Almost Midnight (Shadow Falls: After Dark #3.5)(95)

Fredericka didn’t have a clue why she did it, but she told her about the interview.

“Oh, you are so gonna get it!”

“I hope so,” Fredericka said, and got a buzz of excitement talking about it. Right then, she realized the reason she might not have told anyone about her work was because she didn’t have friends. Or at least, she didn’t have girlfriends. She hung out with the guys. And face it, those guys weren’t interested in her jewelry making.

Not that she needed anyone to be interested. She simply got along better with boys. Girls could be bitches.

For a while, a rumor spread around the school that she was gay. But nope. She was totally into the opposite sex. In particular, Cary.

Almost if Kylie read her mind, she asked, “So how are things with you and Mr. Cannon?

“Good,” Fredericka said, but they’d be so much better when school was out. Cary Cannon, a full were, taught history at the Academy. Only two years older than she, the guy took her breath away the first time she’d laid eyes on him. Smart and sexy. She’d never been a history fan until now.

He’d acknowledged his attraction to her, but insisted they only be friends until she graduated. The wait was killing her. Meanwhile, they met every day after school, and she’d listen to him talk about all his trips to see historic places—Paris, Rome, Egypt. If it had history, Cary had been there or wanted to go there. Someday she hoped to go with him, too.

“How good?” Kylie smiled in that way girls did when they wanted you to tell them a secret.

“We’re just friends,” Fredericka said.

“Well, think how good it will be when you move it to that next stage. You two will know everything about each other.”

“Yeah.” It hit her that while she’d gotten to know a lot about Cary, he didn’t know much about her. Not his fault. She wasn’t exactly forthcoming.

She’d almost told him yesterday about her jewelry, but had chickened out. He wasn’t like the male were students. But face it, the man got excited about pyramids, about Notre Dame. Her biggest fear was that he’d think her passion for jewelry was silly. And that was the last way she wanted him to see her.

“This is where I drop off,” Kylie said when they got to the main path, obviously going back to her cabin. Her smile came off so real and it made Fredericka wish that she could be like other girls and have close friends. The way Kylie was with her witch and vampire roommates.

“I want to hear how things go tomorrow. Good luck.”

Fredericka nodded, then instantly realized the downside of having shared her secret. If her work didn’t get accepted, everyone would know she’d failed. Why hadn’t she just kept her mouth shut?

Fredericka took off, her pace faster than it had been in the morning. With a full moon coming soon, her strength grew greater daily.

“Hey.” Kylie’s call had Fredericka glancing over her shoulder. “You may want to mention to Holiday about hearing the falls.”

“Yeah,” Fredericka said, but she wouldn’t. She wanted to forget about that.

As she got closer to the office, she wondered exactly what it was that Holiday wanted, because no one could be here to see her. But when she stepped on the front porch, she caught the trace of another were. A familiar trace.

She curled her hands into fists.

What the hell did Marissa Canzoni want? Her gaze shot back to the trail. She didn’t have to face this. Her feet were poised to swing around, when she remembered she’d stopped running from her problems a long time ago.

Bracing herself for whatever shit Marissa had dug up and the emotional backlash that seeing her would bring, she walked into Holiday’s office.

*

“Ricka.” Marissa nodded as Fredericka walked in. “Look at you. All grown up.” Thankfully, the woman didn’t appear to be about to put on some front, like jumping up and hugging her. There was no affection between them. Not that Fredericka hated her. She’d been the nicest in the long line of her father’s bitches who he’d expected to take care of Fredericka the first ten years of her life. Her father would bring them into his home, sleep with them, make house with them for a month, maybe two, and then disappear for weeks at a time. Work, he called it.

But Fredericka always wondered if deep down he’d simply been trying to get away from her. How could he not resent her? Her mother had died giving Fredericka life. Nothing like growing up knowing you’d killed your own mother—especially when you saw the grief in your father’s eyes each time he looked at you and said, “You look just like her.”

Some of her dad’s women really hated Fredericka. Like Donique, who’d left those damn scars on Fredericka’s arm. Like Shelbie, whose cruel words left scars on Fredericka’s heart. Or Karine, who simply neglected to feed her. Marissa had simply tolerated Fredericka. A far cry from feeling loved, but who needed to feel loved, as long as you weren’t abused, called terrible names, or left hungry.

“Hello, Marissa.” Fredericka moved in and sat down on the sofa in Holiday’s office. “What brings you here?” she asked, and tried not to look at Holiday—not wanting to give the fae an opportunity to read her emotions.

“It’s your father,” Marissa said. “I’m sorry, but he was killed last week.”

It felt as though her words floated around the room for several seconds before Fredericka could take them in. Even then, Fredericka sat there, not letting one pinch of emotion sneak out. It wasn’t the announcement of his death that took a bite out of her heart, but rather the time of his passing. She had always felt better believing he’d been dead these last eight years. Better than believing he’d purposely abandoned her with a pack of rogue weres.