Wyatt didn’t laugh, he didn’t go all “mwa-hah-hah,” or even dive for my throat. Instead he took my hand, lifted it to his lips, and gave it a fuzzy kiss. “You, Miss Jessie, are downright magnificent. How about we go get us a slushie?”
Chapter Twenty-Two: It’s Always Darkest before Dawn . . . Duh
One slushie, two games of pool, and three rounds of skee-ball later found Wyatt and me wandering through downtown Worcester laughing at the drunks, clambering over statues, and generally making nuisances of ourselves. So far, I had learned never to challenge him to Duck Hunt ever, as he managed to dead-eye so many targets on the shooting range that I now had a five-thousand-ticket knockoff Rocketeer Red Panda backpack stuffed with candy and stickers.
In fact, I was having such a good time that it was mere coincidence that I happened to glance at the clock on city hall, freezing in horror at the realization that it was already past eleven. Oh crap! Half the cops in Worcester were probably out looking for me on my father’s behalf.
Unless he hadn’t noticed I wasn’t home. I tried to shove thoughts of him and Sensei engaged in a horizontal sparring match from my head.
I must’ve involuntarily shuddered because Wyatt said, “You getting a chill, darlin’? I’ve got whiskey or body heat to help with that—your choice.”
“Body heat?”
“My kind don’t run nearly as cold as you might think,” he replied with a grin.
Oh. “I don’t drink.”
“More for me, I suppose.” He put an arm around me as we wandered past one of the many monuments interspersed around the commons.
For a moment I found myself leaning into him, the feeling so natural, before catching myself. I pulled away, pretending to find something of interest in the bronze lettering looming over us. “Wow, the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence was in Worcester. Who’d have guessed? Heh. I don’t suppose you were in attendance.”
Wyatt leaned over my shoulder. I could feel his breath brush my cheek. “That was a trifle before my time, darlin’. I was here for a slightly more civil war, if you could call such a nasty business civil.”
I turned to him, realizing too late our faces were nearly sharing the same space. Dang if his eyes weren’t pretty in the moonlight. “What side?” I asked, my breath catching in my throat.
“Pardon?”
He leaned in closer, seriously violating my personal space, yet all I could think was that I was glad I’d snagged a few peppermints after dinner. “Union or Confederate?”
“I was a Billy, not a Johnny, but that’s all in the past. These days I’m nothing more than a Wyatt.” He leaned in ever closer, and it became hard to think. This was it. I was about to go from vampire slayer to vampire . . . layer? But he stopped just short of brushing against my lips. “How’d you like to top off the evening with a bit of proper sightseeing?”
♦ ♦ ♦
“Follow me.” Wyatt led me to a fire escape on Main Street not too far from the club. He motioned to the ladder a few feet overhead. Piece of cake for a free-runner.
I grabbed it easily, climbing my way to the roof with him hot on my tail . . . err heels.
“Not bad, darlin’,” he said. “But try this.” He bolted to the edge and leapt to the next roof over.
“Are you crazy?” Whoa, it was high, and the bricks below did not look particularly cushy.
Wyatt gave me a bow. “Maybe, but I reckon that you are, too. What’s the point of jumping if there’s no chance you could fall?”
The funny thing was, part of me wanted—no, needed—to know if I could do it. If I really was some chosen one, that meant I wasn’t destined to go splat in a Worcester alleyway. And if not. . .
I rolled onto the balls of my feet and bolted for the edge, letting myself soar over it. I waited for the horrible crashing realization that I was gonna fall, but I only ended up skidding into the arms of a grinning vampire. “Holy—”
“Fun to let go, ain’t it?”
My heart pounded in my chest and my lungs burned. I felt the heat pouring out from both my body and my wig until I was certain I’d combust. Whoa, I definitely needed to reel it back a bit.
“Speaking of letting go. . .” I shrugged free of his embrace. This roof had a couple of lawn chairs and a bucket parked by the access door. I guessed this was someone’s secret smoking spot. I perched in one of the folding chairs, leaning back to take in the clear sky, gesturing for Wyatt to take the other.
Amazingly enough, he followed my lead. After a few minutes, he pointed toward the sky. “There’s Perseus and Cassiopeia. Now, if I can just find Andromeda, it’ll be a proper Clash of the Titans.”
“Andromeda isn’t a constellation, it’s a galaxy.”
Wyatt chuckled. “That so? Can’t say I was ever much into astronomy.”
“And here I thought you old geezers knew how to navigate by the stars.”
He pointed to a bright light in the sky. “That tells me I’m going north. I can figure out the rest from there, always have.” He pulled a phone from his pocket and loaded up a stargazing app. “Besides, not much point in memorizing these things nowadays. Modern technology is a miracle, I tell ya.”
“Oh yeah, you’re a futurist, I forgot.”
Wyatt leaned my way again. “Speaking of which, I have a question for you. A serious one this time. Do they teach gals and guys the same things in school these days?”
Oh God. He was going to ask about sex ed! “I-I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Last time I ran with a high school girl, Reagan was president and boys went to shop and girls to home economics. They still do that?”
Oh. “No, it’s all electives now. I opted for study hall. Sorry, can’t cook to save myself.”
He seemed to consider that for several minutes as we continued staring up at the stars, until finally he said, “I like to cook.”
Wait, what? “You do?”
“Don’t go all laughing at me. But yeah. Not much need for it nowadays, for obvious reasons, but back in the trenches I was known for making quite the mean cowboy stew.”
I gave a sideways glance at my so-called immortal enemy. Vampires really shouldn’t be so easygoing, should they?
“You feel that, darlin’?” Oh, I felt something, but I wasn’t about to admit it. He closed his eyes and I followed suit. It felt a little colder, and when the breeze started up again, there was the scent of snow.
“It’s . . . still,” I whispered.
“Like the calm before the storm.” He looked my way and I felt anything but calm. “You know, strange days, they are a coming, darlin’. Problem is, I don’t know if I should be running toward them or . . . running away, hollering my head off.”
What could I even say to something like that? He obviously knew something I didn’t, but I couldn’t think clearly enough to find a way to ask. Fate of the world be damned, but I kept coming back to a much smaller, more intimate question. “Wyatt, why am I here tonight? I mean for real.”
He leaned over and put a finger to my lips. “Shh, just close your eyes and feel it,” he whispered.
I took in a deep breath and the shiver crept up my spine.
“If you pay attention, you can sense when a storm is coming, feel it in your bones.”
“Is that a vampire thing?” I asked when I finally dared to open my eyes. “You sense trouble?”
“Oh, my senses are sharp, no doubt about it. But sometimes it goes beyond that. I occasionally pick up on things. Maybe I’m just extra observant or maybe it’s a fluke of circumstance, but I get a sense about people. Most are like cattle in a herd, while others are more like wild horses—running free and causing a ruckus.”
“So, I’m a horse? Lovely.”
“Nah, you’re more like a unicorn standing smack-dab in heaven’s light.”
I glanced at him sidelong. “Let me guess, the girls during Reagan’s time ate that line up.”
He shook his head and laughed. “Nah, not like that.
There is something . . . different about you, darlin’, and maybe I just want to know what goes tick-tock in your belfry.”
“From unicorns to a head full of bats. Quite the image.” We laughed until I had tears rolling down my cheeks.
“You want to know why you’re really here, Miss Jessie? You’re here for a moment just like this.” He gestured at the ugly rooftop with plastic chairs and a modest view of the skyline. “Find these moments when you can and hold onto them. Don’t beat the devil round the stump when it comes to your happiness, because in the end the moments never last, and the devil always gets his due.”
He leaned over the armrest of his chair and before I even realized it, I was leaning toward him, too. Leaning was a perfectly innocuous thing between sworn enemies, right?
“I just wanted a few more moments,” he said softly. “To be honest, I didn’t think it mattered if it was with you so long as there was whiskey and laughs. That being said, I have had a hog-killing time by your side tonight.”
“Laying it on kind of thick, aren’t you?” I replied, my eyelids strangely heavy and the lean game getting stronger. I felt his hand slide along my neck and brush a strand of hair behind my ear. Thank goodness it behaved.
He tipped my chin slightly. “Is it working, darlin’?”
“Maybe a little.”
The hell with it! In for a penny, in for a pound. Was it really such a bad thing to want to know what all the vampire romance fuss was about?
Whoa, lips were touching! Heat rushed through my core, but this time it had nothing to do with my head.
I stood up, grabbing Wyatt by his shirt and dragging him up with me. I knocked his stupid cap off his head and pounced, every untapped frustration rushing out of me as I shoved him into the door and pressed myself against him. His hands began moving into territories I wasn’t quite sure were ready for exploration, at least not here, and that broke the spell. Suddenly I was able to think again.
I pulled away, and to my shock, and maybe disappointment, too, Wyatt didn’t press the matter. Both of us panted as I retreated a few steps. My cheeks were probably the same color as my real hair, and despite my best efforts, I shook like a Chihuahua.
Wyatt scooped up his hat and let out a deep sigh. “It’s getting late, and I don’t want to be held responsible for what might happen if we don’t call it a night right now.”
♦ ♦ ♦
Our goodbye was an abrupt one, and as quickly as I’d been abducted this evening, I found myself alone walking the streets of Worcester without my phone. Thanks, Todd. I owe you one.
It was hard to be angry, though. When was the last time I truly relaxed or had fun like I did tonight? Some shiny one I was turning out to be. One more kiss and I’d have probably stayed for the full rodeo with my cowboy Nosferatu.
I tried to remember what Phil had told me about vampires, her warnings warring with what I’d experienced. If anything, I’d felt more confident with Wyatt than with. . .
No, that was a dangerous train of thought—best to derail it.
I wandered for several more minutes, paying attention to little more than the breeze in the air until the street lit up around me with blue flashing lights. “Oh, boy,” I muttered as a police cruiser pulled up next to me and an officer popped his head out.
“Jessie Flores?” I turned to see a vaguely familiar face, one of the cops who worked with my dad—Officer Fisher, if I recalled correctly.
“Yes.”
“Do you need a ride home?”
That was strange. No asking me if I was all right, no telling me that my dad had put an APB out on me. Just an offer for a ride. On the flip side, there was little point in looking a gift horse in the mouth.
The ride back to Northborough was long and quiet. Rather than read me any riot act, Officer Fisher had a glazed look in his eyes and kept muttering to himself, “Take her home, no questions asked.”
Great. Another not normal thing to top off a day full of them.
I made a mental note to ask Phil what could cause something like this, but that thought stopped cold as we turned onto my cul de sac and I saw both an extra SUV and an Audi parked in my driveway. Suddenly the silence in the cop car didn’t seem like such a bad thing.
♦ ♦ ♦
I barely made it to the edge of my lawn when the door burst open. I didn’t have time to react as Dad swept me off my feet and nearly squeezed the life out of me.
“Oh Jessie, I was so worried!” The relief out of the way, it was only a matter of moments before his parent voice took over. “And you better have a damn good reason for disappearing and not returning any of my texts.”
“I’m sorry.” What else could I say? “I lost my phone and didn’t realize how late it was.”
“You lost your phone,” he repeated flatly. “Is that really your excuse for disappearing for eight hours?”
Had it been that long? “Yes, sir.” I kept my eyes planted on the ground. I couldn’t look at my father’s face like this, not now. I just didn’t have the reserves.
“Your boyfriend told me you got into an argument and you left, saying you needed some time alone.”
My eyes opened wide until I realized who he was talking about. “He’s not my boyfriend,” I snapped, before quickly adding. “You talked to Gary?” Probably a dumb question as his car was less than twenty-five feet away. Geez, I hope Dad didn’t break him.
“He’s sitting with Sienna in the parlor. We were all worried when you didn’t text any of us.” I rubbed the bracelet on my wrist. So much for my magic SOS. “Just tell me the truth, did he do anything—”
“No! God, no!” I would not have Gary’s dismemberment on my hands, especially not when he’d covered for me. Dad let out a big sigh of relief. “We just had a little fight that’s all. It was stupid . . . but I got angry and just needed to clear my head. I was going to come home, but. . .”
“But?”
“I ended up meeting some friends from school and we hung out at an arcade. I must’ve lost my phone there. I’m really sorry, Dad. It was stupid and irresponsible, but I just wanted some time alone.” There was a smidgen of truth in there.
Dad’s face softened a little. “Just look me in the eyes and tell me something, okay?”
I took a deep breath. Please don’t ask me about vampires. “Sure.”
“Were you mad because I had a date with Sienna? I realize it wasn’t exactly a cool move after I had to leave you on family fun night.”
That’s what he was worried about? “Oh, Dad, no! I’m happy for you, I swear, and Sensei McAdams is really cool. This was nothing but a stupid argument.”
And maybe some vampires, but hey, what isn’t nowadays in my life? I gave Dad my best guilty, apologetic look. “I’m sorry for being so stupid. I should have borrowed someone’s phone and checked in. I won’t do it again.”
I got engulfed in another hug. “You’d better not. You had me worried half to death.” He added a noogie chaser. As I slipped away, he did give me a stern look. “You do realize you’re grounded for two weeks though, right?”
“Yes, and I totally deserve it.”
“Good, Now come in and talk to skunk-boy. I might’ve scared him a bit, and be nice. I think he’s got it bad for you.”
“More than I realized,” I mumbled to myself as we crossed the threshold. I probably should have said something to his skunk boy remark, but then I laid eyes on Gary. He really did have a Pepé Le Pew look going on now. Guess I hadn’t really noticed earlier after he’d finished—
Nope, not going there again.
“Look what I found,” Dad said, a bit of cheer returning to his voice. “You’ve got fifteen minutes before Jessie’s grounding begins, Gary, so if you got something to say, make it fast.”
Gary and I stared at each other. Fortunately, Sensei picked that moment to clear her throat. “Vik, why don’t you walk me to my car?”
Gary, for his part, looked much worse than when I’d last seen him. It was like he’d lo
st ten pounds over the course of the day. Had I somehow caused it by disappearing for a few hours? “Are you okay?”
He picked up his backpack from the floor and pulled out a composition book marked Physics. Was he here to do homework? “I’ve had a bad day.”
He rubbed his bloodshot eyes before flipping the pages to the middle. The drawings had the same cartoony style as those I’d seen when our thoughts got entangled, but something about this one was different, more intense. It was a guy and a girl embracing on a city street. Their faces blurred with a mix of smoke and flame, but I could see glasses and short hair on one side and pure energy coming from the other figure. “A migraine hit me from out of nowhere. We’re talking like a bus here. And when I came out of it, I drew this.” He turned to face me as I studied it. “How about you? Your disappearing act, that wasn’t because of—”
“Vampires,” I replied. “Turns out one of the vamps we incinerated last night was the girlfriend of the top fang-face of Worcester.”
“Did he want revenge?”
“He wanted to take me out to dinner.”
“Dinner . . . as in eat you?”
“No, we got slushies and played skee-ball.”
He glanced sidelong at me, and I didn’t really know what to say. It’s not like I could simply blurt out the truth that it turned out to be an actual date. I wasn’t sure how that would go over.
“I’m pretty sure it was some sort of information gathering ruse. Maybe we scared them last night, or maybe the guy’s just a weirdo. Fifty-fifty shot either way. So, about this. . .” I turned my attention back to the drawing. Something about it was sending shivers down my spine, just as surely as being threatened by vampires had.
“I think I saw the future,” Gary said. “This wasn’t a normal blip either. I think I saw something that I shouldn’t, and it hurt. Like, it really, really hurt.”
Second String Savior Page 18
