Love Sucks!

by Melissa Francis

  My heart was so full. Not only was Ryan sticking around, he was also going to do everything he could to save my mother. “Will my blood work?” I asked.

  “Our blood together will work. I know it. We have to save our family, AJ. Together,” Ryan said.

  “Let’s do it,” Dr. Douglas said. “We’ve got nothing to lose.”

  Four hours after the transfusion, I was sitting next to Mom, holding her hand and having a discussion.

  Baby F was wheeled in a few minutes later, and my mother laughed until she cried. Rick was out of the bed and holding the baby faster than a hummingbird feeds. He took her to Momma, and they cooed and oohed and awwed over the little miracle they had brought into the world.

  “What have you been calling her?” Mom asked.

  “Baby F,” I said with a laugh.

  “Baby F with her jet-black hair and clear blue eyes. I can’t believe I have a black-haired daughter.”

  “I can’t believe I have a sister,” Ryan said. “We’re Frasers—we only have boys.”

  “I think we need to come up with something a little more definitive than Baby F, little girl,” Rick cooed.

  “Let’s go,” I whispered. “We need to give them some alone time while Mom is still awake.”

  We said our good-byes and left the room together. I realized once we were in the hall that the entire time we had been with our parents, our pointer fingers had been interlocked.

  “We have a lot to figure out before they get home,” I said, pulling his hand up to my lips and kissing his palm.

  “It’ll be complicated but worth it.”

  We left the hospital together, and he walked me to my car. I started to open the door, but something in the air told me we weren’t alone.

  I squeezed Ryan’s hand, took a deep breath, and called my dad out. “I know you’re here. So just show yourself.”

  His laughter sounded before he appeared. He was leaning against the hood of the car, his hands folded across his chest, his feet crossed at the ankles. He couldn’t have been more at ease if he’d just gotten a massage and taken a Valium.

  Tension radiated from Ryan’s body. I squeezed his hand again to rein him in. “I’ve got this,” I said.

  “It’s obvious you needed a proper father figure, AJ. You know it’s inappropriate to date your brother. Even for Mississippi.”

  “Yep, a proper father figure would’ve been good growing up. You should’ve thought about that before you left. Now, get off my car; we’re going home.”

  “How’s Mommy? I bet her breathing is getting more and more shallow by now.”

  “Actually, no. She was sitting up, holding the baby, when we left. She no longer requires your services.”

  Anger flashed across his face, but he cloaked it pretty quickly. “I still require your services, Daughter.”

  “I’m no longer your daughter, and I’m also no longer your go-to girl for the third rune. If you want it, you’re going to have to find it yourself. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we missed school today, so we have to get our make-up work.”

  Ryan and I got into the car. I tried not to be smug as I started the engine. It felt good to tell that asshole off. He may have donated his DNA to me, but I was nothing like my father.

  “I hope you can live with your decision,” he said.

  I rolled down my window. “It’s over, Dad. Mom is healing, the rune is still hidden, and I’m no longer under your control. The family knows about you, and Aunt D is working on a new batch of ju ju that will protect the baby until she gets home. So why don’t you take Mr. Charles and your pet Bborim and get the hell out of our lives.”

  I burned rubber as I pulled away.

  “Wow,” Ryan said. “That was hot.”

  Chapter 23

  The rest of the week went by in a blur of school, homework, and prom plans—and no sign of the Bborim, Dad, or Mr. Charles.

  Lex and Ryan buried the hatchet, and not even in each other’s back. Robbie was completely preoccupied with Malia, so he never seemed to be around anymore. Aunt D had cooked up some super-duper magic that included our entire property and our cars, so dear old dad couldn’t sneak up on us again.

  I had gotten really good at detecting his presence, though. Lex said I had far exceeded their training, that my natural abilities were stronger than any he had ever seen. He encouraged me to think about becoming a trainer.

  Ryan didn’t think that was such a good idea.

  Everything seemed to fall into place. Mom and Baby F were going to be released on Sunday if everything stayed the same. Rick was released Friday, but he refused to leave their sides. Not that I blamed him.

  The only thing that still felt out of whack was Bridget. Technically, we were okay with each other, but it still felt a little forced. It was the only thing left that really weighed on me. Somehow I had to patch the friendship between her and Malia. Or I just had to stop hanging out with them both together. That thought made me sad, but if it would get me back the whole Bridget, I would do it.

  Sure, knowing my dad had two runes was a concern, but since the third was safe from him, the sense of urgency was gone. We would fix this—we just didn’t have to do it tonight.

  I was kind of excited about the prom theme, now that the day was here. I was going to get to let my fangs down and walk out in public with my head held high.

  That would be very cool.

  Well, it would be cool if I could figure out what the hell I was going to wear. With everything that had gone on these past few weeks, a prom dress had been the last thing on my mind.

  Since I was going to be a vampire, I didn’t have to go the traditional route. But looking through my closet, I realized I didn’t even have anything to work with, even for a nontraditional outfit.

  I would start with the shoes and work my way up. If I had to do an emergency shopping trip, so be it.

  I pulled out a pair of pretty damn badass thigh-high black boots that I rarely got a chance to wear. I had a black miniskirt and a hot pink minidress that might work. I pulled them out of the closet, just in case. Maybe Aunt D had a cape or something I could borrow.

  I grabbed the boots and the skirts and ran downstairs. Aunt D was in the kitchen as usual, whipping up something divine while rocking out to ABBA.

  “Hello, dearie,” she said between lyrics. “Are ye hungry? I’m baking a meat pie, if ye can wait a few more minutes.”

  “No, thanks. Actually, I was wondering if you happened to have a cape or something I could borrow for tonight. I never bought a dress and I’m trying to throw an outfit together now.”

  “Och! I canna believe I forgot to tell ye. I have yer outfit all ready to go. It’s in my room—let’s go try it on.”

  “How did you know?”

  “I wish I could take credit, but it wasna my idea. That Lex is somethin’ else, he is. Came to me a few days ago with the thought that you might need somethin’ to wear. I didn’t have any idea what a proper vampire should wear to a vampire ball, so he gave me some specifics. Told me what he was wearin’ and what he thought ye’d like. I was skeptical at first, but I think the boy was right.”

  We walked into her apartment. She clapped her hands and the lights came on.

  The outfit was hanging on a closet door. I got closer to examine it, and my words failed me. “Wow.”

  “Before ye get too excited, try it on.”

  I stood in front of the full-length mirror and put the final touches on my makeup.

  Aunt D worked her magic on my hair. It was now curled in long ringlets and pulled up in a fancy coif with a blue satin ribbon woven throughout. I stood back and admired myself.

  Holy smokes.

  Lex might be a good guy at heart, but he was still a guy. I not only looked like a vampire, I looked like a vamp.

  The outfit wasn’t a dress, exactly. The top was a black fitted bustier. Aunt D said Lex had requested strapless (of course he did), but she thought it best to cover my chest, shoulders, and arms with a she
er black material that reminded me of panty hose. You know, so I wouldn’t “catch a cold.” The neck was lined with blue piping that matched the ribbon in my hair.

  I wore leather pants that were so fitted they felt like a second skin. But they were also stretchy, like my favorite pair of yoga pants. My thigh-high boots looked kick-ass with them.

  My favorite part of the outfit was the detachable skirt that was open in the front so I could showcase the boots and pants. It was kind of like a cape for my ass. Its color depended on the light and angle. If I turned one way, it was the same color as my ribbon. If I turned another, it was black with blue shimmers.

  This outfit was made of awesome. And I was pretty confident I looked good enough to eat.

  My suspicions were confirmed when I walked down the stairs to find both Ryan and Lex waiting for me, drooling all over their tuxes and tails. Lex wore a top hat, and his tie was the same color as my ribbon.

  Ryan was wearing a wine-colored cloak over his tux, and he carried an old cane made from a Rowan tree.

  “I knew you’d wear that well,” Lex said, tipping his hat to me.

  “You’re bad. You did this on purpose.” I laughed.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Lex replied with feigned innocence.

  “I can tell you one thing,” Ryan added. “There’s no way in hell you’re going to prom without me. You’ve got two dates tonight. Or one date and one bodyguard. However you choose to look at it.”

  “So which one of you is the bodyguard?” I asked.

  “Not it!” they replied at the same time.

  “I guess that means I have two dates. Let’s go, fellas.”

  Chapter 24

  I hadn’t helped decorate because of all the madness, so I was genuinely surprised to walk in and see how amazing everything looked. There were large murals of old stone buildings, wells, a kirk, and even a real stone circle.

  Thousands of twinkling lights hung from the ceiling, making it feel like you were outside on a cloudless night.

  Ryan leaned in and whispered, “I may have helped the decorating along just a little bit.”

  It honestly looked like we had gone back in time. Amazing.

  Most everyone, including the teachers, dressed up. Witches, warlocks, wizards, vampires, and a couple of creatures that I’m pretty sure were from Star Trek. But whatever, everyone was in costume and having a great time.

  “Have you talked to Robbie tonight?” I asked Lex.

  “No. I haven’t seen him all day. I’m sure he’s stuck to Malia’s face somewhere. I swear, that lad loses ten IQ points every time she’s around.”

  “Have you talked to Bridget?” I asked Ryan. “I need to talk to her—I really want my friend back. All the way back.”

  “She’s over there,” he answered. “With Grady.”

  Bridget looked gorgeous, wearing a forest-green velvet dress and a shimmery silver cloak. “I decided on witch,” she said when I walked up to her.

  I smiled, showing my fangs. “Vamp.”

  “The outfit gave that away. Damn.”

  “I know, right? I can’t even talk about how sexy and weird I feel. I’m almost ready to change back into my blue jeans and flip-flops.”

  She laughed a little and then got quiet. The silence stretched out between us for a few moments, and then we both tried to talk at the same time.

  “I’m sorry,” we said.

  “Me too,” we said again.

  “I realized last night that me being upset with you over Malia isn’t fair to you. We’ve been pulling you in the middle of our fight all year, and I know that hasn’t been easy. I promise to try harder with her.” The pained look on her face told me she would try but she wouldn’t necessarily like it.

  I nodded. “And listen, I’ve got some stuff I have to tell you. Things haven’t been right between us because I’ve been scared to tell you the truth.”

  “Can you tell me now?” she asked.

  “No. Not here. But I will. I promise. If you promise me that you’ll listen and remember that I’m still me. No matter what I tell you, I’m still me.”

  Bridget gave me a funny look, then smiled. “Promise. Are we friends again?”

  “Never stopped being friends.” We hugged, and relief flooded me. Telling her that I was a vampire wasn’t going to be easy, but in my heart I knew she would eventually accept it.

  “Let’s boogie.” She grabbed my hand and pulled me onto the dance floor.

  The night seemed to be going amazingly well. Everyone was dancing, posing for pictures, laughing, and having an all-around good time. For the first time in two weeks, I was relaxed and enjoying myself.

  Lex and I danced a lot, as we had to continue the facade that we were a couple. Ryan and I hadn’t worked out the details on our reemergence as a pair. It might be better if we waited until school was over to go public. No matter what we decided, we couldn’t go public at the prom—not before we told our parents.

  “Did you ever find Robbie?” I asked as Lex and I were slow dancing to some song that was sappier than a pine tree.

  “Yeah, he and Malia came in while you were talking to Bridget. He was acting a little off, though. I’m serious; I think she sucks a little bit of his brain out every time she kisses him. He’s never been this bad off before.”

  “We girls sometimes have that effect on you boys.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I’m thinking about staying for a while, now that I’ve seen you in this. Ryan needs some competition.”

  I smiled. “In another lifetime, maybe. But in this life, there is no competition for Ryan.”

  “I’m gutted. Seriously wounded. You know that makes me want you more, right?”

  I stood on my toes and planted a kiss on his cheek. “I know. That’s part of the fun.”

  He laughed loudly. “I may never get over you, sailor.”

  “You’ll get over me. I’m thinking probably about day two of your next assignment,” I joked. When he didn’t laugh, I looked up to see what had his attention. He was staring off into space, concentrating like he saw something—but there was nothing there.

  “You know, I can’t find Robbie anywhere. In my head. He’s gone. He was there, he was snogging Malia, and now he’s completely silent.”

  “Go find him. I’ll see if I can find Malia.”

  I was making my way through the crowd, looking for her, when Mrs. Christopher’s voice came over the speakers. “Boys and girls, may I have your attention, please. It’s time to crown this year’s king and queen.”

  This was my least favorite part of the prom. Why did we have to go through this every year when, no matter what the occasion, Tiffany Talbot always won? And my guess was that since Lex was the sexy new guy, he’d probably win king.

  That would actually be kind of fun to see—Lex in a tiara.

  I kept milling through the crowd looking for Malia, but I wasn’t having any luck. Mrs. Christopher was still talking away, but I had pretty much drowned out her voice while I concentrated on finding my friend.

  “AJ. Did you hear me?” Mrs. Christopher asked.

  I stopped when I heard my name and looked around to see the entire crowd staring at me.

  “I’m sorry?”

  “You’ve been voted in as queen this year. I suppose vampire queen would be the appropriate title. Come on up and wear your crown.”

  Me? What? Who was king?

  And that’s when I realized Ryan was onstage, wearing his crown and smiling.

  Somebody had done a little more than help decorate last night. Somebody had used his very special powers to rig an election.

  I made my way to the stage, trying to stamp down the nervous butterflies in my stomach. Finding Malia could wait for just a minute. Why was I so excited about this?

  Because every girl wants to be Cinderella just once. And tonight, I was getting my chance.

  Mrs. Christopher was beaming. She pulled a beautiful silver tiara from a velvet-lined box. There was a gian
t opalescent stone in the center, with smaller versions of the same type of stone on each point.

  “Congratulations,” she said.

  I bent down, and she set the crown on my head. The moment it touched me, a familiar humming began and warmth filled me from head to toe.

  “Mrs. Christopher? Why didn’t we see this at your house?”

  “It’s from our family collection. My sister brought it to me today. She lives in Memphis.”

  “Your sister? Your twin sister?” I asked, finally realizing why we kept seeing Mrs. Christopher’s face but couldn’t find the rune. It wasn’t Mrs. Christopher after all.

  “Why, yes, how did you know?”

  “Just a lucky guess,” I said with a laugh.

  The DJ queued up the music, and Ryan took my hand and led me to the dance floor. The crowd parted, giving us plenty of room.

  “You look beautiful,” he murmured.

  “As much as I want to revel in this moment—and believe me, I want to—we have a problem, Ryan. The third rune? I’m wearing it. It’s in the crown.”

  “No shit.”

  “We need to get it out of here before Dad figures it out.”

  Out of nowhere, the sickly sweet Bborim b.o. hit me. “Ryan, the demon is here somewhere. We have to get the rune out of here!”

  “AJ!” Bridget said as she rushed up to us. “Crap. I’m sorry to interrupt, but I just saw Malia with Mr. Charles. He was wearing a disguise, but I know it was him. And when Malia saw me, she took off like a bat out of hell.”

  “Where’s Mr. Charles?” I asked.

  “He’s still here, but AJ, there’s something else. You might think I’m crazy, but when he smiled at me, his eyes flashed red and I saw fangs.”