Vampire 01 - Daughter of Darkness

you? Let’s just talk, then. Tell me more about yourself. What happened to your real mother?”
    “Cancer,” I said. How convenient and all-encompassing that word could be.
    “Oh, sure. Well, what about your current father?Where’s his wife? How was he able to adopt you if he didn’t have a wife?” he asked.
    “His sister lives with us,” I said. “She’s been… she’s been our mother.”
    “That’s weird. Your father never married?”
    “Yes, he did. His wife died.”
    “Oh. And so he didn’t give you back afterward, since his sister was there?”
    “Something like that,” I said.
    “Something like that? Funny way to put it.”
    “It’s not something I question, Buddy. Imagine asking ‘Why did you keep me?’”
    “Yeah, I see your point. You said you have a younger sister. So he legally adopted her, too?”
    “Yes.”
    “So, Ava is the daughter your father had with his wife before she died?”
    “Yes.”
    I looked at my watch. “I had better go. If I’m not home when Ava returns with my younger sister…”
    “Okay,” he said, rising. “Should I call you tonight?”
    “I’ll call you,” I said. “It’s very important that Ava not know about us, Buddy.”
    “You do make her sound dangerous. What is she, some kind of psychotic?”
    “She’s… a very jealous person. She can be very mean, yes, and she would do something to get me into big trouble.”
    He nodded and walked me out. We stood by my car for a moment. He just looked at me.
    “What?” I asked.
    “You’re so full of mystery and contradictions. I’m frustrated, but I’m also even more attracted to you.” He pretended to look around. “You sure we’re not on some kind of reality show here?”
    “Hardly,” I said, laughing. He was so cute, his passion for me so obvious. I leaned in and kissed him. He kept his eyes closed after I pulled back.
    “I want to savor every kiss,” he said. “Pack it tightly into my memory so I’ll be able to relive it while I’m away from you. Suffering, I might add.”
    I got into my car.
    “You’ll call me later? You promise?”
    “Let’s not turn everything into a promise,” I said. “Too much opportunity for disappointment.”
    “Hey… that’s deep. You are a woman of mystery. Okay, I’ll keep my cell phone in the pocket next to my heart.”
    I smiled, started the car, and backed out of the driveway. He stood watching me. I waved and drove off. In my rearview mirror, I could see him still watching me, like someone who wanted to memorize every moment.
    I knew that I did.

15
 
Outsider
    Because of a sudden rainstorm and heavy traffic caused by an accident, I reached home only fifteen minutes before Ava and Marla arrived. I was anxious the entire way and even more so when I got home. I hurried into the house, afraid they were right behind me. To keep myself occupied and contain my nervousness, I changed clothes, set the table for dinner, and checked on the food Mrs. Fennel had prepared. When I heard Ava and Marla enter laughing, I stepped out of the dining room.
    “What’s so funny?” I asked.
    “You,” Marla said. “Getting suspended. Little Miss Perfect with the perfect grades and perfect social graces. Wait until Daddy hears about it, how you messed up and brought unnecessary attention to us.”
    “You don’t have to be so gleeful about my misfortune, Marla,” I said.
    “You would be if it happened to me,” she countered, her face as full of venom as Ava’s could be.
    I looked at Ava, who stared at me as if she was waiting for my reaction. “I don’t think so,” she said when I didn’t respond. “I don’t think Lorelei would be asgleeful.” The way she said it made it sound like a terrible fault.
    “Well, I do,” Marla insisted, and marched off to her room. Ava remained.
    “Everything’s ready for our dinner,” I said, hating the moment of silence between us. “What time do you want to eat?”
    “The same time as always, Lorelei. Why should tonight be any different?”
    “I just thought you might have had something to do.”
    “I do. Watch over you two,” she said, “like some babysitter.”
    “You don’t have to worry about me.”
    I started back to the kitchen, but she followed me.
    “Of course I have to worry about you. Guess what?” she said. “I went looking for Buddy Gilroy after you called me and couldn’t find him. He cut his classes, apparently, all of his afternoon classes. Don’t you think that’s odd?”
    “Maybe