by Gayla Twist
“You’ve got a lot of nerve!” she yelled in my face.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, sitting up and gripping the Formica table so that I didn’t rip her face off.
“Tommy was on a date with me,” she said, getting right up in my grill. “What the hell is he doing here with you?”
“I don’t know, Sheila,” I said, forcing myself to stay calm. I could smell her breath. She’d maybe had a slug of some type of alcohol, probably something she snuck from her parent’s liquor cabinet. “I was home and Tommy dropped by. He asked me to go with him to grab something to eat and I said yes. He didn’t mention you at all.”
“Well we were on a date at that stupid diner where you work,” she said, and I could tell she was fighting back tears. “Then he got up to use the bathroom and never came back. He just left.”
“What do you mean, ‘He just left’? Like, he just left you sitting there for a really long time or…?” I was playing innocent. It was a bitchy thing to do, but nothing compared to how Sheila had treated me.
“I mean he just left the damn diner,” Sheila said, her voice catching a little. “And then I get a bunch of text that he’s here with you.”
“I’m not sure why you’re mad at me,” I told her. “I mean, it’s not like I have some magical powers and cast a spell over Tommy or anything.”
“Then why the hell did he just ditch me?” she demanded.
I’ve never understood why, when a girl finds out that a boy is cheating on her, she confronts the other girl. Why not confront the guy? He’s the cheater. But for some reason that wasn’t how it usually worked. I gave Sheila a shrug. “I’m not sure,” I told her. “Why don’t you ask him?”
Sheila winged around to stare at Tommy like she hadn’t even realized he was there. “Why the hell did you ditch me?” she demanded, her voice definitely warbling.
Everyone at White Castle was watching our little drama play out. I could hear some kids snickering in the background. I had thought I would feel great, arranging for Sheila to be humiliated publicly, but it actually didn’t feel good at all. She was a bitch, but it turns out bitches have feelings too. You never think they do, but actually it’s true.
Tommy looked uncomfortable. He was usually so full of bravado that it was kind of weird to see him deflate when confronted by an angry, slightly tearful female. “I don’t know,” he mumbled. “I just… I just don’t think we should see each other anymore.”
“Why not?” Sheila demanded.
The football hero was having trouble meeting her eye. “Sorry, I’m just not into you that much anymore,” he told her. “Your boobs are kind of saggy and I’m sort of in love with somebody else.”
“They are not saggy,” Sheila insisted, her voice overly loud. Then she instantly regretted it when she realized that the whole restaurant could hear her.
I’m not sure if I felt my revenge against Sheila was complete, but it was all I could take. Yes, I was a vampire, but it still went against my nature to kick someone when she was down.
“Come on, Haley,” Tommy said, getting to his feet. “Let’s get out of here.”
“I’m sure your boobs are perfectly fine,” I said in a low voice while pushing back my chair. Sheila covered her face with her hands and began to cry. “High school boys are just jerks,” I told her. “Always have been. Always will be. But that doesn't’ mean we have to be jerks to each other.”
“Get away from me, you bitch,” she snarled.
So much for offering a small olive branch.
Tommy grabbed my hand and towed me out of the restaurant.
“Can you believe that Sheila chick?” Tommy asked once we were in the car and heading down the road. “I mean, come on. She’s kind of hot and all, but she’s nothing compared to you.”
I felt a fresh rush of revulsion toward Tommy, and pretty much every male on the planet. They were always comparing us and setting us against each other. It made it so that we females were always scrambling to be the prettiest and putting each other down. I was over it. I’d been an idiot about guys for the first seventeen years of my life, but that was it. I was drawing a line. I wasn’t going to spend eternity competing with other women for some stupid man’s attention.
I had been so consumed with pondering the foolishness of the sexes that I hadn’t paid much attention to where Tommy was driving us until he pulled over. We were parked on some isolated back road with trees all around. I gave a silent moment of thanks that I was a vampire. I didn’t want to be isolated anywhere with Tommy anymore. But at least as a vampire I had no reason to be afraid. I could easily take Tommy on, or whatever weirdoes happened to be lurking in the woods, if I decided to get out of the car. There was a certain convenience to being undead. I no longer had to fear the living. I wouldn’t have to tolerate Tommy or cajole Tommy just to get back into town. There was a certain safety to being a vampire, at least a safety from mortal men.
“You know I meant what I said,” Tommy began, turning toward me and leaning in a little.
“What?” I’d been so caught up in my own thoughts I hadn’t been paying attention.
“I think I’m falling in love with you,” Tommy said before leaning in for a kiss.
I’m sure it played out romantically in his head, but I wasn’t buying. I remembered the last time he told me he loved me. I’d been dumb enough to believe him. And that whole incident pretty much ended with my death after a huge amount of humiliation.
“Yeah, I’m not so interested,” I told him, pressing my hand against his chest and easing him back to his side of the car. “Do you remember the last time you told me you loved me?”
“Oh.” Tommy was silent for a moment. “But that was different.”
“Why was it different?” I asked.
“Because you weren’t this hot back then.” Tommy leaned in again and this time he kissed me.
I wanted to vomit. Did vampires still throw up? I had no idea, but I felt like maybe I could. Tommy was such a duffus asshole. There was no other way to describe him. And he wasn’t even smart enough to conceal his motives. He actually thought he was complimenting me.
I suddenly remembered something and had to laugh. “What?” Tommy asked.
“I was just thinking about that night when you and I had sex in the back seat of the car,” I told him.
“Yeah?” Tommy tried to suppress an excited smile. “What about it?”
“I remember that when we were finished, you called your friends. And I got all worried that you were telling them about what we’d just done.”
Tommy had no idea where things were headed so he just kind of stared at me, not sure if he should make a move or protest his innocence.
“And then I started pressuring you to make sure that you weren’t just using me. You said something like, ‘I just told you I love you. What else do you want from me? My blood.’ Or something like that.”
“So?” Tommy shrugged, completely lost.
“Well things are different now,” I explained.
“They are?” He leaned forward and tried to kiss me again.
“Definitely,” I told him. “Because this time I do want your blood.” That’s when I grabbed his shirt and pulled him on top of me so that I could sink my fangs into his flesh.
Closing my eyes, I had a few moments of pleasure. It was actually much more pleasure than I’d experienced when Tommy and I’d sex. And then suddenly there was the horrible screeching sound of wrenching metal and shards of glass were raining down on us. I opened my eyes to see Dorian Vanderlind looking like an avenging angel, glowering down at me from a giant hole he’d just torn in the roof.
Chapter 20
Haley
“Dorian! What the hell?” I shouted, leaping out of the car.
Tommy released an earsplitting shriek. I guess he hadn’t been expecting an over-protective member of the undead to rip the roof off his mother’s car. I whipped my head around and fixed him with my eyes. “Tommy, be quiet,” I c
ommanded. “Just sit there and be still.”
“But my mom’s car,” he wailed.
“Everything will be fine,” I told him. “You are not worried about your mother’s car. You are calm and relaxed. You are enjoying a quiet moment in the woods. Now sit there and be quiet.”
“Okay.” Tommy gave me a nod and then sank back into the driver’s seat. I could tell by his body language that he was feeling perfectly at ease.
Then it was time to deal with my favorite vampire. Unfortunately I knew that my influence would have no effect on him. “Excuse me, Mr. Vanderlind,” I began, keeping my voice painfully calm. “But can you please explain to me why you were spying on me in the woods and destroying other people’s property? I mean, you could have just knocked on the glass, you know. This whole tearing-off-the-roof thing is a little dramatic. Don’t you think?”
“I thought he was attacking you,” Dorian said in a tight voice. He was unable to meet my eye.
“No, sweetie,” I said, as if I was speaking to a small child. “I was attacking him. I’m a vampire. Remember? You of all people should know that.”
“Yes, but…”
“Yes, but nothing,” I said, cutting him off. “Why are you here, anyway? Were you following me?”
“No,” he insisted. “I was just…” But it was obvious he didn’t have a good excuse.
I folded my arms and glared at him. “Just what?”
Dorian released an exasperated sigh. “Okay, I confess. I was spying on you.” he said. “I was consumed with jealousy over this…” He waved a hand in Tommy’s direction. “Over this pathetic excuse for a man-child.”
“You were jealous?” He’d caught me by surprise with that confession.
“Yes,” he replied distinctly and I could tell it hurt for him to admit it. “Does that make you happy?”
“It does, in a way,” I had to admit. “I mean, jealousy isn’t a pretty emotion. And normally I’m not a fan. But I guess I didn’t realize that you actually cared.”
“Of course I care!” he thundered. “Why do you think I’ve been willing to make a complete fool of myself? It’s for you!”
I hadn’t exactly realized that Dorian was making a fool of himself, but that was apparently how he felt.
“I keep telling myself I should just forget about you,” he continued with his fuming. “But when I kiss you…” His voice dropped in volume. “But when I kiss you, it feels like we’re sharing something... extraordinary. I feel connected to you in a way that I’ve never experienced with any other woman.” Dorian looked down at the boots. “I know that you probably think that I’ve been with an inappropriate amount of females.” He scuffed at the dirt with his heel. “And maybe I have. But I want you to know,” he said, looking up at me, “when I’m with you, it feels like none of that never happened.”
“Oh Dorian…” I couldn’t believe he felt the same connection that had flamed up inside of me the first time we kissed. And he was actually admitting it. He was saying it out loud. We’d been fighting and avoiding each other for weeks when happiness was right in front of us. I mentally kicked myself for being too much of a coward to tell him in the first place. I had risked my own happiness because I’d been afraid of rejection.
Before I could confess that the feelings he had were mutual, Dorian kept going. “But I can’t stand chasing after you all the time,” he said. “As a mortal young lady, maybe you were used to that kind of behavior from young men, but it’s really not done in the undead world. It’s not very dignified.”
“I never intended…”
“I keep trying to be patient, he cut me off again. “And understanding. And to give you time to adjust to being a vampire. But you keep spending all your time with this mortal buffoon,” he practically shouted, gesturing toward Tommy. “I know you say it’s for revenge, but I’m beginning to doubt that’s the truth. You won’t tell me what he did and it’s driving me insane.”
Instead of trying to defend myself and have him cut me off one more time, I simply wrapped my arms around Dorian and pressed my lips against his. He immediately responded, sweeping me into his arms and dipping me low to the ground in a passionate embrace. I felt that kiss in every cell of my body. If I could have frozen a moment in time, I would have been happy to live in those few seconds for eternity.
“Are you saying you feel the same way about me too?” Dorian asked, still holding me close.
“Yes.” I nodded vigorously. “I was just afraid that you didn’t…” He kissed me again and for a few moments I forgot how to form proper sentences. “I’ve just been acting like an idiot,” I finally managed to say. “I’m just not used to…” We were kissing again and I reveled in the moment. Besides, I couldn’t even begin to think of how to explain my behavior to Dorian. When we pulled apart again, I gave up and simply said, “Yes. I feel exactly the same.”
“Is there any way I can persuade you to tell me why you’re so insistent on avenging yourself upon this boy?” Dorian asked, still keeping me in his arms.
“I don’t want to,” I told him, shaking my head. “I’m afraid…” I looked away. I was humiliated by Tommy’s behavior and ashamed of my own. And if Dorian knew what had happened, I feared he would think less of me. And I just couldn’t bear the thought of that.
“Haley,” Dorian said, nuzzling my ear. “You are aware that I spent several months in an amorous relationship with Ilona. Do you really think whatever sordid events passed between you and Tommy could be more embarrassing than that?”
I really didn’t want to do it, but I knew I had to come clean. My secret reasons for my vendetta were keeping us apart, so it wasn’t worth it. If I told Dorian and he thought less of me for it, or didn’t want to be with me afterward, then there was nothing I could do. At least the truth would be out there and I would be able to get on with my death.
“Fine,” I said, putting a little distance between us. I would never be able to tell the truth with Dorian’s arms around me. Taking a deep breath, I began. “I’ve been a foster kid off-and-on for most of my life,” I told him. “I have this crazy mom who gets institutionalized kind of a lot.”
Dorian took my hand and gave it a little squeeze. It supplied me with the courage I needed to keep going.
Twenty minutes later and Dorian knew everything. He knew that I was living with my half-uncle because my mom was nuts. He knew that most of the kids at Tiburon had been complete jerks to me. He knew that I’d slept with Tommy because he’d told me he loved me and I’d been so desperately lonely that I pretended to believe him. And he knew that I’d been humiliated in front of half of Tiburon High School when Tommy showed a bunch of kids the stains from my virginal blood on the back seat of his mother’s car.
“Is that everything?” Dorian asked when I finally stopped talking.
“You forgot about when I texted all my friends that we’d just done it, even before I zipped up my pants,” Tommy obligingly called out from his seat in the car.
I turned to look at him. I’d practically forgotten Tommy was there. He still seemed perfectly relaxed and at ease, even though he could hear us talking. I think he was actually trying to help.
“Thank you, Tommy,” I told him. Turning back to Dorian, I said, “So there’s that, too. Although I really only suspected it was true until just now.”
Dorian broke into a smile, even chuckling a little, which kind of threw me off. “Haley, that does sound pretty unpleasant and I’m sorry you had to go through all of that, but you have to look on the bright side.”
He’d lost me. “What is the bright side?” I asked. I really couldn’t imagine.
“No one wants to spend eternity as a virgin,” Dorian explained. “I really don’t think you’d find it much fun. You would have to go through the messy business of losing your virginity over and over again every time we wanted to make love.”
I had several conflicting emotions. The first of which was pleasure. Dorian had flat out said he wanted to make love to me. That ma
de my stomach flip with excitement. But I also felt frustrated and annoyed. Yes, when he put it like that I was happy that I wasn’t a virgin vampire, — I didn’t want my hymen growing back every time I finished having sex. — But if Tommy hadn’t been such an ass to me, then I never would have been driving my car and texting. And I never would have crashed into that tree, and died, and then become a vampire. But then I would have never had the chance to be with Dorian...
It was a string of events that was far too confusing to think about. I decided to just follow Dorian’s advice and be grateful I wasn’t still a virgin. I wasn’t exactly sure that I was ready to have sex with Dorian at that instant — I wanted to get to know him better first — but it was definitely high on my list of things I wanted to do at some point in the near future.
“So do you want revenge just against this boy or are there still other people on your list?” Dorian asked, pulling me closer so he could press his lips against my neck and run his free hand through my hair.
I was a challenge to think about anything but Dorian. Forcing myself to focus, I thought about Sheila and how making her feel bad didn’t actually do anything to make me feel better. “I don’t know that I want revenge against anyone anymore,” I admitted. “I mean, I don’t think making someone feel bad actually makes them regret being horrible to you. I don’t think there’s a way to force someone to be a good person. Sometimes jerks are just jerks.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” There was a mischievous twinkle in Dorian’s gray eyes. “We could try.”
Releasing me, Dorian approached Tommy, who was still sitting placidly in his mother’s ruined car. Glancing back at me, my maker whispered, “What’s his last name?”
“Sherman,” I told him.
Dorian cleared his throat. “Tommy Sherman,” he said. “I want you to look at me.” Tommy glanced up, and then his eyes immediately became riveted to Dorian’s. “For your entire life, you’ve been kind of a jerk,” Dorian said. His eyes were glowing like embers in a dwindling fire, gray on the surface but glowing hot underneath.
