CLUB NUMBER FIVE (Immortal Blood) (9 page)

“You want to tell me what's going on?”
sh
e asked, trying to look as if she cared.

“Nothing.” I shrugged
,
and she snorted.

“Fine, whatever, but if you don't want me to blurt out in public that you’re a vampire, you better start talking to me,” she threatened.

I was stunned. Had she just threatened me? Me! I turned to stare at her and waited for her at least to look embarrassed, but she didn't. She held her chin up and her light-green eyes flickered
dangerous
ly. Unbelievable! I slid my gaze over her self-dyed blondish hair and eyed her corny old top and beaten-up jersey that was probably from the time before the dinosaurs. And I hated the knowledge that I lo
oked like a super-beautiful ice
queen and that the look in my eyes was probably super arrogant.

Kate swallowed like she was afraid of me, but she didn't turn her eyes away. Fine, if she wan
ted to shoot hard, I was ready.
“And what w
ould they think about you, then?
” I said viciously, and couldn't stop once I'd started. “They already think you're a freak, so they'd probably laugh their butts off. Kate, honey, vampires don't exist.”

Kate paled and I could almost hear her brains tickin
g. I knew she would put her dad
card on the table soon. How pathetic. Her dad was some kind of a cop. An undercover agent, maybe, like Kate always said. Yeah, right. In my eyes he was a normal balding middle-aged man with a threateningly growing beer belly. A man who liked his work way more than his family and was rarely seen at their family dinners. So even if he were a cop, I had no reason to be afraid of him.

Kate gulped and opened her mouth. I shook my head
,
and for a second I thought she might stop, but she didn't. She closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them again, I knew what was coming.

“My dad will believe me,”
sh
e hissed.

I glanced at her apologetically. “No, he won't.”

“Yes, he will,”
she said stubbornly.

I knew I shoul
d've let it go, but I couldn't.
“No, he won't, if he's dead.”

I couldn't believe what I had just said. Kate looked like she would pass out any minute, and I would've done anything to take the words back.

“Kate,” I begged, but she had already gotten up.

Sh
e shook her head, not wanting to believe what I had just said. I tried to reach for her hand. She backed away slowly.

“Kate, please.”

Sh
e swallowed hard and I vaguely noticed the teacher walking towards us. Shoot! I had to stop this before things got any messier. So I slowly got up and took a cautious step toward her. She lifted her hand as if to stop me, but I ignored it and kept moving. Carefully, as if approaching a wild animal, I managed to get within touching range and put my hands on her shoulders.

“No,” Kate whispered hollowly. “No. You can't just make this go away.”

I let my hands drop. Sure, I knew I never should have threatened to kill her father, but we'd said worse things to each other before. Okay, that was a big fat lie, but she had to know I didn't mean it. That I just said it to get her off my neck. I glanced at her eyes and froze.
They
were blurry and there was so much hate there it felt like a slap on my face.

“Katie?”

She blinked. Her hands were trembling and she looked as if she might break any minute.

“Katie, honey?” I tried again.

Sh
e turned slowly and, white as a ghost and fragile like the finest butterfly, ran out of the class without one look. Shoot! I rushed after her, but the teacher got in my way. She spoke angrily at me, but her words could've been Chinese. All I cared about was Kate and the sound of her running steps that got further away every second. I pushed the teacher aside and rushed after
her
. The teacher shouted after me, but I closed my ears and kept going. I knew exactly where Kate would go, but I wanted to catch her before she managed to hide herself. And I almost did, as the rustle of her clothes had not
yet
settled when I swung the gym door open.

“Kate!” I shouted. “Kate, I know you're here and I'm so sorry. I didn't mean that. You know that I didn't.”

Silence.

“Kate?”

“Go away!” Kate's muffled voice came from the
shadowy corner of the dim gym.
She had hidden herself behind a huge pile of foam rubber mattresses and I couldn't get to her without removing the mattresses first.

“Please, Kate,” I pleaded, and thought she mumbled something about an evil bitch, but maybe she'd said a witch. At least I hoped so.

I sat down and leaned on the pile, rubbing my hair and cursing silently. I had to sort this out and fast, as I knew Kate would build up her rage and would finally break up with me. I listened carefully and heard her sobbing. Good. If she was still crying, she hadn't had time to plot how to destroy me and my future, not that I didn't deserve to be destroyed. I mean, what kind of a friend threatens to kill her best friend's father? I got up, sighing and blaming myself, and tried to make as little noise as possible. I sank my fingers in
to
the first mattress and pulled. It moved easily and I pulled more. Without effort, I managed to throw it to the other side of the gym. Then I grabbed another and another until there was only a slumping lump
in
the corner, who looked at me with wide eyes. I leaped next to her and knelt down.

“Kate, you know I didn't mean it and I'm sorry from my heart.” I touched her hair carefully. “And I'd do anything to take it back.”

Sh
e looked straight into my eyes with a hint of curiosity in hers. I held my breath. She put her hand on mine and moved it from her hair to her throat. I didn't flinch.

“Anything?”
Sh
e raised her brow.

“Yes,” I sighed and sat next to her. “You name it and I'll do it.”

Sh
e inhaled sharply and I couldn't even imagine what she had in mind. And
,
to be honest, I didn't care. If she wanted me to be her slave from now on, so be it. I'd do anything to win her back.

Sh
e
en
twined her fingers with mine. I sensed the moment when she turned her determined eyes on me and made the decision. “Turn me,”
sh
e whispered quietly.

I froze and quickly loosened my hand, but she grabbed it again and put it on her heart. I felt her heart beating fast and the blood running under her skin.

“Turn me, and we're even,”
sh
e demanded harshly.

“Kate,” I whined. “You know I can't do it.”

“Why not?”
Sh
e moved
away slightly
. “You're a vampire.
You can do anything you want.”
“No,” I whispered in horror. “Ask anything else and I'll do it, but
this, this is something I
cannot do.”

Kate's face twisted and she backed away. She smiled bitterly and snorted. “I knew you'd say so. I knew you'd be the heartless bitch who wants to keep everything to herself. I won't go after Jonathan, if that's what you're afraid of. I'm sure I'll find my fun elsewhere. But I swear to you that if you don't turn me I will hate you from now on and make your eternal life a living hell.”

My mouth dropped open and I tried to form words, but my mind was still dragging somewhere behind and I couldn't understand what Kate had just said. Maybe I was protecting myself, I don't know; it's never nice to know that your best friend has a part of her that thinks you're a bitch, but how could I make her understand? I hadn't asked for this and I didn't care what she said. There was so much to being a vampire that I didn't know about. Things I still needed to figure out and that might be dangerous in ways I wouldn't allow myself even to think about. Deadly things. So no way was I dragging her into this crap like a blind baby.

“So,”
she said harshly,
“
w
hat's it going to be?”

“No,” I cried and tried to take her hand, but she managed to bat it away. “I won't change you.”

“Okay,”
sh
e hissed and eyed me poisonously.

“No, you don't understand,” I pleaded. “This has nothing to do with Jonathan.”

“Then why not?”
sh
e asked with burning eyes.

“Because …
I don't know how to do it,” I sighed and let my shoulders slump.

“Shit,”
sh
e blurted
out
and sank closer to me.

I didn't know if she'd forgiven me, but at least she didn't bother me anymore with her demands. And after a while I felt her fingers entwining
with
mine again. I squeezed her hand and leaned closer to her.

Kate sighed and dr
opped her head on my shoulder.
“But you would, if you could?” she whispered hopefully.

“Maybe…” I hesitated, “but my life as a vampire hasn't exactly been so glorious so far.”

“Right. And you kissing the godlike Jonathan Blake is far from glorious, not to mention your new posh look?”

“We weren't kissing!” I snapped.

“Whatever, but you know what I mean,”
sh
e said tiredly.

“Yeah, I do.” My voice was strained. “But don't worry, Katie-bun, I'll look after your vulnerable human butt.”

“Thanks, I guess.
”
S
he snuggled closer. “But you will tell me everything eventually, okay?”

“Okay,” I sighed
,
and hoped that eventually would not come too soon.

I let my head rest on hers for a while and breathed her human scent. I could still feel the hunger welling inside of me, but I managed to control myself. My fangs ached, though, and I felt the merciless predator in my mind, just waiting for me to release it. So how could I explain to Kate that I didn't want her to end up like me? Not before she knew exactly what she was getting into. I couldn't. I sighed a bit desperately. My feelings were a total mess. And as if it weren't enough to be a newborn vampire, I had to balance between two shockingly gorgeous guys and try to stay sane. Even though I didn't have any deeper feelings for Jonathan, and I was almost positive that eventually I would end up hooking up with Dane, I could still feel Jonathan's warm lips brushing mine. And I couldn't deny the fact that Kate was right. Jonathan had kissed me. Okay, maybe his kiss was nothing like Dane's, but he had kissed me and I wasn't sure I wanted to stop him if
he ever tried that again. Oh
gosh! Why did everything have to be so complicated?

I glanced at Kate. She looked awful. Crying was so not her thing. Her eyes were swollen and red and her cheeks were covered with stripes. To be honest, she didn't look like her pretty self at all. She looked like a pig. I dug out a tissue from my pocket and offered it to her.

She glanced at me and giggled.
“That bad, huh?”

I nodded and giggled, too.

I helped her clean up and decided to ditch the last few classes. Then we drove to her house and fortified ourselves in her room with a bag of chips and two bottles of coke. And I, good friend that I was, pretended that the chips didn't taste like crap and that I loved the sickening feeling that the coke gave me. I stayed with her until her mom threw me out. When it was time for me to go home, I felt like celebrating. It had been a crappy day and I'd almost managed to lose my best friend, but I hadn't bitten her like a beast. Instead, I'd solved the situation like a normal human being. So, yes, I think I had every right to feel cheerful and I knew exactly what to do with it.

I s
at in my room and put some make-
up on.

“Going somewhere?” a low voice asked behind me.

I turned and smiled at Dan
e. He was sitting on my windowsill
looking sinfully handsome.

“To the
C
lub,” I said, flashing a smile.

He was behind me quicker than a shadow, and squeezed his fingers on my shoulders. I startled as I felt the pain, but instead of trying to struggle free, I let his hands stay on me and made myself look slowly into his eyes. He was furious. Even the thought of me going to the
C
lub had brought him to the edge and made him act like a mad dog. I wonder why?

“To the
C
lub?” Dane's voice was cold. “You're so not going there!”

I glared daggers at him and squeezed my lips tightly together. He was wrong. If his caveman gesture was supposed to make me yield, it wasn't working. Quite the opposite. His need to keep me out of the
C
lub made me want to go there even more. So I ignored my heart that was beating like crazy and used all of my self-control not to react under his magical touch and turn into a whining tramp.