Vampire Kisses: Immortal Hearts Part 23

"You are just plain crazy!" I shouted.

"Like a fox," he said. "I should have known."

"Don't you like Stormy?" I asked. "You think you are hara.s.sing me, but don't you see it is her who you are really hurting?"

For a moment Billy softened, until he saw the picture on his phone. Then his expression changed.

"It can't be...." he said, his voice trailing off.

"See, I told you that you were a fool."

"This means she's not the only one," he deduced.

"What?"

"You don't have many pictures of Alexander, either."

I didn't want to admit anything to my brother-but I didn't know what to do. I was running out of excuses.

"Why don't you have any pictures of Alexander-that aren't painted-or one that isn't computer generated?" Billy was fixated on me. "Why is Stormy afraid of mirrors?" he went on. "How come she didn't show up in the mirror outside Shirley's? I've never seen Stormy or Alexander in the daylight. And why are they all allergic to garlic?" he asked. "Even their parents were when they came over for dinner."

He showed me his phone. There was just a picture of him-and an empty s.p.a.ce where Stormy should have been.

"It doesn't mean anything!" I said. "Alexander moved, Stormy moved. Blah blah blah," I defended. "It happens all the time."

"No one moved," Billy argued. "I have another one like it taken on the night of the dance printed out upstairs. That is why Alexander made me a portrait of me and Stormy. Because he knew I'd never have a photo of her."

"So your phone is messed up," I charged. "That explains it all."

Then Billy looked at me right down in my soul. He was gearing up to take me down with his words.

He took the phone and shoved it in front of me. "This is Henry's phone!" he proclaimed.

My heart plummeted. It was as if he was the detective in a whodunit novel and he was holding the stolen goods with my fingerprints on them.

I was speechless. And so was Billy. It was as if all the color had washed away from his cherry-red cheeks.

"You're dating a vampire," Billy said, his voice quavering.

I didn't know what to say. My brother looked to me for a response.

Just then my mom burst into his room. "What is going on?" she asked. "No h.e.l.los? Only screaming?"

"Uh..." I said.

"I was just showing Raven this picture of me and Stormy," he said.

"Oh, really? I'd love to see it."

I gave my brother a stern glare.

He looked to me. He knew that if he showed it to my mother, then he would be putting Stormy in jeopardy. I could see him contemplate if that was worth the joy of hara.s.sing me.

Billy turned to my mom. "It didn't turn out," he said, putting the phone on his desk.

"That's a shame," she said, disappointed. "I would have loved to see you two together."

"I would have, too," he mumbled under his breath.

"So, how was your evening?" she asked us.

"We had a blast," I said.

"And you, Billy?"

fonould be p"Uh ... yeah, it was interesting."

"Interesting?" she said. "I thought you went to get ice cream. What is interesting about ice cream?"

I waited for my little brother to blab the News of the Underworld to my mom. I was ready to pounce on him when he did.

"They had a new flavor," he said to me. "Vampire bites."

"Well, I bet Raven loved that one," she said.

I nodded enthusiastically. I was biding my time, hoping my mother would leave so I could talk to Billy alone.

"Sounds like you both had a great time," she continued. "I think this has been really wonderful for you. The fall dance. Now hanging out together. I think the Sterlings have bonded with you both and brought you two together. It's so sweet."

We both smiled fake smiles, and my mom, happy with the children she dreamed for, left the room.

"So you admit it!" Billy Boy said to me when she was out of sight. He had obviously been waiting all night long to talk to me about this.

I didn't know what to say. All my excuses flew out of my head. I couldn't figure out anything anymore to explain the bizarre behavior of Alexander, Stormy, or their parents. I couldn't rationalize why they acted the way they did, and I wasn't sure I even wanted to anymore.

I didn't respond. Instead I started for my room but then turned around.

"Thanks for covering with Mom," I said. "I know you did it for Stormy. But it really helped me and Alexander, too."

"So ... it's really true," he said as if it was just sinking in.

I headed over to him. "You can't tell a soul."

"You are dating a vampire...."

"I mean it. No one can know."

"But don't you see? This is major news. The existence of vampires. Not just in folklore-but in reality."

I leaned in to him with serious conviction. "Your lips are sealed. Promise?"

"Can I tell Henry?"

"No!"

"But he has to know! We could win a lifetime achievement award at mend mthe school's science fair."

"I don't need fifty media trucks parked outside the Mansion waiting to interview Alexander or Stormy to find that they don't show up on camera. He'll have to leave town. And that is not going to happen!" I pinched his arm.

"Okay, okay," he said, and I released him. Then he started processing the information. "I went to a dance with a vampire," he said. "I'll be the coolest kid in school."

"I told you, you can't tell anyone!"

"But how will I be cool if no one knows?"

I remembered how Billy treated Stormy and danced with her in front of the entire school. And now, not blurting out the ident.i.ty of my boyfriend to my mom. "I think you already are the coolest one there," I said truthfully.

He gazed up at me with little-brother eyes. It was as if they were the words he'd been waiting to hear from me all his life.

I turned to leave.

"Hey, Raven."

"What-"

"Does this mean that you'll...?"

"What?"

"Does this mean that you'll become a vampire, too?"

I smiled at my brother and spoke to him honestly. "I can only hope!"

I gave him a wink and started for the door.

"That would totally rock!" I heard him say as I headed out of his room.

17 Indecent Proposal.

For the next few days, Billy continued to want to know all about the Sterlings, the Mansion, and their family lineage. For years, he had seen me as the outcast rebellious older sister, and now I was suddenly the coolest sister he could have imagined in the world.

"You have to swear not to speak a word of this," I said to him one day after school. Our parents were still at work, and he found this an opportune time to hound me while I was eating a snack in the kitchen.

"I just want to know more ... about vampires," he pressed while I sat at the dinette table picking at some chips. "What will happen?"

"Nothing."

"Will Stormy bite me if I see her again?"

"Uh ... no. But I may if you keep bugging me."

"Will Alexander bite you and turn you into a vampire?"

"I hope so."

"I'm serious."

"So am I."

"I know you want to be a vampire," my brother said, leaning in. "But really be one?" he asked. "Really?"

"Yes. What's it to you?"

"You wouldn't dare do it. Not for real."

I rolled my eyes and turned away. "Let me eat," I said.

"You would," he insisted. "You really would?"

I turned back. "Why not? It's what I've always wanted. Wouldn't you be a Jedi Knight if you could?"

He looked at me affirmatively.

"Listen, the way I dress and the things I like," I began, "that's me. I'm not going through some phase. This is who I am. Get used to it."

"So you will get turned?" he pressed, wide-eyed.

"I'm not sure it will happen, no. But it would be cool."

"My sister, the vampire," he said.

"Well, I wouldn't worry about it now," I said. "I don't think it's happening anytime soon."

"You mean Alexander won't turn you?"

This time I looked at him affirmatively, but not with glee.

I took his once-bony arm that was now getting more muscular. "This secret remains between us. Everything you know and everything I've told you. If you tell..."

"I know... I won't live to see the next sunrise."

He withdrew his arm, and I returned to my chips. He left me in peace as he headed upstairs mulling over a world he'd only imagined existing in folklore, which was now his n wa, aew reality.

A few nights later, Alexander took me and Stormy to the Crypt. We all danced until exhaustion set in. Luna asked to have a bop with Stormy, and Alexander headed to the bar for a drink while I headed to the restroom to freshen my makeup.