Between Lies

by Alison L. Perry

  “Don’t ever do that again.” He enunciated each syllable with care, forcing my heart to flutter as the strength of him washed over me. Our faces were inches apart, so close my vision blurred. I inhaled, breathing in the spicy scent of the soap he’d used that morning. Closing my eyes, I waged an internal battle as my mind fought against my body’s desire to cave to him. When I was sure I had a handle on myself, I reopened them and used every bit of control I had left.

  “Let. Me. Go.”

  I’m not sure what I expected. More verbal sparring or maybe a brief struggle. But it certainly wasn’t what happened next. One minute he was staring me down, frustration and anger carved across his features, and the next, his lips were on mine, kissing me so thoroughly I lost all sense of time and place. The rushing in my ears turned into a roar. Heat flooded my body until I thought I might burst into flames right there. A small voice in the back of my head told me to stop, that this was wrong. But I ignored it, too overwhelmed with the pleasure his lips were creating against mine.

  When he finally dragged his mouth away, we both gulped for air. During the kiss, he’d let go of my fist and wrapped his arms around me. I was snuggled in close to his body, so close I could feel the hard planes of his stomach through the fabric of his T-shirt. My mind reeled. What just happened? Oh my God. Kade.

  As if reading my mind, he stepped away from me. His sudden distance wrenched a small moan from my lips. “I’m sorry. I… I didn’t mean to do that.”

  I shook my head. “N-no. Don’t do that. Don’t apologize and make me feel like it was a mistake.”

  “But you have a boyfriend. I had no right to kiss you.”

  “I know.” My thoughts stumbled over each other as I tried to process the last minute. He’d kissed me and I’d liked it. No, more than liked it. It was heavenly. The aftershocks of tingles were still rippling through my veins. I knew I should have felt guilty because of Kade and I did. Sort of. But the sensation of Cam’s kiss overshadowed any feeling of wrongdoing. Maybe it was because of the fight Kade and I had and the knowledge that our entire relationship was based on a lie. Or maybe it was because Cam’s kiss was that good. In truth, I wanted more and there was no point in trying to convince myself otherwise.

  “So…” He watched me, waiting for some sign of what to do next.

  “So. I… I guess you’re not mad at me?”

  He chuckled, transforming his face into that of the boy I’d laughed with under the trees. “No, I guess I’m not mad at you.”

  “Cam…”

  “Yeah?”

  “Why did you get into trouble? I heard you started a fight. Why would you do that?”

  He looked off into space without saying anything. When he finally did speak, there was an undertone that made my heart ache. “I don’t really know. I had such a great time with you at the park, and then it ended on that awkward question. I wasn’t surprised when you told me you had a boyfriend. Yet hearing you confirm it was like a punch to the gut.” I looked into his eyes and saw the hurt there. He whooshed out a breath. “So, I dealt with it the only way I know how: I get hurt, I get angry. And I took it out on the next people I saw.”

  “Cam,” I whispered softly, “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  “I know. And I didn’t think it would. But it did, and I reacted. So, I guess I’m sorry. I haven’t been that nice of a guy since you’ve been here when you think about it.”

  I sort of laughed because it was true.

  He looked at me with a curious expression. “Why aren’t you pushing me away and yelling that you have a boyfriend?”

  I floundered. Opening my mouth and shutting it again, I tried to make sense of what I was feeling. He was right. I should have done exactly that, but instead, I wanted him closer… to continue kissing me. Did that mean Kade’s chances of ever convincing me he truly loved me were gone? His kiss that night had still made me react, but when I wasn’t with him, not distracted by his charming looks, I could see the situation rationally, clearly. And when I did, all I saw was a boy who used his good looks and my “gratefulness” at receiving attention against me.

  Cam had an expectant look on his face, still waiting for an explanation. Finally, I gave him the only one I could muster up right then. “It’s complicated, Cam.”

  “Complicated.”

  “Yes, complicated. I don’t think I’m going to be able to explain it in one or two sentences.”

  “Can you promise me you’ll try to explain it completely someday? To me? I’d honestly like to know.”

  It was a fair request. “I promise.”

  He seemed satisfied with that. “Okay, I trust you.” He looked around the room and spotted the posters drying on the tables against the far wall. “So, you’re really running for Homecoming queen.”

  “Yes, I am, though, to be honest, I made the decision in the heat of an argument, and now I’m stuck. So, I guess I’ll ride it through and see what happens.”

  I could feel his eyes on me, sweeping from the top of my head down to my feet. “I’ll vote for you.” His voice was whisper-soft. “It may be something that’s out of your comfort zone, but I think you’d look killer on the Court. The school could use a shake-up from the usual bimbos running.”

  There went my breath again. He had to stop doing that to me.

  Just then, Harper stuck her head back into the room. “Hey, guys, I hate to interrupt, but I need to get home. Maddie already left with Boone or I’d catch a ride with her.”

  “Of course! Sorry, we were just talking. Yeah, I’ll be right there.”

  She smiled and slipped back into the hallway. I looked at Cam with a hint of regret. “I’d like to stay and talk some more, but I promised Harper a lift home.” An idea struck me. “Um, can we maybe exchange numbers?”

  He chucked my chin with his finger. “I was about to suggest that.”

  I couldn’t help grinning to myself as I wrote my number on a scrap of paper from my binder. He did the same. Our hands touched as I handed it to him and shock waves of giddiness hit me. I could tell by his expression that he saw my reaction and knew exactly what was causing it. With his crooked grin, he stuffed my number into his pocket. “C’mon, Harper’s probably getting antsy out there.”

  Chapter Twelve

  I found Harper leaning against Bessie, reading a book. When she heard my footsteps, she looked up and smiled.

  “Sooo. We have a lot to talk about.” She threw me a sly grin.

  “No, we don’t have anything to talk about. At least not right now. I have too much going on in my head.”

  She pursed her lips. “What happened?”

  “He kissed me.”

  Her mouth dropped open. I held up a hand to stop her from saying anything else. “I know. But I can’t talk about it right now.”

  “I can see why.” She closed her book and hopped into the car. I followed suit, turning up the volume on the radio as I pulled out of the parking spot. We’d stayed after school longer than I thought. The afternoon had faded into evening, with the first stars of the night twinkling above us. We rode without speaking, my mind too busy replaying my kiss with Cam. I could still feel a faint tingling on my lips and I touched them as I recalled the softness of his. I should have been feeling guilty about it since I was technically still with Kade, but to be honest, I didn’t know where he and I would end up. If it were up to him, he’d convince me of his love and we’d stay together, but I didn’t see how in the world I’d ever be able to trust him now. Nothing would change the fact that he had an ulterior motive for getting to know me. My head swirled with confusing thoughts. I almost wished for the days when being a sucktastic vampire was the worst of my problems.

  Harper’s voice broke into my thoughts. “Hey, isn’t that Ms. Stratha?”

  I looked where she was pointing, recognizing the waterfall of dark curls immediately. She was standing in the parking lot of Ottavio Bank, the same bank Kade’s father worked at, talking to another woman I knew. My eyes narrowed. W
hat the hell?

  “Yeah, it’s her.”

  “Who is she’s talking to?”

  “That,” I replied grimly, “is Nurse Edara.”

  “Nurse Edara? How do you know that?”

  I watched as the object of our discussion turned her head and looked right at us as we drove past. Had she heard me?

  “Because she’s the school nurse at University… the school I went to before Jefferson High.”

  “Wait a minute, I thought you said you were homeschooled. What did I miss?”

  I sighed. “That was only a cover-up story for the school. It’s not like I could tell them I’d been kicked out of a vampire finishing school and needed to try human school to avoid working with my father at The Nursery.”

  Harper formed a silent “oh” with her lips but didn’t say anything, instead turning to look out the window.

  I tried to reconcile what we had just witnessed. I wondered again why Ms. Stratha had followed me to high school, and now, I had the added question of what she was doing at the bank with Nurse Edara. I didn’t have any hard proof they were doing something suspicious, but my gut told me it all somehow tied back to whatever Pen had been hinting at. Which, in turn, tied to Kade. I shook my head hard as if I could literally toss the questions from my mind. What did it all mean?

  I made a left turn into Harper’s neighborhood as the song playing on the radio ended. We were in that brief second before the next song started when I flew forward—my head hit the steering wheel and a dazzling pain consumed me. As if in slow motion, we spun around in a deafening quiet before the sounds of squealing tires and crunching glass filled my ears. I tried to turn my head to look at Harper, but more pain exploded through my neck at the effort. Gripping the steering wheel, I turned it the opposite direction of the spin, praying that was the right thing to do. Just when I thought I had the car under control, though, I felt another large impact and heard Harper scream. We jerked to a sudden stop, forcing my head forward into the steering wheel again. This time my vision blurred while a loud ringing drowned everything else out. I blinked, trying desperately to stay awake, but darkness swept in from my periphery until only a small circle of light remained. The last thing I saw before everything faded away was a blue car, fender deep in my passenger door, and Harper’s unconscious face smeared with a layer of blood.

  ***

  It was dark and silent. My arms and legs were heavy as if I were trying to move through sludge, and when I opened my mouth to scream for help, nothing came out. Panic set in and I thrashed around, trying to find something to grab onto. But there was nothing except emptiness and a weighted feeling to the air I dragged into my lungs. I pushed against the resistance pressing in from all sides, the desire to curse and lash out coursing through me. How long had I been struggling? Was I stuck in limbo between life and death? Growing tired, my flailing slowed, and I started to give up. I wondered what the afterlife was like... if there even was an afterlife for vampires.

  Suddenly, a loud moaning filled my ears, followed by a sharp throbbing over my eyes. I tried to move again, this time managing to get a hand up to feel my forehead. My fingers were met with a sticky substance and I realized the moaning was coming from me.

  “Sadie!” An urgent voice called from somewhere far away. “Sadie, can you hear me? Sadie! Wake up!”

  “Mmmm,” I groaned.

  “Oh, thank God. Sadie, can you hear me?”

  “Wha…” I tried to answer, but my tongue seemed thick and too big for my mouth. I tried again. “Wha… wha happen,” I slurred.

  “I don’t know. I was driving by on my way to school when I saw your hideous car. Can you open your eyes? Is anything broken?”

  “Molly?” I tried to keep up with her words, but everything was still moving in slow motion. I concentrated on opening my eyes, putting all the effort I had into it. Slowly, light began to filter into my awareness.

  “Yes, sweetie, it’s me.”

  I wet my lips and forced my voice past the sandpaper in my throat. “Harper? Where is she? Is she—”

  “She’s breathing, but I don’t know how bad it is. I can’t get to her. Whatever hit that side of your car cut into the door and the metal is sort of wrapped around her. She’s bleeding like crazy.”

  Fear squeezed my heart. Harper. I couldn’t let anything happen to her. I concentrated on moving my limbs, ignoring the pain that threatened to overtake me.

  “Molly, I need you to help me up.” I swallowed a wave of nausea and forced my legs out from under the dashboard. My jeans were soaked in blood but I didn’t have time to worry about that at the moment. Adrenaline coursed through my veins. I had to get to Harper before she lost too much blood. I held a hand out to Molly and she pulled. I screamed as pain bit through my shoulder and she hesitated, a doubtful look on her face. “No, don’t stop. I have to get out of here so I can help Harper.”

  “Sadie, that’s not a good idea. We need to get you out of here and then we’ll call an ambulance to help her. I don’t think there’s anything you can do.”

  I closed my eyes in frustration. Ignoring her protests, I inched my legs until I slowly swung them out of the car and placed my feet on the ground. I gritted my teeth as she gave up and took a hand, pulling me to a standing position.

  “Molly, listen to me. We have to help her. If we wait for an ambulance, it might be too late.”

  “What do you propose we do, Sadie? Neither of us is a doctor and that’s what she needs.”

  “She needs blood!”

  “I agree, but how do you think we’re going to do that?”

  “Molly, listen to me. Harper’s special. She…” I hesitated, debating whether to spill her secret. Yet one look at her limp body pushed me on. “She’s kind of like us. She drinks blood. And she heals fast. If we can get some blood into her system, I think we can buy her some time.”

  Molly gaped at me. “She’s a vampire?” The incredulous look on her face would have been funny had the situation been different. But it wasn’t and we didn’t have time to get into all the details.

  “No, not exactly.” Gaining strength, I moved around to Harper’s side of the car. Molly was right. Metal from the door was pushed inside the interior and twisted around Harper’s body. She was breathing shallowly and her face was so pale it looked almost white. A metallic taste in my mouth caught my attention and I realized it was my own blood trickling between my lips. An idea popped into my head.

  “Molly, come over here. I need you to tip her head backward a bit and open her mouth.”

  She did as she was told, not even bothering to argue anymore. As soon as she got Harper’s head into position, I closed my eyes and concentrated. Popping my fangs on purpose normally took me minutes. But this time they descended quickly. Sinking them deep into my wrist, I didn’t stop the pressure until a steady flow of blood streamed down my arm. I waited for the churning stomach, the urge to vomit, but none came. Instead, I was surprised by a sweetness I’d never noticed before. I swallowed and the tangy flavor slid down my throat. An involuntary moan escaped my lips and this time, I sucked more blood into my mouth. I swirled it around with my tongue, savoring the taste. Has it always tasted this good?

  “Sadie! Hello! Aren’t you supposed to be dripping that down her throat?”

  I tore my mouth away from my wrist and looked up.

  “Yeah… I… right.” Leaning over Harper, I lifted my arm to her mouth. “Harper, can you hear me? You need to drink. Harper? C’mon, you can do it. Drink up.” I watched as a trickle of blood fell into her mouth. At first, there was no response and I thought maybe we hadn’t gotten to her in time. But as I fed more into her, I saw her swallow. With a burst of relief, I cradled her head in my arm and whispered encouragement to her. Molly watched in silence, a curious look on her face.

  Harper continued to swallow but then something sharp pinched my skin surrounding the wound. I jumped and tried to pull my arm away slightly, but Harper was latched on with her teeth, greedily suck
ing. How?

  I looked to Molly and her expression matched mine. “What is she doing? Are those her teeth? I thought you said she’s not a vampire!”

  “She’s not. Not really. But…” I trailed off, thinking about how I’d just been able to drink my own blood without throwing up or fainting. In fact, I found it actually tasted good and if I was honest with myself, I wanted more. Another memory invaded my thoughts. The way I’d been able to handle the blood that Harper had first spilled around me. I hadn’t gotten faint or nauseous then, either. Was it something about being with Harper that helped strengthen me?

  “Molly, we need to talk. All three of us. Something is happening and I can’t hold it all in anymore. As soon as we get out of here, we need to go someplace safe.”

  She nodded. “We’ll go to my house. My parents are gone until tomorrow. We won’t have any disruptions.”

  While we were talking, Harper had finally stopped drinking and pulled her mouth away from my wrist. “Wha…” Her voice was weak, but her coloring was better. The blood had definitely helped.

  “Shhh, don’t speak. We were hit by another car, but they must have taken off. We’re going to try to get to Molly’s house, okay? She’s a friend. I promise.”

  Harper smiled weakly. “Ni… nice to meet you, Molly.”

  Molly squeezed her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, too, Harper. Let’s get you out of this car and then we can talk.” She looked at me. “Do you think you can help me pull some of this metal out of the way.”

  I was positive I could. A foreign strength flowed through me and I knew I would be able to lift or pull as much weight as Molly. “Yes,” I said, determination ringing in my voice.