Change of Fate (The Briar Creek Vampires Series #4)

by Unknown

  Dan nodded. “Much better. Why do you do that?”

  “Why do I do what?” Lexi asked.

  “You won’t make eye contact with me when I say something that makes you uncomfortable,” Dan said.

  “It’s not that. You didn’t make me uncomfortable.” Lexi sighed. “I hate how much I misjudged everyone. I guess it just goes to show that people aren’t always who they seem to be.”

  “Except for you,” Dan said quietly.

  Lexi glanced down at him. He was smiling up at her. “What do you mean?” she asked.

  “When I first met you, I thought you seemed nice. Kind and caring. Maybe a little stubborn at times, but gentle enough to make up for it at other times.” He glanced up at her, his blue eyes twinkling. “You’re exactly who I thought you were. Maybe even more.”

  Lexi felt her heart thumping against her chest and her palms grew sweaty, even though they were wet from pressing the wet fabric of the dress against Dan’s chest. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the splash in the water behind her.

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  Mary-Kate waded, thigh-deep, through the river water. “Well, well, well. I guess you were just looking for me to catch you.”

  Lexi felt Dan’s body tense up. Glancing down at her own hands, she noticed that she was trembling. She was just being ridiculous, wasn’t she? It’s not like her sister could actually do anything to hurt her.

  “Cat got your tongue?” Mary-Kate asked when Lexi didn’t answer her.

  “I have nothing to say,” Lexi shot back. “I don’t want to fight with you, Mary-Kate. Let’s just stop this, okay? When we get back to Briar Creek, I’ll give your mom my blood so she can be cured. I just don’t want to fight with you.”

  Mary-Kate shook her head fiercely, her chestnut brown hair falling into her face. “No. It’s too late for that. You didn’t offer it on your own, and I will not be known as the girl who had to beg precious little Lexi Hunter for her blood because mine couldn’t save my own mother.”

  “Why couldn’t yours save your mom, anyway?” Dan asked. “I thought she was diagnosed before you turned eighteen.”

  Mary-Kate glanced over at Dan. Her face twisted into an expression that Lexi had never seen her wear before, and at first, she was positive that she was about to lash out at Dan. Instead, she noticed a tear slide down her sister’s face. “I tried to convince her – I tried to tell her that it is what I wanted. But she wouldn’t. No matter how hard I tried, she wouldn’t drink from me. It got to the point where she would only drink water because she was so afraid that I would sneak my blood into a glass of iced tea or soda or something. She didn’t want to use me.” Mary-Kate laughed and wiped away the tears. “The only person in Briar Creek who doesn’t want to use me is the only person I really want to save. Go freaking figure.”

  Lexi felt a pang of sympathy for Mary-Kate. She couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for her to go through that. It also really surprised her that Mrs. Lawrence had refused Mary-Kate’s blood. The woman had seemed awfully greedy – and bloodthirsty – the few times Lexi had met her. In fact, the first time she had met Mrs. Lawrence, the woman had attacked her, which she was sure was because she wanted her blood.

  “My mom said she would rather drink from you,” Mary-Kate said, putting an emphasis on ‘you’ that made it sound like a dirty word. Her sister scoffed, wading through the water so that she was a little closer to them. Dan pressed his hand against Lexi’s leg, as though he were trying to remind her that he was still there. Mary-Kate continued, scoffing. “As though your blood is any better than my blood. It doesn’t matter now, though.” Her sister paused, glaring at her. “I decided that I don’t want my mom to stay a vampire. I don’t want to worry about her having to find human blood to drink. I want her to be an immortal now.”

  Lexi could feel her sister’s eyes on the bottle of potion, which she had laid down on the ground next to her when she began taking care of Dan’s sunburn. She reached over and grabbed it, tucking it inside her shirt again. “Well, maybe we could ask Belinda to make a second batch of potion,” Lexi suggested. “I’m sure she would be willing to do it for you. She’s very nice. She’ll probably feel bad to hear that your mom is dying.”

  Mary-Kate shook her head. “No!” she screamed at her. “I want that bottle of potion that you have right there under your tank top. You don’t deserve to become an immortal!”

  Dan sat up. “Mary-Kate, why don’t we all just sit down and talk and maybe we can figure something out.”

  “No, don’t either of you get it? I’m through with talking. I’ve tried talking. Do you know how many counselors I’ve had to see since my mom started dying? Like fifty. Guess what? My mom’s still dying.” Mary-Kate shook her head vigorously. “I’m through with talking. It’s time to start taking action instead.”

  “Mary-Kate, you can’t have this potion. It won’t even work for your mom. Belinda told me it was designed specifically for me – not any other person,” Lexi lied. Well, it was sort of a lie. Belinda hadn’t actually said that the potion would only work for her, but she had said that she wanted her own powers to be transferred to Lexi when she drank the potion. That sort of meant it was meant for her and her alone.

  “Liar!” Mary-Kate screamed, climbing out of the river. Her clothes were sopping wet as she walked barefooted on the grass towards them. “Does it look like I have ‘stupid’ written all over my face? I know you’re full of shit. I was outside the witch’s house when she made the potion and gave it to you. She said no such thing. You just don’t want me to have it. You’re being selfish.”

  Lexi laughed out loud. “I’m the selfish one? If you want to believe that, then fine. But I told you that I would help you out . . . and you refused my offer.”

  “You act like I can’t see through your little act,” Mary-Kate said, ignoring Lexi’s statement. “Everyone thinks you’re so kind and caring, stubborn and gentle,” she said, repeating the adjectives that Dan had used to describe Lexi. “I think you’re selfish and a bitch and just plain mean.”

  As Lexi started to say something, she noticed that Mary-Kate had reached in her pocket and pulled something out. Something that shone in the moonlight. It was a knife. Her crazy, deranged sister who wanted to kill her had a knife. Great.

  “Give me the bottle of potion,” Mary-Kate demanded. “Now.”

  Lexi shook her head. “No. I’m not giving you it. Belinda wanted me to have it. It’s mine.”

  “Fine,” Mary-Kate said. She chuckled to herself and took a step closer. She pulled something else out of her pocket. When Lexi saw the little flame on it, she knew that it was a match. “Give me the potion or your little boyfriend goes up in flames.”

  Lexi didn’t even bother to correct her sister about Dan not being her boyfriend. It didn’t really matter right now. All she knew was that she didn’t want Dan to die. He had saved her twice; there was no way she could just let him die so that she could drink the potion. Lexi didn’t care what her mom had said. She would find another way to live – one that didn’t involve putting Dan in danger.

  Lexi pulled the bottle of potion out from under her tank top and was just about to hand it over to her sister when Dan yelled at her. “Don’t give it to her, Lexi! You need it. I’d rather die than see you give it to her.”

  “Aww, how sweet. You’re like Romeo and Juliet,” Mary-Kate cooed sarcastically. Her expression turned cold and her voice turned icy. “You’re an idiot, Dan. I always knew you were an idiot. You’re willing to die for that selfish bitch?”

  “Yes, I am,” Dan replied, without turning to look at Mary-Kate when he said it. He met Lexi’s eyes. “I’d rather die than watch you give the potion to her.”

  “I’m not going to let you die,” Lexi said softly. “I don’t have any other choices. I need to give the potion to her. It’s the only way both of us are going to get home alive.” She sighed. “Maybe this is the way it’s meant to be.”

 
“Yes! That’s exactly it! It’s meant to be this way,” Mary-Kate said, the excitement obvious in her voice. “Just give it to me, Lexi. I promise you won’t regret it. You’ll feel so noble for saving my mom.”

  Lexi was about to hand the potion over to her sister when she heard it: the whinnying from Belinda’s backyard. And that’s when she knew what she had to do.

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  “Here’s what I’m going to do,” she told her sister, “because, honestly, I don’t trust you right now. I’m going to set the potion down on that tree stump over there.” Lexi motioned to a tree stump that was out in the opening. “You don’t come near me, and it’s all yours . . . okay?” There was a 50/50 chance that Lexi would be able to get to the potion before Mary-Kate could take it, but she was going to have to risk it.

  Mary-Kate nodded excitedly. She didn’t suspect a thing.

  “God damn it, Lexi, I can’t believe you’re doing this,” Dan said from behind her as she walked towards the stump. Lexi didn’t turn back to look at him as she rested the potion on the stump.

  Once she had walked back over to Dan, she told Mary-Kate, “It’s all yours.” As Mary-Kate began inching towards the stump, Lexi whispered in Dan’s ear. “Get on the horse in Belinda’s backyard. Ride it until you’re out of her reach. Go. Now!”

  A look of understanding crossed Dan’s face as he climbed off the rocks, the dress falling around his feet, as he raced towards the backyard. Lexi turned to Mary-Kate, who was in a trance. She was so focused on the potion that she hadn’t even noticed that Dan had left the rock.

  Luckily, her sister was moving slowly, inching foot by foot to the rock. It gave Lexi more than enough time to dart over to the stump and grab the potion. As she reached down for the potion, Mary-Kate’s gaze on it broke and she stared up at Lexi. She realized what had happened.

  “You lied to me, you bitch!” Mary-Kate screamed, raising her knife in the air, as she began chasing Lexi through the backyard. Lexi kept a steady pace, staying about twenty feet ahead of Mary-Kate. “You’re not going to get away,” her sister screamed from behind her. “You’re going to pay for this!”

  Lexi nearly ran into the black horse as it darted across the yard in front of her. At the same time, the front door of Belinda’s house swung open, and the woman stood outside, a look of confusion on her face.

  It took Belinda only a moment to see what was going on. She grabbed a broom from one of the chairs on the porch and began chasing after Mary-Kate, hitting her in the back. It must have hurt because, at one point, Lexi swore she heard her sister scream, “Ouch!”

  As she glanced back, she noticed that Mary-Kate had fallen to the ground. Belinda must have tripped her. “Thank you,” Lexi called over her shoulder. The fall was enough time to allow her to climb on the horse behind Dan, who helped pull her on.

  “I don’t know if the horse will be able to run fast enough with both of us on him,” Lexi said as she tried to catch her breath. “I don’t know if he can handle the weight.”

  “Well, I have a simple enough solution for that,” Dan said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “You need to get away from her more than me. She won’t hurt me unless you’re there to see it. Just hold the potion tight. Don’t drop it.” He slid off the horse and slapped it on the butt, provoking it to take off quickly into the night.

  “And Lexi! Think about me, and I’ll think about you.”

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  Rhonda sat on the bed next to Gabe. “Do you really want Lexi to come back?”

  “Yes,” Gabe said quietly, looking down at the floor. He noticed a feeling change inside of him and shook his head. “No, I don’t actually. I – I don’t know if I do or not, I guess.”

  Rhonda smiled, her glossy lips twisting into a smile. “I’m glad to hear that, Gabe. I have a feeling that if Lexi comes back, it will rain on our parade. I’m so enjoying getting to know you.”

  “I’m enjoying getting to know you, too,” Gabe responded to her almost instantly. He wasn’t sure where the words had come from, but they just felt right to say. At least, he thought they did.

  Rhonda reached over and grabbed his hand. “I was thinking that maybe we could see if they’ll allow us to share a dorm room permanently here.”

  “They don’t allow that,” Gabe started to say, but instantly, he changed his tune. “But we can see if we can convince them to change their minds.” Where had that come from? He knew better than that. The people who ran Huntington High were pretty conservative. Co-ed dorming was against the school’s policies and could even lead to expulsion, even though people did it all the time anyway.

  “I was also thinking that maybe I should ditch my friends,” Gabe said. Yet again, he had no idea where the words had come from. Why would he want to ditch Austin? Austin had been like a brother to him lately. And he was still getting to know Anna, but she seemed pretty cool, too.

  “Whatever you want, Gabe,” Rhonda said, smiling back at him. “I’ll support anything you choose to do in life.” She inched closer to him, pushing her cleavage into eyesight. He had a hard time not staring at her breasts, which he wanted to see naked. Actually, come to think of it, he wanted to see all of her naked. Or did he? Ugh, everything was so confusing right now.

  Gabe leaned into her and brushed his lips against hers. He pulled away quickly, knowing that it was wrong, what he was doing. He loved Lexi. Even though he tried to tell himself that he was in love with Lexi, he couldn’t seem to stop staring at Rhonda. She was so gorgeous.

  “I think I need to go talk to Austin,” Gabe muttered, realizing how much this confusion was giving him a headache. As he was about to bolt from the dorm room, something made him turn back and plant another kiss on Rhonda’s lips before he opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.

  “Gabe!” a voice chirped from behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, he realized that Veronica was standing there, batting her eyes flirtatiously. “Look, Veronica, I know why you’re hanging outside Rhonda’s dorm room. I’ve already reported your threat to administration. If you kill her, you’ll be fired from this school permanently,” he lied. “And you will be dead to me as well.”

  Veronica didn’t say anything, but from the look on her face, Gabe could tell that she wasn’t going to be messing with Rhonda any time soon. Thank God. He didn’t want to have to worry about both Lexi and Rhonda’s safety.

  Austin was in Anna’s dorm room, just as Gabe had expected. “Dude, I need to talk to you,” he said, as he sat down on the bed. Glancing over at Anna, he added, “I guess I could use your input, too.”

  Anna gave him a small smile.

  “What’s going on?” Austin asked. “Is everything okay, man?”

  Gabe shrugged. “I don’t really know. Can you tell me I’m not crazy? I feel like . . . I’m falling for Rhonda. But I’m supposed to be in love with Lexi. I don’t get what’s happening.”

  Austin raised an eyebrow. “Rhonda?” He burst out in laughter. “Dude, she’s pretty and everything, but . . . you can’t be serious. You really think you’re into her?”

  Gabe shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s just happening all so fast. I feel like I’m doing things and saying things that I normally wouldn’t say or do. And after I say them, I wonder if they’re really true – if they’re really what I meant to say.”

  “Mind control,” Anna said in an almost excited voice. When both Austin and Gabe turned to look at her, she added, “I had a feeling Rhonda might be using mind control on you.”

  “What’s ‘mind control’?” Austin asked.

  “It’s when a vampire is able to control minds,” Gabe explained. “It’s extremely rare, though. Only the most powerful vampires have the ability to use it. I highly doubt that’s what Rhonda’s doing.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure, Gabe,” Anna said, pulling a textbook from her bookshelf. She flipped to a page and, scanning it with her eyes, read aloud. “Mind control, which is most common among
female vampires, is one of the most powerful talents a vampire can have. It is common for vampires who possess this ability to notice a huge improvement in their appearance shortly after becoming vampires.” She looked up at Gabe. “Rhonda is getting prettier by the day, Gabe. When I first met her, she wasn’t ugly, but . . . she is more gorgeous every time I see her.” Anna focused her attention back to the book. “Vampires who use mind control are most likely to use the ability on the vampire who changed them, especially if this vampire is a male.” She looked up at him, giving him a look that said, “Need I say more?”

  “Even if those things are true, there’s no way for us to prove it, is there?” Gabe asked.

  Anna scanned the page. “I’m pretty sure there is. It’s not in this book, though. I’ll see if I can find anything in any of the other books. I’ll go to the library later if I have to.”

  “Thanks, Anna,” Gabe said. He looked down at the floor. If Rhonda did possess this ability, it would make a whole lot of sense. It would explain why he was beginning to feel like a pre-programmed robot any time he was in the same room for her – and sometimes, even when he wasn’t. There were times when he found himself getting up in the middle of the night just to go to her room, and once he was there, he didn’t know why. It was all so strange.

  “Gabe, are you thinking about Lexi enough?” Austin asked.

  “I don’t know,” Gabe replied honestly, shrugging his shoulders.

  Austin frowned at him. “Now isn’t the time for you to stop caring about her, you know. She needs all of us to be concentrating on her so we can hopefully bring her back.”

  Gabe sighed. “I know you’re right.” And the truth was, he really did wish that Lexi would come back so that he at least would know if he was crazy for thinking that he had feelings for Rhonda or not.

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