Cold as Ice (16 page)

Chapter 24

When Gabe closed his dorm room door behind him, he stared into Rhonda’s face. She smiled back at him, trying to seem innocent. “What was that all about? I thought I heard you talking to Lexi in the hallway.”

“I was,” Gabe replied, sitting down on the bed. He stared at the walls, trying to process what he had just done. Why had he told Lexi the truth? He had been holding it inside him all of these months, hoping that she would never find out. Gabe had been doing everything in his power to make sure that he kept this to himself. He had known all along that if Lexi found out that he had killed her ex-boyfriend, things between them would never be the same again.

Now, he had gone and ruined it. And for what reason? He didn’t know, and he wasn’t sure if he ever would. It was like he had just betrayed himself, spilling his guts out to her for no reason.

“Lexi and I are over,” Gabe told Rhonda.

She gave him a sympathetic look. “Well, I could have told you that a long time ago, Gabe. She’s not right for you.”

Gabe shrugged. “I thought she was right for me, but I guess not.”

“Nope, she’s not, baby,” Rhonda said, taking a step towards him. She pulled off her shirt, revealing the lacy blue bra she was wearing underneath it. “But I can tell you who is.”

“I’m not in the mood,” Gabe muttered. Suddenly, he had a change of heart, but he wasn’t sure why. Meeting Rhonda’s gaze, he said, “Come here.”

As he allowed Rhonda to climb on top of him and pull off his shirt, he wondered what was going on with him. If it were Lexi who he was about to have sex with, it would make sense because it would be makeup sex. But he wasn’t sure why he wanted to be with Rhonda righ
t now—he just knew that he did.

Pressing his lips against her mouth and pulling down his pants, he decided that it didn’t matter what was going on. Anything to keep his mind off Lexi right now was a good thing because he’d never be with her again.

*

In the room next door, Lexi lay in bed, listening to the sound of Rhonda moaning and the headboard hitting against the wall. She turned to Dan, who was staring at her intently. Even though she had wanted to hide her crying from him, her eyes were glossed over with tears.

“I can’t believe Gabe did that,” Dan muttered. It was the first time either of them had said a word since the hallway incident had happened. “Here, Austin trusted him so much. And the whole time, he betrayed you. Who knows what else he’s done? I don’t get it.”

“I don’t get it, either,” Lexi replied. What she didn’t get, most of all, was why her mother had told her that she should trust Gabe. Did her mom have rocks in her head or something? Why would she want her daughter to trust a cold-
blooded (literally) murderer?

A visit from her mom would be nice right about now, but she wasn’t expecting one for a long time . . . if she ever saw her mom again, for that matter. Every time her mom visited her, Lexi wondered
if it would be the last time.

Next to her, Dan seethed. “He’s such a jerk.”

“Yeah. Thank God I didn’t lose my virginity to him,” Lexi muttered, just as Rhonda screamed louder in the next room. Lexi wanted to put a pillow over her ears so she wouldn’t have to listen to the sound of the two of them having sex, but maybe it was a good thing—it was just another reminder of how bad he was for her and that she had made the right decision by choosing Dan.

Dan rolled over onto his side and looked at her. “You’re a virgin?” he asked. There was a genuine sense of surprise in his voice.

“Um, yeah. Why is that so shocking?” Lexi asked defensively. Did she seem promiscuous? She knew that she had been involved with her fair share of guys when she had first moved to Briar Creek, but she hadn’t realized that it was because they were all drawn to her because her scent was so alluring. Plus, vampires seemed to have some sort of hold over her; they were so captivating. But that didn’t make her a slut. She hadn’t actually fooled around with all of them.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Dan replied. “I just figured that since you were so close to Gabe for so long.” He paused. “That day I mowed the lawn at Violet and Tom’s house, I was pretty sure that you guys did it. I mean, you were home alone and everything. If I had been in his shoes and was the one who was there alone with you, I can’t say that I wouldn’t have made a move on you.”

Lexi blushed at his compliment. “I just wasn’t ready yet.”

“Well, that makes me feel kind of relieved, to be honest,” Dan replied.

“Oh, why’s that?” Lexi asked, glancing over at him.

“Because it means that once you are ready—assuming it’s with me—I’ll be your one and only. I hope.”

“I hope so, too.” Lexi closed her eyes, trying not to think about the alternative. She had been wondering how she would know who her soul mate was, but she was pretty sure that she knew the answer. Belinda had told her that her soul mate would find her blood just as appealing—and tasty—as any vampire would find it right now . . . which was extremely desirable. Once she became an immortal, her blood would only be as appealing as an ordinary human’s to most vampires, but it would still be extreme
ly desirable for her soul mate.

So, if Dan didn’t think she smelled any different from an ordinary human and didn’t find that her blood tasted better than all of the other blood he’d ever tasted, he wasn’t her soul mate. Finding out the answer would be as simple as that.

Lexi wondered if they would know in the morning. What would happen if he wasn’t her soul mate, though? Would they be able to love each other, anyway? She doubted it.

Sighing, Lexi rolled over and buried her head in her pillow. She wondered if they would find out the next morning if they were meant to be. If they weren’t going to be together—if whatever they had going on between them wasn’t real—it would be easier for her to move on if she found
out sooner, rather than later.

But the idea of moving on from Dan scared the hell out of her.

Chapter 25

The next morning, Dan woke her up by wrapping his fingers around her wrist. She shifted in her sleep, cracking one eye open to look at him.

“Well?” she asked, anxious to know the answer.

“You still have a pulse,” Dan replied, resting his head on her shoulder. “Are you sure what you read was accurate?”

“I’m pretty sure,” Lexi replied, sighing with disappointment. “I doubt it would say it in a book at Huntington if it weren’t accurate.”

“Well, let’s not worry about it right now,” Dan suggested. “Maybe your pulse will stop beating sometime in the future.”

Lexi rolled her eyes. “I highly doubt it.”

“Hey, cheer up,” Dan said, nuzzling his chin against her neck. “And get dressed. We’re going somewhere.”

“Where?” Lexi asked.

As he opened his mouth and began to say “It’s a surprise—”, she interrupted him. “No more surprises! Please just tell me where we’re going so I can dress appropriately.”

“Well, I got to meet your family yesterday. So, I’m taking you to meet mine today,” Dan said.

Lexi glanced over at him. “Are you serious?” She couldn’t help but feel nervous about meeting his family. She hadn’t heard very much about them, so she wasn’t really sure what to expect.

Dan nodded and grinned. “Come on, let’s go.”

*

Lexi was surprised to learn that the Nichols didn’t live in Briar Creek, only Dan did. After Dan had been changed by a crazy vampire while he was working at a grocery store in Briar Creek, his parents no longer wanted to live in the town. But Dan didn’t want to leave, and a town where there were other vampires was the best place for him to adapt to his new lifestyle, so he chose to continue living with his uncle, John, who also lived in Briar Creek.

When he pulled into the long driveway that led to his family’s house, Lexi gasped loudly. The house wasn’t just a house; it was a Victorian-style mansion, complete with a circular driveway that contained statues and a water fountain, rose gardens, and even a tiny pond off to the side, which ducks floated on.

“Why didn’t you tell me your family is rich?” Lexi asked, turning to him with wide eyes. Touching the family heirloom earrings that she wore in her ears, she suddenly felt strange about wearing them. They were the only nice jewelry that she now owned (except for her bat pendant), but his family probably had tons of it . . . especially since hi
s uncle owned a jewelry store.

“It doesn’t matter that they’re rich,” Dan shrugged. “Money is just money.”

“Well, I might have dressed a little differently if I had known that I was meeting such fancy people,” Lexi said, glancing down at her black leggings, charcoal sweater dress, and silver sparkly ballet flats. She just looked so plain in comparison to what she was now expecting Dan’s parents and his sister to look like.

“Don’t worry, Lexi,” Dan told her softly. “They’ll be happy with you just the way you are. Clothes and material things don’t matter to them all that much.”

Lexi wasn’t entirely convinced, but she followed him out of the car anyway. It’s not like she had much of a choice—she could either A). sit there and wait for him to visit with his family, B). force him to turn around and go back to Huntington, or C). go inside and seem like the polite girlfriend that Dan’s family was probably hoping for. So, she chose option C, but she did it reluctantly.

Once they rang the doorbell and were greeted by a butler (yes, Dan’s family even had a butler), they were escorted inside the house and into the piano room. That’s right; the Nichols had a room that was just for the piano, as well as the Victorian-style sofas that sat alongside it with a coffee table in between them. She didn’t even have her own
bedroom.

Sitting on the sofa next to Dan, Lexi waited nervously for his family members to come into the room. She wondered how he would feel if his family hated her. Would that make him less interested in her? Her record with ex-boyfriend’s mothers seemed tied; Justin’s mom had loved her, but Gabe’s mom had despised her, simply for the fact that she was a human. She hoped that the
Nichols wouldn’t hate her, too.

“Don’t worry,” Dan whispered to her, just as she heard the sound of shoes clacking against the tiled floor of the hallway.

“Danny!” a blonde girl, who looked a lot like Dan, cried, flinging her arms around his neck. “I’ve missed you so much! I haven’t heard from you in
weeks
.”

“Yeah, I’ve had a lot going on,” Dan grunted. “Caroline, this is my girlfriend, Lexi.”

Caroline glanced over at Lexi; her blue eyes examined her, and her face registered that she understood, for the first time, that Dan and Lexi were romantically involved. “Hell
o. I’m Dan’s sister, Caroline.”

Caroline was pretty. Her skin was a little too tan for it being wintertime, so Lexi assumed that she used tanning beds regularly, and although her blonde hair looked like it had been highlighted recently, her natural hair color matched Dan’s sandy blonde hue. Her nails were freshly manicured, and she wore an outfit that consisted of basic, solid colors, but Lexi guess
ed that it was very expensive.

She was exactly like the type of girl Lexi would have been friends with back in New Jersey. But n
ow, she just felt out of place.

Despite her high-maintenance appearance, Caroline’s smile seemed genuine.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Lexi replied. Before Lexi had time to say anything else to Caroline, Dan’s mother and father bounded into the room.

Lexi was surprised to see that his mom was a brunette, though her hair was on the lighter end of the brown hair color spectrum. She was wearing a simple black dress, white heels, and a British tea party-styled hat. She wore a coral shade of lipstick on her lips, which were in a tight line when she entered the room.

Mr. Nichols looked a lot like Dan; he had a tan skin tone, sandy blonde hair, and a smile that extended to his eyes. Lexi imagined that this was exactly what Dan would look like when he got older, but then she quickly reminded herself that she would never get to see because he would always stay the same as he was right now. She would never get to see him age. If all went well, she would never get to see herself age.

Once they got past the quick introductions and the maid had been called into the room to offer them tea and scones, Mrs. Nichols sat down on a couch across from Lexi and crossed her legs. “So, Dan, tell us .
. . what is new in your life?”

“Not much really,” Dan replied. “I’ve just been at Huntington lately.”

“That is a private school, correct?” Mr. Nichols asked, taking a bite out of a blueberry scone.

Taking a sip of tea, Dan shrugged. “Sort of. It’s hard to explain. It’s
not too focused on academics.”

His father narro
wed his eyebrows in confusion.

Lexi wondered how much Dan had told his parents about Huntington; surely they knew it wasn’t an academics-based private school since they didn’t have to pay for their son’s tuition to go there. Actually, the whole tuition thing confused her. From what she understood, they didn’t have to pay for classes, only room and board, but Anna was paying for all of their room and board for the next year since she came from money, too. Lexi felt bad, but she knew it was what Anna wanted so that Austin could be there with her at all times.

“Will Huntington help you get into Yale? Or perhaps Harvard?” Mrs. Nichols questioned. There was a hopeful expression on her face. “We want you to go to an Ivy League school more than anything.”

“Mom, I’ve already told you. I’m not going to get into any of those schools. My grades just aren’t good enough. We’ll be lucky if I get accepted to a state college with a football scholarship, but that seems doubtful now that I’m not going to Briar Creek High anymore,” Dan replied. There was a patient tone in his voice, which made Lexi think that he was used to this type of badgering from his parents and that it didn’t
phase
him.

“Well, I hope you’ll at least consider all of your options,” Mrs. Nichols went on. “I’d hate to see you waste your life away just because you’re a vampire.”

Lexi tried not to gape at the woman; did she normally talk about things like this in front of all her son’s girlfriends? What if she hadn’t actually known that he was a vampire?

“I won’t, don’t worry, Mom,” Dan muttered under his breath. “So, Caroline, Mom told me you got accepted into Juilliard for the spring semester.”

Caroline nodded, a smile crossing her face. “Yeah, I’m really excited about it. I sent them a piano recording, and they scheduled me for an interview around Thanksgiving time. So I went to New York City for it, and I got the call back before I even got home because they liked my piece so much.”

“Congratulations,” Lexi told her.

Caroline smiled proudly. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, congrats,” Dan said. “That’s really exciting. M
y sister, the pianist.”

As Caroline beamed, Lexi caught Mrs. Nichols staring at her out of the corner of her eye. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, wondering if his mom was noticing that her outfit had been purchased off a clearance rack or if she was angry that Dan had given her such expensive earrings.

“So, Lexi, tell us about yourself. What are you planning to major in once you go to college?”

Running a finger through her hair nervously, Lexi replied, “I haven’t really thought about it yet. I still have some time to decide.”

Mr. Nichols nodded. “Sometimes it’s best to keep your options open. That’s probably in your best interest. The job market is constantly fluctuating, so the careers that have a positive outlook for the upcoming years might not be the same as a few years after that.”

Lexi shrugged. “I just want to find a career that will make me happy, regardless of money.”

Mrs. Nichols pursed her lips. “I have a question that I would like to ask you, Lexi.”

“Feel free to ask me anything,” Lexi replied with a smile. She hoped that she wouldn’t ask her about her parents, though, because she didn’t know what she would say. Her family situation was so complicated, and she didn’t know how much she could divulge to them without making this whole meeting weird or awkward.

“Are you a human?” Dan’s mom asked.

“Yes.” Lexi tried not to think about what a weird question it was for a mother to ask her son’s girlfriend. She supposed that if she was in Mrs. Nichols’ shoes, she would probably be curious, too, but that didn’t mean she would actually ask. It was sort of rude.

“Then please tell me why you would have any interest in my v
ampire son,” Mrs. Nichols said.