The Vampire Hunter's Daughter: Complete Collection(70)

“Hi,” he said, his voice weak.

“Do you want some water?” I asked. He had a pitcher and a plastic cup on the rolling table near the head of his bed.

“Sure,” he nodded slightly.

I let go of his hand and poured water into the cup until it was about half full.

“How are you doing?” I asked him, handing him the water.

He adjusted his bed so he sat up more. “I’m doing better. I guess I’ve been better.” He finally smiled. “I’m glad you came to see me.”

“I came to see you yesterday, but your mom was here.”

He rolled his eyes like he already knew how she’d acted. “Yeah, sorry about her. She’s just overprotective.”

“Yeah, I’d be the same way if I had a kid,” I said.

In my head, I thought, She has two kids, not one. Maybe she should try protecting the other one every now and then.

“I’m just glad you’re okay,” I finished. “That’s all that matters.”

He nodded and closed his eyes.

“Are you tired?” I asked.

“Yeah, it’s these pain killers. I sleep all the time.”

Suddenly, I didn’t feel comfortable at all. I had come to tell Gavin he and I couldn’t continue any kind of relationship, but there never really was a relationship in the first place. It didn’t seem right to say anything about that now. It all seemed petty compared to him lying there recovering from a gunshot wound and major surgery.

“What is it, Chloe?”

“Hmmm?” I had drifted away while considering my reasons for wanting to talk to him. “Oh, nothing. I was just thinking.”

“About what?” Even in his drug-induced haze he managed to raise his eyebrows in question.

I smiled and hoped it looked real. “It’s nothing. Just worried about you, is all.”

God, I am the biggest liar in the world.



I left Gavin at the hospital without telling him how I felt and probably had him thinking the complete opposite of what I wanted to tell him. Sometimes it felt like I failed at everything I tried to do. I wondered when I would actually succeed at something.

I had gone up to my room after we got home and stayed there all night. I didn’t want to see anyone or have to talk to anyone, especially Drew.

The next morning, I woke at five and slid out of bed quietly, trying not to wake Alice. There was something I wanted to do, and I figured I could take my run while I was at it. I dressed in black yoga pants and tank top with a pink hoodie over the top. I brushed my teeth, brushed my hair and pulled it into a ponytail. Finally, I grabbed my MP3 player and earbuds off the dresser on my way out the door.

I tiptoed down the stairs, trying to be as quiet as I could, and turned the corner to go into the kitchen. At five in the morning, I should have expected others might be up, but when I slammed into Drew coming around the corner, I yelped in surprise and punched him in the face out of reflex.

“Ow!” Caught totally off guard, he covered his nose with his hand. “What the hell, Chloe?”

“Oh, my god. I’m so sorry!”

I moved forward instinctively to try to look at his nose.

“I didn’t mean to hit you… you surprised me.”

He grunted and held his hand up in the ‘just give me a minute to recover’ signal. After a couple of deep breaths, he removed his hand from his nose, examining it to see if there was blood. Finding no blood, he whispered, “Why don’t you be more careful?”

I tried to sidestep away from him because he was in my path. “You scared me. I didn’t know you were down here.”

He sidestepped also so I couldn’t pass. “I’m always up this early.”

“I know, but I haven’t been here for a while, okay?” I sidestepped back the other way. “Let me get by!” I hissed at him, trying to keep my voice down.

He surprised me by grabbing my upper arms and pulling me toward him.

“No,” he said simply and lifted his hand. I felt one finger run gently down my jawline. I tried to pull away from him. I didn’t want to play his kiss-me-one-minute-ignore-me-the-next games that morning. I had plans for the day. My efforts were useless, however. He cupped my face with both hands and kissed me.

Oh, man.

I kissed him back. I let him pull me close and wrapped my arms around his shoulders as his moved to my waist.

When it was over, which was far too soon in my opinion, I pulled away and ran for the door. I didn’t want him to say anything like before about how he shouldn’t have done it or how we wouldn’t be doing it again. I didn’t want him to ruin it.

The only thing I heard before I jammed my earbuds in was him calling out for me to wait.

While I ran, I chose ear-blasting, blood-pumping music that wouldn’t make me cry.

What the heck am I going to do about this?

I just didn’t think I could take any more. It was time to make some kind of decision, on both ends. I still had Gavin to deal with. He would probably be upset if he knew I was going to choose Drew over him. Oh, for crying out loud. I never thought in a million years this would happen.

I ran the trails through the woods, over the tops of the dirt and crunchy autumn leaves, with music blaring in my ears and sweat running down my face. When I emerged from the woods on the edge of town, I ran down the side streets all the way to the other side of town, toward the cemetery… toward my mother.