Destined For a Vampire (11 page)

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He’d asked if I’d gone to the hospital. I didn’t want to lie, so I told him that I’d come home and that my injury wasn’t as bad as we’d thought, certainly nothing worthy of a trip to the ER.

And that was the truth. As soon as I’d crept past my parents, I’d gone straight to my bathroom to assess the damage. My sweater was shredded, but my skin, though deeply scratched in four long gashes, wasn’t as bad as I’d expected. In fact, it looked to have already begun healing. It didn’t even bother my sleep (obviously, since I’d slept with a phone as my pillow).

Before I sat up in the bed, I sniffed. For the first time in weeks, I couldn’t smell Bo. I could only assume he hadn’t visited me, though I shouldn’t have been surprised. Since my unwanted female vampire visitor, I’d been keeping my window closed. Unfortunately, that barred Bo from entry as well, unless of course he wanted to break it, which he would only do if I was in imminent danger.

Unbidden, Lucius’s story popped into my head. I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d found that mate that was somewhere out there, waiting to rescue him. With a growl in my throat and an ache in my chest, I pushed that thought aside and dialed Summer for the zillionth time.

Still no answer. Same with Aisha. I wasn’t going to call Drew, of course.

I’d be avoiding him like the plague in the future.

I was lying in bed, debating on how best to spend my day when my phone chirped. I nearly dropped it in my haste to answer. I didn’t even check the caller ID; I just hit the button and said hello.

“Ridley, the nicest, sweetest, prettiest girl in the whole school. How are you, my friend?”

It was Savannah on the other end of the line, laying it on thick. That could only mean one thing.

“Uh-oh. What are you getting ready to ask me to do?”

Her last idea had involved breaking into the marina, stealing a boat and launching a lantern out onto the water to honor her dead mother, a felony that never happened because we were accosted by vampires en route.

“Oh, come on. It’s nothing that bad.”

“
That bad?”

“Well, I don’t think it’s bad at all.”

I sighed. “Alright, spill. What is it?”

“I want you to go with me to the Halloween dance tonight. Since we are both, like, almost widows, I think we should go together. I think it would be fun, and we both need to get out and do something carefree.”

I couldn’t argue that point. I needed some fun. And some “carefree.” I could barely remember what that felt like. Anymore, my life was consumed with an aching need and an ever-growing hole in my heart. And sprinkled between those two were spots of fear and depression, frustration and loneliness. My life had been no picnic since I’d met Bo. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. I couldn’t even think of giving him up.

As if on cue, my chest squeezed at the haunting prospect of losing him to someone he couldn’t deny, someone he’d be bound to in a way that he’d never be bound to me.

Like I’d done a hundred times already, I refused to let my mind travel that path. Instead, I did the unthinkable. I agreed to go with Savannah.

“I’ll go. You’re right, we need some fun.”

“Really? You will?” Savannah squealed.

I couldn’t help but smile as I held the phone at arm’s length. “Yes, but I’d like to have some small amount of hearing left so that I can enjoy the music,” I teased.

“Oh, sorry. I just figured you’d say no.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. Sometimes you look so sad when I see you. I thought maybe I remind you of Bo,” she confessed soberly.

I hated that she saw me that way. I hated that she thought that. I hated that my misery without Bo was so perceptible.

“No, you don’t. And, who knows? Maybe you’ll see a whole different Ridley tonight.”

“R-eally? ‘Cause you know I can’t see a thing, right?”

Even though it was simply Savannah’s way, to make fun of her infirmity, I still felt the heat rush to my cheeks. It made me feel wretched when she did.

“Then maybe I’ll have to do something fun that you can
hear
. How ‘bout that?”

“Ooo, like what? Burp the alphabet? Fart
The Star Spangled Banner
?”

That actually coaxed a laugh out of me. “You’re insane, you know that?”

“Oh, come on. You wouldn’t have me any other way.”

“You’re right, I wouldn’t.”

“Ok, so pick me up at eight? Or do you want me to drive?”

“No! No, I’ll take care of the driving. You just worry about getting dressed.

Don’t be wearin’ a Bride of Frankenstein head with a Smurf body.”

“Listen to Ridley, finally catching on.”

“Ha ha.”

“Seriously,” Savannah said, her voice turning solemn. “I don’t want anyone to see me differently, to treat me differently. I can make fun of myself because it’s healthier than letting it eat away at me. So I do.”

“I know, Savannah. It just feels…wrong.”

“Well, I guess you’re just going to have to get over that.”

With an exaggerated sigh, I agreed. “Yep, I guess I will.”

“Alrighty then, eight o’clock?”

“Eight o’clock.”

“Ciao.”

And with that, she hung up in her abrupt, very Savannah-like manner. I had to admit, though, that she’d brightened my day. How pathetic is that, when your mood is so dark that someone who’s just lost her sight
and
her boyfriend ends up being the cheerful one?

With a renewed zeal for getting out of bed, I pushed back the covers and walked to my closet. I had no idea what to wear to a Halloween costume party. It was the first one the school had ever had. I didn’t think it really mattered, though. It wasn’t the party I was looking forward to as much as spending time with Savannah.

It seemed she was just what I needed—a friend and a distraction.

I pulled out a couple of possibilities and laid them on the bed and then made my way to the kitchen. It was Saturday and Dad was home. That meant only one thing: time to brush off my daytime Emmy and get to work pretending.

Mom was standing in front of the coffee maker. Her back was to me and both hands were flat on the counter, her shoulders hunched as if she was in pain.

“Mom?” I said, rushing to her side. “What’s wrong?”

I leaned around to look into her face. I was relieved to see that there were no tears. No tears meant that whatever was ailing her was fixable.

Haunted, bloodshot eyes met mine. “Your father went to get breakfast. I’m just having some coffee. Why don’t you pour yourself some juice?”

With that, she straightened, her eyes falling to the mug that sat on the counter in front of her. She reached for it with a hand that shook so badly she nearly spilled the hot brew just trying to pick it up.

“Here,” I said, wrapping my fingers around the handle. “Why don’t you come over here and sit down. I’ll get the drinks ready and set the table.”

I carried Mom’s coffee mug for her. When she sat down, she put her elbows on the table and I handed her the cup. Her shaking wasn’t nearly as perceptible with the support of the table under her arms.

She closed her eyes as she took a sip of the steaming liquid. When she opened them, they locked on mine. A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. It wasn’t much as far as expressions go, but there was a lot more gratitude in her eyes. Once again, I had helped her avert disaster. She knew it and I knew it.

She was my mother, though, and I loved her. She knew her secret was safe with me.

After all, a family of pretenders had to stick together.

We made it through breakfast. And lunch. And dinner. I knew better than to make too many other plans for the weekend days when Dad was home. He was adamant about spending “quality family time” together. It was a farce, but he was a stickler about it.

With the last of the dinner dishes tucked safely away inside the dishwasher, I closed it and hit the start button. I was on my way back to my room to shower when I remembered something.

I returned to the living room.

“Mom, do you still have that mask that you wore to the masquerade party you guys went to year before last? The silver one?”

I could see Mom struggling to remember. I’m sure it was like trying to flip through the pages of a soggy newspaper.

“Gosh, Ridley, that’s been a while. Why don’t you check the box in the top of my closet. If I kept it, it would probably be in there.”

“Ok. Thanks.”

I headed straight for her room and got the box down. Sure enough, the mask was in there. In tact, too. Luckily, it only covered the top portion of the face, so there was virtually no chance it might have puke on it. Sadly, that was a constant consideration when borrowing anything of Mom’s that didn’t predate Izzy’s death.

After my shower and an intense buffing session, I smoothed on some shimmering lotion and let it dry before slipping into a dress that I’d worn in a beauty pageant a couple years prior. Though it was snug, it still fit, and the tight factor only enhanced the look I was going for.

The dress had a white bodice that hugged me in a corset style. The lower half was fitted and covered in silver sequins. The very bottom of the dress flared out and had layers and layers of white frothy material spilling from beneath the sequins, making it look like a tail. It was a curve-hugging mermaid dress if I’d ever seen one.

I left my hair long, flowing in thick waves down my back. Once I had my makeup on, I sprayed some perfume behind my ears and in my cleavage and then put on the mask. With its silver, white and blue sequins, layed out in a design that curled and swirled around my eyes and over my forehead, I thought I looked the part: a mysterious sea siren.

A little pang of longing and loneliness pinched at my insides. It would be perfect if I was going to the dance with Bo, a magical night to match my magical costume.

I shook off the melancholy direction my thoughts were taking me. Tonight, I refused to mope. For one night, I was going to do my best to pretend that I was a normal teen going to a dance to have a little fun. No drama, no sadness, no soul-mate issues. Just fun. Carefree fun. Plain and simple.

I slipped on my shoes, said my goodbyes and headed for the car. As my hair shifted against my back, I noticed there wasn’t even so much as a prickle of pain where my scratches were. I reached back and felt beneath my hair. The skin was smooth, despite the fact that I hadn’t really focused on my back with my scrubbing and lotion application. The scratches were gone without a trace.

When I got to Savannah’s I walked in tiny steps to the door and knocked.

Her dad answered, letting me inside to await Savannah.

“You look very pretty, Ridley,” he said kindly.

“Thank you, Mr. Grant.”

“Call me Jeremy,” he insisted. “Mermaid?” he asked nodding to my dress.

“Yes, sir,” I said, smiling.

Good. At least there was no question about what I was made up to be. If nothing else, I wanted my costume to be a clear departure from the normal

“everything gone slutty” attire that many females chose to sport on Halloween.

“Would you like something to drink while you wait? I’ve got Dr. Pepper, orange juice, Propel and—”

Mr. Grant’s voice trailed off when movement drew his eye down the hallway behind me. I turned to look in that direction as well.

Savannah was making her way slowly toward us. She looked amazing. How a blind girl accomplished what she had was beyond me.

She was wearing a black dress that looked slick and scaly and it fit her perfectly. She had silver rattles at her wrists and ankles, and she wore silver sunglasses to hide her eyes. Her plump lips were stained blood red and her skin was porcelain smooth.

But it was her hair that told the real story. She had curled her already-wavy mess of red locks and then I assumed used hairspray to define each thick wiggling strand and make it stand away from her scalp. If I’d only been able to see her head, I’d still have known who she was—Medusa.

“You look awesome!” And I meant it. She did.

“Vanna, you look beautiful,” Mr. Grant said, awe evident in his voice. “You look so much like your mother.”

A sadness that was becoming all too familiar to me lit his eyes when he walked to Savannah and reached out to touch her cheek. In the likeness of his daughter, he was seeing the love of his life, living and breathing again, right in front of him. I knew by the pain in his eyes that he would mourn the loss of her forever.

As I watched him adore his daughter, knowledge slammed into my gut like a steel fist, knowledge that some day—maybe even some day soon—I would lose Bo.

Again. Only this time, for real. Forever. I wouldn’t lose him to death. Never to death. I would lose him to another love, a love I couldn’t compete with. And then I, too, would spend the rest of my life mourning him, the love I loved the most.

“Alright, Dad. Don’t get all creepy and ooey-gooey,” Savannah teased.

When Savannah took off her sunglasses and started fiddling with them, I thought at first that it was a nervous gesture. But then, when she looked up and I saw her eyes, I knew that it wasn’t. The sadness of her father was reflected in the warm brown pools, and I felt guilty for forgetting that Savannah knew all about loss, too.

“Sorry, honey,” he said, plastering a brave smile on his handsome face. “You girls have fun tonight. Just not too much. Stay away from shirtless boys with a six pack and tight pants,” he warned.

“Right, Dad. Way to make things less weird.”

I couldn’t help but grin at their exchange. Their life together, while tragic, was like a reprieve in a way. And their light banter helped to diffuse the desperate sadness that had swallowed up all the air in the room.