CLUB NUMBER FIVE (Immortal Blood) (2 page)

“Sorry.” I flashed her
an apologetic smile and left her standing open-mouthed behind me.

I looked for Jonathan everywhere. But he apparently didn't want to be found. Eventually, I gave in and went to my PE class, which, by the way, gave me a lot of information about the new me. I was fast. So fast I had to pull back and pretend I had cramp in my leg. And I was strong. Well, not exactly super strong, but definitely much stronger than before. My catlike body did things I had only seen on TV, and when I realized all the girls, including the teacher, were looking at me as if paralyzed, I knew I had to stop. I let myself fall from the beam and pretended I'd hurt myself badly. Kate offered to escort me to the nurse and I allowed her to, but the moment the gym door closed behind us she pressed me against the wall and hissed, “What the heck has happened to you? Did you get bitten by a spider
,
or did you slip and fall in radioactive fluid or something?”

I gasped and tried to form the words
‘
I was bitten by a vampire
’
, but I couldn't. I mean, how could I drag her into this God-knows-what situation? I just couldn't. There were things I needed to know first. A lot of things. But eventually I would share my secret with her. Probably. Or not.

“I'm waiting,” Kate chirped with a faked smile.

“Maybe I'm getting sick or something,” I mumbled.

She gave me her don't-play-with-me look. I shrugged and faked a sneeze.

“Samantha Catherine Green. You're going to tell me exactly what happened and you're going to tell it right now!”

I stared at her. This was new. I'd never seen her this angry, and for what? I wasn't that different, was I?

“What do you mean?” I asked innocently and stared straight into her suspicious eyes.

“I mean,” she said slowly, as if I were a moron, “why does my best friend look like a super-hot supermodel with a super-athletic body?”

“I do?” I asked, surprised. I thought I was the only one who had noticed the change.

Kate nodded slowly. “So whatever you took, I want it, too.”

“You do?” I said, stunned.

“Uh-ha
.
”
S
he nodded again.

I stared at her, struggling to decide if I should tell her or not. I almost did, but then I saw Jonathan standing at the corner slowly shaking his head. I don't know why, but all my instincts told me to do as he said. So I took a deep breath and lied to my friend. “You know, it was quite
a
hit I got when I fell. I don't feel so well. Maybe I should go to see the nurse.”

Kate dropped her hands to her sides and backed away. “Fine. But you know what, I thought we were friends. I thought you trusted me, but obviously I was wrong. Don't talk to me before you're ready to tell the truth.”

“Kate,” I begged.

“No! I mean it. Whatever it is, I want in.”

I felt Jonathan's eyes drilling into me and kept quiet. Kate shook her head in disbelief and turned. I formed a silent
‘
sorry
’
with my lips, but she didn't see it. I wasn't sure she even wanted to hear it unless I was ready to spit everything out to her.

The rest of the day I kept looking for Jonathan, but every time I got close to him he seemed to disappear. I played with my food in the cafeteria and tried to ignore the fact that Kate refused to sit at the same table as me. I chased Jonathan's ghost through the hallways just to find I was always a second late, and when the day was over there was no way I could lie to myself. Jonathan didn't want anything to do with me. Too bad; I wanted everything to do with him. And if he actually was the one who had bitten me, he had a lot to explain and I wasn't going to take no for an answer. Tomorrow I would play a different strategy. Tomorrow I'd be the cat and he'd be the mouse, but today I would go home and sit at our dinner table pretending I loved the chicken salad my m
o
m always made on Wednesdays.

I collected my things from the desk and glanced at the empty classroom. The teacher had been so kind as to let me stay and study for a while after the class had ended. I had no idea how long I'd been there, dwelling
o
n my miserable thoughts, but when I listened to my surroundings, I heard nothing.

I turned the lights off and closed the door. The hallway was dimly lit but I wasn't afraid. With my new skills I could manage the door in a heartbeat, and besides, I was in school. How dangerous could that be?

“It's no good,” a voice said from the shadows.

I tried to see who had said it, but the hallway was full of shadows and I couldn't see a thing. Great. Now I was hearing voices, too. Maybe it was a side effect of being turned into a vampire. I gulped and started walking again.

“Jonathan,” the voice laughed dryly. “He won't see you no matter how hard you try.”

“Okay,” I said and turned, pissed. “First of all, I have no idea what you're talking about, and second, if I had, it's not your business, mister whoever you are.”

I heard rustling and someone moving closer. I froze. It was way past five and all the students and surely the teachers, too, were gone. The only person here with me was this guy I couldn't even see. How cowardly was that? The least he could do was step into the light and show himself. The problem was, whoever it was knew way too much about me and Jonathan, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to see who it was.

The voice spoke again. “He won't see you 'cause you mean nothing to him.”

I closed my eyes and bit back my bitter answer. I didn't want to listen anymore. My relationship with Jonathan was just between me and him, and I wasn't ready to share it with strangers. So what if he had only passed me some papers in class or barely said hi? I knew I was special to him. Why else would he have changed me?

The voice coughed like he was choking on his laughter and I gave him a face. There was no way he could've just heard what I'd been thinking. No way I believed in rubbish like telepathy. I started to move back with baby steps, and between every step I stopped and listened. He didn't follow. Good. I turned carefully and was preparing to run when I caught sight of a shadow in front of me. No mistake. It was a shadow of a boy and I had no illusion that it was a different shadow than the one laughing at me. Somehow, he'd gotten in front of me. I swallowed. This wasn't happening to me. This was not real. But somehow I knew that closing my eyes wouldn't make him disappear, so I took a deep breath and focused my eyes on him.

“You think this is funny?” I said
in
my iciest voice. “Scaring a girl in an empty school? You're sick, you know.”

I could tell he was shaking his head while he made an annoying ‘tsk’ noise with his
tongue
. “My sweet, childish Samantha. You're not just a girl anymore, and I can tell you're not scared. So why waste your time with a non-existent affair with Jonathan when there's so much more waiting for you?”

Unbelievable! Had he just suggested I should trade Jonathan for him? That boy was so full of himself! I took a step closer. He was right. I wasn't afraid of him; I was mad at him. He had no right to come here and try to come between me and Jonathan. No right to stalk me in the dark! I took another step and hissed, “How dare you? You can't possibly know what's between me and Jonathan. How could you? You're just a coward hiding in the shadows. And FYI, last time I checked I was just a girl. A girl who will be hooked up with Jonathan sooner than you know. So back off, will you!”

“Jonathan doesn't see you, 'cause he's only here because he's bored,” the voice said calmly. “And if that helps, I know very well that you're a girl, but you're also something more. I also know how special you are, and I happen to know that you don't have any relationship with Jonathan. And you know why I know that?”

I shook my head and cursed silently.

“I know it because Jonathan is my cousin.”

“What?” I screamed. “I mean what do you mean?” I continued with a much calmer voice. “I didn't know he had any relatives.” And how could you, my inner voice mocked. You know nothing about Jonathan. You don't even know if he lives in that old stone house near Regent's Park or if he was only visiting. You don't know anything about his family or friends. You're just a loser who got lost in Jonathan's deep blue eyes. Shut up! I told myself, and prepared for this stranger's final strike.

The boy laughed and stepped into the light. Oh my God! He was beautiful! His shaggy hair was golden and full of sun-stripes. Obviously, he needed a haircut, as it curled softly to his shoulders, shoulders that were more than well built. I gulped. Could I be brave enough to look lower? I could. His black tee shirt licked his hard body and I could only guess what was hidden underneath it. His faded jeans hung dangerously low, revealing a slice of his narrow hips, and I could easily imagine the rest. I licked my lips nervously and quickly returned my eyes to his face. His dark eyes seemed to laugh at me, and when I let my eyes rest for a second on his beautifully sculpted lips that held a killer smile on them, I couldn't help but think what it would be like to kiss them.

“Am I right?” He smiled dangerously. “You don't know what you've gotten yourself into, do you? You don't know why the light hurts your eyes or why you can't eat anymore. Why you feel so restless and why you can sense things. But I do. I've been watching you and I don't like what I see.”

“What do you see?” I asked shakily.

He stepped closer. So close I could see small golden spots around his dark brown irises and smell the mint on his warm breath.“I see a breathtakingly beautiful young woman who has the world beneath her feet.”

“And?” I whispered.

“And I see how she let it all run through her fingers for a jerk.”

“Jonathan is not a jerk!” I snapped.

He touched my cheek. Electricity ran through my body and I felt desire as I'd never felt it before.
“Really?” His voice was honey. “And you know this because…?”

I opened my mouth but closed it quickly. What could I say? He was right about everything he had said about me and Jonathan. I didn't know him. I didn't know him at all and I'd let myself think I was somehow special because he had changed me. Wait!

“How do you know I don't eat anymore? Have you been stalking me?” I narrowed my eyes and slapped his hand away.

“You know I have,” he said with a wicked grin.

“So you know what I am?” My voice was almost soundless.

He nodded and grabbed one of my tresses with his fingers. He played with it, and every time he accidentally touched my skin, I shivered. I hated myself! I didn't want to feel like this. I didn't want to be easy and predictable. And, most importantly, I didn't want to be here with him, not like this!

His eyes locked into mine and I held my breath. I couldn't think anymore. His lips were so close that all I had to do was move my head a little and our lips would meet. He let the moment stretch and I closed my eyes, waiting for our lips to meet. But when nothing happened, I opened my eyes just to see that he had moved a bit further away. I sighed, frustrated. He stared at me and smiled, putting his finger to his lips. I smiled back at him and, before I realized, he was gone.

The next morning
,
I took some extra time to make myself ready for school, and for what? Jonathan wasn't there and neither was that gorgeous creature I met yesterday. So I spent the day avoiding Kate and horny boys who happened to think I was some newborn sex goddess, which, by the way, I was not. I was still a virgin.

When night came I knew what I had to do, so I pretended I had a headache and retreated into my room. I rummaged in my closet and found a glossy black dress I had never had the guts to wear. I sneaked into my mom's walk-in closet and borrowed a pair of her black stilettos. I knew she hated it when I borrowed her stuff, but this was kind of an emergency. I put some heavy make-up on my eyes and lips and slipped out.

The cold air hit my face and I wished I had a coat. I glanced at the door once and took a step forward. Then I took another and another, and before I could stop myself, I was rolling my scooter silently onto the road. I knew I was swimming in dangerous waters but I had to do this. I rode to Jonathan's house and rang the bell. No one answered. Strange. It was a huge house and I was sure someone was home. All the lights were on and I could hear some music through the door. I rang again and waited. Nothing. I felt my perfect plan to squeeze the truth out of him drain to the sewer. Sighing, I climbed onto my scooter
, put my helmet on
and rode to the alley I had seen him going two nights ago. I knew it was a long shot, but I had to do something. I parked my scooter and hoped it would still be there when I came back. This was not the neighborhood I wanted to be in this time of night and I knew my mom would be furious if she saw me now.

I pressed my eyes closed and collected all my courage. Then I took a deep breath and went to the door that led to the unknown club. I knocked and waited.

Finally, a man the size of
a bull o
pened the door and looked at me questioningly. “Yes?”