Beautifully Unnatural: A Young Adult Paranormal Boxed Set (16 page)

Roseline nods. “She left over an hour ago. Said she was tired and wanted to get some sleep. I think she might have had a headache from all of the noise.”

Gabriel gives Roseline a sharp look as he passes by Mrs. Hughes. “Yeah, it must have been all that dancing. She sure did tear up the dance floor.”

Mrs. Hughes smiles tightly at him, her disapproval barely restrained from the tip of her tongue. “Do you need a ride home, Rose?”

Before she can speak up Gabriel interjects for her. “Not to worry, Mrs. H, I can drive her.” Her eyes narrow as she takes in Gabriel’s steady stance and clear gaze. She nods. “Alright. Goodnight then.”

“Oh, and Gabriel?” she calls as he steers Roseline away from the porch. “I expect that party to clear out now, you here?”

He dips his head. “Sure thing, Mrs. H.”

Fifteen

“My car’s this way,” Gabriel calls back to Roseline as he heads toward the far right side of his parent’s three-car garage. Flipping open a hidden panel, made to look like the rest of the bricks on the house, the door slowly clatters open.

“I’m really not sure this is a good idea…” she trails off as her lips pull up into a smile. “A Range Rover? I have one just like this back home.”

Fane talked her into buying it on a whim a couple years back and it’d quickly become her favorite, although her cherry-red Ferrari is a close second.

Gabriel shrugs. “It’s just a car.” Roseline glances at him over the hood. Her slender fingers glide over the smooth paint as she fights back a stab of longing for her own car. “It looks expensive, it’s foreign, and it makes Steve look richer than he really is. That’s the only reason I have it.”

“Sounds like you two don’t get along so well.”

Gabriel smirks, shaking his head. “Not at all. Jump in. You must be freezing out here.” He hits the automatic unlock button and climbs up into the driver’s seat. Roseline follows, somehow managing not to expose herself as she makes the leap into the car. “So…where to?”

Her mind is still screaming at her to jump right back out and run away, but she thinks that plan might make Gabriel a tad suspicious. Instead, she resolves to get out of his car as fast as she can, while holding her breath of course. “Um…you can just drop me off at Jimmy’s on Brendon Street. I can walk from there.”

Piercing blue eyes gleam out from the dark as he appraises her. “What are you afraid of? Think I’m gonna stalk you if I know where you live?”

Stalking? No, but if he ever looks in her windows, he will certainly start to ask questions that she is not ready to answer.

“Of course not,” Roseline laughs, wincing at how forced it sounds. Her palms feel clammy, her forehead beads with sweat. “It’s just that I’m kinda embarrassed about my house. It’s a temporary thing until my mom can find something better, but she’s always gone for work so she’s barely even seen the place.”

Gabriel’s gaze softens. “The first thing you should know about me is that I’m not hung up on status. Sure I might look like I am, but it is just a mask I wear to get through the day. Under the designer clothes, expensive house, and flashy car, I’m just a guy that wants to be normal. I don’t care about the money. Actually, to be honest…I hate it.”

“You hate money,” Roseline scoffs, rolling her eyes. “Well I have learned one thing tonight. You’re a terrible liar.”

“Okay. Well not money in general,” Gabriel chuckles. “Just Steve’s money.”

Roseline nods slowly. “I see. You don’t like feeling like something you’re not.”

“Exactly,” Gabriel agrees, turning over the engine. He backs smoothly out of the drive and pauses in the street. “So? Where to?” he asks again.

“Jimmy’s.”

Gabriel laughs. “All right. If that’s what you really want.” He maneuvers the empty streets with confident ease. “So you’re from Romania right?”

“Yes,” she replies, frowning at the tension she hears in his voice. There is something there, something he’s not telling her. She can’t help wondering why this topic makes him uncomfortable.

“Ever see Dracula?”

Roseline splutters. “Are you serious?”

“Sure.” Gabriel shrugs. “Isn’t that what all Americans ask you? Vampires are all the rage here, you know.”

How can she not know? Everywhere she looks, handsome movie stars bare their teeth on movie posters and book covers. Teenage girls fight over which guy should win the human girl. T-shirts, calendars and even key chains promote the romanticized idea of the vampire world but it is all so painfully far from the truth.

“Yeah I think I’ve heard about it but it’s all just fantasy. Vampires aren’t real,” she whispers, feeling a lump form in her throat.

“Really? That’s a bummer.”

Roseline laughs at his pained expression. “Oh, don’t tell me you actually believe those stories.”

“No way. But the idea behind it is pretty cool.” Her wince does not go unnoticed. “You don’t agree?”

“In my experience, there are many different forms of evil. Some are much older than others, more sinister and devious than humans can ever imagine.” Roseline’s voice drops to a whisper as she speaks of her past life. Gabriel leans in, visibly drawn in by the husky passion radiating from her. He pulls the car into the first spot in Jimmy’s parking lot. The neon bar sign overhead provides enough light from for Gabriel to see Roseline clearly.

“So you
have
seen something?”

Roseline blinks, as if waking from a trance. She smiles, grasping the door handle. “Nothing worth mentioning. I’ll see you around.” Roseline leaps out of the car and slams the door behind her. Icy winds curl around her with delightful vengeance.

“Wait a second,” Gabriel cries, scrambling to exit the vehicle. “You have seen something, haven’t you? You gotta tell me.” Roseline laughs, shaking her head.

“Oh, man,” Gabriel groans. “Come on. That’s like telling a guy that you’ve actually been to Area 51 and then refusing to spill. That’s so not cool.”

Roseline pauses, wondering how much she can say. Obviously, the truth is out of the question, but a part of her wants to let Gabriel in, just as he did when he shared his artwork. “The things I’ve seen in Romania are a smoke screen. A hidden world veiled behind human reality.”

“Why?” Gabriel leans in closer. His eyes widen with anticipation.

“Some things are not meant to be understood. People don’t need to know the horrifying truths that are hidden from them. It’s for their own good.”

Despite the fact that the solemn tone in Roseline’s voice obviously creeps him out, Gabriel is hooked. “You’ve seen this hidden world, haven’t you?” he whispers.

Closing her eyes to the pain, she nods. “But that is a story that I reserve only for my dearest friends…and you, Gabriel Marston, are still a stranger.”

His pout is endearing, but Roseline shakes her head. “Fine. Then I’ll have to see about changing that.”

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me,” she chuckles as she turns and leaves him standing next to his purring car. The winds whip around her, tangling her hair about her face, but she doesn’t notice. Her thoughts have drifted away, to a time so long ago. To when life was simple and death meant the end, not the beginning.

Sixteen

“Great news,” Gabriel crows loudly as he slides into a seat next to Roseline little over a week later.

After the party, she tried her best to avoid Gabriel. The more time she spent with him the more confused she got. The worst part was discovering that he is not just a pretty face. She really enjoys spending time with him, which makes it so much harder to keep up her abnormally rude pretense.

Not only has Gabriel begun meeting her in the hall to escort her to class, but he has also managed to slip in a few lunches as well. Her fight to remain indifferent is a losing battle. Just seeing Gabriel makes her stomach flutter and the hairs on her neck stand at attention. Makes her feel like the giddy schoolgirl she is trying to portray. Every nerve in her body is tuned with his presence and fighting her natural urges is really wearing her out. Her willpower is fading quickly.

“Aren’t you going to ask what the great news is?” he presses, his stunning smile too inviting to refuse.

Roseline rolls her eyes and uses her finger to mark her place in her book. She is reading Pride and Prejudice for the millionth time. As she sits there, huddled away in the corner of the high school library, she finds herself wishing fate had allowed her to find her own true love before she turned into a monster.

Despite her lot in life, Roseline has never lost the hope of finding love. Fane certainly tried his best to fill that role, but it never felt truly right to Roseline. Now, with Gabriel in the picture, everything has changed. Maybe it is the lingering essence that wafts past her in the hall or the dreams of him that are so vividly tempting that made her pick up the classic book again.

Or maybe it was because she had to. That is what she likes to think at least. Her English teacher, Mrs. Carlson, instantly noticed Roseline’s meticulously well-educated background and managed to persuade her into volunteering as a tutor. Why, oh why, did she agree?

The answer to why she is willing to teach some simpleton the eloquent words of Jane Austen is painfully simple—she is trying to avoid Gabriel. Looks like that plan backfired.

The sad thing is, the pimple-faced pencil pusher she is expecting, who no doubt hasn’t developed a single romantic bone in his body, is late for their session. No, not just late, he is utterly absent. At least Gabriel will distract her from gnawing her fingernails to a nub as she waits.

Roseline sits back, tucking her bookmark within the slightly wrinkled pages. “I’m a bit busy at the moment, Gabriel. Can this wait?”

“Humor me.”

With a heavy sigh and exaggerated rolling of her eyes, Roseline concedes. “Fine. What can possibly be good enough to have you bouncing in your seat?”

Gabriel’s smile broadens at her obvious sarcasm. “I signed up for a tutor.”

“Okay…” she frowns, wondering when he is going to get to the punch line. Gabriel is the last person to need a tutor. He is a shoo-in for valedictorian. “You have lost me.”

“An English tutor—” he presses, his eyebrows bounce suggestively.

His words hit Roseline like a ton of bricks. “Oh no,” she groans, burying her head in her arms. “Please tell me you didn’t.”

“Of course I did,” he laughs, digging into his backpack from his own copy of Pride and Prejudice. The binding creaks as he opens it. “So, where should we begin?”

“With you leaving,” Roseline snaps, shoving her book forcefully into her bag. How can he do this to her? To manipulate her teacher with those gorgeous ice-blue eyes of his. The fact that he even attempted it is remarkable, but the fact that he managed to pull it off is downright infuriating.

“If you think I’m going to waste my time teaching you about love, you are sadly mistaken,” she says as she rises to her feet. Curious students glance their way as Gabriel latches on to Roseline’s wrist.

“Please, sit down. You’re making a scene.”

It doesn’t take a genius to know this gossip will be spread across campus by the time the final bell rings. It is for this reason alone she sinks back into her seat.

“Thanks,” he whispers, leaning in close.

“I’m not doing it for you,” she snaps, tossing her bag back onto the table. “So what is your angle, Gabriel? Think I’ll ask you back to my place for a study date and you can make your move?”

The ice in her voice feels unnatural but her annoyance mingled with an ounce of outrage makes it feel completely justifiable. Can’t he take a hint? What more does she have to do to get him to back off?

Perhaps it’s because he knows you are lying
, her mind scolds. She winces. No matter how hard she tries to tell herself being with Gabriel is wrong, her heart keeps fighting it.

“That’s not fair,” Gabriel counters, leaning in so close Roseline can smell his anger. “I’m not that kind of guy…but then you’d know that if you actually gave me a chance.”

“A chance at what?” Roseline retorts. “You’re with Claire, remember?” She would rather die than let it slip that she overhead their explosive end.

He shakes his head, sinking back into his chair. “We broke up.”

“Oh, and you two seemed like such a cute couple,” Roseline says, folding her arms firmly across her chest.

“What’s your deal?” Gabriel questions, eyeing her up. “Did I do something to royally tick you off?”

“You mean besides this?” Her fingers begin to cramp against her arms. She hadn’t realized how tightly she was digging in until her nails pierce her flesh.

“Hey,” Gabriel cries, pulling her hand away. “You’re bleeding.”

“Thank you, Mr. Obvious,” she says, swiping away the blood with little thought. “Look, it’s not that I don’t like you. We both know I do, but this really isn’t going to work and you need to accept that.”

“Why?” he presses, leaning in so close she can feel his heady scent weakening her resolve. She leans back, fighting to escape the cloud of delicious hormones. “You’re not even giving me a chance.”

“Yeah, so take a hint.” Roseline tries to maintain her abrupt tone but her words come out more as a desperate plea.

Gabriel sits back and laces his fingers together on the top of the table. “Why?”

“Why what?” she asks, annoyed with the circular questions.

A smirk settles firmly in place. “Why can’t you leave?”

Her mouth gapes open, flabbergasted. A myriad of emotions and thoughts flit through her mind, most of them teetering on the irrational side thanks to his scent filtering through her nose. “I was here first.”

Smooth
, she inwardly groans.

Gabriel snickers, slouching low in his chair. “Wow, that’s a really mature answer, Rose.”

Knowing he is right is infuriating. She buries her face in her palms. “Just please leave me alone. I will beg if I have to.”

The silence that meets her feels oppressive, like an open grave just waiting to be filled. She can hear his slightly elevated breathing and the hammering of his heart in his chest, but nothing else. It is as if the fluttering of book pages and low chattering of the students around them has vanished completely.