Cold as Ice (20 page)
Chapter 31
“I just want to apologize to you, Lexi,” Tommy began, clearing his throat. It sounded like his cough, which was a characteristic sign of Wilkins’ Syndrome, had gotten a whole lot worse since the last time she had seen him, the night of Halloween. It was surprising that his health had taken such a downward spiral since then, but if she remembered correctly, the doctor had said that he wasn’t even supposed to live this long.
“Apologize for what?” Lexi asked, surprised that Tommy wasn’t trying to kill—or drink from—her at that moment.
“I never wanted to hurt you in the ways that Violet did,” Tommy explained. “She wanted to punish you for everything . . . for being a Hunter. It was never your fault. You didn’t ask for this to happen to any of us You’re not the one who set this curse in motion. Neither was your mother. So, I’m sorry for the way we treated you. I’m sorry for what happened to your mother. Most of all, I’m sorry that I went along with everything Violet wanted. But I’m not goi
ng to go along with one thing.”
Lexi raised her eyebrows in question.
“Her dying wish was for me to kill you. I’m not going to,” Tommy explained. “You deserve to live and to be happy. I hope you enjoy your life.” He turned and started to walk away from her, his work boots hitting against the pavement.
“Wait!” Lexi yelled. “There’s something I want you to have before you go.”
Tommy turned and looked at her. “Me? Why would you give anything to me? I’m sure there’s someone more deserving of it, whatever it is.”
Lexi shook her head and smiled. “Not for this particular thing. I can’t think of anyone who would be more deserving of it. I’ll be right back.” She turned to Dan. “Keep an eye on him. Make sure he doesn’t go anywhere.”
“Will do,” Dan replied, but sh
e could tell that he wanted to come with her. He didn’t want to let her out of his sight in fear that she might come across another crazy vampire who was out for her blood.
Lexi went inside the building and descended the staircase. It was dark in the basement, but the refrigerator was in her view. She swung the door open and found the vials of blood marked
Hunter
. Grabbing one of the vials, she started to head back towards the stairs when she saw a white, glittery
light appear in front of her.
“Lexi,” her mom said, coming to stand in front of he
r. “Oh, how I’ve missed you.”
“I miss you, too,” Lexi replied, and all of the frustration that she had felt about her mom lying to
her about Gabe disappeared.
“I know that you found out about Gabe killing Justi
n,” her mom told her quietly.
“Did you know the whole time?” Lexi was afraid to know the answer; if her mom had known, how would she eve
r be able to trust her again?
Her mom nodded her head. “Yes, I knew what Gabe did to Justin. But there’s something you must understand, Lexi. I told you to trust him because I knew it was i
mportant to you at the time.”
“What do you mean?” Lexi asked. “How could it be important for me to have a relationship with the guy who killed my ex-boyfriend out of pure jealousy? That’s insane.”
“I don’t agree with what Gabe did to Justin,” her mom began. “But I knew that if you just let him in and trusted him fo
r a while, you would be safe.”
When Lexi didn’t say anything in response, her mom explained further. “I knew that Gabe would have visions that would help to save your life . . . visions that would h
elp both you and your father.”
Lexi nodded. Even though she didn’t agree with her mom’s advice completely because it would have been nice to at least get a warning, she understood why she had made the decisions she’d
made. “Do you still love Dad?”
“I care very much about your father,” her mom replied. “I only wish that I had done things differently long ago. But it’
s too late to regret it now.”
“What do
you regret?” Lexi questioned.
“I regret that I didn’t let him have more of a relationship with you. I hope that you won’t hold that against him,” her mom said. “Hold it against me. It’s my fault. Your father wanted to be a part of your life very much, but I told him he couldn’t be.”
Lexi nodded. She was already beginning to lessen the blame she used to place on her dad. “I have to go. There’s something important that I need to do right now.”
“I know what it is. You’re doing the right thing, Lexi. You won’t
regret it,” her mom told her.
“How do you know? Do you alwa
ys see what I do?” Lexi asked.
“Always,” her mom whispered, her body becoming more translucent until it eventually was completely invisible. Even after her mom was gone, she
heard her say, “I love you.”
“I love you, too, Mom,” Lexi whispered back. Wiping a tear away
, she headed to the staircase.
“Here you go,” Lexi said, handing one of the vials to Tommy. “It’s my blood. We’re not really sure if it will help yet because it’s been in the fridge for a few days. We drew the blood before I started the process to become an immortal. It wasn’t that long ago, but we’re not sure how long my blood will have the power to save someone after it has been outside of my body..”
Tommy’s eyes widened. “Why are you giving me this? I don’t deserve it.”
“No
nsense. You’re letting me live. If you can save me, I can save you,” Lexi replied, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder. It was covered in sweat from all of the night’s events. “I really hope it works. Would you know right away if you were cured of the disease, or would it take a while for you to figure it out?”
“I don’t know for sure,” Tommy hesitated. “I have heard that it can take minutes within some people.”
“Drink it now,” Dan told him. “Let’s see if it works.”
As Tommy unscrewed the lid from the vial and tilted his head back, Lexi crossed her fingers. She really hoped that this would work. If it didn’t—if he was going to die because she hadn’t saved him before—she was going to feel extremely guilty about it. It wouldn’t seem fair for him to save her if s
he couldn’t save him in return.
Once he drank every last bit of the blood, they waited. Moments passed, and nothing seemed to happen to him at first. Lexi started to panic; she thought her blood was useless, after all. She wasn’t even sure if letting him drink blood from her body right now would work at this point since she had already drank the potion. Here, everyone was after her blood, and it might be completely useless at this point.
But then Tommy’s skin started to regain color, and the bags under his eyes started to lessen. New strands of hair grew from his balding scalp, and he suddenly didn’t look so wrinkly anymore. In fact, it looked like he had gotten about a decade younger.
“I think it worked,” Dan whispered, and Lexi was glad that he was the first to say anything because she was speechless over the transformation that had taken place right in front of her eyes.
“I feel better,” Tommy agreed. “I feel like I’m going to live. It did work.” He turned to Lexi, a wide smile on his face. “Thank you so much for doing this for me. If you ever need a favor of any sort or if you can think of any other way I can repay you, please let me know.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Lexi giggled. “But you’ve already done so much for me by letting me live. This is just my way to thank you. If Violet had it her way, I would be dead right now.”
Tommy nodded understandingly. “Tell Austin that I’d like to talk to him someday. Whenever he feels ready.”
“I will,” she promised.
As Lexi and Dan watched Tommy walk away, she realized something. She felt different inside; her body felt colder than it usually did, and her heart, which she could hear pounding in her ears as she watched Tommy’s transformation, had suddenly gone quiet.
“Check my pulse,” she told Dan. He raised his eyebrows, but he did as she told him, anyway.
When he glanced back up at her, his sky blue eyes twinkling in the moonlight, she knew the answer. “Your pulse is gone.”
“I knew it,” Lexi said quietly. She wanted to jump up and down, but instead, she stood there, rooted in place, shocked by what had just happened.
“A selfless act,” Dan murmured, and she knew exactly what he was thinking; the reason she had finally gained her immortality was because she did something truly selfless. She didn’t have to give Tommy her blood. She could have just let him die, even though he had let her live. But she hadn’t.
Instead, she had given him the most selfless gift that she could have given anyone: a second shot at life.
Dan scooped her up into his strong arms, lifting her into the air, as they both felt a sense of relief—and joy—wash over them.
“You smell so good to me. I can’t wait to drink from you later,” Dan whispered in her ear, and Lexi smiled. She knew for sure now that Dan was her soul mate.
Dan locked his fingers through hers. When their skin touched, Lexi could feel sparks flying all around them, and she knew it had something to do with her changing into an immortal. As though his touch wasn’t enough to drive her wild before, it was even more sensual now.
“Baby, it’s cold outside,” Dan sang to her, as they both continued to stare at the snow that fell around them.
“Then why do I feel so warm inside?” Lexi giggled, as he leaned over and gave her a tiny kiss on the lips.
“Because, just like the snow, everything’s falling into place,” he whispered, chuckling against her ear. “Come on, Lexi. Let’s go home.”
And she smiled because, for the first time since she had arrived in Briar Creek that year, she felt like she really did have a home—a place where she was surrounded by people (and animals) who loved and cared about her.
The Briar Creek Vampires Book 6: Coming Soon!
Jody Morse and Jayme Morse are sisters that reside in the Poconos. They write young adult paranormal romance and suspense novels. To connect with the authors, please visit:
