“So, is this your new thing? Ditching everyone that cares about you?” Sadie growls as she slumps into her usual lunchroom seat the following Monday.
“I’m really sorry about that…but I did call,” Roseline says, hoping this tiny act will help to appease her friend but, judging by the firm set of her lips, Roseline knows she will have to try better. “I felt really ill and I couldn’t bear the thought of a bus ride home. You know how I hate the smell of those things. Besides, I didn’t want to spoil your fun.”
Sadie’s anger subsides slightly. She pouts for a few minutes more to make sure Roseline gets the message and then smiles. “Oh fine. You’re forgiven.”
“Thanks,” Roseline grins, nibbling on her apple. She subconsciously scans the room for any signs of Gabriel. Thankfully, he is absent. She sinks back into her chair as she chews on her lower lip. What will she say when she sees him? This question tumbles around in her mind. Her talk with Fane left her woefully without answers.
Sadie flips a thick strand of bright red hair back from her face as she takes a massive bite of her hamburger. Roseline grins, admiring her friend’s outrageous outfit change. Her delicate dress, simple jewelry, and smooth hair have had been replaced with a red-checked tablecloth.
Her newly dyed hair is done up in tiny pigtails that peek out from under the brim of her straw hat. Brown cowboy boots hug her calves and a jean skirt flares around her knees. “Haven’t we already had Halloween?” Roseline quips.
“Oh, not you too,” Sadie groans. “Everyone keeps asking me that today. You’d think people would have some appreciation for freedom of dress.”
Roseline nods, fighting to hide her smirk. “And what did your mother say when you walked out the door?”
Sadie shrugs and shoves some fries in her mouth. “The usual. It’s really starting to get old, you know. My mom thinks she can run my life.”
“Yes, how very tragic for you,” a deep voice says just behind them.
Roseline cranes her neck around to see Gabriel glaring down at her. How did he sneak up on her? Drat.
Even in the midst of her panic, she notices one major change—Gabriel’s voice has deepened over the weekend. It now possesses a husky quality that turns her insides to mush. Double drat.
“I wasn’t sure if I would see you,” Roseline mutters to the floor, refusing to meet his steely glare.
“Likewise,” he says. “Can we go somewhere to talk?”
Roseline shoots Sadie a pleading look but she raises her hands in the air. “I’m a lover, not a fighter. Don’t drag me into this.”
“Thanks a lot,” Roseline growls as she throws her bag over her shoulder and follows Gabriel out of the dining hall. Eyes glue to them everywhere they go. Some curious, others jealous, but most are outright venomous. Obviously, Claire’s new mission to destroy Roseline is already in full swing. Too bad the poor girl doesn’t realize how little she actually cares about high school life.
Gabriel grips her hand tightly in his as he shoves through the back door of the school. The metal frame dents along the edge under his abuse. Roseline winces at the reminder of his newfound strength. “Skipping school again?” she asks.
He doesn’t say anything as he pulls her along behind him. His fingers clamp around her wrist. She winces, realizing that he is not only strong enough to bruise her but he could actually crush her wrist if he wanted to.
Roseline’s stomach twists in knots as he leads them toward the parking lot, toward seclusion. This can’t be good.
“You gonna take me out and shoot me?” She forces a laugh as Gabriel pulls her to a stop in front of his passenger side door.
He doesn’t speak as he holds the door open, waiting impatiently for her to climb into her seat. As soon as the door slams shut behind her Gabriel whips around the back end of the car and jumps into the driver’s seat. He turns the key and revs the engine. With one hand on the wheel and tires squealing, the Range Rover shoots out of the parking lot.
“Where are we going?” Trees rush past as Gabriel drives the gas pedal into the floorboard. They shoot out of the gates before the guard even has a chance to set down his coffee.
“To talk.”
“Why can’t we do that at school?” She braces herself against the dash as the Rover whips through traffic, creating spaces where none should exist.
“I want to be alone.”
“Well, that doesn’t sound the least bit ominous,” she mutters as she presses back into her seat. She is nervous, no denying that. His erratic driving and death grip on the wheel do little to ease her concerns. Gabriel has every right to be upset with her, but this is a bit excessive.
Instead of heading into the city, Gabriel turns south. His mouth opens and closes as he attempts to discuss the elephant in the room, but each time he clams up to fume a bit longer.
“You came by my house,” Roseline says. No sense beating around the bush.
Gabriel nods. “Four times.”
He’s keeping track. That’s not a good sign. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”
“Oh come on, Rose. We both know you were ignoring me. I could hear you upstairs.”
She shoots a wary glance his way. “How?”
“I don’t know,” he growls, yanking the wheel to throw them around a corner. “You’ve got a lot of answering to do. Who lives in a house that’s almost completely empty?”
Roseline’s fingers clench tightly against her palms. Dread slows her pulse. She is not ready to answer this question. “Please stop. You’re driving like a maniac.”
“So?” Gabriel challenges. When he turns to meet her gaze she notices his eyes are as cold as a frozen lake.
“Are you so angry that you’d risk killing us?”
Gabriel heaves an annoyed sigh and shakes his head. He swerves to the side of the road and slams on the brakes. The car slides a couple feet before coming to a stop on an ice patch. “Why did you run away from me at the game? I played the best game of my entire life and my girlfriend didn’t even stick around to celebrate with me.”
Roseline’s head jerks up. “I’m your girlfriend?”
“You know you are so stop changing the subject. Why did you leave? You knew I needed to talk to you.”
Even though she has gone over this answer a million times in her head, not a single word of it feels right. She has gone back and forth between daring to tell him the truth and coming up with some harebrained explanation.
“I don’t know what to say, Gabriel. I felt sick…” she whispers, staring down at her lap.
“Sick? You think I am going to swallow that excuse? I’m not Sadie, Rose. I know you. You were scared. I could see it in your eyes. I could feel it.”
Roseline glances up. “You could feel my fear?”
“Yeah.” Gabriel nods as his voice loses some of its intensity. “I was so worried about you. I thought maybe…”
“What?” she presses, placing her hand over his clenched fist.
He turns toward the window. “I thought maybe you were afraid of me.”
“Why would I be afraid of you,” she hedges.
Gabriel rolls his eyes. “Okay, can we stop the innocent act? We both know what happened Friday night and I think you know more about it then you’re letting on.”
Reaching out her hand, she gently cups Gabriel’s face. His beautiful eyes plead with her. “Please, Rose, do you know what is happening to me?”
What can she say that will not freak him out? She has lived with the unbelievable for three hundred years and yet he is still a mystery to her.
“Gabriel, I’m not sure how much I can…” she cuts off. As one, they turn toward the screeching sound outside the vehicle. The sound of locking brakes fills her mind as she watches a semi-trailer stutter toward them across the icy intersection. Gabriel’s face swings slowly toward her; a blue light glows brightly in his eyes as the truck breaches the gap.
&nbs
p; In a blur of movement, Roseline shreds Gabriel’s seat belt and pulls him into her lap. She wraps her body around him as the semi crashes through the driver’s side door. Headlights blind her as she whips around, turning her back to the truck to take the brunt of the impact.
She remains conscious long enough to cocoon Gabriel as they are thrown from the vehicle. Pain radiates through her body as she slams to the ground. Her hands slip from around Gabriel as darkness overtakes her.
The distant wailing of an ambulance siren calls Roseline back from the void. Blood seeps from a deep gash along her hairline. She grits her teeth against the pains stabbing all over her body. She fights to remain conscious as her ribs knit back together and her spine re-attaches itself.
Her shattered kneecaps withdraw their pieces as they re-form. Her jaw pops back into its socket. She rolls her head to the side to see her left arm dangling. By the look and feel of it, every bone has been fractured. Her right arm is clearly broken but remains mostly intact.
Gabriel lies unconscious next to her. His legs are completely shattered, his right arm is twisted back at an odd angle and, by the look of the dark bruising along his stomach, he is bleeding internally. She grunts, digging her nails into the road as she drags herself toward him.
“Oh, thank God you’re alive,” the semi driver cries as he falls to his knees in the bloodstained snow. “I called for an ambulance but they’re stuck behind the pileup. The paramedics should be here any minute, though.” His eyes trail over her broken body. “I wish there was something I could do to help you.”
Roseline winces as the thrumming along his neck attracts her attention. Her desperation to save Gabriel makes her resort to the unthinkable. Her right hand slams into the man’s temple. He slumps to the ground. “I’m so sorry. I wish I didn’t have to do this.”
As her teeth pierce the man’s soft flesh, warm, tangy blood begins to pool in her mouth. She drinks deep, moaning as healing fires light all over her body. Bones quickly mend and tiny internal fissures seal shut. Tears stream from her eyes as she drinks the forbidden blood. Her guilt finally pulls her away. The pain still lingers but it is more bearable now.
The unconscious man slumps to the side, very much alive but certainly in need of a transfusion. The wounds at his neck have already begun to heal, covering any evidence of her plunder. Roseline wipes the crimson stain from her lips, clamping down on her tears as she leaps to Gabriel’s side. “Hold on. I’ll save you.”
She bends low to brush her lips against his, testing his warmth. She can feel his pulse beating through his tender flesh. Gabriel parts his mouth at her touch, and his tongue licks the final traces of blood from the corner of her mouth. His body flinches. Roseline rears back, staring at him with a mixture of amazement and horror.
Gabriel cries out. Her eyes widen at the sound. It is not a cry of pain but of relief. She lifts his shirt and gasps. The blood bruise has begun to recede. His legs twitch, popping and cracking as his bones begin to rearrange.
“You have got to be kidding,” she murmurs, her brain firing on all cylinders to figure out what is happening before her eyes. It should be impossible, but the evidence it staring back at her. Without stopping to think of the consequences, Roseline sinks her teeth into her wrist and applies pressure to the wound. Fresh blood drips into Gabriel’s mouth, splattering against his teeth. He gulps it down.
“Oh my god!” she cries, rearing back as his arm snaps into place.
Roseline crab crawls backward, too horrified to move until she hears footsteps approaching at a run. Her first reaction is to turn and fight, to protect him, but she can’t be seen. Not while she is healing.
With a heavy heart, she turns and runs.
Twenty-Five