Eleventh Grade Burns(81)

And there was nothing Joss could do to stop it ... short of killing the vampires himself.





36





THE GREATEST GIFT


SMALL DROPS OF RAIN WERE FALLING in the alley behind The Crypt, tapping Vlad gently on the shoulder, as if urging him to move things along, get this over with as quickly and as painlessly as possible. Behind his back, Vlad held a long-stem blood-red rose. He squeezed the stem in his palm out of anxiousness, its thorns digging into his flesh, piercing the skin. The door opened and, finally, Snow joined him.

She looked pretty as ever, with her dark eyes and curious smile. Tilting her head up, she smiled as raindrops danced on her skin. “I love the rain. Especially when it’s warm like this. Don’t you?”

In truth, Vlad hadn’t really thought much about the rain. He couldn’t even think about it much now, even as it dripped onto his shoulders and pasted his long black bangs against his pale forehead. All he could really think about was the decision he’d made on the plane, what he came here to do, and how very much he felt for Snow. He loved her. Against his will, he loved her. Even though he still loved Meredith too.

Wetting his lips, he said, “Did you miss me while I was away?”

She smiled brightly, the light of her obvious happiness shining in her eyes. “Of course I did. I’m really glad you’re back. After what you said the last time we talked, I wasn’t sure you’d be coming back at all. What about you, did you miss me at all?”

Vlad didn’t answer her question. Instead, he said, “I have a gift for you, Snow. Close your eyes.”

Her cheeks were slick with rain; her black eyeliner smudged some under her eyes, making her look raccoonlike. She moved closer and Vlad felt the warmth of her skin from even a foot away. She closed her eyes, her lips curled up in a trusting smile. He remembered what it had been like to kiss Snow, to have her lips pressed against his, to feel warm and happy and confused and frightened. The memory was what he focused on as he pulled the rose from behind his back. Ever so gently, he pushed the petals to her nose. She inhaled and opened her eyes, taking the bud in her hand. “Oh, Vlad, that’s so sweet! It’s beautiful!”

Vlad shook his head slowly, his fangs slipping from his gums. “That’s not the gift, Snow. This is.”

He grabbed her by the shoulders forcibly ... unlike he’d ever grabbed her before. He pulled her close, determined. Determined not to go back on his decision, determined to do the right thing, no matter the cost. She gasped but didn’t fight him, and Vlad closed his mouth over her neck, popping his fangs through her smooth, pale flesh to the rushing river of crimson within. He forced himself not to drink, but oh, how he wanted to, how he yearned to swallow every drop of her blood. With tears escaping his eyes, he fed his intent into the wound, releasing Snow as his drudge.

When he finished, he pulled away and she slumped against him, weakly clutching the rose in her hand, the same as she did whenever he fed from her. Maybe it was the bite that made her weak. Or maybe it was him. Vlad helped her gently to the ground and placed a small, adoring kiss on her forehead. He whispered, “Goodbye, Snow. You deserve to have someone who loves you, who really loves you ... not a monster like me.”

Then he straightened, wiping her blood from the corner of his mouth, and walked out of the alley—and away from Snow—forever.





37





SAYING GOODBYE


HOW LONG WILL YOU BE GONE?” Vlad climbed higher, just one more branch, and settled onto the old oak in his backyard, dangling his tiny, eight-year-old feet, trying hard not to look down. He couldn’t go as high as Henry, no matter what Henry said. It was too scary.

Henry sat in the crook much higher than Vlad, looking out over the yard without fear. He shrugged. “I dunno. My mom says we’ll be visiting for a while.”

Vlad’s mother made her way to the back door of the house with an armload of groceries. She was dressed in a pretty yellow sundress and brown leather sandals, her dark hair in a loose, beribboned ponytail. Her steps slowed as she turned her eyes to the boys. “Be careful out there, you two.”

Vlad’s father seemed to appear out of nowhere to take a bag from her hands. His dark eyes twinkled with kindness. He smiled reassuringly. “Mellina, darling, they’re fine.”

His mom frowned, bit her bottom lip gently, her eyes full of concern. “I don’t like when he climbs that tree. He could fall, Tomas.”