Midnight Hour (Shadow Falls: After Dark #4)(76)

“I like it,” Della said.

While Miranda had pretty much accepted she wouldn’t be going to college, saying it hurt like a zit on her nose. “Look, I don’t think this is

going to be a shock to you.” Her throat tightened. “As a matter of fact, I’ll bet the reason you’re both doing this is because Holiday told

you I wasn’t going to make the grade. But I just don’t think I have what it takes to … make the grade.”

“Now that’s a bowl of rainbow-colored shit!” Della said.

“It’s not.” Miranda’s sinuses stung with the need to cry.

“Della’s right,” Kylie added. “Although I don’t know about rainbow-colored, but it is shit. You can do this.”

Miranda felt one tear slip from her lashes to her cheek—a little wet, a little warm, and a lot woeful. Swallowing, she said what had to be

said. “I’ve tried, guys. You think I want to be left behind? You think I like being … stupid?” More tears slipped. “I can’t do it.” Now

her nose started running. Using the sleeve of her pajamas, she wiped it. Her breath shook, but she looked up. “I barely scored thirty percent

on the first test.” She fist bumped her head. “It’s not here.”

“You are not going to be left behind.” Della’s eyes brightened to a vampire pissed-off green.

Kylie agreed and wiped a few tears off her own cheeks.

“I’ve tried.” Miranda appealed to them.

“No, you’ve quit trying,” Della snapped. “You just said you don’t think you’re going to make it.”

“What do you think I’m doing with these books on my bed? Having sex with them?”

“If you are, you’re faking it.” Della grabbed one of the books. “You just refused to let me help you study. Why? Because you’ve already

thrown in the towel. Who is it that said, if you think you can, you can, and if you think you can’t you might as well shit in your cheerios.”

“I don’t think that’s what they said.” Kylie, still teary-eyed but now almost snickering, dropped on the bed and took Miranda’s hand.

“But Della’s right.”

“I’m always right,” Della said.

“You aren’t,” Kylie said to the vamp. “But I admit you’ve got a lucky streak going.” She looked back at Miranda. “You’ve kind of thrown

in the towel. I understand how hard it is, but if you want this, you’ve got to fight for it.”

“We’ll help you,” Della said. “I’ll teach you songs.”

Miranda wiped her tears away again, but more fell. She glanced at Kylie and pointed at the vampire. “She can’t sing worth a crap.”

Kylie laughed. Della laughed. And Miranda finally followed in.

A few minutes later, they all three lay crossways on the bed, and Miranda had agreed to their terms—agreed to retrieve the towel she’d thrown

in the proverbial dirty clothes hamper of her life, the one containing all her other failures.

Time spent learning to fight would equal double study time.

Did she really believe she could do it?

She didn’t know, but they were right. Mentally, she’d given up. And that made her a failure even before she failed.

*

“When I talk, you listen,” Della said sounding badass again.

Miranda, Kylie, and Della had walked down by the lake to carry out Miranda’s first “fight” lesson.

“I heard you,” Miranda said, but in earnest she hadn’t been paying close attention. She’d seen a bird flying and her heart and mind went to

Perry. It couldn’t be him, could it?

“One more time,” Della said, “and there will be a test. First you need to know that there are three parts of your attacker’s body that are

most vulnerable.”

She pulled Miranda close, stood a bit to the side and raised her knee, lightly tapping her between her legs. “His boys.”

She lowered her leg. “His eyes.” She caught Miranda by her temples and lightly pushed her thumbs into her eyes.

“Ouch!” Miranda said.

Della rolled her eyes. “And the throat.” Her right palm thrust up and stopped right before smashing Miranda’s larynx.

“Got it?” Della asked.

Miranda nodded. “Yeah. Balls, eyes, throat.”

“Right.” Della sounded proud. “Now did you notice when I busted your balls—”

“Miranda’s got balls?” Kylie chuckled.

Della cleared her throat. “This is serious, guys.”

“Serious.” Miranda wiped the smile off her face.

“Did you notice that when I hit you, I was standing to the side?”

“No,” Miranda said. “I didn’t notice.”

“Well, you’d better. Because if I hit you in the balls, standing right in front of you, you’d probably fall right on top of me and prevent

me from escaping.”

“I thought they just went like this.” Miranda cupped herself and bent her knees down a bit and moaned. “That’s what Perry did when I

accidently got him.”