Blood Awakening Read online

  I was actually shocked when she didn’t speak to me as I swiftly moved past her and her entourage. I exhaled the pent-up air in my lungs once I was safely inside the gym and headed straight for the locker room to change. I nearly bowled Lacey over when I came bounding out.

  “Geez, crazy, you wanna borrow my contacts?” Her long hair was pulled taut into a ponytail, bouncing gleefully behind her head. She was much taller than I remembered the last time she and I had a run in, seemingly towering over me.

  I took a step back toward the locker room door. “Sorry, Lacey,” I said, trying my best to move around her and avoid the blowup I knew was coming. “I didn’t see you.”

  “Yeah, obviously.” She spun around as I sidestepped her, that annoying ponytail swaying to and fro. “You think because he dumped your useless ass, that gives you the right to be rude?”

  “No, I don’t. What gives you the right?” I was mad now. She was able to dig beneath my skin and irritate me faster than any vampire.

  “You nearly knock me down, and I’m the one being rude? Wow, you really are self-centered.”

  “Rude again. Gee, surprise.” Now I was being rude.

  “Whatever. Just watch where the hell you’re going, got it?”

  “Aye aye, captain.” I fake-saluted her, using a certain finger instead of my entire hand. I could almost feel her hands around my throat. It was no secret that the two of us didn’t like each other, so no one inside the gym even batted an eye at our little tiff. Lacey turned and walked away from me, and I headed to my usual seat in the top corner of the bleachers. She stopped me halfway there, though, shouting across the gym floor.

  “Hey Ava!” she yelled, garnering the attention of almost everyone. “Since Chance dumped you like the trash you are, you won’t mind if he and I hook up, right?”

  The next several minutes went by in a blur. I remember leaping down from the bleachers. I remember human-running across the gym floor toward Lacey. After that, things kind of go fuzzy. Obviously I did something, since Lacey was with the nurse, and I was with the school principal, but I couldn’t remember what. Oh well, it beat having to listen to her go on about Chance.

  “I should suspend you, young lady, for what you did.” Principal Monroe was a stout old man, with thinning hair and rimless glasses that looked like pieces of oblong-shaped plastic hovering in front of his eyes. A large nose held the floating orbs in place, and thin lips rested just beneath them. All in all, he creeped me out. “You’re lucky I am sympathetic to your plight, and therefore am willing to be lenient with your punishment.”

  My plight? What was he talking about? I wanted so badly to ask him to explain—and to fill me in on exactly what I had done to deserve punishment in the first place—but I kept my comments to myself. “Thank you, sir,” I said instead, going for nice, since I had apparently gone for bad already.

  “Now, take this note home with you. I’ll need your parents to sign it and send it back with you.” He handed a piece of paper across his desk, staring at me with those beady eyes.

  “I don’t have parents,” I said as I took the paper from him.

  Principal Monroe’s eyes glazed over for a second before he realized what he’d said. “Yes, of course. My apologies.” He smiled at me, clasping his hands on his desk. “Have your guardian, Mrs. Harper, sign it for you. It’s a standard form, stating exactly what happened today and that you will be required to attend detention for two weeks. Be sure I get this back tomorrow, Ms. Blue.” His chipper attitude was nauseating, and as I left his office and met up with Kayla in the parking lot, I couldn’t help but wonder if Chance had compelled him right along with Mr. Powell.

  And once again, my thoughts, like always, found their way to Chance. As I relived the events of the day over and over, trying to remember what I had done to Lacey, I kept hoping that once we were in Boston, working so closely together to find Kayla’s dad, Chance would somehow find a way to forgive me.

  Silence filled the car as Kayla and I headed home. She was too busy focusing on the slushy, icy mess coating the road to talk (I mean, does it ever stop being cold here?), and I was sick to my stomach over being rejected by Chance twice in less than a day. I had thought when I woke up in that coffin a few months ago that life couldn’t possibly get any worse. Now, I looked back on that as a splinter on the tip of the wooden stake currently residing dead center of my chest. If only I could find a way to rip it out without leaving a gaping, bleeding hole, I’d be okay.

  Much easier said than done.

  A note clipped to the fridge door told us that Mrs. Harper was working late, and that dinner was in the oven (a really good casserole that normally I would’ve devoured, but now I could barely think of eating). As Kayla quietly gathered plates, silverware and glasses and carried them into the living room so we could veg out in front of the TV, I thumbed through my copy of The Great Gatsby for about the tenth time, hoping to find something hidden within the pages that could help me figure out how to deal with my problems. Unfortunately, Daisy’s main issue wasn’t a vampire who hated the world. I was on my own.

  “So,” Kayla said as the two of us sat on the couch eating dinner. Well, she was eating; I was pushing my food around on the plate. “How was it?” I knew she had been itching to ask me that question all day—I could practically see it on her face every time I looked at her—but I really didn’t want to delve into the world of Chance again.

  “Fine.” I hated lying to her after all she had done for me. And I had every intention of telling her everything…one day. But right now, I just wanted to get lost in the world of the fictional characters on some of her favorite primetime dramas and totally forget about my lame excuse for a love life.

  “BZZZT! Wrong answer.”

  I actually jumped, almost spilling my casserole down my shirt. “What the heck was that?!”

  “That was me telling you that you’re insane if you think you’re getting away with ‘Fine.’” She put her now-empty plate on the coffee table and tucked her legs beneath her on the couch. “Now, spill it. I wanna know what has you barely saying five words all night.”

  “I don’t wanna get into it.” More mindless food pushing. “We always talk about me and my problems. Let’s talk about something else.”

  “Okay, fine.” She gazed at the ceiling for a moment, then, “Why don’t we talk about Grease. Or Wicked. Ooh, or maybe Cats!”

  “Okay, okay, I surrender. Please, don’t torture me.” I couldn’t deal with show tunes, not now.

  “Then spill.” I did my best to fill Kayla in on what had gone down today with Chance, pausing when she gasped and even calming her down when she got mad at him. By the time I was done recapping, I was exhausted.

  “I think I’m gonna go to bed,” I said, scooping up her plate and carrying it and mine to the kitchen. I scraped the food left on mine into the trash and put them both in the sink. I hated leaving dirty dishes behind for someone else to clean up, but I was too wiped out to care at the moment.

  “Forgot to mention,” Kayla said as we readied ourselves for bed, “our trip to Boston is tomorrow.”

  “What about school?”

  “No worries. Chance worked his mojo again, got us excused. And Erik has no life, so he’s free.”

  “Kayla, that’s mean.”

  “You know I’m just joking. Of course he has a life…there’s just not much happening in it at the moment.” I cut my eyes at her and she smiled. “Point is, tomorrow we’ll be away from this stupid town. And you’ll have something else to think about besides Chance. Hey, at least you’ll be able to stay away from him, you know?”

  “He’s going with us, remember?” I climbed beneath the covers, letting the warmth and safety of the sheets and thick comforter lull me into a blissful state.

  “I know, but you won’t be trapped inside a building or classroom with him.”

  “No, I’ll ju
st be trapped in a tiny car with him there and back. Oh, and side-by-side with him the entire time we’re there. Ooh, can’t wait.”

  “I’ll be there, though. I can run interference. Or pull you off to the bathroom any time I see you getting upset.”

  “Thanks, Kayla, honestly. But we’re going for you, for your dad. I don’t want my problems on your mind.” She dropped her shoulders and tilted her head at me. “I’ll be fine. Promise.”

  “Well, if you’re not, you let me know.” She climbed into her bed and flipped out the light. The room was flooded with moonlight, a blue hue falling over everything. “Because I have no problem at all kicking a vampire between the legs.”

  I laughed a bit at Kayla’s comment, before the real truth of why I was dreading our trip so much sank into my mind.

  Erik.

  And Chance.

  At the same time.

  Yeah, fun times.

  HOPE

  My stomach was doing somersaults the next morning as I waited for Chance and Erik to arrive. After the past couple of days, I wasn’t really in the mood to be around people—especially those two people—not because I was afraid that my vampire side would surface and I would go on a feeding frenzy through the city of Boston, but because after basically getting dumped twice (though Erik and I were not a couple—and I guess Chance and I weren’t either, really), I didn’t really feel like being sociable. I opened the front door and stepped out onto the porch, hoping a blast of cool air would help wake me up. I was surprised it hadn’t begun to warm up since it was almost April, but a strong northern wind kept the temperature at a very chilly forty degrees. With an overcast, greying sky above, even I was feeling the lingering wintry weather. I wasn’t shivering beneath large winter coats like most of the people milling around town on a daily basis, but it was cold.

  My internal temperature climbed several degrees once I caught sight of Chance’s truck coming down the drive. I held my breath as he climbed out, hoping that he wasn’t still on the defensive like yesterday at school. He had a thin coat on, though I knew he didn’t need it; trying to keep up appearances, I supposed. I was familiar with that tactic. I had been fighting to keep up the appearance that I was nothing but a normal teenager every day since waking up buried alive. I just didn’t want to accept that I was anything but a normal teenager. Obviously, he was doing the same.

  “Wow. It looks like someone peed in his cornflakes.” Kayla stepped into the open doorway, her arms curled around her chest. Her cheeks were a vibrant pink, making her appear even more childlike than usual.

  “Guess that would be me,” I said. I kept my eyes on Chance as he made his way to the porch. I expected him to ignore me, to walk past me like a stranger on the street. I was surprised when he stopped just at the base of the steps.

  “What’s the plan when we get there?” Just hearing his voice warmed my half-human heart. I honestly thought I’d never hear it again.

  “I guess the ice cream shop,” Kayla said, uncrossing her arms. “It’s probably a long shot, but maybe somebody who works there remembers him. Then, I guess we can check his office at BU again?”

  “I thought that woman told you he never made it?” I was doing my best to recall our last trip there, but Chance’s eyes were fighting for my attention.

  “Oh, what does she know,” Kayla said. “Obviously he was there. Or somewhere close by. Why else would I have gotten that note?”

  “And what about that note?’ Kayla just stared at me. “Aren’t you worried what it means?”

  “I already know what it means. I read it, remember? I just don’t believe it.”

  “What do you mean, you don’t believe it? They said they’ll kill him, Kayla. How can you not believe that?”

  “Maybe we shouldn’t talk about this right now,” Chance said. “We’re all kind of stressed.” Well, that answered my question; apparently he wasn’t over the fighting we’d been going through the past couple of days. Which really sucked, considering we were about to become inseparable, so to speak.

  “He’s right,” I said, looking to Kayla because I was afraid to look at him, only to have him look away. “We can figure it all out when we get there.”

  “There’s nothing to figure out.” Kayla stepped between Chance and me and headed back inside. “I’m gonna find him. That’s it.”

  “I thought that was the plan all along,” Chance said under his breath to me as he followed her inside. “To find her dad?”

  “It was,” I said, playing Follow the Leader, closing the door behind me. The warmth of the house was very inviting. “It is. It’s just…”

  “You’re scared?”

  “Um, yeah. Aren’t you?”

  “I don’t know. A little, I guess.” He lowered his eyes to meet mine. “I’m sort of preoccupied right now, you know?”

  I knew. “Sorry,” I said. “Guess that’s my fault.”

  “It’s not your fault. It just…hurts.”

  “Chance, I—”

  “Don’t, Ava. Not now.” He took a deep breath and forced it out of his lungs. “I need to stay focused.”

  “Oh, right. Because of the compulsion thing?”

  “Yeah. That.” He stared at me for a second before following Kayla into the kitchen. I stood alone in the entryway, scared to death that this trip was going to lead to even more pain.

  “Well, wasn’t that just cozy.” Erik’s voice scared the crap out of me.

  “Geez, Erik, stop doing that.” I hadn’t even heard the front door open, let alone him sneak up behind me. I brushed hair from my eyes, thankful I had gotten dressed before coming downstairs.

  “Sorry about that,” he said, closing the door behind him. “Didn’t wanna interrupt the lovebirds’ moment.”

  What was it with these two and their assumptions?

  I rolled my eyes, frustrated at…everything. “It wasn’t a ‘moment.’ We were just—”

  “Ah, keep the details to yourself, okay?” He was holding out his hands in defense, a look of pain on his face. “Last thing I wanna hear is how you two can’t stop fawning over each other.”

  “That’s not what I was gonna say. We weren’t ‘fawning’ over each other.”

  “Whatever you say.” He smiled, though I knew instantly he didn’t really want to. “Where’s Kayla?”

  I wanted to keep talking to him, to find out if he hated me as much as Chance did, as much as I hated myself. “She’s in the kitchen, getting ready.” Yeah, so much for what I wanted.

  “Well then,” he said, stepping past me, “let’s get this fun day started.”

  I didn’t follow as he left the entryway, partly because I was too wound up over seeing him and Chance both, and partly because I was waiting for their shared hatred of each other to blow up Kayla’s kitchen. After a few seconds with no fire or brimstone, I felt it was safe enough to join everyone else.

  “Everybody ready?” Kayla asked once I stepped into the kitchen. I expected to see Chance holding Erik by the throat, or Erik with a stake against Chance’s chest, so I was relieved that they both remained in opposite corners of the room, even though the tension was so thick between them you would need a chainsaw to cut through it.

  “Just need to run upstairs for a sec,” I said with an awkward, uncomfortable smile. Less than ten feet away was the boy I had fallen for. And five feet farther was the boy I might be falling for. I had zero need to go upstairs. I just had to clear my head before the four of us were strapped into a car bound for the nearest big city.

  “Okay, we’ll meet you outside?” Kayla could clearly sense my unease. She smiled back and said “it’s all gonna be okay” with her eyes. I nodded and left the room, making a beeline for the stairs. Once I was around the corner where I wouldn’t be seen, I leaned against the wall and listened as the three of them left the house.

  “Okay, Ava,” I sa
id aloud, “you have got to calm down and keep it together. This isn’t gonna be that bad. They both want nothing to do with you, so get over yourself.” I kept taking deep, calming breaths, forcing my mind to focus on Kayla and the reason for this painfully uncomfortable trip in the first place: finding her dad. “Nothing else matters,” I said, again out loud. “Find her dad. Find her dad. Find her dad.” I kept repeating the mantra as I stepped into the bathroom and patted my cheeks and smoothed out my windblown hair. “You can do this, Ava. You can. No big deal.”

  That’s it, Ava. Keep lying to yourself.

  A weird feeling of déjà vu swept over me as the four of us packed into Mrs. Harper’s Volvo and headed east. It had only been a week since Kayla, Erik and I were here, and that trip had been a total bust. Why did I think this time would be different? We had no leads on where Kayla’s dad was, no idea who had him, and no idea if he was even alive. What were we thinking?

  “We were thinking of helping our friend,” Chance said from beside me. Why he chose to cram himself into the backseat too was beyond me.

  “Sorry,” I said, keeping my voice low. “Didn’t mean to say that out loud.”

  “Yeah, I kind of figured that.”

  “I’m just worried for Kayla. And her dad.”

  “I am, too. That’s why I’m here.” I smiled at him and turned my attention to the scenery outside the window, which was zipping past us at what felt like a hundred miles per hour. The rest of the drive (thankfully a short one) was nothing but silence, broken only by comments on other “stupid drivers” from Kayla, and a few “awesome song” ones from Erik. By the time we parked the car down the street from JP Licks, I was somewhat at ease. I mean, the worst part of the trip—being in a confined space with both Chance and Erik—was over, right? We climbed from the car, and even though the bitter northern wind didn’t really bother me, I shivered.

  “What’s wrong?” Chance asked, turning to me.