Vampire 01 - Daughter of Darkness

more, and then called Buddy. He really must have been keeping his phone close to his heart, because he picked up on the first ring.
    “Lorelei?”
    “Yes,” I said. “Where are you?”
    “I’m sitting in the rear of my uncle’s house dreaming of you. I slept here last night,” he confessed, “on the sofa where you sat. It helped me to feel close to you again.”
    “What about your classes? Didn’t you attend any today?”
    “Nothing else seems to matter to me.”
    “Now you’re making me feel bad,” I said. “You’re going to ruin your college grades.”
    “Don’t feel bad. I can make up any time I’ve lost. In fact, if you come to me today, I promise I’ll work harder and be at the top of my class.”
    I laughed. It took only seconds of hearing his voice to wash away my tension. There was something honest and sincere about him, and that not only relaxed me but gave me a sense of optimism. For me, Buddy proved that all boys weren’t what Ava portrayed them to be, prey or opponents. My conversations with Buddy didn’t have to be coy, and I didn’t have to be constantly on the defensive. There were lines I couldn’t cross, but Ava would never consider a simple walk on the beach with a boy as something desirable. She was, like Brianna, always the hunter. There would never be a
we
in Ava’s or Brianna’s vocabulary, but did that mean there could never be one for me either?
    “Will you come?” he asked.
    I took a deep breath. The sun was warmer now, the breeze softer, the sky a deeper blue. Darkness and fury awaited me later in the day. For a while, at least, I could have something pleasant and wonderful. Perhaps, I rationalized, it would help me to be stronger for what was to come.
    “Yes,” I said. “I’m on my way.”
    “Prayers answered,” he said. “I’ll wait out front.”
    I hurried around to my car and, with only a moment’s hesitation, started the engine and drove off defiantly. If my family had so many secrets, why couldn’t I have one?I was confident that I could keep it well. I had fooled Ava, hadn’t I? Anyway, besides being something delicious and wonderful, this was exciting. Yes, my heart beat faster, but not out of fear so much as out of anticipation of that which would help me feel more complete as a woman. As I drove, I told myself I wasn’t simply the blood slave Ava was. I didn’t have her same hatred for and anger toward young men.
Love won’t be poison for me. It won’t, it won’t.
    And then I stopped myself. Whom was I trying to convince? Was I going mad?
    My stomach woke up a hive of bees inside. I slowed down.
    Turn around
, a voice within was telling me.
It’s all too great a risk. Yes, you fooled Ava, perhaps, but you know Daddy will see right through you. He’ll look into your eyes and know immediately. The disappointment he will feel will be too great. You’ll lose him; you’ll lose him forever.
    By the time I turned down the street toward Buddy’s uncle’s house, tears were streaming down my cheeks. I stopped before I thought he could see my car and pulled to the side. My body was shaking with fear. I was about to turn around when I saw him walking down the center of the street. He had been waiting closer to the turn. He was that anxious and excited.
    It’s too late
, I told myself.
    I wiped away my tears as quickly as I could, took another deep breath, and drove slowly toward him. He was waving and smiling and looked like a little boy. He jumped up and down to exaggerate his happiness, and I laughed.
    This is good
, I thought.
This has to be right.
    I stopped beside him.
    “Why did you pull over down there? You were having second thoughts, weren’t you?” he asked.
    “Yes.”
    “Don’t have third,” he said, and nodded at the driveway.
    I parked, and he hurried over to open my car door. When I stepped out, he didn’t speak. He looked at me, and I looked at him, and then he kissed me. It was a soft kiss, but I could feel the desire in him and the love. His eyes were glossy with tears of happiness. Neither of us said a word. We didn’t have to. We were speaking with our eyes, our lips, and our hearts. He took my hand and led me into the house.
    He closed the door and still held my hand. Still, neither of us spoke. He led me down the hallway to a bedroom. I paused in the doorway. If I entered, I was crossing another forbidden line, and I knew that once I crossed it, it would be too late to turn back. My life would never be the