Revamped (21 page)

Ethan broke the gaze, looking with alarm at his watch. “It’s almost six thirty! I gotta get to the diner for my evening shift.” He paused, looking over at me. “Unless you need me to stay?” he asked, looking slightly hopeful.

“I’ll be fine, thank you. Go to work.”

“Okay, but call if you need anything. Like I said earlier, for the rest of my life, I’m forever under your command,” Ethan promised.

“You’re still working at the diner?” I asked, quickly changing the topic. “Aren’t you going to go back to Ashton now that your assignment is over?”

“I’ve actually decided to stay here for a bit,” Ethan said. “Angel Creek has kind of put a spell on me. Or rather, one of its current inhabitants has.” He looked at me, the trademark playful smirk returning to his handsome face.

After bidding Ethan goodbye, I found myself alone in the empty cottage for the first time all day. I closed my eyes, reclining against the rough wood of the front door in an attempt to bask in my solitude.

But something was different. My sharp hearing, easily privy to every sound around me, was suddenly picking up on noises I had managed to ignore all week. The rhythmic tick-tock of the dilapidated cuckoo clock hanging above the dining room table, the mechanical hum of the fridge, even the slight buzz of one of the dying light bulbs in the living room chandelier did not escape me. The paramount value of my friends’ company began to dawn on me.

I needed them around
, I realized. Partly because I enjoyed their presence, but even more importantly because, around them, I felt like myself. Purposeful. Strong.

Not a clone.

CHAPTER TWELVE

The shrill ring of my cell phone interrupted my train of thought. I jumped, startled by the unexpected sound.

Father,
the caller ID simply read.

I hovered my index finger over the green
Answer
button, then forcefully clicked
Decline
. The phone fell silent. After a moment, it began to ring again. My father had been calling every day since my abrupt departure from the headquarters. I never picked up, and he never left a message. I knew he wouldn’t. He invariably preferred to speak in person, and what we had to discuss was much too important to be relayed over an answering machine. The phone continued ringing as I threw the small device across the room. It landed on one of the worn living room couches with a soft
thud
.

I followed its path, diving onto the couch and burying my head deep into the soft, leather cushions. I wanted nothing more than to speak to my father, to hear his voice and be convinced that everything would somehow be alright, but I couldn’t bring myself to answer the phone. I couldn’t get thoughts of Aurora out of my head. She was my father’s real daughter, after all. She was the one he wanted when he set out to create me. I switched off the power on the phone.

My throat felt dry, my brain pounded against my skull. Blindly, I reached out to the table, fumbling with the numerous cups and glasses, desperate for something to drink.

It was only after the bitter liquid slid down my throat, that I realized that I had gulped down all of Brooke’s
Blood
Vodka
.

I coughed, but the maneuver only sent the powerful substance deeper into my body. Never having been one to indulge in alcoholic beverages, my current predicament caused a lot of uneasiness. While I had no doubt that my body was strong enough to withstand whatever consequence a glass of the vile substance had in store for me, I was certain that, at this moment, my mind was not.

For a long time, nothing out of the ordinary happened. I relaxed, allowing myself to calmly assess the situation.
I’m okay
, I sighed cheerfully. But then, my body began to overflow with fervent, uncontainable energy. The cottage was suddenly too small and too stuffy to contain me. I needed to get out; I needed to breathe in fresh air.

A leisurely stroll through the dim forest led me to Sebastian’s home. I laughed out loud, realizing that for the second time since my arrival in Angel Creek, my aimless trek had ended at his door. None of the lights inside the spacious dwelling were on. Nevertheless, I rapped my knuckles against the wooden door. Receiving no answer, I knocked again, this time louder. Still nothing.

“
Sebaaaastian
! Where are you?” I called out, giggling at the sound of my own voice. It was peculiarly high-pitched, uncharacteristically needy. I pouted when that attempt also garnered no response. I pressed my ear against the front door, listening for movement inside.

All quiet.

Upon ensuring that Sebastian wasn’t home, I set out for the town. Finding him suddenly became my primary goal and I had one more place to investigate—the gazebo. The walk up Main Street proved to be laborious, as my usually superb sense of balance was negatively influenced by the combination of alcohol and Brooke’s strappy sandals. Finally, just as I was about to resort to crawling, the towers of the inn came into view.

Sebastian sat on one of the benches inside the moonlit gazebo, bright white light reflecting off his long, dark curls. His eyes were shut, but when he heard my rambunctious footsteps, he immediately snapped them open.

“Dawn!” he exclaimed, standing up to greet me.

“Hi!” I responded excitedly, throwing my arms around his neck. The bold gesture caught him by surprise, causing him to lose his balance and stumble backwards. Limbs intertwined, we collapsed on the gazebo floor, him looking perplexed, and me bursting into a fit of giggles.

“Dawn?” He glanced at me questioningly. “Are you okay?”

I clamped my hand over my mouth in an attempt to stifle my laughter, then dropped it in my lap and continued to giggle loudly. My joyful mood was provoked by an artificial cause, but, regardless, it felt good to smile.

“I’m great!” I said, standing up. “Don’t I look great?” I spun around, the fabric of Brooke’s lavender dress swishing all around me.

Sebastian sat on the floor, watching me quietly, a stunned expression across his handsome face.

“Well?” I questioned a little hurt.

“Uhh, yes. Of course,” he responded distractedly, not taking his gaze off my face. He was studying me intensely, his pale eyes full of genuine concern. He rose off the floor, moving his face closer to mine.

He’s about to kiss me
, I thought breathlessly, closing my eyes and raising my lips up to meet his.

Nothing happened.

I waited a little longer, then slowly fluttered open my eyelids. Sebastian was now standing further away, his arms crossed, his dark brows furrowed. I quickly straightened up, hoping that—by some miracle—he had failed to perceive my deluded, misguided expectation. If he had noticed it, he didn’t let on.

“Dawn, have you been
drinking
?” he asked instead.

“Accidentally,” I responded sheepishly. “Brooke’s fault.”

He gaped at me, his expression a mix of amusement and disbelief.

“It really was an accident!” I snapped.

“I believe you,” he said, raising his hands defensively. His voice was sincere, but the laughter in his eyes provoked me.

I briskly moved toward him and poked his chest with my finger. “Then act like it.”

My little outburst caused the amusement in Sebastian’s eyes to spill over to his entire face. “Finally decided to come out of hiding, huh?” he asked, a striking smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “What brings you here?”

“I was…” I trailed of, searching for the right words.

What was I doing? Looking for
him
? Why?
Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that, though I wouldn’t let them in, Brooke, Sophie, Hunter and Seth had made sure to visit the cottage every day over the past week. Even Ethan showed up. They had wanted to be with me during my darkest hours. Sebastian, on the other hand, had not.

“Why do you care?” I retorted, suddenly feeling very irritable.
If he really cared, he would have come by.

Sebastian looked down at me tenderly, startled by my harsh words. In that moment, I abruptly recalled seeing the familiar, tall shape, lurking around the woods by the cottage—every morning and every evening.

“You really have to stop spying on me like that!” I gasped, alarmed at the thought of what he may have witnessed. At the same time, I couldn’t help but feel slightly relieved—even pleased.

Sebastian shrugged, running his long fingers through his hair. “I knew you that wanted to be alone, but I still felt an urge to hang around and ensure that you were safe,” he explained. “Viktor is still out there somewhere.”

"Well, as you can see," I said, opening my arms wide and gesturing over the length of my entire body, "I’m safe."

"And drunk," he teased huskily.

"Thanks for reminding me," I grumbled. I had surpassed the pinnacle of my inebriated euphoria and was now feeling the negative side-effects of the alcohol. All at once. The pounding head, the churning stomach, dizziness.

"How did this happen, anyway?" Sebastian asked curiously.

Trying to stay alert, I focused with all my attention on his vivid eyes. "I guess the usual way people get drunk,” I groaned. “My father called. I didn’t want to pick up. I began to feel faint and needed a drink. I just didn’t think that that particular drink would be laced with a mind-altering substance. Hence the reason I’m now a stumbling, slurring cliché.”

"You haven’t spoken with your father yet?"

"No, and I don't plan to," I retorted sinking onto the wooden bench.

Sebastian sat down beside me, tenderly touching my arm. His fingers lingered on my skin, sending a shiver down my spine. I felt lightheaded, but, this time, it had nothing to do with the
Blood Vodka
.

"Look, Dawn,” he paused, carefully considering his words. “I know that you’ve been through a lot recently, but you may want to consider ending this grudge you’re harboring toward your father,” he said, gazing longingly toward the inn. “Take it from someone who can never talk to his family again."

I followed Sebastian’s gaze, my eyes settling on the plaque next to the inn. I was not yet able to forgive my father for his actions, but I couldn’t imagine not hearing his voice ever again. Despite my unconventional, controversial creation, I had become the vampire—and the girl—I was today all because of him.
It was thanks to my father’s care and upbringing that I hadn’t turned out like Aurora
, I thought. I was stronger, more resourceful and self-reliant.

A sudden wave of nausea rose from deep within the pit of my stomach. I desperately tried to avoid thinking about Aurora, but I couldn’t escape her. I couldn’t even close my eyes. The moment that I allowed myself to relax, she would invade my mind, haunting me with those piercing green eyes. She was not only connected to me through DNA, but more importantly, through my father.
He was hers first. As was Sebastian.
I couldn’t help but feel a sharp pang of jealousy as I wondered if they were disappointed that I was so different from her.

I shut my eyes, desperately fighting against the dizziness. I tried to think more positive thoughts. Maybe Sebastian is right, I mused. Perhaps I need to hear my father out. Perhaps I need to give him an opportunity to explain his actions.

I looked over at Sebastian and sighed. “Fine, I’ll talk to my father,” I resolved. “First thing tomorrow morning,” I added, groaning as a sharp, shooting pain engulfed my entire skull. “I’m in no shape to carry out any conversations tonight.”

“I agree. Better save the talk for tomorrow.” Sebastian said, frowning at my blurry eyes. “This may be one of those rare times when a vampire really should sleep.”

For the first time all week, the numbness in my body began to dissolve. I started to sense again. The fatigue. The hunger. Though they weren’t the most pleasant sensations, I welcomed them gladly, content to slowly feel human again.
Well, as human as a vampire could feel.

“Here,” Sebastian said, offering me one of his strong shoulders.

I lay my head against his body, allowing my eyes to shut. The calm, quiet darkness was euphoric bliss.

I came to just as the sun was breaking out over the horizon. Groggily opening my eyes, I was startled to see that my head was still resting against Sebastian’s shoulder.

He looked down at me as I stirred. “Feel better?” he asked, smiling warmly.

I nodded. My headache was gone and my vision had cleared. Aside from the slight hunger pangs in my stomach, physically, I was fully restored. Mentally, it was a whole other story. I felt a surge of embarrassment run through me as I recalled my actions from the previous night.

“
Ugh
,” I groaned, shifting into an upright position. “Thanks for everything.”

“No problem. Although, you do know what you promised me last night, right?”

I nervously scanned my brain for any awkward pledges, then realized that Sebastian was referring to the vow I made to talk to my father.

“Yes. I’ll speak with him today,” I promised. “In fact, I’m going to head over to the Scarlet House right away.”

“Would you like me to come with you?” he offered.

“No, that’s okay. I need to do this alone. I also have to stop by the cottage to pick up my car.”
And change
, I realized, looking down at the Brooke’s dress and heels, completely mortified as the memory of twirling around in front of Sebastian came flooding back.
Brooke deserves a slaying for dressing me up and getting me drunk
, I decided.

Sebastian walked me back to the cottage, pausing briefly at the end of the driveway. “Good luck,” he said. He looked like he was about to say something else, but then changed his mind.

“Thanks.” I said, heading up the wooden steps leading to the front entrance of the cottage. The door was slightly ajar. I hurried inside, breathing a sigh of relief upon realizing that everything inside was untouched. The dirty glasses, still half-full with leftover
Blood Cola
, were scattered around the living room table, Seth’s video games and Brooke’s make-up littered the floor—everything was in perfect, disorderly order.
I must have forgotten to shut the door last night
, I realized, chastising myself for my carelessness.