Scent of a White Rose (21 page)

"Sounds good to me."

I didn't know what was going to happen with
Meredith or with Christian and me, but it made me feel good that me
and my dad were on good terms again. Too bad that it couldn't
last.

* * * * *

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

Better Plan

(Meredith)

It's about fucking time.
The moment that
I saw Jeremy's light go off and Rose's go on, I knew it was finally
time to move. I had been waiting in my car for them to finish their
little father daughter talk. I'm sure that he told her that he
broke things off with me, but that was going to change very
soon.

Once I made my way inside, breaking in the same
way as I had the last time, I silently snuck up the stairs and
headed straight for Rose's door. I could hear her on the phone
talking to someone, so I waited. I didn't want anyone to know
something was wrong once I entered her room. Maybe I should have
waited until Jeremy left for work tomorrow morning to confront
Rose. I didn't want her to scream or put up a fight and wake
him.

With my head on straight and a better plan in
place, I started to make my way back down the stairs.
Unfortunately, right then is when Rose's bedroom door opened.
Fuck...I was so busted, and I didn't have a clue as to how I was
going to explain myself.

* * * * *

(Rose)

The moment I opened my door I regretted it. I
had just got off the phone with Jillian and thought that I had
heard my dad coming up the stairs, but after listening a little
more, I couldn't quite make out the noises I was hearing. What I
found was a complete shock.

I stood there face-to-face with Meredith, not
Dad. I was literally frozen with terror. I couldn't move, which
really sucked, because all my instincts screamed at me to run. What
made it worse, was that when she looked at me, I swore I saw her
eyes flash red.

"Don't panic," she whispered.

"Are you fucking kidding me? You break into my
house and you're going to go with, 'don't panic'? You're crazy!" I
started to race back into my room and prepared to scream, but then
I didn't have any idea what this demon bitch was capable of and I
didn't want to risk her hurting my dad. She caught me by the elbow
just as I reached the doorjamb.

"We need to talk. Let's go downstairs so we
don't wake Jeremy." She nodded her head towards the stairs as she
tightened her grip on my arm.

"Fine. But one wrong move and I'm screaming my
head off." I jerked my arm out of her grasp and pushed past her to
make my way down the stairs. She was a demon, but she didn't know
that I was onto her just yet. And there was no way that I was
giving her the satisfaction of scaring me in my own home.

Once we reached my dad's study, I ushered her in
and shut the door behind us. "What the fuck are you doing in my
house in the middle of the night? I should call the cops right now
you crazy bitch." I wasn't sure how long I could keep the tough
girl act up, but I hoped she would buy it long enough for me to
dial Christian on my cell phone.

"I would watch your mouth if I was you, little
girl." She took a step towards me, just as I hit send. "You have no
idea who you're dealing with or what I'm capable of."

We continued to circle each other as I watched
her eyes take on the red tint again. "Who are you? And why are you
so interested in my dad?" I was hoping that I could trap her into
revealing that she was in fact the demon while Christian was
listening on the phone. And it worked.

"From the look on your face and from the company
that you keep, I think you know exactly who I am. Or should I
say...
what
I am." She must have felt like she had the upper
hand because she calmly sat down behind my dad's desk. "I'm a demon
Rose; the very one in fact that infected your friend and killed
your mother."

* * * * *

(Christian)

It was barely 8 p.m. when my cell phone vibrated
in my pocket. It was Rose's number. I smiled as I made my way to
somewhere quiet so that we could talk. I hoped that everything had
gone alright with her father.

The moment that I clicked send, I heard Rose's
voice. "Who are you and why are you so interested in my dad?"

Fuck, something was wrong. I obviously knew she
was confronting Meredith, but I had no idea where they were.

The next thing I heard was Meredith's voice.
"From the look on your face and from the company that you keep, I
think you know exactly who I am. Or should I say...
what
I
am. I'm a demon Rose; the very one in fact that infected your
friend and killed your mother."

Double fuck. This was not good, but apparently
my psychic ability paid off again. By having Rose return home, we
now knew exactly who the demon was. Rose had been right, and now it
sounded like she might just end up paying for it with her life.

I listened to the "whoosh" of air leave Rose's
lungs. She must have fallen onto the floor in shock from Meredith's
confession. "Why? Why did you kill my mom? And, is that why you're
here? Did you break into my house again so you could kill me,
too?"

Good girl Rose.
In a flash I was racing
towards her house. With my preternatural vampire speed, I would be
there in minutes.
Hang in there, baby.

Once I arrived at Rose's house, the only two
lights on were the one upstairs and the other down. It only took a
moment for me to focus my hearing and pinpoint Rose and Meredith's
voices coming from the back part of the main floor.

I raced around the back of the house and found
the backdoor open. This must have been where Meredith had broken
in. I silently made my way towards the room that contained the love
of my life and the demon who was threatening her.

As I started to open the door, I heard Meredith
say, "You will help me win back your father, or I'll tell him that
you and your vampire friends were responsible for your mother's
death."

How did she think that would work? I'm sure Mr.
Reynolds would believe his daughter over his girlfriend. And
talking about vampires would only cause him to think she was crazy.
But then she continued.

"Don't you remember that I can control a vampire
once they bite me? All I would have to do is have another vampire
bite me and then force them to reveal themselves to your dad. He
would have no choice but to believe me if he came face to face with
a vampire, now would he?"

Damn, I guess she had a point. How in the hell
was I supposed to protect Rose when I couldn't bite Meredith
without becoming infected. I knew nothing about how to defend
against a demon. Oh well...I guess it was time to learn.

The moment I opened the door and flew to Rose's
side, Meredith's eyes began to glow red. "How dare you interfere?
This has nothing to do with your kind."

"You involved my kind the second you infected
Terrance, you bitch. And there is no way in hell that I'm letting
you hurt Rose. I may not be able to bite you in order to kill you,
but I can certainly rip you limb-from-limb. And trust me, now that
we know your kind exists, my clan will make sure we destroy every
single one of you. You're never going to use us or hurt anyone we
love again."

As I watched the red light radiate from
Meredith's eyes, I considered just grabbing Rose and speeding away
from the house. But since we had no idea why she was so interested
in Rose's dad, I just couldn't leave him alone without knowing if
she would kill him.

"I may not be as strong as you, but after I
killed Rose's mom I became a lot stronger than your average human.
I'm sure it came from drinking in her essence like my ancestors
used to do, and now...I think you'll find me a lot harder to kill."
It sounded like she wasn't sure of her abilities, but she certainly
wasn't backing down either.

She launched herself across the room, grabbed
Rose, and flew out the door. Damn, she definitely had some speed. I
raced after her and caught up with them in the living room, but to
my surprise, she wasn't hurting Rose, but instead was whispering
something in her ear that left Rose completely limp with shock. I
didn't have time to wonder what they were discussing because I was
too worried that any moment Meredith would snap Rose's neck.

I sped around and grabbed Meredith from behind I
was able to restrain her, but it was taking quite a bit of effort.
"Rose, grab the poker from the fireplace. You're going to have to
kill her. And hurry, I can't hold her for much longer."

* * * * *

(Meredith)

The moment that Rose's vampire arrived, an idea
formed in my head. I knew that I wasn't going to be able to beat
him in a fight or outrace him if I tried to run, so instead I
thought that I would take this opportunity to set both of them
up.

I heard Jeremy start to stir upstairs, so I knew
it would only be a matter of time before he came to find us all. So
the moment I saw the opportunity, I grabbed Rose and sped towards
the living room.

I hadn't lied to Christian. When I had drunk
Loraine's blood, it definitely had an effect on me. I was so
euphoric when I felt her essence flow into me, but what I failed to
share was that in addition to the euphoric feeling, it had also
infused me with her actual life force.

After I killed her, I had traveled to my
grandmother's house to ask her about the old ways. She'd informed
me that the demons of old drank human blood to not only absorb
their essence, but because it actually lengthened their lifespan.
Through the drinking of blood, the ancient demons had gained
strength, speed, and the ability to defy death. Drinking human
blood had started to make them immortal. But the transformation
hadn't been completed and when they were faced with the extinction
of their race, the old ways were lost. We had never consumed human
blood because it was uncertain how it would affect us.

I had been the first to risk it, and now it
looked like I was going to be putting the rest of the myth to the
test as well. I had hoped that by drinking Loraine's blood I would
start to become immortal or at least a little less destructible so
when Rose "killed" me, I wouldn't really be dead. I didn't see any
other way as Christian had already threatened to hunt me down from
this point forward. So, honestly, what did I have to lose?

Once I had gotten Rose alone in the living room,
I knew I only had a couple of seconds before Christian was going to
be on us again. I may have gained in speed and strength, but I
would never be as fast as a vampire.

"Rose, you wanted to know why I was so
interested in your dad? It's because he's a demon too. And so are
you." I felt her go limp with shock, just as Christian entered the
room. "If Christian finds out, his clan will kill you both."

Christian sped around behind me and held me in
place as he instructed Rose to do exactly what I wanted her to
do.

Jeremy was rounding the bottom of the stairs
just as Rose followed Christian's directions and grabbed the
fireplace poker.

She ran back around and positioned herself in
front of me, and with a rage-filled look on her face, she took
aim.

* * * * *

(Rose)

I couldn't believe what Meredith had just
whispered in my ear. Me and my dad were demons too? That was why
she had been interested in my dad and killed my mom.

Just as I had started to scream at her in
denial, Christian raced into the room and grabbed Meredith from
behind. "Rose, grab the poker from the fireplace. You're going to
have to kill her. And hurry, I can't hold her for much longer," I
heard him say.

I could barely process what he was saying, but
the malicious smile that spread across her face was enough to
propel me into motion.

I was so angry that I could almost feel the heat
radiating from my face. "I don't care if you're lying or not, I
will not let you hurt my family anymore."

I had never thought that I would be capable of
actually killing someone, but the moment that Meredith had
confessed that she was the one who killed my mother all I could
think about was her demise.

I slammed the poker into her stomach and watched
her collapse into a bloody heap on the floor. That was when I heard
my father scream.

* * * * *

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

Clean Break

(Meredith)

I met Jeremy's eyes just as his daughter rammed
the poker through my stomach. His eyes went wide with shock and he
screamed.

I collapsed into a heap on the floor and laid as
motionless as possible. The stab wound definitely hurt and I'm sure
it looked fatal to everyone in the room, but I could already tell
that it was starting to mend itself. I guess the theory of my demon
immortality was proving true. I laid there listening to my plan
fall into place as Jeremy started screaming at his daughter.

I knew she wouldn't try to explain that I was a
demon, and that Christian was a vampire. So my secret was safe
until I decided to share it with Jeremy. So right now it just
looked like his precious Rose was guilty of attempted murder.
Perfect!

"What have you done? My God Rose, what have you
done? You've killed her!" Jeremy kept repeating his panicked
questions as he made his way over to me.

"I...I'm sorry. I...Dad, she killed Mom." Rose
had no way to prove it, so I hoped that Jeremy would blow it off as
an excuse of a desperate girl who had just tried to kill her dad's
girlfriend.

"I don't understand! Tell me what happened.
Please, honey, tell me exactly what happened!" He was screaming by
the time he knelt down next to my body.

* * * * *

(Rose)

I had no idea what to say to my dad. There was
no way to explain that Meredith was a demon, and that Dad and I
were, too.