Chapter 14 #2
“Perhaps? You see something else here? This vampire teen is more than a hundred years older than Allie, but people are going to think that they’re dating. And to top it off, she’s got a massive crush on him.”
Father Corletti chuckled. “I don’t know how to guide you on this except to say that he is both seventeen and older. Allie is fifteen, but she’s older too.”
“So you don’t have a problem with this?” I actually pulled the phone away from my ear and gaped at it.
“She’s a teenage girl. She has a crush on an older boy. Isn’t this often the way of high school students?”
He wasn’t wrong. But at the same time this was hardly the same as Allie having a crush on a teacher.
As if answering my unspoken question, Father Corletti continued. “He’s a centuries-old vampire who wants to protect a young woman with incredible abilities. Do not create problems that do not exist.”
“Maybe...” The truth was, I’d gotten definite crush vibes from Allie at the kitchen table, but Jared had seemed truly clueless when she’d stormed away.
On the whole, I didn’t know what to think. The only thing I knew for certain was that Father Corletti was right—I can’t protect Allie forever.
I needed help doing my job, and so did she.
At the end of the day, I was simply going to have to trust her.
And that’s never as easy as it sounds.
“I tapped lightly on Allie’s door, then slowly pushed it open. “Hey, sweetie. Can I come in?”
I got no response, so I decided to enter anyway. I needed to check on my baby, after all.
I took a step in, then another. The room was dark, the blackout blinds closed against the Sunday afternoon sun.
Then I heard the softest shuffle of clothes against the sheets, and I stepped lightly to the bedside.
I settled on the edge, my eyes finally adjusting to the darkness, and saw her curled up on the bed holding her favorite stuffed dog. “I thought he liked me...”
“Well, I think he does.”
She shifted, the mattress moving as she sat up, then clicked on the dim bedside light. Even in the relative darkness, I could tell that she’d been crying. “He just thinks I have to be protected. But I can take care of myself. And why would he want to protect me anyway? He’s a freaking vampire.”
I put a steadying hand on her knee. “Like he said, he likes this world. So do a lot of demons, actually. That tells us something, though, right?”
She scowled. “Dunno.”
“Yes, Allie, you do. I know this hurts. I know you like this boy, and now you’re not even sure if you can trust him.
For what it’s worth, I think you can. But whatever your emotions are, you have to turn them off.
You have to think like a Hunter, baby. That’s what Father Corletti told you, and Marcus, too, right? ”
At the mention of the priest and the Forza trainer, she nodded. “Yeah. You’re right.”
“So?” I pressed.
She exhaled loudly, the way she does when I ask her to empty the dishwasher even though she’d rather watch TV. “It tells us that whatever bad thing is brewing, it’s end of the world kind of stuff. Like what opening the gate would have done.”
“Exactly,” I said, as proud as I could be of my daughter. “How’d you get there?”
My eyes had adjusted to the dark, and I could easily see when she rolled her eyes, obviously frustrated with my shift into both mom and teacher mode.
But she didn’t complain aloud. Instead, she said, “Because it’s like you said.
He’s a vampire. But he likes this world.
Which means that he’s going to fight the other demons who want to end it all and turn this place into some nasty hell dimension. ”
“Exactly.”
“And you trust him?” she asked me.
“He worked with Duvall,” I said. “The Duvall demon, I mean.”
“Really?” That perked her up. “Well, that puts him on the good side. Are you sure?”
“That’s what Father Corletti said.”
“Wow. I guess that means we really can trust him,” Allie said.
“Looks like it.”
“So I guess we’ll let him babysit me, then, since that’s all he wants to do.” She sniffled. “I thought he liked me.”
I reached for her hand. “I know you did, sweetie. But isn’t he a little old for you?”
She flopped back against her headboard. “Whatever. Doesn’t matter. He just sees me as someone he has to protect. It’s not like he likes me.”
“Hey, I like you. And I know you can take care of yourself, and I still think you need to be protected.”
“That’s not exactly the point, Mom.”
“Isn’t it?”
She huffed again, and said nothing, just waited her out.
It didn’t take long.
“Do you mean it?” she asked.
“Mean what?”
“Do you really think I can take care of myself?”
I reached forward and took her hands. “Yes, I do. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have a lot to learn. About fighting, sure, but also about this,” I added, taking her hand and pressing it to her heart. “But you’re a remarkable kid. I’m really proud of you.”
She smiled, and her whole face seemed to light up. “Thanks, Mom.” We shared a quick smile, before hers turned into a frown.
“Oh, no,” I said. “What did I say?”
“Kid.”
I fought the urge to laugh. “Well in my book, fifteen still qualifies as a kid. Or do you prefer young lady?”
“He’s like only one grade above me, but he totally thinks I’m a kid.”
“One grade and about a hundred and ten years.”
She rolled her eyes, as if those numbers meant absolutely nothing. “There’s nothing wrong with liking a boy who’s a little more mature.”
“Allie...”
She stayed silent and prickles of warning danced over my skin. “He really is too old for you,” I pointed out. “Not to mention the fact that he’s a vampire.”
She stared at me, her expression showing no reaction at all.
I sighed, and tried to call out the big guns. “If nothing else, you’ll get old and he won’t. You saw Highlander, right?”
“Huh?”
“Highlander,” I repeated, shocked by her blank stare. “You’ve really never seen it?”
“Is it one of those really old movies you like?”
“Really old? No. But it wasn’t made in the last five years if that’s what you mean.”
“Does it suck?”
“Allie!”
“Well?”
“I get that you’re not in the best of moods, but do not dis one of my favorite movies.”
Her mouth twitched. “Is it one of those movies that’s only on VHS that you keep in the box in the attic?”
“Now you’re just being disagreeable,” I said, making her burst out laughing. Which, considering I’d come up here to cheer her up, was a good thing. “It has lots of good fight scenes. We could break them down. Plus, Sean Connery, and that’s never a bad thing.”
“Yeah?”
“Would I lie?”
“You might,” she said.
“Actually, why don’t we see if we can find it? I’m sure I have it around here somewhere, if not we can rent it.”
“A movie afternoon? Can we make popcorn?”
“Why not? We’ll have a lazy Sunday. But we need to get Timmy down for a nap or see if Laura will babysit. In this family, he’ll learn all about fighting and pointy things soon enough, but the longer we can hold him off the better.”
“I’ll call Aunt Laura and take him over while you find the movie. Can Mindy come watch, too?”
“Why not?”
“Awesome. And Mom,” she added, pushing off the bed, “I love you.”
And that, I thought, was the core of what really mattered.