The Vampire Hunter's Daughter: Complete Collection(12)

“This is the problem with raising so many hunter children all in one place. You are all trained well and could actually kill someone without even trying very hard. When the typical teenage fights break out, it’s never a good thing. This could have been far worse.”

I shrugged. “I’ve seen worse fights in my old school. Once, I even saw a kid get stabbed.”

Luke closed his eyes and shook his head like the thought saddened him. “Chloe, I know you were only defending yourself, but you must try to stay away from situations like this one.”

There was nothing else to say about it. He could be damned sure I would try and avoid stuff like this. I wasn’t sure what I could really do to avoid it. I already kept to myself most of the time. “okay. Can I go to my room now?”

“Yes. We have to be at the school in the morning. You are going to be suspended for a week because you were involved in the fight. There is a zero tolerance rule, so no matter if it was your fault or not, you and Christina will both be suspended.”

“Wonderful,” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. I headed out of the room. I paused a moment and then turned back to Luke. “Can I go to the library?”

He nodded his agreement and clicked on the television.



When I told Drew about Christina, his eyes narrowed. I wondered what was up with that.

“You know her?” I asked.

“Yeah, she was my girlfriend for a year.”

I choked on my carrot juice.

“Your girlfriend?” I blurted when my throat cleared. “Isn’t she my age?”

“Chloe, I’m only three years older than you, for one, and I just turned eighteen.” He sighed. “Christina is a senior this year, so she was only one year behind me in school.”

Oh, that made more sense. On the upside though, I was in a fight with a senior, and I didn’t lose.

Sweet.

“Well, why the heck would you date her anyway? She’s mean and a slut, too.”

He laughed. “She’s not a slut. She just wants everyone to think she is.”

“That’s stupid. Why would anyone do that?”

“Christina is one of those girls who just wants attention. She wants attention because it makes her feel loved and wanted. Her family isn’t exactly the best family in the world.”

When I raised my eyebrows in question he said, “Christina’s father had to be banished from the community. One night, he got so drunk he beat Christina’s mother so badly she died. Christina was ten years old at the time. She had been hiding under her bed in the other room and heard the whole thing.”

“Oh, my gosh!”

“So, when he came after her, she ran for her life. She ran to the nearest neighbor. It took four other hunters to subdue him. Turns out he was a cocaine addict, but no one knew it.”

“How come her mother didn’t fight back?”

“Her mother wasn’t a hunter. Not everyone here has two hunters for parents. You don’t.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me.”

As much as I really didn’t want to feel sorry for Christina, I couldn’t help it. We had both seen our mothers murdered, and in a way, both by our fathers. “That’s still no reason for her to go around being mean and slutty.”

He turned his eyes away, and I thought for a minute I saw a bit of sadness in them.

“I know,” he told me.

I saw in his eyes that he had cared about her. While I should have felt bad for him, or something like that, I felt something else instead. I’m pretty sure it was jealousy.

Two days after that talk with Drew, he obtained permission to take me into the city so I could buy new winter clothes and boots. Oh, how I longed for the busy shops of the mall!

Before we left, Luke gave me a debit card for my new checking account. He told me how much had been deposited and how much would be deposited each month. Luke explained that he was on the account with me because I was a minor. He told me he would teach me about balancing my accounts when I returned from my trip.

I thanked him and tucked the card into my wallet. If it hadn’t been so icy on the walkway, I would have run to Drew’s truck.

The mall was totally fun. I was astonished to learn that Drew had never had an Orange Julius, so I made him drink one. I also ate two hotdogs and a big thing of chili nachos.

“You’re going to get sick,” Drew told me from across the table.

“I don’t care.” To show him just how much I didn’t care, I used a big chip to scoop up some chili and shoved it in my mouth. He shook his head in disgust and took a bite of his healthy sub sandwich.

I managed to find two nice pair of snow boots. One pair would work for indoor and outdoor, the other was only for outside. I got a new jacket, several hats, and a bunch of those little gloves that cost a dollar.

Drew seemed to like the Orange Julius because he was slurping it down fast. “Do you want to go see a movie while we’re in town?”

“You bet I do!” I was having a hard time containing my excitement. I hadn’t had a great day since before my mother died. And to think, getting into a fight at school got me a shopping trip to town.

Not that I would do that again.

It was dark by the time the movie ended. The clouds had parted for the almost full moon that lit up the parking lot with a luminous glow. Snowflakes fell softly on everything. Instead of causing me worry, like when we were at home, the snow felt magical.