My fingers trembled as I held out the journal. “You should start with this.”
He touched the dagger cross on the cover, then the tattoo on his bicep.
My cheeks burned. “Yeah. It’s yours and I took it. I’m sorry.”
He opened the front cover and the photo he’d secretly taken of me slipped out onto his lap. The viridian flecks in his eyes sparkled as he picked it up and read the back. “I took this?”
“We have a long history, Nicholas. The only reason we are sitting here today, the only reason I’m alive, actually, is because of you.”
His brow knitted together. “I’m all ears.”
I sighed and touched his hand. “I don’t even know where to begin.”
He flipped his hand around and interlaced his fingers with mine. I squeezed back, his touch the lifesaving water I’d been dying to drink.
“Start at the beginning.”
For several hours I breezed through the
Cliff Notes
of our crazy journey. I had to start with the significance of where we sat, the fact he’d pulled me off the cliff in front of us and staked the vamp he’d lied about, calling it a mountain lion, right on this spot. The details came out effortlessly from my mother to his mother and everything in between, except, of course, for the embarrassing parts of our relationship. I wouldn’t dare tell him anything, for fear he might not feel the same for me again. Though he cared, his feelings were still platonic.
“What I don’t understand is if Preston and Alora wouldn’t tell you anything, why didn’t you just talk to Harry?”
Nicholas’ countenance dropped. “Harry died.”
“He what?” My throat constricted as fat tears welled in my eyes. “When?”
“He had a heart attack shortly after my amnesia began.”
“No,” I whispered and felt the world sway.
Nicholas put his arm over my shoulder and shushed me. I wasn’t sure what upset me more: the fact Nicholas wasn’t more saddened or that Alora quite possibly murdered him. A tear slipped down my cheek as the grief washed over me. Not only for Harry, but everyone who’d been victimized over the vampire curse. If only there was a way to stop it without having to hurt anyone I loved.
Everything boiled down to Alora’s never-ending quest to possess the talisman. She’d finally found the Achilles heel. By removing Harry and inciting amnesia on Nicholas, she could easily ask him to retrieve her heirloom.
“Why are you really here?” I gulped down the painful betrayal.
He clenched his jaw, hurt. “I told you already. For answers.”
“Not to get the necklace?” My voice came out harder than I wanted.
“No.” He pursed his lips and attempted to wipe a wayward tear from my cheek. I jerked away.
“I promise you, Julia. I’m here to find out about my past, which involves the necklace. There’s obviously a good reason why I gave it to you and not her. And why you and Preston are so indignant she doesn’t get it back.”
My heart fluttered in surprise, melting my anger. “Yes, there is.” The stone warmed, as if happy of that fact. “It wards off vampires. But in her hands, she’d become a day-walker and be invincible.”
He clenched his jaw. “Then I made a good decision.”
I studied his beautiful, kissable lips, yearning for him to just lean forward. “I think so.”
An awkward pause filled the space as his fury and frustration flared then subsided. I’d indirectly told him his mother was a lying, conniving witch and he apparently connected the dots. His amnesia wasn’t a mistake at all and now he finally knew it.
He shrugged off his anger and sighed. “So what do we normally do on days like these?”
A chuckle bounced out of my lips. Nothing about us was normal. “We could go to your house.”
“I have a house?”
I laughed a little harder until I remembered Phil and I had turned it into a detox center for Sam. “Did you say you drove?”
He nodded. “Good. I have some people I want you to meet.”
The summer sun hung in the sky amongst a mound of soft fluffy clouds. I closed my eyes, basking in its warmth, happy I didn’t have to get home quite yet. But just to be safe, I clicked my phone completely off to keep Dad’s suspicions down. Hopefully he’d spent all afternoon worrying about locating Sam instead of my whereabouts.
As we drove, Nicholas remained quiet, his emotions flickering around like a pinwheel. And once he’d digested all the info I’d told him, the journal that lay on the console between us was ready to add more sustenance to his information overload.
I fidgeted, anxious to know what Phil and Sam were up to and wondered if popping in unexpectedly would be such a good idea. I’d also hoped Scarlett would be there to help unblock Nicholas’ memories. One positive thing about the amnesia, Nicholas didn’t remember he and Phil were sworn enemies. Otherwise, this reunion would have gone in a completely different direction.
“This is it,” I said.
He hummed in acceptance, admiring his digs.
As we exited the car, I appraised the interior. A thick plume of bloodlust with a hint of desire exuded from inside. My body flushed as jealousy tangled its green fingers around my heart and squeezed. Was there something brewing between Phil and Sam? I trusted him to take care of Sam, not hook up with her, especially after he’d pretty much fallen in love with me.
“Ummm,” I said, not sure exactly how to gauge what might be happening inside. “I hope you’re not upset, but one of my friends was recently changed and she needed a place to hide until she could get a grip on her appetite. I didn’t have anywhere for them to go, and your place was vacant, so ...”
“Okay.” He shrugged. “Let’s go meet ‘em then.”
“Door!” I yelled, hoping not to singe someone who didn’t move fast enough.
I braced myself as we entered the house, unsure of what I’d find. Nicholas’ gaze trailed the claw marks Katie had left in the floor seconds before her untimely demise.
“Oh.” I bit my lip, the guilt behind her death coming back to me in a big gust of remorse. “There was an accident. It’s a long story. I’m sure we can fix it.”
“Julia, you’re here.” Phil came around the corner, his hands firmly gripped onto Sam’s shoulders as her bloodlust spiked. “And, Nick—”
Sam’s screech startled everyone as she darted behind Phil.
I held up my hand and backed up against the door. “I didn’t mean to interrupt,” I said, as her pitch escalated. “I just wanted to see how things were going.”
Phil tried unsuccessfully to pry her away from his back. “This is embarrassing. I swear we were doing much better than this.” He grabbed Sam’s hands and removed her nails from his shirt. “Sam. Chill.”
“He’s here to get me,” she squealed.
Phil screwed up his face and followed her fearful gaze to Nicholas. “You two know each other?”
She started to hyperventilate. “I promise. I won’t hurt anyone, please...”
Her reaction donned on me. She must have put two and two together from our talks at school and then at her house just now. That Nicholas hunted vampires for a living and not human criminals. “It’s okay, Sam. Nicholas is not going to hurt you.”
Phil mouthed an “O” and put his hand over her mouth. “Shhh …”
She yelped and wiggled, but he successfully calmed her down.
Taken aback, Nicholas took in the sight, his face darkened in concern. “Why is she acting like that?”
“Sorry,” I said under my breath. “She thinks you’re going to kill her.”
Nicholas’ eyebrows pinched together. “And why would she think that?”
I shrugged apologetically. “’Cause you’ve killed every vamp that you’ve ever run across.” An important detail I’d somehow forgotten to mention. “I’ll tell you more later.”
Nicholas blinked at me in annoyance.
“So, you’re home, Nick,” Phil said with a half grin. “No hard feelings?”
“I need to explain,” I interrupted. “Alora erased his memories, so he doesn’t remember you. Actually, he doesn’t remember anything.”
Phil’s eyebrows shot up as his glance fell on me, then at Nicholas. “Wow. I mean, Alora’s cruel, but that’s a shocker.”
“Please don’t start,” I said. “Nicholas, this is Phil and Samantha. Samantha is the new vampire I was telling you about. Phil is trying to help her control herself. We’re all
friends
.”
“Hey,” Nicholas said, seemingly uninterested in small talk. He wandered over to the dresser, stopping to touch the photo of his mother.
Phil put up his hand to stop me when I moved to follow Nicholas. “Parker, you need to stay put. Tiger here is a having a rough time and you smell a little too delicious today.”
Sam peered over Phil’s shoulder, still watching Nicholas like a hawk, but keeping tabs on me, too, with a hungry gleam in her eye.
“Is Scarlett here?” I asked Phil.
He shook his head. “Haven’t seen her since you went to L.A.”
“Did she follow me there?”
“I’m not sure—”
Suddenly, a whir of bodies ended with Phil restraining Sam’s arms against the wall, knocking a picture onto the floor with a crash. I gasped as Nicholas eyed the broken frame with pursed lips.
“Sorry,” Phil said to Nicholas quickly.
Sam hissed, unaware of the damage she’d done. “I have to,” she whined.
“No.” Phil looked directly into her eyes. “Remember what I told you. The longer you withstand, the sooner it will go away.”
Sam began to cry and sagged down.
Unable to handle her distress any longer, I headed for the door. “I’ll be outside.”
Nicholas turned to me with a nod.
I paced for a little while and decided to curl up in Nicholas’ front seat. The journal fell open onto my lap to my favorite page.
November 12
I finally told her how I feel. Overwhelmed with everything about her, her warmth, her scent, her laugh. She was curled up in my arms and it just slipped out. She froze and her beautiful eyes locked onto mine. She asked me to repeat myself. I wasn’t sure if the timing was right. If it was too soon. If she’d say it back. So, I told her … I love you. Her smile electrified her entire face and she cried and said she loved me. I’ve never been happier to hear those magical words. I constantly dream of holding her, to feel her warmth and every breath, to protect her. I hope I’m not taking risks I shouldn’t. I just can’t be without her. She’s so special to me… my everything … my love.
My heart swooned then swan dived into my shoes. What if he didn’t feel the same way when he reread the pages? Could we honestly start where we left off with only a story to bridge our history together? Temptation to remove the page and keep it from him crossed my mind, but there wasn’t enough time to take every page out where he’d sworn his love and devotion to me. I closed my eyes and prayed this would ignite a spark within him and he’d genuinely remember how things used to be.
Somehow, with the ease of knowing he’d returned, my mind quieted and exhaustion set in. Once the dream started, I knew I’d fallen asleep. Nicholas, Phil, Katie, Sam, Tyler, Todd, and I picnicked at the beach in full sun, the waves shushing in the background. We all were friends and happy, truly happy.
A dark shadow covered over us, like an eclipse. I turned just as Nicholas ripped the talisman from my neck. Then everyone bared fangs. I was to be the main dish. Before they pounced, I pulled open my eyes with a gasp.
But the bloodlust didn’t evaporate like the nightmare had. Everywhere I looked, dark eyes peered at me through the windows of Nicholas’ car.
“Look who’s awake,” one of them said. “Time to come outside and play.”
A dark haired boy scrubbed his finger upward and the lock magically flipped up by itself. He popped the handle and opened the door. A rush of cold, clammy air flooded the interior of the car.
“You’re not invited in here,” I squealed, his motions happening too fast for me to catch the door.
I crab-crawled over the console onto the driver’s side and mashed down the lock, holding it in place.
“Come on out,” he said from the open door. Behind him others jockeyed for the closest position, faces I recognized. People from my high school.
“Nicholas!” I screamed, wondering why I was alone in the driveway inside a swarm of vampires. Did they go somewhere and leave me? Or was this a horrible nightmare? “Phil!”
“She’s a breath of heaven,” a brunette girl said.
My mouth dropped open. “Rochelle? Rochelle Pierce?”
“Yes,” she smiled, showing her canines. “Cool, isn’t it?”
“No, not really.” I wrinkled up my forehead. “Is the whole cheerleading squad vamps?”
She laughed and then looked over the roof of the car with sudden terror. I tried to see what scared her, but bodies and drooling mouths blocked my view. When I turned back to make sure I hadn’t imagined her, she’d gone. Then, one-by-one vamps’ chests began to explode with fire as something zinged through the air. Ash rained down, thickening the air. The sea of vamps parted and retreated to the shadows of the tree-line.
My view finally clear, I spotted Nicholas on the walkway staring down at his hand in wonder. He reached into his jacket, one he wasn’t wearing earlier, and produced a stake. He pointed it towards the nest of human-like snakes hissing at him. I jumped from the car with spongy legs and ran to hide behind him.
“Where were you?” I asked, catching my breath.
“Phil and I were talking.” He studied the symbol burned into the bottom of the stake, the one that matched his tattoo and the cover of his journal. “That was awesome. You say I do this all the time?”
I looked at him in surprise. “Yeah, and you made the stakes too.”
“I found this jacket in the closet with the stakes hidden inside the lining.” He held out the trench coat to show me and beamed like a kid in a candy store. I didn’t have the heart to tell him Harry actually made most of them.
“We just want the girl,” one of them screeched. “Give her up.”
He chucked another stake at the voice and the vamp burst into flames. The others began to thin, their fear overpowering their lust for me.
Phil came outside with Sam still glued firmly to his side.
“Wow,” he said. “It’s a vamp fest. Are you advertising a blood drive, Parker?”