William. This is infuriating. Nothing about Gabriel makes sense. How can he be so appealing, so impossibly addicting for her, when he is a mortal? The only thing that even comes close to explaining Gabriel’s oddities is that he is an immortal too…but that can’t be true either. He should have transformed in one swift and very painful swoop.
No, he can’t be immortal. He has human parents and just because they are rudely overbearing certainly does not make them evil immortals. But what else can he be? His human status is certainly up in the air right now. Something strange is going on with him and she needs to figure it out before someone else starts to question it.
“Feeling any better?” William asks, his deep-set eyes filling with concern as they scan her pallid face.
“Yeah, I think so. Thanks for taking care of me.” She offers him a weak smile as she eases out of his arms. Although she is touched by his concern, she fears turning to him for comfort. Especially if Gabriel looks up to see her in William’s embrace.
She leaps to her feet as the crowd explodes around her. Her gaze locks onto a football Gabriel sent spiraling across the entire length of the field. Rosewood’s receiver runs for all he is worth to catch the ball. Claremont falls behind, unable to keep up with their adrenaline pumped opponent.
She watches the ball arc toward the ground in slow motion. The receiver leaps with his hands outstretched. It falls into his hand, teetering precariously on his fingertips before they clamp around the ball. A swatch of grass carves from the ground as he slides to a halt in the end zone. The receiver rolls over and thrusts the ball high into the air, screaming in triumph.
William cups his mouth and joins the roar. “That guy is definitely going pro. Gabriel just broke every record ever set for high school football.”
Both sides of the stadium erupt. One side cheers wildly while the other roars with disbelief. The commentators scream over the loudspeaker as the entire Rosewood football team pile on top of Gabriel. College scouts race onto the field, cameras flash wildly, and news reporters fight through the crowd to interview the star quarterback that has just won the state championship almost singlehandedly.
Roseline is too numb to react as Sadie and William’s shouts mingle with the roar of the crowd. She does not smile, does not offer anyone a high five. All she can do is stand in horrified silence.
Twenty-Two
“Rose!” Gabriel shouts, shoving his way through the applauding crowd. The camera flashes are blinding. He shields his eyes to see Roseline dash down the stadium stairs, leaving a bewildered Sadie and William behind. “Rose, stop!”
“Gabriel,” a shrill cry rings out as a pair of slender arms wrap tightly around his chest. He glances down, instantly annoyed.
“Not now, Claire.”
“Oh, come on. Let’s celebrate. You won the game,” she purrs, curling her finger around a lock of his hair at the nape of his neck. “I’ll make it worth your while.”
“Not gonna happen, Claire.” He unhooks her hands and shoves her aside, ignoring her indignant shrieks as he runs full out toward the bleachers.
“Over here, Gabe.” Steve waves him over to a flock of college scouts. “I have some people I’d like you to meet.”
“In a minute,” he calls over his shoulder as he slips through the crowd descending from the bleachers.
“Where is she?” he shouts up to Sadie from where she hangs over the bleacher. “I can’t see her anywhere.”
“She’s heading toward the entrance. Something really spooked her.”
“No kidding,” Gabriel grumbles as he flings himself through the crowd, shouting his apologies as he knocks people aside.
“Rose!” he screams, catching a glimpse of her fleeing figure.
She turns. The instant he catches her eye, he knows she is going to run again. “Please don’t do this! We need to talk,” he yells.
He can see Roseline’s tears gleaming under the stadium lights. Pain and confusion jumble on her fac
e but determination quickly replaces it.
“I’m sorry,” she mouths as she slips into a yellow cab. The door slams, echoing loudly in his ears as she turns her back on him. He slides to a halt as the taxi disappears into a maze of cars.
Twenty-Three
Roseline shoves her payment through the narrow slot in the window to the cabbie and stumbles out of the car. Once inside, the stairs prove too tricky for her fuddled mind so she takes them on hands and knees. The instant Roseline hits the bed she passes out.
Early morning light soon streams through the grimy windows, warming her face. She groans as she rolls over. Her head feels like it has been kicked in, and her throat burns with lingering acid from the night before. The taste in her mouth and the scent coming from the floor beside her bed tells her that sometime during her night her body expelled the two hot dogs she consumed at the game.
Unwilling to face the day, Roseline throws the covers over her face and falls back into a fitful sleep. Each time she wakes, the computer calls to her, begging her to contact Fane, but she knows an email won’t be enough. She needs to speak with him. Hear his voice.
As the sun begins to set, Roseline cleans up the mess beside her bed, opens a window to freshen the air, and pulls on a tank top and shorts. She laces up her running shoes and bounds down the stairs. Running has always helped to clear her thoughts in the past and she really hopes it will work today.
Trapped within the confines of a human world, she is forced into a speed that feels achingly slow, an annoying alternative to the speed her legs long for.
Her heart overrules her mind as her feet pound the pavement leading to a row of shops a few blocks away. She doesn’t wake from her haze until the tinkling of a bell on the cell phone company’s door snaps her out. Less than half an hour later, Roseline rushes back home to plug in her new, shiny, electric blue phone.
She paces as the tiny bars cycle through its charging mode. She chides herself for her impulsive purchase, finally convincing herself it will only be used for emergencies.
Isn’t this an emergency?
Roseline snatches the phone off the charger and scours the room for the tiny scrap of paper where she jotted down Sadie’s number.
“Hey, it’s me,” she says when the voicemail clicks on. “Look, Sadie, I’m really sorry about bailing on you, again. I know it’s becoming a bad habit.”
She pauses, running her hands through her wind tangled hair. “I just wanted to let you know I’m okay and that I’ve got a new phone. The number is…where is it?”
She fumbles through her paperwork and rattles off the number to Sadie’s voicemail then hangs up. She releases her breath. “Okay, that wasn’t so bad.”
Logic reminds her that registering a phone to her name was dangerous, even if it is a pre-paid phone. Paper trails have a way of coming back to bite you. She sits staring at the phone laying in her hands until she jerks upright at the arrival of a new scent. Gabriel has found her!
His fists pound against the front door. She can hear the lock groan in protest as his banging continues. No doubt her neighbors will call the police thinking there is a domestic disturbance on their block.
How does he know where she lives, though? Jimmy’s bar is over three miles from here and there is no way Sadie would willingly cough up the information unless…Roseline sighs.
After her last disappearing act, Sadie made it perfectly clear that she would rat her out the moment she sniffed trouble. No doubt her “bat out of hell” act last night sparked Sadie’s protective side.
The pounding continues for nearly ten minutes before Gabriel finally gives up and stomps down the porch steps. She tiptoes to the window to watch him slip down the icy sidewalk. He turns just before he climbs into the driver’s seat. The grim look on his face nearly convinces Roseline to call attention to herself but she resists the urge.
She walks back across the creaking floor and paces around the center of the room for nearly an hour. The phone feels like an anvil in her hand, dragging her down. She sinks onto the rickety stool with her heart and body weary from exhaustion.
“I shouldn’t do it,” she mutters, spinning the cell phone in circles on the wooden table. She stares at it, waging an internal war. “Oh crap,” she grumbles, flipping the phone open. Her fingers dance over the keys, shaking so badly she wonders if she has gotten the number right.
“Hello?” Roseline bursts into tears at the sound of the deeply masculine voice on the other end of the line. “Roseline?”
She wipes her nose with the back of her hand. “Yeah, it’s me, Fane.”
“I’ve been worried sick about you.” She can hear a creaking door in the background and remembers how careful she must be. The castle has ears. “Where are you? Why are you crying?”
Her throat catches as she imagines Fane’s brow knit with concern. “I’ve missed you so much,” she cries. “I’m so sorry I left you.”
“I know,” Fane whispers. His hand covers the receiver as he speaks. “I’ve missed you too.”
“I guess you’re wondering why I’m calling,” Roseline laughs weakly, drying her tears.
She can hear a creak of a chair followed swiftly by a heart thumping bass line. Glancing at the clock, she realizes that she was a fool to forget the time difference. Her family is awake. “Yeah, it must be something pretty important for you to risk exposure. What’s up?”
Roseline clamps her eyes shut, wincing at the ache in her heart. She has refused to allow herself to miss him, but now all of her feelings come rushing back in. Fane is her best friend, her only reason for living…until Gabriel.
“I think I’m in trouble.”
“Tell me,” Fane demands. She can hear a faint sound on the line, a clacking she can’t quite place.
“No, it’s not like that. I am fine. It’s just—” Roseline chews on her lip. “There’s this guy.”
“Are you kidding me? You drop off the grid without so much as a goodbye and now you want to chat about boys?” She winces at his biting words.
“Yes, please just listen to me—”
Fane cuts off her plea. “No, you listen to me. You need to come home. Vladimir is on a rampage and is taking it out on Brasov. People are dying, Roseline.”
“Oh no,” she groans, sinking out of the chair and onto the floor. “How bad is it?”
“It’s not pretty,” Fane growls. “What did you think would happen?”
“I don’t know,” she snaps back. “I just…I couldn’t take it anymore.”
Fane sighs heavily on the other end of the line. “I understand, but you know how this will end. He will find you and when he does I’m not sure I can stop him from killing you this time. If you come back, he might be more lenient.”
Roseline’s fingers begin to tremble. Age-old wounds flare up. Images of blood and pain fill her mind’s eye. She clamps her eyes shut, forcing away the memories. “I can’t come back.”
“You have to. It’s the only way to save your life. I can’t lose you.” Fane’s voice chokes off.
Even after all this time, Fane’s love for her has never faded. Their secret love affair spanned two centuries, but the amount of time they had managed to snatch together wouldn’t even be able to fill one year on a calendar. Vladimir watches her like a hawk and Roseline knew it was only a matter of time before he found out about their relationship. Fane has yet to heal from their breakup nearly fifty years ago.
“Are you going to help me or not?”
She can hear Fane’s murmured curses in the background. “You know I will. What’s wrong?”
“It’s about this boy—”
“Immortal?” he cuts her off.
Here it comes. “No. He’s mortal.”
Fane blows out a breath. “Oh good, you had me worried for a moment. I’m not understanding why there is a problem.”
“There’s something weird going on with him. It’s starting to worry me.” She quickly fills him in on all of the unusual things she has noticed abo
ut Gabriel. As the conversation wears on, she begins to sense Fane’s tension. “So, what do you think?”
“Never heard anything like it—” he hesitates. “I don’t like it, Roseline. He might be dangerous. I think you need to leave, right now.”
Roseline sucks in a breath. “I can’t do that.”
“Why not?” Fane asks. The sharp edge of his confusion makes her wince.
“I just can’t, okay?”
His response is delayed far longer than it should have been. Roseline frowns, clutching the phone tightly to her ear as she strains to hear. She detects a faint whirring and stiffens.
“Fine. Then let me come get you,” Fane suggests absently. “I don’t trust that guy.”
Roseline blanches as the pieces of the puzzle come together—–the whirring, clacking…he’s tracing her call!
“I gotta go, Fane. Thanks for the talk.”
“No, Roseline wait.” The pause confirms her suspicion. He has probably managed to narrow her down to the United States, perhaps even the Midwest, but has the computer calculated her exact location? “Please don’t go just yet.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispers, truly meaning it. “This was a mistake.”
“Roseline—”
“I love you.” She disconnects the line to her home, to the only person who has ever truly understood her. Three centuries of memories flood her mind as she launches the phone at the far wall. It bounces off in a rain of shattered bits of plastic. She stares at the lifeless pieces scattered across the wooden floor. She buries her face in her hands. “Just like my life.”
Twenty-Four
“So, is this your new thing? Ditching everyone that cares about you?” Sadie growls as she slumps into her usual lunchroom seat the following Monday.
“I’m really sorry about that…but I did call,” Roseline says, hoping this tiny act will help to appease her friend but, judging by the firm set of her lips, Roseline knows she will have to try better. “I felt really ill and I couldn’t bear the thought of a bus ride home. You know how I hate the smell of those things. Besides, I didn’t want to spoil your fun.”