Cold as Ice

by Jayme Morse;Jody Morse

  Her father hesitated. “It’s difficult to explain. She has mentioned you a few times in our conversations. Basically, she said that she thinks we could have stayed together—and would still be together—if you had never existed. She seems a little crazy lately, so I’ve been keeping my eye on you, to say the least.” He shrugged. “Aside from that, though, she hasn’t said much of anything to me.”

  Lexi considered what her father was telling her. Was there a chance that Veronica was so mean to her for more reasons than just the fact that she had been Gabe’s girlfriend? Maybe Veronica really believed that the reason her relationship with Benjamin hadn’t worked out was because of Lexi.

  As much as she wanted to get mad at Veronica for holding it against her, she couldn’t blame her. In fact, if that was her problem was, Lexi sort of felt sorry for her. She understood how Veronica felt, in a way. It was similar to the way Lexi felt about Darlene, Erica, and Connor; as much as she was trying to like her half-siblings, she believed that if it weren’t for them, her father may have been in her life a little more than he had been. It just made it hard for her to know that he had basically blown off their relationship in exchange for his other family, even if things were complicated with them, too.

  As if on cue, a woman, who Lexi assumed to be Darlene, strolled into the kitchen and paused in the doorway when she saw them sitting at the kitchen island.

  The woman had an olive skin tone, dark chocolate brown hair, and big sultry eyes that she had applied smoky eye shadow to. Even though the woman appeared to be young, Lexi got the impression that she was older than she looked.

  Most of all, though, she noticed that the woman looked nothing like Erica or Connor, but then again, Lexi hadn’t looked anything like her own mother, either. It was no surprise that her father’s genes were so dominant, though, since he was a Hunter, after all.

  Turning to Ben, Darlene asked, “Is this her?”

  Ben nodded. “She is a beauty, isn’t she?”

  “She is,” Darlene said, taking a step closer to Lexi. “Now I know what Erica will look like in a decade from now.”

  Lexi forced herself to give Darlene a small smile. It always made her feel uncomfortable when people spoke about her in third person, as though she wasn’t even in the same room.

  “I’m so sorry. I’m being so rude admiring you like this, without even introducing myself. I’m Darlene.” The woman flashed Lexi a genuine-looking smile.

  “It’s okay. It’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you,” Lexi offered weakly. She wasn’t about to tell her that everything she heard had to do with the shaky relationship that Darlene and her dad apparently had with each other. Lexi couldn’t see why—the woman seemed nice enough, and she was very beautiful. It made Lexi think that maybe her father’s relationship issues had more to do with himself than anyone else. She didn’t know all that much about him yet, but it seemed as though he had issues with letting people get too close to him because he was afraid of getting too attached. With as long as his life been, he probably had seen a lot of people die. Maybe that was all it boiled down to.

  “Connor and Erica told me about that day when you saw them at the swimming pool. I’m so sorry if they made you feel uncomfortable with the things they said,” Darlene apologized, scooping her hair up into a neat ponytail before she checked on the turkey in the oven. “I’ve been showing them pictures of you over the years. I always wanted them to see what their big sister looked like.”

  Lexi smiled, appreciating the fact that Darlene had done something to make her brother and sister feel like they were her family. It made her feel more welcome in the house than she would have been otherwise. “I don’t mind. I was just surprised. I didn’t even know that I had half-siblings, let alone three of them.”

  As soon as she let the words slip out, she wished she could take them back. Lexi had only assumed that Darlene knew about Mary-Kate, but she wasn’t positive. She glanced over at her dad, hoping that she hadn’t said too much, but his face remained unchanged.

  “I can only imagine. It must have been a lot to take in,” Darlene sympathized with her. “As far what they told you—how I said you were going to save a lot of people—I want to explain. I always told them that you weren’t in their lives because you couldn’t be. I told them it wasn’t safe for you to be in Briar Creek.

  “So, when they found out that you were back in town, they didn’t understand. It was the first reason I could think to give them. It wasn’t that I really thought you had or should save people if you didn’t want to,” Darlene explained. “I just tend to speak before I think. I know it was probably a little scary for you at the time, but I hope that we can all put it behind us.”

  Lexi smiled at Darlene. “I’ve already put it behind me. Thanks for explaining, though. It did scare me at the time, but I’m not sure what I would have said either if I were in your shoes.”

  “I just really want for us all to be a family,” Darlene explained. “I want them to be able to know you, and for you to know them. And I want to know you, too, Lexi. I want you to always feel welcome here, because you are.”

  “Thanks. I want to know all of you, too,” Lexi replied. This time, she didn’t have to force herself to smile; she really did want to know Erica, Connor, and Darlene. She even wanted to get to know Ben now that they were both beginning to open up to each other a little more.

  More than anything, Lexi wanted a family, and it finally felt like she was getting one back.

  *

  This is the place,” Dan told Ben later that night when he dropped them off on the street. “Thanks for giving us a ride here.”

  “No problem,” Ben replied, smiling. “You kids have fun.”

  Lexi could tell that her dad liked Dan. Darlene, Connor, and Erica were all smitten with him, too. After he spent all day playing with the kids’ Christmas toys and then teaching them how to make volcanoes out of mashed potatoes and gravy at dinner (with Darlene’s approval, of course), they couldn’t have found anything not to love. It made Lexi happy that they were all warming up to each other so well.

  “I’ll be back to pick you up around nine,” Ben told them, as they opened their car doors.

  When Lexi was standing on the sidewalk, she glanced over at Dan. “What exactly are we doing?”

  He still hadn’t told her what they were doing tonight; earlier, he had told her that it was going to be a surprise.

  “Come on, you’ll see,” Dan said with a grin, leading her through the front door of the building.

  She was sick of all the surprises that everyone seemed to want to keep from her today, but she knew that protesting would get her nowhere. Rolling her eyes, Lexi said, “Okay, lead the way.”

  Once they were inside, she immediately realized what they were doing. The smell of soup wafted into her nostrils, and people were putting food into bowls in what looked like a cafeteria. “A soup kitchen,” Lexi whispered.

  “On Christmas,” Dan replied, smiling at her. “What could be more selfless than serving in a soup kitchen on a holiday? Come on.”

  They went behind the counter, where they were each handed a red and white striped apron, and began filling bowls with soup as people came through the line for food. It broke Lexi’s heart to see a woman with a baby who didn’t look older than a few months, and an elderly man who was all alone for the holiday.

  By the time they had finished a few hours later, Lexi wanted to break down into tears.

  “That was rough,” she told Dan as they stood outside on the sidewalk under the street lamp, waiting for her father to pick them up.

  “I thought so, too,” Dan agreed quietly.

  “I can’t imagine what it must be like to have nothing during the holidays.” She shuddered, and not from the coldness of the night, but from what she had just witnessed.

  Dan wrapped an arm around her waist protectively. “Me either. And even though we did a good deed, I have to say . . . I think it’s going to work this time. You k
now, the immortal thing.”

  “Why?” Lexi asked, glancing over at him, rubbing her gloved hands together to warm them up. “What makes this time any different from last time, besides the fact that there were no cats involved?”

  His sky blue eyes flitted over to her. “Because it’s affected you. You feel sympathetic. You really did a good deed. You didn’t just volunteer time at one of your favorite causes this time. You actually helped people, and you will have lasting memories because of it.”

  “That’s true,” Lexi replied hesitantly. “I do feel affected by it.”

  “I feel affected by you,” Dan whispered, planting a tiny kiss on her lips. “Are you ready for your Christmas present?”

  “You got me a Christmas present?” Lexi was genuinely surprised. “When could you have done that?”

  “Don’t worry about it. I have my ways,” Dan replied. He pulled a tiny box out of his coat pocket and handed it to her.

  Lexi frowned. “But I didn’t get you anything for Christmas. I feel guilty taking this.” She tried to hand back the box, but Dan wouldn’t take it.

  “Lexi, it’s okay. I got you a Christmas present because it’s something I want you to have. I don’t care if you got me anything or not. As you already said, we’ll have hundreds of Christmases to look forward to.”

  Smiling, Lexi agreed. “Okay, I’ll accept it.” She felt like a giddy little kid opening a present, but it had been so long since she’d received anything from someone she cared about. Dan was also the first guy who had ever given her a gift of any kind.

  Glancing across the street, she noticed that the town Christmas tree was lit up and standing right in front of them. It only had gold lights, just like the ones that she and her mother had always strung on their faux Christmas tree. Seeing the tree reminded her of the Christmas memories that she and her mother had shared together, but for once, she didn’t feel sad about it.

  When she opened the tiny box that Dan had given her, she found a pair of earrings. They were large, princess cut stones that glimmered in the moonlight. “They’re beautiful,” Lexi whispered, glancing up at him.

  “Just like you,” Dan replied, leaning in for a kiss. “Do you like them?”

  “I love them,” Lexi replied, pulling them out of the box and poking them through the holes in her ears, which she didn’t have any earrings in at that moment. Once they were in, she felt them and realized just how large they were. “These must have been so expensive. I feel bad. I promise I’ll get you an amazing present next year.”

  Dan laughed. “Stop worrying about getting me presents, Lexi. It doesn’t matter. I’m happy with just having you. They weren’t as expensive as you might be thinking, though. The diamonds were my grandmother’s. I had them reset for you. My uncle owns a jewelry store.”

  “Oh.” Lexi suddenly felt awkward about accepting such an extravagant gift. They weren’t just any old gift; this was a family heirloom. How long had Dan been planning to give these to her? While they were in the 1800s, or since they got back? She decided that it didn’t really matter. She started to take them out of her ears to give them back to him, but he stopped her.

  “Please keep them, Lexi. I want you to have them,” Dan told her. “There’s no one else I would rather give them to.”

  Lexi hesitated. “Why me?”

  “Because they match your eyes perfectly. When I look into those stones, your eyes are all that I can think of. And you’re the first girl I’ve ever felt this way about,” Dan replied quietly. “I can tell that you feel it, too.”

  Lexi felt her cheeks redden, and she was glad that it was mostly dark out, even with the glow from the street lamp, so that her blushing was concealed from his view. “I do,” she admitted.

  Dan smiled. “Then please accept them. For now, at least. If you want to give them back to me one day, then do it if it will make you feel better, but right now, I just want us to be together. It’s Christmas . . . let’s just enjoy it.”

  “Okay,” Lexi said, breathing a clouded puff of breath into the cold night. “I’ll keep them. Thank you.”

  “They’re high enough quality to withstand the end of time,” Dan added, glancing over at her, his sky blue eyes glimmering in the moonlight. “That’s what I want with you . . . to withstand the end of time.”

  At that moment, Ben’s car pulled up along the sidewalk, and Lexi felt thankful for the interruption . . . because it was scary for her to admit that even though that was what she wanted, too, she wasn’t sure if it was going to be possible if her immortality didn’t kick in soon.

  Chapter 22

  Relaxing in her dorm room that night, Rhonda was busy trying to figure out some of the ways she could ruin Lexi’s relationship with Gabe. Lately, he had been choosing her over Lexi anyway, but it felt like there was a chance that he could go back to her now that she’s around more often. The thought scared her, but whenever she looked in his eyes when she wasn’t too busy controlling what he did, there was a look of longing that she knew had to do with Lexi.

  The best way to crush that longing feeling was to crush any shot at a relationship they had with one another.

  So, what could she do? Part of her wanted to kill Lexi, but she knew that would be taking things to the extreme. People would probably suspect that it was her because it was pretty obvious that she didn’t like the girl, and she really didn’t need people to be suspicious of her here. Not when she already couldn’t go back home to Long Island. No, killing Lexi would be reserved as a last resort. She’d only do it if nothing else worked to keep Lexi away from Gabe for good.

  It didn’t matter if Lexi caught Gabe with another woman. From what Rhonda understood, she’d already caught him with Veronica Hart—that wretched woman who had threatened to kill her—and yet she’d forgiven him for that. What girl in her right mind would forgive a cheater? Lexi had to be really dumb.

  And then it dawned on her. The best way to keep Lexi away forever was to make her hate Gabe.

  She glanced over in Gabe’s direction. His dark hair was getting long, but it was slicked back. He looked over at her with his steel blue eyes and gave her a small smile.

  Rhonda smiled back. Go to Lexi’s dorm room right now and tell her something that would make her hate you. Tell her something that you’ve done that would really hurt her or tell her the truth about a lie that you’ve told her in the past. Anything that will make her hate you.

  Standing up, Gabe reached for the doorknob. As he went out into the hallway, Rhonda tried to contain her excitement. This was it. After tonight, Gabe would be all hers. There would be no more Lexi to get in the way of the plans that she had for their future.

  Chapter 23

  Sometime around three o’clock in the morning, there was a loud knock on Lexi’s dorm room door. Startled at first, she thought about waking Dan up, but he was deep in relaxation with his eyes closed and headphones in. And he looked so perfect when he relaxed that she really hated to ask him to get up.

  So, instead, she braved answering the door on her own, but not before grabbing a stake from Anna’s nightstand. If there was a crazy, deranged vampire in her hallway, she wasn’t about to let them kill her without even having the fighting chance to kill them herself. She didn’t have just herself to think of anymore; she had Dan to think of, too, now.

  Lexi figured that it was probably Rhonda on the other side of the door, though. It would be just her luck. Rhonda would be looking for a notebook or something belonging to Anna on Christmas Day just to try to rub something about Gabe into her face.

  When she opened the door, the person she found standing there instead shocked her. It was Gabe.

  His steel blue eyes looked different than they usually did. Something about them seemed colder, more distant than they normally were—which was saying a lot because he had seemed extremely cold lately.

  “Gabe?” Lexi whispered, glancing over at Dan. “What do you want?”

  “I need to talk to you, Lexi,” Gabe replied, not me
eting her eyes. He glanced into the dorm room nervously. “Can you come outside in the hallway so we can talk?”

  Nodding, Lexi grabbed a robe to cover up what she was wearing—a skimpy tank top and a pair of short shorts that she wouldn’t want strangers seeing her in if they were to walk by. Not that many students—or teachers—should be walking by her right now since most of them had gone home or somewhere else for Christmas break.

  When she stepped into the hallway, she looked into Gabe’s face; his jaw was hardened, and his eyes still had that funny, dazed look to them. “Gabe, why are you here? What do you want to talk to me about? You’re making me a little nervous.”

  She really hoped that he wasn’t going to ask her to be with him again. Even though they had a past with each other, it had hurt her too much to see him with both Veronica and Rhonda while she was just thrown to the side.

  Lexi wasn’t sure if she would ever be able to forgive him for that. She didn’t think she would ever be able to trust him again.

  Besides, she had Dan now. Dan, who made her feel happy inside all the time. Dan, who had saved her life more times than she could count—and who would do again in a heartbeat if he ever had to. Dan, who she couldn’t get enough of. Dan, who was the main reason she had drank the potion that Belinda had given her. Dan, who she hoped, more than anything else, was her soul mate.

  There was no room for Gabe Marshall in her life again. Not now or ever.

  If he told her he wanted her back, she was going to tell him to take a hike because it was obvious that he didn’t really love her. Not the same way that Dan did. And she was positive that she didn’t really love Gabe, either. She may have loved Gabe, but it was a different kind of love than what she felt for Dan. Before, she was just trying to cling onto any sort of stability. Now, she knew that she had someone who would make her happy. It felt very different, in a good way.