The Fallen Star

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“Because I can,” Alex said easily.

“There’s no reason thatwould have given her away.”

By “ that” did he mean our barely kiss. I had to wonder since he’d said it with such regret.

Well, guess what? I regretted it to. I swear I did. Well okay, whatever. It was kind of a lie. But I wished I was capable of regretting it, and that had to count for something, right?

“Alex, you didn’t see it from my point of view,” Aislin said. “From what I saw, it was far from ordinary. The lights were flashing on and off while you two—”

“Alright, I get it,” Alex snapped.

“Wait a minute.” Laylen held his hands up in front of him. “What exactly was it that you two did?”

Was he joking? I didn’t know him at all, so I couldn’t tell if he was being serious or not. But it almost seemed like he was 306/695

purposefully trying to cause trouble. Like he was trying to embarrass us. And, let me tell you, if that’s what he was doing, then it was totally working. I’d never been one to get embarrassed easily, but I could feel my cheeks getting warm. I squirmed around uncomfortably and fixed my gaze on the spot on the floor right in front of my feet.

“It was nothing important.” Alex’s tone was flat. “So you don’t need to worry about it.”

A lumped swelled in my throat. It felt like my heart had been ripped out and stomped on. I wished it didn’t feel that way, though. It really shouldn’t have felt that way.

After everything that had happened—after everything he’d done. But despite how much I wanted to hate Alex—because, let’s face it, nine times out of ten he was a Class A jerk—I couldn’t. My feelings for him seemed to be out of my control.

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“I need a break,” I a

“Like hell you are,” Alex said.

“I’m not a little kid.” I stood up straight and raised my chin, hoping I appeared more confident than I actually felt. “If I want to go outside then I will. I need some fresh air” Alex started toward me. “Gemma—” Laylen stepped between us, creating a barrier. “How about I go out with her? That way she won’t be alone.” His bright blue eyes locked on me. “That is, if you don’t mind?” Did I mind? He was a vampire, at least according to Alex. It seemed like I should have felt untrusting toward him. But honestly, at the moment, I couldn’t have cared less what he was or wasn’t. I couldn’t see any blood thirst burning in his eyes or anything.

And I really, really wanted a break from Alex.

I shrugged. “Nope. I don’t mind.”

“Fine. Do whatever you want.” Alex waved his hand, dismissing us, and turned 308/695

back to Aislin. “Let’s keep trying to get a hold of someone. We really need to know what’s going on.”

I heard Aislin muttered something in reply, but didn’t hear exactly what because I was already out the door.

Outside, the deliciously warm desert air dusted my cheeks and swept through my hair. The sky had shifted grey and the stars sparkled across it. The sandy desert land drifted aimlessly in front of me, shadowed by the nightfall. It was a relief not to have goose bumps speckling my skin. It was nice to be able to breathe without seeing it cloud out in front of me. It was so nice to be warm. So, deciding I might as well enjoy the warmth, I shoved the reason I was here as far back into my mind as I could and tried to let myself relax.

I sat down on the cement steps and stretched my legs out in front of me. The 309/695

warm cement pressed through my jeans. The porch light shined from behind me and casted Laylen’s and mines shadows across the stairs below. Laylen seated himself beside me and leaned back on his elbows.

For awhile, we just sat there, gazing out at the desert, listening to the crickets chirp-ing in the distance. The stars were really dancing tonight, and I could clearly make out the constellation of Cassiopeia. I wondered if that’s where my fascination with stars came from. Perhaps, deep down inside me, I knew what I really was and that some bits and pieces of me belonged up there with them, not down here where I never truly felt like I’d belonged.

“So,” Laylen’s deep voice rang through the silence, “how’s life been with Marco and Sophia?”

“Oh, just great,” I replied, my tone bitterly sarcastic. “It’s been a real blast.” 310/695

He laughed. “They never have been the most pleasant people to be around.” I swatted at a bug that landed on my elbow. Gross. “So you know them then?”

“Yeah, but I haven’t seen them in really long time.” He stared off in the distance, looking like he was lost in a painful memory.

“I haven’t seen any of the Keepers since….” He trailed off and looked at me. “Alex told you what I was, didn’t he?” I nodded. “But it’s kind of hard to believe. All of this is kind of hard to believe.”

“I imagine it would be.” His voice was sympathetic. His blue eyes held such loneliness in them.

I propped my elbow on my knee and rested my chin in my hand. “So….what exactly is it that makes you a vampire?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well…” What was the correct way to ask someone how they were considered a creature of night? The living undead. A blood 311/695

thirsty monster. “I’ve read a lot of books and everything. Nothing that was actually factual, though. They all say different things about vampires, and I was just wondering which—or if any had some truth to them.” He rubbed his hand along his jaw line.

“You want to know what it is that makes me a monster. Whether I bite, kill, or drink blood. If I can run at an inhuman speed or have super strength?”

It sounded like such a stupid question when he put it that way. I traced a circle in a patch of sand that was on the step I was sitting on. “I guess that’s what I’m trying to ask.

Well, minus the whole monster thing because I don’t think that.” He cocked an eyebrow. “You don’t think that I’m a monster?”

I shook my head. It wasn’t a lie either. I didn’t know him or anything, but he definitely wasn’t sending out the whole I’m-a-demon-and-I’m-going-to-kill-you vibe.

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He pressed his deep red lips together. “If that’s true then you’re probably the first to ever think that.” He gave a long pause. “The whole hungry-for-blood thing doesn’t apply to me. I don’t drink blood. I don’t kill.”

“But it applies to other vampires?” He nodded. “Other vampires are probably a lot like what you’ve read. And I’m not talking about the ones who drink blood, and do it by killing animals. They like to kill.” A chill crept down my spine. “Why haven’t I ever heard anything about them existing?” I mean, if people were dying because their blood was being drained, you’d think there’d have been something mentioned on the news about it.

“For the same reason you didn’t know what you were. People are excellent at keeping secrets.”

“Yes, they are,” I agreed.

He brushed his blue tipped hair away from his forehead. “I do have some traits 313/695

that normal vampires have. I’m immortal.

I’m stronger than the average person. I have fangs.”

I gaped at him. “You have fangs.” He nodded. “They’re retractable and I don’t use them. Ever.” I couldn’t help but stare at his mouth. I know staring is rude and everything, but I just couldn’t seem to look away. The guy just told me he had retractable fangs for crying out loud. How could I not stare?

He laughed, and I got a full view of his flat, white teeth. “Staring at them isn’t going to bring them out.”

I quickly turned my head away, feeling stupid. Could it be true? Could I really be sitting in the desert next to a vampire, all while harboring the energy of a fallen star inside me? There was so much wrong with that statement, and yet, in a bizarre, twisted way, it felt right.

It felt true.

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The howl of a coyote cut through the air, and I jumped.