Vampire Kisses: Immortal Hearts Part 2

"It's hard for me not to want to tell everyone, too. My parents..."

"But you know you can't!" I insisted. "If word gets out, they'll all be run out of town. And that includes Alexander."

"I know. But it's so hard. That's why I have to talk about it with you."

"Have you told Matt?" I asked.

She appeared shocked, as if I'd caught her stealing candy. "You said I could!"

"I know. I couldn't imagine you keeping it from him, and for some reason he doesn't seem to have loose lips."

"Well, I told him."

"Did he freak out?"

"Yes. I still don't think he believes me. But I think the fact that I knew made me seem more worldly or something to him."

"That's cool."

"I thought so, too." Becky grinned. "So what's it really like dating a vampire? You have to wait all day to see Alexander?"

"Yes."

"Like now?"

"Uh-huh."

"Until the sun sets?" she asked, looking at the bright sky.

I nodded.

"Isn't that awful? I can see Matt at school and on the weekend. How can you take it? You are missing so much."

"Thanks for reminding me," I said sarcastically.

"I just mean..."

"I know. That part is a drag." It was one of the many reasopire many ns I longed to become a vampire-so Alexander and I could be together full-time. "But since I like the nighttime and sleep through most days when I can, it's really the perfect fit," I told her.

"Does he sleep in a coffin?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Have you seen it?"

"Yes.

"Is it in a dungeon?"

"No, in a small room off of his bedroom."

"Have you been inside it?"

"Yes."

"Oooh. I bet you loved it!"

"I did!"

"Do you think... I could see it sometime?"

"I'm sure you can."

"I can't imagine Alexander sleeping in a coffin. I mean, I can-he is different, in a good way. But Matt-everything is pretty normal about him. I can't imagine what I'd do if I went to his room and found him sleeping in a casket."

"I know exactly what you'd do. Faint!"

Her cheeks flushed as we both laughed. "But for you," she began, "isn't it a dream come true for you really, to be dating a vampire?"

"It is, Becky. It is. And I'm so happy that we can finally talk about it. I've been dying to tell you for ages."

"And does he really drink...?"

I nodded eagerly as she cringed.

"And you still want to become one?"

I nodded again.

"Does he try to bite you?"

"No, but I wish he would."

She shook her head at me. "So do you think it will happen?" she asked, slightly terrified, clinging to the swing's metal chain link.

I was quiet for a moment.

She hung on for my answer.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know?"

"It takes two for me to become a vampire. I can't do it alone. I need Alexander."

"Of course. Isn't he willing?"

"He wants to protect me from his world. He thinks I might hate it. I understand his struggle. It's a big decision to make for someone else."

"That is a big decision."

And something I wanted so badly to happen. "But he did take my blood," I confessed proudly. This was big news, and I felt like I'd burst with joy to finally be sharing it with my best friend.

"You are kidding!"

"No!" I exclaimed. "I had a cut-just like you did that night when you fell and Sebastian took..."

"What?"

Then I realized. Becky hadn't known what Sebastian had done that night. "Oh ... nothing."

"No. What were you going to say?" she pressed.

"Uh ... it's not important."

"You have to tell me. What do you mean, that night I fell?"

"Uh ... you skinned your knee."

"I know-I remember that. And Sebastian helped me when I began to bleed." Her eyes grew wide as she remembered. "Oh no! Then you pushed him away. I thought it was odd then-that you struggled with him when he was trying to help me. But now that I know... Did he bite me? Did Sebastian bite me? Am I going to be a...?"

"No, calm down. He wiped off your blood from your knee. That's all."

"Why would he do that?" she wondered. "There's more, isn't there?"

"Not really. He didn't bite you. That's all you need to know."

"But he wiped it off. I remember."

"Yes, he did."

"But what did he do with the blood?" she asked, trying to remember. Then she looked at me as2emked at if she already knew the answer.

I reluctantly nodded, recalling how he put his bloodstained finger to his mouth.

"Oh, gross!" She covered her ears. "I don't want to hear."

"You just told me you want to know everything."

"I didn't need to know that part. I feel woozy." Then, suddenly, she clutched my s.h.i.+rt. "Will I turn into a vampire?" she asked desperately.

"No. You are no more a vampire than I am."

"Are you sure?"

"Dead sure."

My best friend sighed with relief.

"No, you have to be bitten for that to happen," I said with a sigh of my own. But there was something I wasn't sure she knew. Something I wanted to have happen to me. "And if the vampire bites another on sacred ground, then they are bonded together for eternity," I said. "Isn't that romantic?"

"Uh ... yes. I guess," she said uneasily. "But what is sacred ground?"

"A burial site. A cemetery. Or a tomb. But Alexander took my blood, too," I said, not wanting to feel left out of the drama. "Not on sacred ground, but like Sebastian did to you. Only it was really magical for us."

"Well, it would be to you, but to me, it's completely gross. I think I will stick with Matt. Fortunately for me the only thing he likes to drink is Gatorade."

We both laughed at the extraordinary situation that was now our reality.

"But do you still want to be a vampire now that you know the truth?" Becky asked.

"I've known for a while."

"I know. But seeing them interact-their lifestyle and their needs. Do you really want to be one like you've always wanted to before?"

"Yes. More so than ever."

She nervously twisted the ends of her hair and took a moment to process my answer.

"Would we still be able to be best friends?" Becky seemed seriously worried.

"Why not?"

"Because if youxtrcause i are a vampire ... you wouldn't be going to school anymore. I'd miss you in cla.s.ses, lunch, and after school. I'd only be able to see you a few hours in the evenings. Who would I talk to at school?"

"Matt."

"But you are my best friend."

"I would still be your best friend. Nothing will change that."

"I need girl time. I can't imagine going to school without you."

Her words. .h.i.t me like a dagger in my heart. I didn't want to hurt Becky by becoming what I wanted to be. I'd always thought about the positives of being a vampire, with one of the best being that I wouldn't have to go to school during the day anymore. But I hadn't thought about the downside-not seeing my best friend, Becky, every day.

"Well, we don't have to worry about that now." I tried to ease her mind. "Alexander isn't planning on turning me any time soon-at least not that I know of."

"It must be hard for him, being a vampire and loving a human."

"I think it is. He tells me so."

"Maybe that's why you two get along so well. You both understand and crave the other's world."

I leaned back in my swing. "Yes. I crave it even more since I met Alexander. I feel like I'm only a step away."

"Really. So soon?"

"I don't know. I just want it so bad."