Authors: Melissa Francis
Love Sucks!
Melissa Francis
To my sons, Ian and Rader
It makes me proud to know you would fight evil
vampires to protect me. And for the record, I'd do
the same for you, if you'd just clean your rooms.
My mother's baby shower.
We piled into the minivan. Ryan was driving, and Iâ¦
As soon as we arrived home, Aunt Doreen took over.
I spent the night dreaming of soulful brown eyes andâ¦
Oh, hell no. Hell no. That ain't happenin'. Nope. Sorry.
Where are we going to do this? Won't it beâ¦
I watched as the pulse at his wrist drummed slowly,â¦
Robbie gave me two more horse pills to take beforeâ¦
The rest of the day seemed to fly by. Iâ¦
I stood outside Ryan's door for what seemed like forever.
Lex drove while Robbie explained.
Robbie and Lex leaped over the wall to inspect theâ¦
We left quick, fast, and in a hurry before theâ¦
Rick came through his surgery fine. They expected a fullâ¦
Clive Ashe stared at me through the window. He hadn'tâ¦
Octavia made sure someone watched over Mom and the babyâ¦
I drove straight home from the hospital, hoping to catchâ¦
Bridget picked me up and drove me to my car.
I left Daddy Dearest and drove straight to Mrs. Christopher's.
Bridget met me at my locker between third and fourthâ¦
Lex worked me like a junkyard dog for the restâ¦
I was surprisingly calm as I told Ryan about myâ¦
The rest of the week went by in a blurâ¦
I hadn't helped decorate because of all the madness, soâ¦
We found Lex pulling Robbie out of the janitor's closet.
I'm sorry, AJ,” Ainsley said. “I didn't know. I didn'tâ¦
Do you trust me?
Whoa,” Oz murmured, bringing me out of my stunned silence.
Â
M
y mother's baby shower.
Okay, this is horrifying news on many levels. First of all, I'm eighteen. (Okay, I've only been eighteen for a week, but that means I'm no longer seventeen and therefore technically I'm an adult.) I know how she got pregnant. There is no way I want to think about that, yet it seems to be all I
can
think about. And let me just sayâew. Seriously, ew.
But the whole “omigod my mom is having
the s-e-x
” thing isn't the worst part of this pregnancy debacle.
No. Did I forget to mention that my mom is a pregnant
vampire
?
Oh, and lest you think
that
is the worst part of this
mess, the father of said vampire baby is a warlock. Yeah, that's what I saidâa warlock.
How very melting pot of us.
Or would that be cauldron?
But that's not all! We're like a paranormal infomercial here in Valley Springs, Mississippi. By getting pregnant, it seems my mom is fulfilling some ancient vampire prophecy. Now, you would think this would be a good thing. But no. Unfortunately, there is a big group of vampire baddies who don't want that prophecy to be fulfilled because it would seriously screw with their plans for world domination.
But guess what? We're still not to the worst part of this story.
My stepdad, the warlock who's my momma's baby daddy, is also the daddy of Ryan Fraser. The boy I'm helplessly in love withâand the boy who is now my stepbrother.
It's been five months since the big baby announcement. Five long months. In that time, I've managed to find out a lot more about the warlock side of my blended family, thanks to Ryan's aunt Doreen. I still have a lot to learn, though. Because I'm deathly afraid that if the Serpentines realize my mom is pregnant with a warlock's child, all undead hell is going to break loose.
And let me just say, I'm in no mood for vampire wars.
So as I sit in the living room of our antebellum home with two dozen of Valley Springs' finest women oohing and aahing over the sweetest little baby gifts you could ever imagine (say that in a Scarlett O'Hara voice and you'll have a pretty good picture of my current nightmare), all I seem to be able to think about is evil vampires, good warlocks, and a possible paranormal apocalypse.
Something is
really
not right with this picture.
“AJ? Did Ana and Ainsley have cheerleading tryouts today?” my mom's assistant, Laura, asked me.
Did I mention my mom is a doctor? Not just any doctor. A heart specialist. Yes, we sure know the definition of irony here in the Fraser-Ashe household.
“Yes, ma'am. They're excited about moving up from junior high. They can't wait.”
“Well, I've seen them perform. They're shoo-ins, I'm sure.”
I smiled. I sure hoped so. My twin sisters had never really dealt with rejection before. Of course, I couldn't imagine them
not
making it. Besides being blond and beautiful, they practiced almost twenty-four/seven. Plus, my friend Malia was one of the judges.
Yeah, they were shoo-ins.
Aunt Doreen passed me the latest opened giftâa lovely little layette in mint green with a fuzzy baby bunny on the breast. I grinned and passed the gift on to the person next to me. When would my hell be over?
Soon.
Auntie Tave's voice echoed in my head.
It will be over very soon, I promise.
I glanced at my flame-haired godmother and smiled. Tave and I had been connected since last year, when she tried to psychically find out if I had bitten a boy and turned him into a vampire. Something happened during the process, permanently keeping us linked. She can't read my thoughts exactly, but she can feel what I'm feeling. And even though she can't hear the words inside my head, I can hear hers if they're directed to me. And sometimes that's a big pain in my ass.
Being connected to Tave kinda keeps me on the straight and narrow now, because there's nothing worse than your momma's best friend being able to spy on your feelings. It's a little frustrating, actuallyâespecially since up until a few weeks ago, I was always feeling so guilty about wanting to pull my stepbrother into my bedroom and make out with him until I couldn't breathe.
Thankfully, I had finally started to put those feelings away.
The ladies all stood, and I realized the layette was the last gift. The shower was coming to an end. Finally.
Mom looked tired, but she needed this adult time. She'd been on bed rest because of complications with the pregnancy and had been going stir-crazy.
As the crew of crooning women started their farewells, a storm of testosterone entered the room and headed straight for the remainder of the pretty lemon cake. My stepdad, Rick, and my two younger stepbrothers, Oz and Rayden, each cut themselves a slice big enough to feed a third-world country. Ryan came in shortly after and did the same.
We made eye contact, and I fought the old squiggly feeling in my belly when his dark-chocolate gaze caught mine.
“How'd the shower go, hon?” Rick asked Mom as he wrapped an arm around her growing waist and kissed her on the neck. “Did we score a bountiful booty?”
“We got lots of booties, you punny, punny man. And because I had to do all the heavy lifting of opening the gifts, you get to write the thank-you notes.”
“Lucky me.” He smiled again, but worry tinged his brow. “You look tired. Let's get you upstairs.”
My cell phone buzzed and I checked the message.
It was a reminder that I had a prom committee meeting tomorrow. Prom was just a few weeks away, and we had no theme and no direction, and I had no date. But being on the prom committee meant I had to live
la vida prom
every day whether I liked it or not.
The kitchen door slammed open, and Ainsley called my name. Her voice was frustrated.
“AJ!”
“Living room,” I said.
Ainsley's long, wheat-colored ponytail swung like a mane behind her head as she rushed into the room.
“Something's not right with Ana,” she said.
“What do you mean?” Ryan asked.
Oz and Rayden stopped midchew.
“We didn't do anything,” Rayden said, his eyes wide. “I swear.”
Ainsley turned toward them and shook her head. “This isn't about your sad spell-casting attempt to turn her into a Sasquatch. When she woke up this morning with pit hair longer than her ponytail, Aunt D fixed her right up. But don't think she won't get y'all back. If we can find her again.”
“Find her? What's going on?” I asked.
“Tryouts were today, right?” Ainsley said. “Well, we
were doing the routine we always do with the gymnastics bit? You know, with the midair acrobatics that always impresses everyone?”
I nodded, because I knew exactly what she was talking about. She and Ana had no issues using their super skills to jump just a little bit higher than everyone else or to add one extra twist or flip to their routine. It was impressive.
“Well, something went wrong. Ana didn't land wellâwhich just isn't possible. Seriously, she's like a cat. She never misses her landings. Ever!” Ainsley said.
“Maybe she landed on a rock,” Ryan offered.
Ainsley and I both shot him a
Yeah, right
look.
“Okay. Sorry. Was just trying to help,” he said.
“Then what happened?” I asked.
“She was hurt. Her ankle snapped. I heard it. Of course, it was already starting to heal by the time everyone got to her. But the damage was already done. She had fallen. During
tryouts
. And everyone heard her bone crack.”
“Well, Malia was there. She knows what kind of cheerleader Ana is. She'll make the team.”
“That's just it. She
didn't
make the team. They wrapped her ankle, and she faked a call to Mom to take her to
the doctor. But they all think her ankle is broken, which means she'd have to sit out the season. So she didn't make the team. And, of course, she's pissed.”
I sighed. Poor Ana.
“She'll get over it,” I said. “She'll have to.”
“She's totally pouting, and she's blaming Malia,” Ainsley said. “She took off after tryouts.”
Rick reentered the room. “Are you talking about Ana?” he asked.
Ainsley nodded.
I sighed. “Where is she?” I asked. “Listen, I know you're communicating with her right now. Tell me where she is and I'll go get her.”
“Hang on. Let me see if I can get her to tell me.”
Ainsley closed her eyes and concentrated. I could see by her expression that Ana wasn't cooperating. “She's at O'Reily's farm. She was going to hide out at the Love Shack to try to cool off,” she said finally.
“Okay, this is what we're going to do,” Rick said. “Your mom is exhausted and doesn't need to worry about her pouting prodigal daughter. Ryan, I want you and AJ to go get her. She needs to be here by dinner.”
“Can we come, too?” Oz asked.
“We don't need your help, kid,” Ryan said.
“Actually, I think that's a great idea,” Rick said. “I want you guys all out of the house for a while so your mom can rest. Take the minivan. All of you go and bring your sister home.”