“My job is to make sure no humans are killed or harmed…unwillingly,” Noel added under her breath. “And to keep my ears open about any baddies in the area. A serial killer was stopped last year after I overheard some vamps complaining about him at one of Marcus’s parties.” Noel puffed up her chest.
“Why didn’t you tell me before?”
“It’s on a need-to-know basis.”
I was just relieved to hear I wouldn’t be assigned to kick down the doors of the palace. While Marcus was a hospitable host, I had no doubt he’d be every bit as violent as the baddies I’d come up against if I threatened his existence in any way.
He’d already killed two full-grown male vampires just because they’d caused a stir at his party by abducting me.
Marcus had already boasted to me about his music room—the place he took guests who misbehaved. Knowing Marcus, there probably weren’t any instruments inside the music room. He’d even admitted to me that he still enjoyed killing on occasion. “When they deserve it.”
Renard and his partner certainly deserved to die a real death, but the ease for which Marcus performed the deed unsettled me.
The warning bell rang up and down the halls.
“Look, don’t worry,” Noel said. “Melcher didn’t have me go to all the trouble of getting in with Marcus only to take him down. His gatherings have been a great source of information.”
I nodded slowly.
“Okay,” she said a bit louder, straightening up. “See you tomorrow.”
“See you,” I said, heading for last period.
4
Flirt
I wasn’t in any rush to get to my locker at the end of the day. It only meant freezing my butt off that much longer while I waited for Mom to show up.
Sure enough, there was no sign of the car when I made my way down the shoveled walkway to the pick-up lane in front of the school.
At least I had my scarf back. Maybe it was silly, but it made me feel better having it around my neck. As I fished my iPod out of the front pouch on my backpack, some guy approached flashing a row of perfectly white, perfectly smooth, teeth. He had on a black and orange letterman’s jacket. I hadn’t even noticed his approach.
“Hi, Aurora.”
I squinted at the boy.
“Hi…”
“Mike.” He grinned wider. “Are you waiting for someone?”
“My mom.” I glanced at the empty pick-up lane. “Late again.”
“I can give you a ride home if you need one.”
That took me aback. I looked at him closer. Tall, slender, toned, light brown eyes, thick wavy hair—conventionally cute in every way.
I glanced behind Mike’s shoulder at the small group of guys, his friends presumably, watching us. They were equally fit and clean cut. Probably part of the popular crowd, not that I knew or cared. I hadn’t spent enough time at West to figure out who belonged to the “it” crowd. And I had no intention of finding out.
“Yo, Mikey!” one of Mike’s friends called out, sounding arrogant and impatient.
“Just a minute, man.” Mike turned back to me. “I don’t mind giving you a lift.”
“Thanks, but I’m sure she’s on her way.”
She better be on her way.
Mike flashed me a grin full of confidence. “No problem. See you in class tomorrow.”
We had a class together? Lovely, I suppose now I’d have to say ‘hi’ when I saw him in whatever the hell class we shared.
Call me jaded, but I’d already been through this charade with Scott Stevens back at DHS. The silly smiles and shy hellos. The part where he admitted to having a crush on me. The sloppy, horrible kisses. The even more horrible sex. Pass!
I hit “play” on my iPod before I even got the buds in my ears. “Fake It” by Seether blasted through the speakers. The iPod was still on my running playlist. My foot tapped impatiently.
Just when I was about to call my mom, she drove by and took the turn into the school’s parking lot. I walked up to the curb, reaching out for the door handle on the passenger’s side before she’d come to a complete stop.
“I’m so sorry, honey,” she said as soon as I’d tossed my backpack in the back seat and buckled up.
For once her lateness served my purpose. I’d been struck by a flash of brilliance in fourth period. Grandma had a townhouse only minutes from West and it was unoccupied half the year. Maybe Mom would consider letting me live there given she wouldn’t have to drive back and forth across town anymore.
I leaned back in my seat, eyes on the freshly plowed road. “It’s okay,” I began. “It doesn’t seem fair making you drive across town four times a day.”
I left a very long pause in the air. There’s always that anticipation right before you’re about to ask for something you want and don’t know if the person will surprise you or shoot you down on the spot.
“I’ve been thinking. Gran’s apartment is only a few blocks away from West, and it’s not like she uses it in the winter. If I lived there I could walk to school.” It was so perfect. How could she say no? We’d have to ask Grandma, of course, and you never know with her. She’d want to know why I’d transferred in the middle of senior year, why I still wasn’t driving, and a thousand other questions, but it would be worth it to get a shot at her apartment. I’d only get about three months out of it before Gran came up for the summer. Just enough time to finish senior year and start looking for on-campus living at the University of Alaska Anchorage.
Mom actually straightened in her seat. Even her voice was on edge. “Out of the question. You’re in high school.”
“Not for much longer.”
“Well, you are now, so we can talk about this again after you graduate.”
I could still see Mom’s rigid stance out of the corner of my eye. A frosty silence settled inside the car as she pulled away from West. I didn’t realized I’d clamped my teeth together so hard until my jaw began to ache.
I heard a small sob and looked over.
“Am I so terrible to live with?” Mom asked in a breaking voice.
Oh, shit. I turned in my seat.
“No, Mom. I just feel really bad making you drive back and forth five days a week.”
“I don’t mind,” she said through sniffles.
There went my dreams of independent living…for now. Hopefully she would be in a less fragile state when I brought it up after graduation. Better yet, maybe Dad would return before then so she wouldn’t be alone.
Mom wiped her eyes on her coat sleeve and sniffed. She wore it unzipped over an old sweatshirt and sweatpants. She’d shucked her slippers in favor of a pair of ankle-high winter boots with a fuzzy lining.
She sniffed a couple more times then took her usual detour up Benson Boulevard’s one-way street, swinging back around to Northern Lights. Today she chose the Taco Bell drive-through. In addition to not dressing, she no longer cooked, either.
“Do you want your usual?” she asked as she turned into the parking lot.
Her voice had taken on a much more cheerful tone.
“Sure,” I said.
A rice and bean burrito was my usual. It reheated nicer than a taco. Wherever we ended up, Mom always ordered something to warm up later for dinner and a snack for when we got home. The fast food was probably her real motivation for getting off the couch to pick me up every afternoon.
As soon as we got home, I dumped my backpack in my room and changed into my running gear. Mom was eating a taco from the paper wrapping when I came bounding down the stairs. I wasn’t always able to get myself up in time to jog before school. On those days I made it up as soon as I got home.
I did my warm-ups in the living room then headed up the hill, music playing gently into my eardrums. I kept the volume down during afternoon runs. There was more traffic, and I liked to keep tabs on it. I’d already been through a gruesome car accident. It would be just my luck to get hit on foot.
I started out with a light jog through the
woods then picked up the pace in the adjacent neighborhood. I slowed at the intersection then raced across when it the road was clear. The sidewalk passed in front of a strip mall with a video store, take-out pizza place, and laundromat.
A quick glance at the parking lot revealed no sign of Fane’s car.
I don’t know why I tortured myself this way on afternoon runs. And I don’t know why I thought his car might appear there all of a sudden today. It was probably the scarf. I gave it a gentle tug for reassurance.
Maybe I would have better luck spotting his car if I ran at night. Or better yet, maybe I should let go and move on with my life.
There were other bears in the woods. I snorted to myself. Like pretty boy Mike. Please let the guy back off and leave me alone. That’s the trouble with it. Guys liked girls who were a challenge. Maybe tomorrow I should dress up all cutesy and giggle at every sentence that came out of his mouth. That would scare him off. Yeah, right. I could never pull it off with a straight face, but it was a funny thought all the same.
I turned the volume up on my iPod once I reached the stretch of woods leading home.
It turned out Mike and I shared history class together. He plopped into the seat beside me Tuesday morning. He ran his hand over the surface of his desk. I heard a click followed by scraping. I glanced over. In addition to the jacket, he had a big honking class ring on his finger. The orange oval jewel was set in a gold band. Flashy.
“What’s up, Aurora?”
I did my best not to visibly grimace. “Not much. How are you?” I pasted a smile on my face. I was fine with my role as one of West High’s nobodies, but I’d sooner graduate without becoming known as The Loner Bitch.
“You’re really serious about graduating,” Mike remarked.
“What do you mean?”
He nodded towards the board, six feet in front of us. “Sitting in the front row, taking notes all hour.”
“Oh,” I said.
I looked down at my spiral notebook, already opened to a new page, dated at the top, my pen laced between my fingers.
He chuckled. “We should enjoy our last semester while we can, don’t you think? Once we get to college it’s all up hill. Textbooks the size of encyclopedias. Lectures designed to cause serious migraines. Late night cram sessions. Never ending homework. You get the idea.”
I looked at him with more interest. At least he planned on pursuing a higher education. That kind of conversation made me more comfortable.
“Where are you going to college?” I asked.
Mike’s desk moved when he leaned in closer.
“Boise State University. Yep, gonna be a Bronco.” He dipped down in his seat as he said this, lifting the front legs of his desk several inches off the ground before hitting the floor again. “What about you?”
This used to be my favorite question. I hated telling people I was staying in-state, like I wasn’t adventurous or smart enough to leave Alaska.
“I’m going to the University of Alaska Anchorage,” I said without enthusiasm.
I always had to fight back the urge to add that I had been accepted into Notre Dame, but was no use. I’d only have to come up with lies about why I wasn’t going. In the end, it didn’t impress anyone, anyway. Bottom line: I was an in-state loser.
“You should look into woo-wee,” Mike said.
“Woo-wee?”
“W-U-E, Western Undergraduate Exchange. You can go to participating out-of-state colleges for in-state tuition.” Mike grinned. “That’s what I’m doing. There’re a lot of universities in the WUE program. Colleges in Washington, Idaho, Colorado, California, Arizona, Oregon…even Hawaii.”
If only my problems were financial. If the government hadn’t forced me into a life of servitude, even the WUE colleges wouldn’t be far enough away from home. Take me east any day.
“Maybe I’ll look into it,” I said.
“You totally should. I don’t know about you, but I want to get the hell out of dodge come graduation.”
Mike succeeded in making me laugh. I was reminded momentarily of the story Dante shared with me about taking off for Amsterdam after his initiation. He’s lucky the agents gave him a second chance. There’d be no European tour for me. No east coast college experience. Not even a western one in the WUE program. My laughter dried up.
Mr. Young walked in and was bombarded by several students. They were still talking to him after the bell rang.
“Hey, why don’t come to the school dance with me Friday?”
Ugh, the dreaded proposition. I had to hand it to Mike; he didn’t waste time. Maybe that was a senior year thing. Carpe diem and all that jazz.
I laughed—a genuine amused laugh. “Isn’t this Friday the Sadie Hawkins dance?”
I never got why they always scheduled it around Valentine’s Day. Double embarrassment.
“Yeah,” Mike said, smiling bigger.
“I hate to break it to you, but boys aren’t supposed to do the asking.”
Mike shrugged. “I don’t mind breaking the rules…for you.”
A wave of heat shot through me. I couldn’t tell if I was flattered, embarrassed, or both. I wanted nothing more than to hightail it out of the room.
I took a steadying breath before answering. “Thank you. That’s really nice, but I’m going to a party Friday night.”
“So, do both,” Mike said without missing a beat.
“That wouldn’t really work.”
“The school dances are pretty lame, anyway,” he said. “So, what’s this party?”
“Nothing special,” I said quickly. “Mostly hanging out, drinking. It’s an older crowd.”
Mike grinned. “I like older crowds.” No doubt he liked drinking, too.
Thankfully Mr. Young shooed the last student away from his desk and began calling roll before I had to think of how to respond to Mike’s obvious fishing.
I shot out of my desk the moment the bell rang at the end of class.
“See you later,” I said to Mike, avoiding eye contact and rushing out of the room. Luckily he didn’t follow me out.
Still, I felt unsettled enough to spend lunch with Noel, Henry, and Gavin rather than risk Mike walking by an empty room I happened to be studying in.
“Wow, is that Aurora Sky?” Gavin asked when I approached their table in the cafeteria. He squinted up at me. “I almost forgot you go here.”
Henry elbowed him before flashing me a brilliant smile. “Have a seat. It’s good to see you.”
They looked preppy in their Calvin Klein jeans and sweatshirts. They dressed nice, unlike Fane who had his whole Neo/Matrix look going on. But unlike a moth, I was drawn to the dark.
“Thanks,” I said, pulling a chair out beside Noel. “Where’s the rest of your posse?”
“They decided to go out for lunch,” Noel said. She looked clearly pleased to have the hunky vamps to herself.
I couldn’t blame her. I was glad it was just the four of us.
“You and Fane going to Marcus’s party?” Henry asked.
I tried not to flinch. Fane had done me the kindness of letting Henry, Gavin, and Marcus believe we were together so they’d keep their teeth out of me.
“I’m going,” I answered evenly, studying the tabletop.
Henry and Gavin exchanged a look.
“What are you wearing?” Noel asked. “Red or black?”
She piled small pieces of orange cheese and sliced turkey onto round crackers from her pre-packaged lunch. Henry and Gavin didn’t have lunches. My sack lunch was made up of the standard peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and a Ziploc filled with chips. Noel and I weren’t exactly paragons of health.
I had fully intended to wear black to Marcus’s party in protest of the dreaded holiday, but that was before I took the public bus to the mall and fell in love with a short red dress. The top had a scoop neck that practically came off the shoulders. The color accented my pale skin and long dark hair in a way black never could.
I needed to lo
ok stunning in case Fane showed up with Valerie, although I don’t know how we’d explain that one since the only thing warding off potential biters was the fact that Marcus and company thought Fane and I were together. I didn’t know how long he’d agree to put on the charade. Returning my scarf could be his way of signaling the end of that.
“Red,” I said to Noel. “What about you? I presume you’re wearing black.”
Henry laughed. He had a great smile. “I’d be willing to put money on it.”
“Black’s my color,” Noel said before popping another cracker sandwich into her mouth.
“And you look great in it,” Gavin said.
Noel blushed, which was almost comical. Her color was certainly red at the moment.
Noel turned her attention quickly back to me. “Do you need a ride for the party?”
“That would be great. Do you mind picking me up in front of school? I told my mom I was going to the dance Friday night.”
“No problem,” Noel said.
Henry and Gavin pushed their seats back and stood. “See you ladies later.”
“Have fun in history,” Noel said. She, Henry, and Gavin began laughing.
“I hope I didn’t scare them away,” I said after they’d gone.
Noel shook her head. “Nah, they have a presentation to give about the Civil War. Gavin has the visual aids in his car…artifacts from his ‘grandfather.’”
I sighed. “School must be such a breeze for those guys.”
Noel shrugged.
“What’s up with you and Gavin, anyway?” I asked. “Is he ever going to ask you out or are you friends with biting benefits?” I bit into my sandwich and chewed.
Noel’s face colored. “Gavin and I are friends. Besides, I haven’t been assigned a vampire.”
I stopped chewing. “Assigned a vampire?”
Noel frowned. “Never mind.”
“Noel, what are you talking about?”
Noel shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. Anyway, now that we’re alone I have something to tell you about Fane.”
Oh, she was devious changing the subject like that. I planted both arms on the table and leaned in.
Northern Bites (Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter, Vol. 2) Page 4
