“Don’t blame yourself, Lexi,” Dan told her. “You can’t save the entire world, you know.”
Giving him a small smile, Lexi nodded. “I know. But I just wish people would ask for me to save them instead of trying to force me into saving them or someone they care about.” She shuddered at the memory of what had happened in the 1800s. “What happened to Mary-Kate?”
Dan shrugged. “I don’t know. I broke her stake in half, and she ran away from me, scared that I was going to try to retaliate and kill her first. I didn’t see or hear anything about her after that. I’m assuming that Albert might have gotten to her.” Albert was the vampire who Belinda loved who had been changed into an evil, blood-sucking vampire with bad intentions. He was the whole reason the curse had been placed over Briar Creek in the first place.
“Well, if he didn’t, let’s hope she’ll stay stuck in the 1800s,” Lexi replied, shaking her head. “I don’t want to have to deal with her again anytime soon.”
“I think she will,” Dan replied. “Are you ready to go back to Huntington? The security guards told us we had to get back before midnight.”
“Although, after we tell them about what happened to Lexi, the security measures the school are under right now might change,” Anna pointed out. “We should really get going, though. I wouldn’t want any other vampires to find us out here. We’ve all had more than enough action for one night.”
As they all started to walk across the hill, Lexi stopped. “Wait, guys. There’s something I need to do right now. Something that can’t wait.”
Austin and Anna kept walking, presumably because they didn’t hear her, but Dan turned and watched her as she unscrewed the lid of the Mason jar and, tilting her head back, drank the potion in one large gulp. Now, there was no going back; she couldn’t second-guess whether or not she wanted to be an immortal anymore. It was too late. The first part of the steps that she needed to take to become an immortal was done.
“I can’t believe you drank it,” Dan whispered.
“You didn’t want me to?” Lexi asked, as she began walking again, alongside him.
Dan wrapped his arm around her waist. “Of course I wanted you to. Knowing that I’ll never have to live without you is like a dream come true to me.”
Lexi smiled. “I’m glad you’re happy. Because you make me happy.” She just hadn’t realized how happy until that very moment, as they descended the hill and piled into Anna’s car that it was the happiest she had ever been since she’d arrived in Briar Creek earlier that year.
Chapter 20
Once they got back to Huntington, they explained everything that had happened—including the fact that Craig wasn’t coming back. Lexi thought that Dan should have kept it a secret so he didn’t get in trouble, but Anna had insisted on not keeping any secrets that could land him in trouble.
Luckily, the security guards didn’t seem to have a problem with what had happened. They were just happy to know that no vampires knew about Huntington, like they’d originally thought. It still baffled Lexi that they were only a town away.
“Want to swap dorm rooms?” Anna asked, as she unlocked their door. “I’ll go stay with Austin, and Dan can stay here.”
Lexi hesitated. “Don’t Austin and Gabe share a dorm room?” It had been so long since she’d been to their room that she didn’t even remember the actual setup—especially since Austin spent so much time with her and Anna in their dorm. Half the time, it felt like he was the third roommate.
“Well, they do, but Gabe is basically living with Rhonda now,” Anna explained. “So, he said Dan can stay there indefinitely.”
“Oh.” Lexi hoped that Anna couldn’t tell by looking at her face how disappointed she was to hear that Gabe was sleeping in the same room with Rhonda every night. Less than a month ago, he had been sleeping with her at night. In fact, she had felt like she had needed him in order to fall asleep.
Now, they were two different people in different worlds.
“I’m sorry Gabe is turning out to be such a jerk lately,” Anna said, obviously perceptive of Lexi’s change in mood. “Austin and I both think you can do so much better than him.”
Lexi didn’t say anything. It wasn’t about doing better than him; it was the fact that, since she’d been back, he had chosen to be with Rhonda instead of her. Their relationship must have meant nothing to him.
“Anyway, at least Dan is back,” Anna told her.
Lexi could feel her face soften a little, and she grinned. “I’m so happy about that.” It still made no sense to her why it had taken so long for the book to allow him to come back to the present time, but she wasn’t about to complain. All that mattered was that he was back and, even more importantly, he was alive.
“Good, so you’ll want to spend all the time with him that you can,” Anna said, throwing some of her clothes into a duffle bag. “I’m going to Austin’s dorm room for the night. I’ll send Dan over here to keep you company. Sound good?”
Lexi nodded. “Yeah, that sounds great.” She slumped down on the bed and glanced in the trashcan. There were several empty boxes of tissues and mountainous piles of crumpled tissues stacked high. Hopefully Dan wouldn’t look in the garbage and see how lame she had been by crying over him the whole time that he was gone.
A few moments later, her dorm room door clicked open.
“Ah, good, you’re here,” Lexi said, breathing a sigh of relief. “I just want us to cuddle all night and—”
“That’s sweet,” a voice sad, and Lexi cringed. It was Rhonda. “But I don’t want to cuddle with you.”
“What are you doing in here?” Lexi snapped at her.
Rhonda’s lips twisted into a grin. “Hello to you, too, Lexi. I must say, I do understand what Gabe saw in you. You’re so innocent.”
Lexi gritted her teeth. She knew that by innocent, Rhonda meant immature and childlike. It was obvious that she thought she was just the opposite—mature and ‘grown up enough’ for Gabe. Just the idea that Gabe thought that Rhonda was better for him than Lexi was made her feel sick to her stomach. What was wrong with him? How could he not see through Rhonda’s manipulation?
“Anyway, I just wanted to stop by because Anna has a notebook for Stakeology class that she promised she’d lend to me,” Rhonda replied. “I just wanted to see if she had it.”
“Well, she’s not here right now,” Lexi snapped at her. “You’ll have to ask her at a later time.” She motioned to the door, just in time to see Dan standing there, watching them both.
Rhonda followed her gaze and her face lit up when she saw Dan. “Who’s this hottie?” she asked.
“This,” Lexi said, taking a step protectively towards him, “is Dan. Now leave.”
“Oh, you can’t just send me away right now,” Rhonda replied, running a hand through her strawberry blonde and giving Dan a flirtatious smile. “Not when I’ve only just met the latest hot guy on campus.”
Dan gave her a small smile. “Who are you?”
“I’m Rhonda. Gabe’s offspring,” she said. Shooting a stare at Lexi, she extended her hand to him. “It’s so nice to meet you.”
“I didn’t realize that Gabe had any offspring,” Dan said. Even though he sounded polite enough, Lexi thought she picked up on a frosty tone in his voice. Was he already beginning to see through Rhonda? She hoped so because it annoyed her that, so far, she had been the only one who ever seemed to notice the girl for what she was. Lexi didn’t know if it was because Rhonda’s mind-control didn’t work on her, or if it was because she was one of the few people who she didn’t try to use it on.
“I’m his first,” Rhonda said proudly, glancing over at Lexi, who rolled her eyes. It was bad enough that she was acting like being his first offspring was something to brag about, like the way someone would brag about taking someone’s virginity, but it was also obvious that she was bragging to make Lexi jealous because Gabe hadn’t turned her, and now, she would never be able to become a vampire herself.
“Well, we’re going to sleep,” Lexi told Rhonda, who was wearing a black dress that was really flattering on her. “So, you can leave now. I’m sure you have somewhere else to be, anyway.”
“That’s true. Gabe will probably start to miss me if I’m gone for too long,” Rhonda said with a smirk. Blowing a kiss over her shoulder, she disappeared into the hallway.
Lexi closed the door behind her and locked it. She didn’t want Rhonda coming inside her room again—or anyone else, for that matter. The whole Craig situation could have been avoided if she and Anna had locked the door behind them during the security alarm.
Turning to Dan, she breathed a sigh of relief. “Hi,” she said.
“Hi.” Dan smiled back and, turning off the light, he sat down on her bed. Pulling her close to him, he ran his hands over her back. “So, tell me, how does it feel to be an immortal?”
“I don’t feel different because I’m not an immortal yet,” Lexi reminded him. “I have to do a selfless act first, remember?”
Dan nodded, his eyes shining through the light from the TV that reflected against them. “What are you planning to do then?”
“I don’t know,” Lexi hesitated. “I guess I could volunteer somewhere.”
“I’d want to go with you,” Dan told her.
“Why?” Lexi raised her eyebrows at him.
“Well, I mean, there’s that risk of you running into someone. We don’t want to risk that,” he replied. She knew that by ‘someone’, he was referring to Greg Lawrence, her aunt and uncle, or someone else from Briar Creek who needed her blood.
“I’ll go somewhere a few towns over, so I should be safe,” Lexi replied.
“You don’t want me coming with you,” Dan commented. Even though he was playing it off coolly, she knew that the idea disappointed him.
“No, it’s fine, I just doubt you’d have a lot of fun hanging out at a cat shelter,” Lexi replied.
“I happen to love cats,” Dan told her. “So, that’s where you want to volunteer then?”
She nodded, brushing a piece of hair behind her ear. “Yes, I love cats. It seems like a fun place to volunteer my time.”
“Okay, then,” Dan said. “That’s what we’re doing tomorrow.”
“Why tomorrow?” Lexi asked.
“Well, the day after tomorrow is Christmas,” Dan replied. “I doubt you’d want to volunteer on Christmas.”
“I’m not sure that Christmas really means anything anymore,” Lexi murmured. “Besides, after tomorrow, I’ll have hundreds of Christmases that I can enjoy. This one won’t even make a difference.”
“Well, I want to spend Christmas with you,” Dan told her gently. “If that’s okay.”
Glancing over at him, Lexi noticed the hopeful look in his eyes. “Yes, it’s perfect.”
*
The next morning, they got up early and went straight to the library where Lexi looked up a cat shelter about a half hour away. They borrowed Anna’s car and drove there, picking up something at the gas station for Lexi to eat on the way over.
When they arrived at the cat shelter, a short older woman named Mary greeted them at the front desk. “Are you looking to adopt a cat today?” she asked, peering over her red-framed glasses.
Lexi shook her head. “No, we’re not planning to adopt any animals. We would like to volunteer. Right now, if that’s okay with you.”
“Of course it’s okay with me! Normally I would need to interview the two of you first but you look like you’re both hard workers. We’re always short on help this time of year,” Mary told her. “Most of my volunteers are college students, and they all go home during the holidays to visit their families. I’m getting old, so running this place on my own can be a real challenge at times.”
“Well, just tell us what to do and we’ll help,” Dan said. He sounded really enthusiastic about volunteering.
Lexi raised her eyebrows. She had known that Dan would be coming with her, but she hadn’t been expecting him to actually volunteer, too. Then again, he would have looked rude if he had just stood there watching Lexi volunteer without helping out, too.
“Well, one of you can give the kitties some fresh food and water,” Mary said, her eyes scanning the room as she considered what needed to be done, “and the other can clean the litter boxes.”
“I’ll take the litter boxes,” Lexi volunteered, assuming that taking the more difficult of the two tasks would be a much more selfless thing to do.
Dan seemed to catch on, and he nodded. “Okay, food and water it is. Let’s get to work.”
Lexi began sifting through the kitty litter with a little shovel like Mary demonstrated for her. It took a while to go through each and every little box, but once she was done, she felt like she had more energy to help out with other tasks. Glancing over at Dan, she found that he still had quite a few cat bowls to fill up with food.
“Is there anything else you need help with?” Lexi asked Mary.
“Well, you could play with them,” Mary suggested. “I don’t always have time to give all of the cats the attention they deserve.” She went over to one of the cages and let a few of the cats out.
Lexi found a few toys, which resembled mice, and began dragging them across the floor. A few of the cats scurried over to her, waving their tails in the air and digging their claws into the toy.
One of the cats—a small tabby—rubbed up against her leg. It looked into her eyes and meowed.
“Hi, kitty,” Lexi whispered, running her hands through the cat’s soft fur. The cat rubbed up against her even more before jumping into her lap and resting his head on her stomach.
Mary strolled over to her, wide eyed. “That’s Garth. He’s two years old. I’m surprised you’ve been able to get so close to him. He doesn’t like anyone.”
As if on cue, Garth turned and hissed at Mary.
“See what I mean? He’s been here since he was a kitten, and we haven’t been able to find anyone willing to take him because he’s not the most likeable cat we have here,” Mary said with a chuckle.
Garth turned back to Lexi and, purring, rubbed his head against her arm.
“I’ll take him,” Lexi said, picking up the cat and holding him close to her chest as she stood up.
“What? Are you sure? I thought you said you weren’t going to adopt a cat today,” Mary said, baffled by the news.
“I’m positive,” Lexi nodded. “I wasn’t planning to adopt a cat, but I didn’t think I would find one that I felt really attached to.” She wasn’t about to tell Mary that it also had to do with her wanting to do a selfless act because the woman might not agree to let her adopt. It wasn’t the only reason, though. She felt smitten by the cat, who only purred in her arms, brushing his tail against her cheek, as she held him.
“And you’re sure this isn’t just a holiday fling?” Mary asked. When Lexi stared back at her blankly, she explained, “I don’t usually like to adopt my cats out right before a holiday. Too many people adopt them as pets and then they or their children lose interest once the holiday’s over. So, you have to promise me that you won’t bring Garth back after Christmas or New Year’s has passed.”
Lexi smiled. “I won’t. I promise.”
“Judging from the looks of it, you are going to be pretty inseparable,” Mary murmured, watching Garth, who lay comfortably in Lexi’s arms as she stroked his fur.
“How much is the cat going to cost?” Dan asked, as he strolled over to them, putting the cat food bag back where he had retrieved it from.
“Not a dime,” Mary answered, waving her hand in the air. “With all the help you’ve given me today, I’m not going to charge you our adoption fee. Besides, I’m afraid no one else would adopt Garth any time soon otherwise. It’s a bit of a relief to get rid of him, really. All he does is cost me money.”
Dan laughed and walked over to the cat. Reaching out his hand to pet Garth, he quickly jumped back as the cat swatted his paw at him, hissing. “I see what you mean,” Dan said, turn
ing to Mary. “I have a feeling this is going to be a fun ride home.”
“Where is home, exactly?” Mary asked.
Dan’s eyes flitted over at Lexi, and she was pretty sure that he didn’t know what to say. It was difficult to not say too much. The right answer would have involved vampire hunting school, but no normal human in their right mind would ever understand that.
“We go to a private school,” Lexi replied. “It’s next to Briar Creek.”
“I see.” Mary nodded knowingly. “One of my daughters lived in Briar Creek many years ago.”
“Did she like it?” Lexi asked.
“Oh, sure,” Mary replied. “She loved it. So much that I couldn’t convince her to leave when she should have. She died about six years ago.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that,” Lexi said softly. She wondered if Mary’s daughter hadn’t been aware that Briar Creek was filled with vampires and had been killed by one. The thought made her sad.
Mary’s dark eyes clouded over with a look that Lexi couldn’t identify. “Anyway, I’m not trying to kick you out or cut this short, but I need to close up here so that I can get to my sister’s house in time for Christmas Eve dinner. If you had showed up much later, I wouldn’t have been able to let you in.”
“Oh, of course. I understand,” Lexi replied, shifting on her feet. Garth looked up at her; his green eyes had a happy look in them.
“Will you be back?” Mary asked, as all three of them headed towards the door.
“We have a really busy school schedule, but we’ll try to get back here sometime soon,” Lexi replied. She had only been planning to volunteer once, but she actually liked being at the cat shelter. It was kind and cozy, and Mary seemed nice enough. It made Lexi feel good to help out--and if was nice for the two of them to get away from Huntington, even if they were just going to a cat shelter.
Cold as Ice Page 10
