Vampire 01 - Daughter of Darkness

romantic gold.
    But none of this was true for me. In a few days, I would instead help engineer the most gruesome death for the boy for whom I had the deepest feelings. That smile would be gone forever from his face. I couldn’t help but wonder when he would laugh for the last time, when he would smile or look at the world around him and feel wonderful. Would it be because of something I said or did? And what would be his final thoughts about me? Would they be angry thoughts or just utter shock? Would he be so disillusioned about life and love that he would welcome the darkness?
    “Hey, you look sad about all this. Aren’t you at least half as happy as I am?” he asked me, reaching for my hand.
    I forced a smile. Then I looked at my watch. “We’dbetter go back. I don’t want to keep her waiting. Mainly, I don’t want Ava to be angry about anything right now.”
    “From what you’ve said about her, neither do I,” he said, rising quickly. “Where do you live? You’ve never told me,” he said as we walked back to campus.
    “In Brentwood, off Sunset. I’ll direct you Saturday night.”
    “Great. We’re close. More time for us,” he said. “Where are you meeting Ava right now?”
    “At the car,” I said.
    “I’ll walk you there.”
    “No, let’s just say good-bye here for now. Ava can be a bit of a pain, teasing and such. She might say or do something to embarrass us, me mainly, or she might have a change of heart once she sees us so happy together. She can be very jealous at times.”
    “I thought she was Miss Self-Confidence. Jealous?”
    “Yes, jealous.” He had no idea how true that was.
    He shrugged. “Whatever you say.”
    He kissed me.
Surely, he feels the restraint in my kiss
, I thought, and waited for his reaction, but he just smiled and said, “I’ll count the minutes until Saturday at six.”
    “Me, too,” I told him, and walked quickly away.
    Ava was already in the car when I arrived and got in.
    “I can see that went well,” she said. “Even though you didn’t look as happy about it as I told you to look.”
    “I can’t help being nervous. How can you be so sure Daddy’s not going to be very upset, Ava?” I asked as we started away. “Even though we’re leaving soon, it’s still a rule violation, isn’t it, and that’s what the renegades do, right?”
    “Leave that to me,” she said. “If I’m in charge, he won’t blame you for anything, but even if he’s angry at first, I’ll fix it. The bottom line, Lorelei, is he’ll end up being very proud and satisfied with you. And isn’t that what you really want, anyway?” She waited for a moment and then turned to me. “Isn’t it?”
    “Yes,” I said, but felt sure that I was not skilled enough to cover up the doubt I was having.
    “You’ll feel better once it’s over,” she promised, nodding as though she were convincing herself.
    My last hope was that either Daddy or Mrs. Fennel would see how worried and edgy I was the remainder of the week. They’d ask driving, penetrating questions of both me and Ava, and once they learned what was being planned, they’d put a stop to it, and that would be that. Twice during the time we were all home together, Ava warned me about wearing too long a face and snapping at Marla in front of Mrs. Fennel.
    “You’re endangering us both,” she said. “Get hold of yourself. You’re soon going to move to a new home and have a new sister. You should be full of the same excitement Marla is exhibiting. Stop moping and acting irritable, or you’ll raise suspicions. You’re just lucky Daddy and Mrs. Fennel have their minds occupied with other things; otherwise, we’d be finished. You’d be finished.”
    I promised to do better, and I did try, but I was eager to retreat to the sanctuary of my room. I spent hours looking at what could be my mother’s picture and thinking. I went on the computer and found the address for the orphanage. What if I went there and pleaded for information? Wasn’t there something, anything, about my pastthat would help me decide what to do and strengthen my resistance?
    Whether Ava confided in her or not, Marla seemed the most suspicious, especially because of how short I was with her. She was full of questions when I took her to school. I tried to be as nonchalant and indifferent as I could, but she had Ava’s perseverance and persistence.
    “I know you two are planning something soon. I don’t know why I can’t be told. I’m tired