The Next Generation

by S. C. Stephens

  Running a hand through his jet-black hair, Dad returned his attention to Starla. “Okay. Don’t worry about Nika…but…” his light eyes flicked over to Julian, “…he shouldn’t be alone during his punishment. Maybe you could bring him back here and stay with him until I get home?”

  That got Julian’s attention. “Dad,” he whined.

  Dad shot him a cool glance that shut off any further objection. Starla snorted. “Geez, V.B., didn’t you ever get a little wasted as a kid? He looks beat, why don’t you cut him some slack?”

  Dad gave her a dry look. “When you have kids of your own, Starla, you’ll understand.”

  She snorted again right as Jacen walked into the room. “Oh, hell no. You couldn’t pay me to have kids. Why do you think I’m with a sterile man?” She jerked her thumb at Jacen. He blinked and promptly left the room.

  Closing his eyes, Dad shook his head. “Well, now that that’s settled.” Opening his eyes, he waved at us on the couch. “Have a good day, kids.” He pointed at Julian. “I’ll see you right after work.” A crooked grin lightened his face. “I have a couple of projects for you.”

  Julian groaned and dropped his head back onto the couch. After Dad left, he whimpered, “Just kill me, Nika. Run a stake through me and kill me.”

  He gave me pleading eyes but mine hardened. “You’ll get no sympathy from me. Especially after what you did to Arianna.”

  Sighing, he lifted his head. “I’m sorry about that, Nick. I don’t know what came over me…”

  I felt his mood shift to confusion and regret, and a little something else. Interest maybe? Knowing I was partly at fault for what happened that night softened my temper. Julian still needed to make this right though. “You need to tell her you’re sorry, not me. She thinks it meant something, Julian.”

  Julian nodded as he stared at his hands in his lap. “I will.” He peeked up at me. “I will today.”

  His face darkened along with his mood. Even his bright blue eyes seemed a little duller. Of course, that was probably more from exhaustion than anything else. He wasn’t looking forward to returning to school though. I wasn’t sure if that was because of Raquel or Arianna. How my quiet, brooding brother had managed to weasel his way into a love triangle, or, square, to be more accurate, I’d never know. But now he was sort of stuck there. Then again, I was secretly dating an older man who knew vampires existed. I hadn’t seen that one coming either.

  My nerves picked up as Starla drove us to school. I was feeding off Julian’s anxiety, using his energy to fuel my own. It happened on occasion, when we were both feeling the same thing. Julian eyed me, curious again, but he didn’t ask anything in front of the pseudo-parent we were with.

  Starla had a question for me, though. As Julian and I stepped out of her metallic sports car, she pulled her bug-like sunglasses to the edge of her nose. “So, Nika, where are you really going after school?”

  I was sure all the color drained from my cheeks, but I kept my face stone-still. Meeting her eye, so she’d believe me, I told Starla the same thing I’d told my dad, “I’m going to a friend’s house, to work on a project, just like I said.”

  Starla was amused, and unconvinced. “Sure thing, kid.” Pushing her glasses back up her nose, she revved the engine of her car. Some kids nearby twisted around to look, but Starla ignored them. “Whatever you’re doing that you don’t want Papa Adams to know about is your business, but…” she indicated my body with her finger, “…you be in charge of your protection. Don’t rely on the man to do it. Their sensibilities seem to fly out the window when it comes to sex.” She smirked and punched the gas; the partially open passenger’s side door slammed shut as she squealed around a corner.

  Julian turned to me as I gaped at the location Starla’s car had been just seconds before. Did she really say that to me? “Oh my God, is she right?” Julian’s eyes were wide when I looked over at him. “Are you having sex today? Because I can’t handle that, Nick. I’m not ready!”

  He looked so worried about the prospect of having to “feel” that through me that a tiny bubble of nervous laughter escaped me. “No, Julian. I’m not…doing that today.” I shook my head and turned toward the school. Hopefully my cheeks weren’t too red, although, it was a little nippy out, so it probably wouldn’t be too odd if they were.

  Julian grabbed my shoulder, stopping me. “But you are doing something you don’t want our parents to know about, aren’t you?” He crossed his arms over his chest, and his expression clearly said that he knew where I was really going, and he didn’t think it was a good idea. His mood was radiating protectiveness. Damn, he was going to haul me home with him, kicking and screaming if need be, if he thought I was going to be in any sort of danger.

  “You don’t need to worry. I’ll be fine at Hunter’s house.”

  Julian frowned and looked back at where Starla had disappeared. “Nika…you shouldn’t…” He didn’t have a stronger argument and let his words die. His face when he turned back to me was pleading for me to reconsider my love interest. “At least wait until I can come with you?”

  I smiled. “You want to hang out in my boyfriend’s room with me? That might get weird for you.”

  My brief amusement passed as true concern about Hunter filled me. Looking around, I lowered my voice. Kids were just starting to trickle in, most of them scurrying to the warmth of the buildings, not loitering around outside like us. “Do you remember running into Hunter Friday night?” By the blankness on my brother’s face, I could tell he barely remembered Friday night. Sighing, I filled in the gaps for him. “He saw your fangs, and somehow, for a minute there, he recognized them as real. He changed his mind before we left, but still…he knows vampires are real.”

  Julian grabbed my arm, cinching it tight. He wasn’t about to let me go now. “We need to call Grandma. We need to wipe him…now!” His pale, frantic eyes searched mine. “Do not go over there alone, Nika!”

  I cringed in pain, and Julian relaxed his grip on me. His panic was ramping up my nerves, but I tried to ease his worry with pure confidence. “He’s not a threat to me. He…he loves me.” Julian blinked, surprise flooding through him. Seeing a question coming that I didn’t want to answer, something along the lines of, “How do you know? Did he say it?” I quickly added onto my statement. “And he doesn’t suspect us. We’re clear in his eyes. But he knows the myths are true, and I need to know why.”

  Still holding my arm tight, Julian clenched his jaw. “I don’t like this.”

  Prying his fingers off my bicep, I nodded. “I know, but he’s important to me, and I’m not going to wipe him on a whim.”

  Julian shook his head. “He believes in our kind, Nika. That’s not a whim. He’s dangerous…”

  My eyes stung as I considered Julian’s words and feelings. They were in line with my own. I knew this had been a foolish flirtation from the very beginning. Now it was moving past foolish, into the realm of insanity. Concealment was our family motto, and we’d erased minds for much less than what Hunter knew. Hell, we would erase everyone when we left this city, just to be on the safe side. But I couldn’t wipe Hunter. Not yet, not when our romance was just beginning. I cared too much to just cut him loose like that.

  Problem was, I didn’t know what Hunter knew, what he believed in, or where his beliefs came from. Was he just a fan of myth and mythology, of pop culture? Or did he know a vampire? Had he had a run-in with one? Was he scared, or merely curious? Could he accept me…if I told him the truth? Did he know about mixed vampires? The common “Hollywood” vampire wasn’t the same as my family. We were an offshoot of them, and most humans had never heard of “living” vampires. That worked to our benefit, made it easier to hide in plain sight. But…if Hunter did know, if he believed in mixed vampires as well as pureblood vampires, well, that could be a problem if he had certain prejudices.

  My voice full of determination, I told Julian, “I like him. I really like him. And if there’s a chance that we could work…that we coul
d be together honestly, then I need to try. I can’t erase him without trying.” Clutching Julian’s arm, I begged, “Just let me have a chance with him, Julie…please?”

  Julian sighed, and I felt the remorse and regret surging through him. I was in this spot because he’d gotten wasted at a party and let his fangs slip. Responsible didn’t even begin to cover how he felt about it. If this went badly, he’d never forgive himself.

  His voice wavered when he answered me, and I felt his concern shift to fear. “You have to promise me that you’ll be careful. That, if you need to, if he turns into a threat…you’ll run. You’ll run as fast as you can.”

  Nodding, I threw my arms around him. “I’ll be fine. I’ll be perfectly safe. I promise.”

  Someone walked up behind me, and I felt Julian stiffen. Letting go of him, I turned to see Arianna watching us. Her green-speckled brown eyes were hopeful as she stared at Julian. Knowing her as well as I did, I could see that she was in her favorite sweater, a light green shade that complemented her eyes. Her shoulder-length hair had a slight curl to it, curls that had probably taken her a half hour to perfect. Her lips shimmered with a light sheen of peach lip gloss and her lids and cheeks were brushed with color. She’d primped for my brother…and he was about to break her heart. It killed me, and for the millionth time, I wished I could make my brother permanently stop liking Raquel.

  A nervous energy trickled out of Arianna as she lifted her hand in a small wave. “Hey, guys.”

  Her eyes briefly flicked to mine before shifting back to Julian. My brother was embarrassed, contrite, and his smile to Arianna was brief. “Hey,” he murmured, a puff of warm air escaping his lips.

  Arianna shivered and nodded her head at the main building. “Guys heading to class? It’s chilly out here.”

  Julian nodded and started walking. He walked right past Arianna without looking at her. I could tell by his mood that he was incredibly nervous around her. He probably had no idea what to say. To Arianna, though, it looked like he’d just brushed her off. Her face fell as Julian trudged away from us, head down and hands in his pockets.

  “Did I say something…wrong?” Arianna looked over at me, crestfallen.

  Directing as much anger as I could into my bond with Julian, I told Arianna, “No, he wants to talk to you alone. He’s going to stop where he is and wait for you.”

  Arianna looked doubtful at my pronouncement, but I hadn’t said it for her benefit. It had been a direct order to Julian. I watched as he shook his head in irritation, but then he stopped where he was on the lawn, waiting for Arianna. Her expression immediately brightened. “Oh, guess you were right.” She giggled. “You guys really do have a psychic twin thing going on.”

  I rolled my eyes. Yeah, don’t I know it. As Arianna bounded away from me to get to Julian, I told him, “Go easy on her…please?”

  Julian glanced back at me and discretely nodded. When Arianna caught up to him, she latched onto his arm. “Walk me to class while we talk?” she asked, a spring in her step. It broke my heart that she thought she had a chance with Julian. Well, she’d know by the time they got to her class that she didn’t. Not meaning to eavesdrop, but needing to get to class myself, I followed several yards behind them.

  Julian’s reluctant mood seeped into me as he gently separated from Arianna. I could see her confusion as Julian began the process of stomping her romantic fantasy to pieces. “Hey, uh, we should talk about Friday…”

  Arianna looked around, then leaned into him. “It was amazing, Julian. You’re a very talented kisser. Even with those fake fangs.” As Julian looked back at me, embarrassed, Arianna latched onto his arm again and murmured, “I’d like to try it again sometime without the pointy accoutrements. I think you nicked me a few times.”

  Julian snapped his gaze back to her. “I did? I’m so sorry.” Opening the front door to the main building, he sighed. “Actually, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. There won’t be a next time, Arianna.”

  I stopped walking as I watched the heavy door close on Arianna and my brother. With the distance and the noise of the students around them, I couldn’t solidly hear their conversation. It was as much privacy as I could give them. Even still, as I watched through the glass, some of their words filtered out to me.

  Adjusting his backpack, my brother was the epitome of shame and regret. I heard the words, “sorry” and “friend” and “Raquel.” Arianna’s face was pale white as she listened slack-jawed. Then splotches of heat filled her cheeks and I heard, “you kissed me,” and “freaking jerk!” Shaking his head, Julian started to tell her something else, but she turned around and stormed off. Sighing, I continued my way into the building.

  Julian was still by the doors, staring after Arianna while the kids in the hallway stared at him. His emotions were high, and conflicted. That conversation had hurt him more than he’d expected, and I put a hand on his back in sympathy. “I’ll talk to her, Julian. Maybe I can smooth things over?”

  He looked back at me, his tired eyes moist. “I don’t want her mad at me, Nick. I don’t…want to hurt her. I…I like Arianna.” He looked even more confused after he said that.

  Patting my sullen brother on the shoulder, I headed toward Arianna. Luckily, she and I had the same first period. I could get to work on calming her down immediately. Or try to anyway.

  Arianna was sitting at her desk, arms crossed over her chest when I approached her. Her cheeks were still red, and her eyes were glistening. I didn’t need an empathic bond to know she was hurting. She’d put her heart out there, and, unintentionally or not, Julian had smashed it to pieces.

  “Hey,” I said, sitting beside her. “How are you…doing?”

  When she looked over at me, the tears building in her eyes fell to her cheeks. “He still wants her… After everything, he still likes her…” Her voice hitched, and I heard a sob coming. I immediately wrapped my arms around her, then asked the teacher if we could be excused. Arianna needed to release her grief, and she couldn’t really do that in the middle of class.

  It took most of class for her to calm down. When it was time to part ways, she gave me a crushing hug. “Thank you, Nika. I needed to let that out.” When she let me go, she seemed stronger. And harder. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I kind of hate your brother at the moment.”

  “Understandable,” I said with a sigh. I’d already told her that Julian had been high that night, and not thinking straight. I’d already told her that he felt really bad about letting their flirtations go too far. And I’d already told her that he cherished their friendship. Arianna understood all that, and I knew she’d forgive Julian in time, but for right now, for the sake of her sanity, she needed to be pissed at him.

  Letting go of Julian and Arianna’s woes, I started focusing on my own. I was excited to see Hunter, I always was whenever we met up, but I was nervous about it too. A lot more nervous than I’d ever been before. I wasn’t just sneaking around behind my family’s back to date an older boy anymore. No, now I was sneaking around behind their backs to date a guy who knew vampires were real. That put an entirely different twist on things. But then, maybe I was making too big a deal out of this. Maybe Hunter knowing was a good thing. After all, I’d always wanted to share my secret with the man I loved. I’d always wanted the open and honest relationship Mom and Dad had, and if Hunter and I were seriously going to have a future together…he’d have to know about me eventually. Maybe I’d just confess to him tonight? See how he handled it?

  Waiting for my brother at lunch, I texted Hunter and let him know that I was free to hang out after school if he wanted to come pick me up…in a car, not on his bike. My phone buzzed in my hand as Julian dropped onto the bench beside me. Groaning, he let his head sink to the table.

  “How’d your class with Arianna go?” I asked.

  He peeked an eye up at me. “We have gym together, Nika. We played dodgeball today.”

  I bit my lip to not laugh. I’d been feeling aches and pains
from Julian ever since his second period. Granted, with our abilities, Julian could have easily caught and deflected any ball Arianna might have chucked his way, but that wasn’t how we were hardwired. Concealment, deception. Julian would have let the balls hit him on purpose, would have missed catches he could have made with his eyes closed. He would have lofted balls to other kids when he could have driven them straight through the walls. It was how we’d been taught to blend in, and it was instinct now that we’d done it so often.

  Picturing Arianna slinging heavy ball after heavy ball at him finally made laughter escape me. Julian wasn’t as amused as I was and closed his eyes as he rested on the table. That was when someone approached who startled us both. Arianna calmly sat down across the table from us. She gave me a bright smile, completely ignoring Julian. “Hey, Nika.”

  My mouth was wide open as I watched her pour some dressing onto her salad. I hadn’t expected to see her at the same table with my brother for a long time. Julian lifted his head when he heard her speak. His mouth was wide open too. Between the two of us, we probably looked mentally challenged.

  Trey plopped down beside Arianna before Julian and I could change our expressions. He jerked his thumb at us while twisting to Arianna. “What’s up with them?” Trey seemed oblivious to the miracle of Arianna and my brother sitting at the same table. Then again, Trey looked a little glazed, so it was quite possible that he’d imbibed a bit before school. Or maybe even during school.

  Arianna shrugged, her voice and face light and bright. “No idea.” Her smile perky, she took a bite of her salad.

  That was when my brother found his voice. “We…cool, Arianna?” I could tell from the hope blossoming inside Julian that he thought Arianna had worked out all her aggression during dodgeball, and they could slip back into their old friendship now. I wasn’t so sure.