Chapter 14:

Lara Jade's Point of View:

Monday morning rolled around too soon and I regretted it when the sun finally rose.

I wanted to play sick and have my dad call me in, but I was too much of a coward to pull it off. Besides, Dad would probably see right through me anyway.

'Just please… please let Alexander leave me be,' I prayed fervently as I prepared for school.

When I went outside to catch the bus, I peeked next door and noticed the Porsche was still slumbering in the driveway. He hadn't left for school yet. Maybe he wouldn't go today… maybe–

"Hello," his voice rang from behind me.

I whirled around, my long ponytail accidentally getting him in the face with how close he was. Knowing I probably just gave myself away with my reaction, I tried to cover it with a blasé remark. "Sorry. I didn't, um, hear you come up," I said, which was true but not the reason my heart was going into overtime.

He didn't say anything, but looked at me with those terrifyingly black eyes– demon eyes– until I started to squirm.

"So, why aren't you taking your car? Or is that your… um, brother's?"

"My brother's," he responded quickly, "He only drove me to class on Friday because he wanted to see me off on my first day."

I wasn't sure which lie to believe, so I stayed silent. Last night he told me his "brother" was a "cover story," but now, he was following his original tale about living with him as a minor.

"Did you have a good weekend?" he asked, toying with me some more.

"I went camping with my dad," I responded with a shrug.

"So that's a yes, then? My family grew up in the middle of nowhere so I never really had the experience of camping, but I assume it would be quite enjoyable."

I made an agreeable sound in my throat, but couldn't talk to him any longer without freaking out. Thankfully, the bus approached so I wasn't forced into making anymore small talk with him. I sat down in near the front, sharing a bench with someone who tried reserving the spot with her bag. Too bad I was too nervous to care. It didn't stop the dirty look I received from her… or the fact that Alex chose a spot across the aisle from me.

"You seem a tad jumpy, are you alright?" he asked.

'God,' I thought, 'I have got to get myself under control.'

"Yeah. I have a… um, quiz, in class today that I forgot to study for. Chemistry."

"Well that sucks, because I didn't study for it either."

"When do you have Chem?" I asked, anticipating the answer.

"First period. You?"

Of course he would be in my class. I hadn't known it because of my being late the first day.

"Something wrong?" he asked, registering the pinched look I had on my face.

"No, no. It's nothing." Yeah, nothing except a demon being so enthralled with me that he was stalking me and enrolling in the same classes as me. I wasn't sure what God was up to or why He was putting me through this, but I had to remind myself that all things were under His control and that every test He put me through was something He knew I could handle. I just had to hope that this test wouldn't end badly…

Alexander's Point of View:

My compulsion didn't work.

I knew that the second I approached her from behind.

So… she knew. She knew what I was, but that also meant she remembered who attacked her. Somehow, I would have to extract this information from her. Force wouldn't do it, as she would either respond with anger by slapping me or with fear by running. Then she would, without a doubt, tell the nearest person that I was pursuing her or that I was a vampire.

Vampires… that one thought probably hasn't crossed the minds of these people in over three hundred years, well, unless they were thinking of Bram Stoker or worse, sparkling vampires. No one would probably take her seriously, but there was always that slim possibility that someone just might believe her, someone that has read the accounts of his or her ancestors.

Force wouldn't end well, so how else could I sequester what she knew. The only answer I could come up with is to get close to her, show her that I was not going to harm her. Maybe then she would open up. Thankfully, I had every opportunity with our three shared classes and close living arrangements.

Out of the corner of my eye, I examined her carefully. Her stiff posture and inability to look at me told me that this would be no easy task– difficult but definitely not impossible.