Chosen at Nightfall (Shadow Falls #5)(60)

She'd stayed awake a while thinking about meeting Daniel's adoptive parents today, wondering what she should say, or not say. She'd connected with her real grandfather, but he wasn't a parent who'd raised her father. He hadn't taught him to ride a bike, or play baseball. He didn't really know his own son, but these people did. What would they tell her about her father? Had they loved him, missed him since he'd been taken from this life too soon?

That made her start missing her dad. So she pulled out his pictures and spent a good hour just looking at them, talking to him. Yeah, she talked to him as if he were there listening to every word she said. She told him about her quests. How she wanted to find a way to help all the other chameleon teens. Now all she had to do was figure out how to do it. She told him about Mario, how she felt deep down that she was going to have to deal with him. Personally.

She confessed to her dad how much that truly scared her. Scared because of the evilness that emanated from the man, and how she didn't think she had what it would take to face him and win.

A couple of times during the conversation she could swear she felt her dad, a slight familiar type of chill-one that actually warmed her on the inside. One that whispered that she wouldn't be alone-not facing Mario, or the visit with his parents. Then she heard the words he'd told her not so long ago. But soon. Soon we will discover this together.

Was it fate that she face Mario and lose? Would she be joining her father on the other side?

She slipped the pictures back into their envelope, her heart beating a little faster, and again recalled Holiday telling her that she didn't think it was what he meant. Dear God, she hoped not. She wasn't ready to leave this world.

When she let go of worrying about Daniel's message-choosing to believe Holiday, or at least trying to believe her-and stopped fretting over the meeting of the grandparents, she started obsessing over what Fredericka had said. It was because of Kylie that Lucas probably wouldn't get on the werewolf Council.

She knew it wasn't her fault-he got himself in this mess-but guilt still pricked her conscience. It was hard to feel so angry and guilty at the same time at the same person. How did one deal with that? She didn't know.

She also had to deal with Derek. Nip things in the bud before things got out of control, if they weren't already out of control. She remembered lunch yesterday, which was why Kylie had Miranda bring them each back a couple slices of pizza for dinner last night. Ahh, her ol' avoidance trick was still in goodworking order. She should be proud. Not.

But honestly, she knew she shouldn't and couldn't continue to avoid it.

Derek deserved to know the truth. Now if she could just figure out exactly what that was, she'd tell him. Wait! She did know the truth, didn't she? Or at least part of it. Hadn't she admitted she loved Lucas?

Still loved him, in spite of what he'd done. Then why had she even allowed Derek to kiss her in the dreamscape?

Was it because down deep she still held a glimmer of romantic feelings for Derek? Was it because she feared losing Lucas and not having anyone? Was it because she was angry at Lucas, and somehow felt kissing Derek was his payback? Was it because she was over-the-top stupid?

Questions.

No answers.

"Are we going to breakfast?" Della asked.

"Yeah," Kylie mumbled, and looked at the black computer screen. "Just checking my e-mail."

Della let out a sarcastic chuckle. "I think you need to turn the computer on first. Or do your powers now allow you to read your e-mails with the computer off?"

Kylie clicked the computer on and glanced over her shoulder to frown at Della. "Don't you remember the rule? You can't be a smartass until after breakfast. I need energy to deal with that."

Miranda skipped into the living room from her bedroom. "I personally think she should wait and be a smartass after lunch. That gives us two meals of energy to put up with her crap."

"You two think you're so funny," Della bit out.

"We are funny," Miranda said.

"Just a couple of comedians." Kylie clicked open her e-mail to do a quick check. One from her stepdad.

To answer later.

One from ... Sara.

Damn, she hadn't thought about her old best friend in almost two weeks. Funny how someone could be so important in your life and then ... then you go a long period of time without them even entering your thoughts.

It wasn't anyone's fault. Life took people in different directions. She'd read in some teen magazine that it usually happened when you graduated from high school. She guessed her different-path part of life had just come a little earlier. It was still sad.

An empty spot seemed to open up in her chest. A spot Kylie knew used to be occupied by Sara.

She clicked open the e-mail from Sara, praying it wasn't bad news, as in: her cancer came back, or she thought she was pregnant again, or she'd decided to go into a convent and become a nun. With Sara, anything was possible.

Hey ... Got my hair cut. Thought you might want to see it. Don't laugh. I'm feeling spunky now that I survived cancer. I'll bet your friend Miranda will approve. Call me when you have a chance.

Knowing Della and Miranda were waiting, Kylie clicked open the picture for just a peek. When the image of Sara with short, spiked pink hair filled the screen, a smiled slipped across Kylie's lips.

She heard shuffling behind her. "I'm coming," she said, thinking any minute Della would complain.Kylie grabbed her phone and wallet, but right as she stood up, another e-mail came in. It was from her mom, who was supposed to have gotten back to the States on the red-eye flight. Obviously, she'd made it home.