“Why don’t you look older?” Lexi asked, puzzled.
“I’m a lot older than you think, Lexi,” Gabe said. “See, vampires can live for many years before dying. I’m older than your great grandfather. I can’t tell you exactly how old, because then I would be putting both of us in even more danger if someone caught wind of it.”
“So, you made it seem like Kevin died, so that no one will know how old you are?” Lexi asked as she pieced the information together.
“Exactly,” Gabe said, pulling onto a curvy, unlit road that was lined with acres upon acres of trees. Lexi glanced around and realized she had no idea where they were – but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that they weren’t going back.
“If you’re a vampire, does that mean you drink human blood?” Lexi asked. “Or do you drink animal blood like Edward Cullen?”
Gabe groaned and said, “Please don’t ask me if I sparkle next.” Laughing, he answered her question, “Stephenie Meyer wrote Edward Cullen’s character out of convenience, really. It was the only way she could make it so that he didn’t eat Bella in those books. What the author forgot was that girls bleed every month and a vampire wouldn’t be able to resist that. Somehow, though, Edward didn’t have the urge to attack her then. Anyway, real vampires can’t drink animal blood or eat human food.”
“I always wondered what happened when Bella got her period!” Lexi said, laughing. “Wait, I’m confused. You ate macaroni and cheese with me.”
“Well, I can eat whatever I want…but I can’t digest it. So, I have to bring it back up somehow.”
“Ew. Why did you eat with me then? So, if you don’t eat animals, how do you…eat?”
“I eat human food around humans to keep up with my act. I drink human blood,” Gabe said, shortly.
“Why haven’t you drunk from me?” Lexi asked, trying to hide the hurt tone in her voice.
“I have, Lexi,” Gabe shot an apologetic glance at her. “In the car, right after I brought you home from the carnival. It’s just that you were already bleeding after you were attacked by that filthy vampire, so I couldn’t help myself…you smelled so good. But I healed you right after, don’t worry,” Gabe said, shooting her another glance.
“That was a vampire that attacked me?” Lexi’s jaw dropped and she looked at him with wide eyes. “Am I a vampire now?”
Gabe grinned at her. “No, silly. It takes a lot more than a simple bite to turn someone into a vampire. You’d have to be drained almost completely, and then drink some of the vampire’s blood.”
“Then if you haven’t drunken from me much, who do you drink from on a daily basis? Or how often do you eat, anyway? Do you kill people?” Lexi couldn’t stop the questions from pouring out of her mouth.
“I drink from people who let me drink from them,” Gabe replied.
“People give you permission to drink from them?” Lexi asked, wondering who Gabe had drunk from in Briar Creek.
“Yes, they do. I’d rather not talk about how I meet my nutritional requirements,” Gabe said, glancing at her. “Aren’t you freaked out at all that I’m a vampire?” he asked.
Lexi shrugged. “Not really. It sounds weird, but…I still feel safe with you. I was expecting you to tell me something worse,” she admitted.
“Something worse…like what?”
“Like that you killed someone,” Lexi answered quietly, staring out the window.
“Well…not recently,” Gabe said. “Let’s not get into that right now. I do think that someone killed your ex-boyfriend, though.”
“What do you mean?” Lexi asked, startled. “How do you know something happened to him?”
“I saw his car at your aunt’s house,” Gabe began. “I don’t want to admit that it was him because I know it will make you sad, but I also don’t want to lie. You and I both know that there aren’t any other flashy cars like that in Briar Creek. I think it’s an unwritten rule that you’re not allowed to drive an obnoxious yellow car in this town.”
Lexi sighed. She had been hoping that she was wrong and that Justin’s mom would call her and let her know that he had gotten home okay. Something deep inside told her that the only way Justin’s mom would get in touch with her would be to give her the details about the funeral arrangements. Lexi shivered at the thought of her ex-boyfriend being dead. It felt like everyone close to her was dying, and there was nothing she could do about it.
“I don’t get it,” Lexi said, lowering her window. “Justin was always such a safe driver. They haven’t even said anything about who he got into an accident with.”
Whipping around a curve, Gabe kept his eyes on the road and reached over to grab her hand. “He didn’t get into an accident with another car, Lexi. I heard the report earlier today. He hit a tree. I came over tonight because I wanted to see if you heard about the accident yet. That’s when I saw Dan through the window, and I knew that something wasn’t right. I knew I had to stop it.”
Trying to hold back the tears that were moistening her eyes, Lexi tightened her grip around Gabe’s hand. She had forgotten how cold his skin was. She couldn’t believe that she hadn’t picked up on him being a vampire before now. His touch felt almost ghostly against her warm skin.
Impulsively, Lexi reached over and put her hand against Gabe’s chest, covering his heart. She waited for a few seconds before realizing that he had no heartbeat. “It’s true,” Lexi whispered. “You’re a vampire.”
“Duh,” Gabe said, with a smile. “We just went over this.”
Lexi gulped. “So, what does this mean for us?”
“I’m still me, and you’re still you,” Gabe said. “Oh, by the way, my name really is Gabriel, not Kevin. I just change my name to something else to go under the radar every twenty years or so.”
“Good,” Lexi answered. “I think that Gabe is a more suiting name for you.”
Gabe slowed the car to a stop and leaned over to kiss Lexi on the lips. She felt her heart stop, as the butterflies which were resting in her stomach began to flap their wings.
“Are you going to drink from me?” Lexi whispered. She half hoped that he would say yes.
“Not right now,” Gabe whispered back, pulling away from her. “Maybe one day, though. With your permission, of course.”
“You have my permission,” Lexi said. “Would you turn me into a vampire if I want?”
“No,” Gabe replied. “It’s a lot more complex than that. It’s not a decision to just make at the spur of the moment…especially on the night you found out I’m a vampire. And I’m also not going to drink from you right now, either. It will only make things more complicated.”
“Then shouldn’t I be the one to decide whether I want to share my blood with you or not?”
“You’re not thinking clearly right now, Lex. You’ve just lost two people and that’s not even counting Austin. Just give it time and maybe I’ll drink from you one day, when I think you’re ready, okay?”
Lexi nodded.
“There’s still a lot I need to tell you, but now isn’t the right time,” Gabe went on. “I don’t want to spring too much on you at once. You don’t need to feel overwhelmed, what with everything else going on.”
Unsure what to say, Lexi nodded again. “Okay,” she replied. “Gabe, do you really love me?”
“Of course I do,” Gabe said.
Gabe turned the keys in the ignition and pressed down on the gas pedal. The air from the open window blew Lexi’s hair uncontrollably into her eyes, as the car picked up more speed. The car whirled around a sharp corner, making her stomach drop.
Lexi watched in horror as the speedometer increased to 90 mph. “Gabe, slow down!” she screamed at him, panic taking over her body.
From his seat, Gabe titled his head to look at her and smiled. “Relax, Lexi! I’m a safe driver.”
“Then keep your eyes on the road,” Lexi snapped at him. If Gabe wasn’t the one driving, she would probably feel much more threatened. Even when he was driving like
a maniac, she still felt safer with him than anyone else in Briar Creek.
“It’s hard to keep my eyes on the road when I just want to look at you all day,” Gabe said, leaning over and kissing her on the lips.
“Gabe, what the fuck are you doing? Keep your eyes on the road!” Lexi screamed, pulling herself away from him. Leaning in closer, he pressed his lips against hers.
Lexi watched out of the corner of her eye as the trees became closer to the car.
Lexi’s head whipped against her headrest as the car crashed into a tree. The air bags exploded and smoke seeped out. The smell of gun powder filled her nostrils while the car finally came to a halt on its side before everything went black.
*
With one final glance at Lexi, Gabe sighed with relief. Pulling himself out of the car, he stumbled his way onto the main road and straightened his shirt. Reaching in his pocket, he pulled out his cell phone. He dialed the number of the one person in Briar Creek he knew he could trust.
When he heard a voice on the other end of the line, Gabe calmly told them, “It’s over. Meet me where we talked about. I don’t know where we’re going, but we’re getting as far away from Briar Creek as possible.”
The Briar Creek Vampires 01 - Kiss of Death Page 19
