Sacrifice (Absent Shadows Trilogy Book 2) (2 page)

~ Chapter Three
~

A week had gone by and I still hadn’t told Mom about wanting to go back to Australia. So instead of getting on with the things I’d come back here to do, I just existed.

I had lunch with Claire a couple of times, did grocery shopping for Mom, and even drove Raye to school some mornings. But I hadn’t convinced Mom that I wasn’t going back to college; I hadn’t sold my car to raise money for my flight back to Australia; and I hadn’t told anyone I wanted to resign from my part-time job. Instead, I’d trolled the internet for information on vampires and dhampirs. But there wasn’t anything that had any relevance to my situation. There were thousands upon thousands of links to websites, but none of the ones I looked at held any answers for me.

All I could think about was Sam and the world I’d left behind. The last two weeks we’d been together had been so special and our future had seemed so obvious. But now, thousands of miles away from him, our time together was beginning to feel like a dream.

I found it hard to see a way forward—to regain the sense of purpose I’d felt. Everything that had made perfect sense while he was standing beside me, now seemed unattainable. I began to wonder if I’d actually ever had a sense of purpose; or whether it was just the calming influence that both Sam and Crystal had on me that made me think I knew what I wanted. Because now, being so far away from them, I wasn’t so sure. I felt lost. And the same questions kept going around and around in my head. Should I go back to Melbourne? How could Sam and I make our life work? Did I really know what I was getting into? I mean, vampires and ghosts; seriously? Had I really thought things through? Was that really what I wanted to do for the rest of my life?

If I was there, I could talk to Crystal. She would listen while I explained my fears and uncertainties, and she’d help me find answers. But there was no one here that I could turn to for advice. Could you image me trying to get Mom’s opinion? That could work—yeah, as if.

I thought about telling Claire. I could come clean with her—tell her everything. I mean it would explain a lot, wouldn’t it? Like why her attraction to Tom was stronger than with any other guy she’d ever dated. She’d probably say it was awesome, him being a vampire. But the problem with telling her was that it wasn’t my secret to tell. I had no right to tell her anything about them.

But I could tell her how much I missed Sam. That much I could do. And so I did, two days later when we caught up for lunch again.

‘I know just how you feel. I miss Tom too. But, I’ve got a surprise for you.’

‘A surprise? What kind of surprise? What have you done?’ I asked, hoping it had something to do with Tom and Sam.

‘Well, Mum wants me to come back for Christmas, and she said she’d buy me a business class ticket. So, I said I’d come, and I’d even save her some money by flying economy, but only if she’d let you come with me.’

‘Really? You mean … take me back to Australia with you?’ I couldn’t believe I’d heard her right. Christmas wasn’t that far away; less than four months. And that would give me heaps of time to work on Mom.

‘Yep—really—Mum thought it was a brilliant idea.’

‘This is awesome, Claire. I don’t know how to thank you enough.’

~~***~~

It wasn’t the perfect outcome. In fact, I’d had no intention of taking so long to get myself sorted out when I’d agreed to come back. But on the bright side, it postponed the discussion I needed to have with Mom. And that was a good thing, wasn’t it?

When I texted Sam to tell him I wouldn’t be there until Christmas, I half expected him to call and try to talk me into coming back sooner. But instead, he just texted back saying that while he missed me, he understood, and he looked forward to seeing me in December. I couldn’t decide if I was relieved or disappointed by his reaction.

The next morning I rang the university and by the end of the day I had enrolled in five classes, switched my major to psychology, and discovered that most of the courses I’d already done would count toward that degree. Obviously, that was assuming I would ever finish it.

When I told Mom about it that evening she was more than just happy—she was ecstatic. Even when I said I’d switched my major to psychology, she didn’t lose her smile so I figured this would be a good time to tell her about going to Australia at Christmas.

‘It’ll be our first Christmas apart,’ she said, the smile fading from her face. But then she sighed and said, ‘Well, I suppose it’s a great opportunity. And it is awfully nice of Claire and her family. I liked her father. Is her mother as nice as he is?’

‘Yes—you’d like her,’ I said, not entirely sure it was true. Claire’s mother’s life was very different to Mom’s. They weren’t at all alike.

‘Well, I suppose you can always spend either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day with Debs and Ian. It won’t be like you’re entirely without your family around you.’

I sighed with relief, knowing I’d made it over the first hurdle. Now I just had to figure out how to tell her I wouldn’t be coming home afterward.

‘Thanks, Mom, for taking it so well. I know it’s kind of a special time for us … but you know I missed most of summer this year. It’ll be summer there at Christmas, so that’ll make up for it.’

‘Yes, that’s true. Well then—your first Christmas away from us,’ she sighed again, and for a moment I thought she might change her mind, but then she smiled. ‘I’m just so happy that you’re going back to school. Trust me; one day you’ll be thankful you did.’

~~***~~

We’d finished dinner and had just sat down to watch a movie when the phone rang. Raye ran into the kitchen to get it like she always did. But surprisingly she came back within just a few moments, saying it was for me.

‘It’s David,’ she said, making a face.

‘Great,’ I said, my voice dripping sarcasm. ‘I suppose you told him I was home?’

‘Yes. But if you like, I can say you don’t want to speak to him, or that you snuck out when I went to answer the phone … or better yet, I can say that aliens abducted you. How does that sound?’

‘Thanks, but it’s too late now.’

I walked slowly into the kitchen, not sure why I felt I had to do this. I didn’t really want to speak to him, but I didn’t want Raye to say something stupid to him either.

‘Hi David,’ I said, keeping my voice as calm as possible.

‘Hi, yourself. How are you? When’d you get home?’

‘Oh, a couple of days ago I guess.’

‘Yeah? I thought you would have called. I ran into Susan in Burlingame Avenue and she mentioned you were home.’

‘Oh, well, I’ve been kinda busy I guess.’

Why had he called me? Hadn’t he heard me say it was over? And hadn’t the fact that I never replied to any of his emails been a further clue that I didn’t want anything to do with him? And why on Earth couldn’t I just be rude and tell him to get lost?

‘So, how was Australia? You know, you could have sent me a postcard … or an email. It seems like ages since I’ve seen you.’

It had been ages. Nearly three months in fact. But not long enough for me to feel like we could be friends. Not yet—maybe not ever.

‘Yeah, well, Australia was great … and I kept pretty busy the whole time I was there.’

‘I see. Well, that’s okay. You’re forgiven.’

Like as if I wanted or needed to be forgiven by him.

When I didn’t say anything, he continued, ‘So, do you want to catch up for dinner one night this week? How about I pick you up, say Friday night, maybe around seven?’

‘I, um, I’m pretty busy this week. My friend Claire from Australia is here so we’ll be busy doing things. But, hey, thanks for the offer.’

I don’t know why I felt I needed to make excuses, but I found it hard to just tell him to go away.

‘I see. No postcard. And you don’t want to have dinner with me. What’s the story, Lil? Why are you being so … difficult?’

‘Difficult? I’m being difficult, am I? Well, I’ve changed. I’m not the same girl who left here in June. And besides, I’ve met someone.’

‘Oh, so that’s it. You met someone … what, in Australia? So, you had a little fling, so what. It’s not like he’s going to take you out to dinner on Friday night now, is it?’

‘It wasn’t a fling.’

‘Okay, so it wasn’t just a fling, maybe. But hey, Australia isn’t like another suburb. Don’t you think it’s probably over, Lili? Have dinner with me. Let me tell you how much I’ve missed you. We’re good together, and you know it. Give me a chance to win you back.’

‘There’s no point, David—seriously. Hey, but thanks for calling. Take care.’

I hung up before he had a chance to ask again. I had no intention of seeing him. When I went back into the living room, Raye looked up and grinned.

‘You sure were on the phone a long time with him, considering you didn’t want to talk to him. Are you going to see him?’

‘No. I’m not going to see him. I was just being polite, that’s all.’

I could see Mom smiling but she didn’t lift her gaze from the television.

~~***~~

Raye’s birthday party was a huge success. Not that I had expected anything less. She’d started organising it before I’d even gone to Australia. Her friends were all really nice kids, and a few had even helped with the decorations in the back yard. She had lights strung everywhere and they’d cleared a dance floor on the grass. Even the weather was perfect. One of those balmy Indian summer evenings that stayed warm well into the night. Mom had even warned all the neighbours in advance, so that no one would complain about the noise—the party wasn’t expected to wind down until after midnight.

Claire came, of course, and she seemed to have fun flirting with some of the older looking boys, though none of them were much more than seventeen. They were all fascinated by her—her accent, her looks, and her well-developed flirtation skills.

As I watched her dancing with one of the young men, I was reminded of another party, in another world, with similar lights in trees. We’d come thousands of miles since that other party, but it still seemed so fresh in my mind. I closed my eyes and remembered Elizabeth dancing her carefree little dance, with her friend Henry waltzing along beside her. And then of course I thought of Sam, and the way I’d felt when he put his arms around me that night. I desperately wanted to see him again—to be with him. I swallowed hard, and fought back tears. This was not a time to be sad.

Then it hit me that I could send him a message. Sure, it wasn’t the same thing as being with him, but it would make me feel closer. I ducked around the corner of the house and sent him a message saying how much I missed him. I wondered what he might be doing right now, and whether he might hear the message and respond right away.

Sure enough, less than a minute later my phone beeped and there it was.

Hey beautiful. Enjoy the party. Oh, and tell Claire that Tom misses her, the big sook. He talks about her all the time. Claire this Claire that. And remember how much I love you, Sam xoxox

After that, I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. I let Raye think it was all because she’d thrown such a wonderful party. And it was wonderful—now.

~~***~~

Two days later Claire left for LA, but she’d already booked her flight to come up again at the end of October. Raye had decided to throw a Halloween party and Claire was rapt as she’d never been to what she called ‘a proper Halloween party’ before.

My classes started a few days later, and life became routine. Between the time it took to actually go to the classes and then the studying required afterwards, I didn’t have a great deal of spare time on my hands but I did find time for a run most days. Usually I’d just run in the local park down the street, but when I had more time I’d drive down to Coyote Point. I’d start my run along the short beach and then head up the track that bordered the cliffs. I loved Coyote Point because it was a much more challenging run, and the strong wind coming off the bay helped clear my head. Sometimes I found it even took my mind off Sam for a little while, although nothing could completely do this.

Since I had no classes on the weekends, I contacted the pie shop about my job. They were more than happy for me to come back, particularly when I said I only wanted to do the breakfast shifts on the weekends. It wasn’t much of a job, but it was close to home, and it gave me the chance to save a bit more money.

Perhaps going back there was a mistake, or at least it seemed that way when at the start of my second shift I walked up to a small table where a blond man sat with his back to me only to find myself face to face with David.

‘What are you doing here?’ I asked, in a less than welcoming voice.

‘Well, that’s no way to say hello to an old friend. It goes more like this: “Hello, how are you?’’ and then you smile like you mean it, and fill my coffee cup,’ he said, smirking as he pointed to his upturned coffee cup.

I could feel nervous energy bubbling up inside me, but I forced my voice to remain calm. ‘Right, well I’m busy. So unless you’re going to order breakfast, I suggest you leave.’

He flashed a smile, and picked up the menu. ‘I’m having breakfast—the special will do me just fine. And then I’ll have refills on my coffee until you finish work. I want to talk to you.’

I tried hard to control my voice, replying as calmly as I could. ‘Fine, I’ll get you breakfast. But there isn’t anything for us to talk about. I don’t see the point.’

‘I’ll wait anyway,’ he said as he closed the menu and handed it to me. When I took it, his hand brushed mine.

I pulled away quickly, and glared at him for a moment. ‘I’ll put your order in,’ I said, still trying to keep my tone even. Then I turned and went over to place his order with the kitchen. I hated the thought of having to go back to his table, but I didn’t want him creating a scene either, so when his order came up I just placed it on his table and walked away.

True to his word, he didn’t leave. He paid for his breakfast, but then just sat there reading a newspaper, calling me over to fill his coffee cup from time to time until the morning rush finished.

When my shift was over I stood near the register for a minute, watching him from behind. As I did, I started feeling glad that he’d come. I mean, wouldn’t it be just so easy to simply fall back into our old life? He had wanted me to marry him, and possibly still did. And I suppose, in some ways, he was a good catch. After all, he had a decent job; and he was good looking—even though his fair hair and pale blue eyes were like washed out versions of Sam. But at least he was here, not half way around the world. And most importantly, he wasn’t a vampire.