Chapter Ten: Best Laid Plans
Alexis's POV
We finally got our way and this happens? I think annoyedly as my brother blushingly comes home from his date with Diedre and asks if it's cool for her to come with him to Greece. Obviously my parents are all for this development, and I can almost feel the pressured gazes coming at me. They're hoping I plan to ask if Quigley can come with me to Spain. No freakin' way.
"You see, uh," Leif begins to go tomato red, "Diedre and I have been talking for the past couple months and…I think we're gonna Bond on the Greece trip."
"You think?" My dad asks with surprise.
"Well, it's a big step, and I didn't think you guys would be too happy if I just came back to the country Bonded."
"That's a fair assumption," Mama frowns a bit, which is weird 'cause I thought everyone was on board with the Leif/Diedre thing. "Just be prepared for Endymion to pop in unexpectedly and unload some knowledge."
Leif laughs and shakes his head. "As much as you guys like to say he just randomly shows up, I've never met him once."
"He likes to interrupt fights and sex," Dad offers, making me snort on a laugh. "Anyway, of course you are at liberty to make your own decisions. You are the same age your mother was when she Bonded with me, after all."
"Even though the circumstances are different?" Leif asks.
Dad thinks about this a moment and replies, "I do not believe the circumstances are all that different. In fact, I think you are far more informed than your mother was when she agreed to Bond. After all, in regards of becoming a Living Immortal, we know far more now than we did back then." Dad frowns for a second and then adds, "Although, we cannot be certain how Bonding will impact Diedre or perhaps even Quigley. Endymion never exactly mentioned that."
"What do you mean?" I ask curiously from where I've been trying to study for my math test. Aunt Cammie is such a hard ass instructor.
"We know that vampires created by someone in our bloodline will gain Impervious Immortality," Dad begins to explain. "However, Endymion never directly told us if vampires who Bonded to our children would gain any such immunities. Back before we knew about Leif and Diedre, we always believed if either of you found a human you wanted to keep- Godric would Sire them and then they could complete a Bond with you."
"You mean," Leif interjects, "you don't know if D will become an Impervious Immortal if she Bonds with me? She could still have vulnerabilities and I could lose her?"
"Killing a four thousand year old vampire is not the easiest of tasks," Dad tries to assure him. "But to answer your question: No. We have not been told that existing vampires can gain the immunities."
I feel my heart sink as I am being told this. Even though Quigley and I are nowhere near Bonding, it's still disconcerting to hear. My heart starts hammering in my chest so hard it makes my stomach hurt.
"But it's not ruled out, right? Since Bonding serves as a connection to our bloodline- which Aunt Cammie proved works- there's still a chance they'll get the same protections, right?" I ask anxiously.
"That is true," Dad nods, trying to give me a comforting smile. "However, until Leif is Bonded to Diedre, we cannot be certain."
We graduate in two months, and then Leif and I both leave for Europe the following week. All there is to do is sit and wait, and I hate that. I hate not knowing.
The front door opens, and I lean back in the kitchen barstool to gaze down the hallway to find Quigley waving at me with his usual grin.
"What, you don't text anymore?" I tease him as he comes over and kisses the side of my head.
"What homework you got, Storeen?" Quigley asks, scrunching his nose when he sees the equations. "Maths? Never a favorite of mine."
"It's not so bad," I shrug. "What brings you by so late?"
"Was at church," Quigley replies. "You should come with me sometime, Sookie," he calls to my mom.
"I'm not Catholic," Mom replies with a laugh.
"I wouldn't tattle on ye," Quigley teases. He looks back to me and smiles, "Want to take a stroll, Luv? You look like you could do to stretch yer legs."
"Sure," I agree easily. "Mom?" I call to her for permission.
"Back by midnight," Mom calls back.
That curfew only gives us about an hour away from the house, but I do have school in the morning. Even though I'm eighteen now, I get the feeling the curfew thing is going to continue until graduation.
Grabbing my jacket from the hall closet, I feel my heart accelerate when Quigley takes my jacket to let me slip into it.
"Thanks," I mumble, blushing like crazy when he opens the front door, takes my hand and pulls me outside for our walk. "How was mass?"
"It was peaceful," Quigley replies. "I'm sorry it gets in the way of seeing each other on Sundays, though. It's the only day of the week there is a mass at nine, and I have to drive all the way to Columbus to attend."
"It's alright," I assure. "Honestly, I find it really impressive you go to church every week."
"Well, I do have to skip from time to time, but I try my hardest not to," Quigley tells me.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"It might come out insensitive," I confess.
"That's alright," he assures. "Ask away."
"You used to be a priest, right? So why do you go listen to sermons and stuff? Couldn't you just meditate yourself and read the Bible and stuff?" I ask, hoping I don't sound ridiculously rude.
"I could," he agrees, "but there is something powerful when hearing the Bible spoken by another. Listening to the priest speak while being able to absorb and reflect is an experience in itself. Also, sometimes, even hearing how the priest has prepared his homily can give teachings to one far older. After all, we can only have our own experiences, right?"
"Do you go to confession?" I ask curiously.
"I do," Quigley nods. "Which actually brings me to the point of why I wanted to get you out of the house."
"You got a confession to make?" I tease.
"In fact, I do," Quigley laughs. "I have a selfish thing I'd like for you to agree to." I look at Quigley nervously. "I know that your parents are probably pressuring you a little to invite me on your trip to Spain this summer."
"A little," I snort. "They haven't said anything out loud, but I keep getting looks."
"I want you to ask me in front of your parents so I can decline by saying I have prior obligations," Quigley tells me.
"What? Really?" I ask in surprise and he nods. "How is that selfish?"
"I'll be returning to Ireland at that time, and I was hoping you would agree to ingest my blood before your trip." He must see the look on my face betraying my distaste. "Only as a security measure, Storeen. I promise to you. I swear to the Lord that I will not check in with your parents unless you truly need us. Think of it as an emergency contact, someone to sound the alarm."
"It's not a bad idea," I assure him. "Heck, it's not even really selfish at all. I just really wanted to do this on my own."
"Alexis, no one in your family is really all that alone," he points out to me. "Everyone but you two has at least one other person who would know instantly if another were in trouble without being hindered by distance. You and Leif don't have that."
Admittedly, I never thought about that. Even Pam and Uncle Jason have my dad and Godric. No matter where they go, someone would know if they need help. If Leif or I were to actually be in danger and had no access to our phones, no one would know.
"I hadn't really thought of it like that," I confess. "Okay, alright, I agree. But can you not tell my parents we're doing this? Otherwise, it'll make college even more ridiculous this fall."
Quigley sighs but nods in agreement, "I won't tell them unless there's a reason I must."
"Thanks." I feel a little sense of relief that I'll have this connection to be a safety backup, but I remind myself that Quigley won't be able to get to me if something happens during the day. Of course he'd probably rise and book a plane ticket to Madrid and call my entire family before the sunset. But it would be at least two hours before anyone could get to me. Not that I think anything will happen…
Leif's POV
"So," I hear Alexis coming up the street with Quigley and let my book fall to my chest, "Leif and I leave for our trips the second week of June."
"Is that right?" Quigley asks.
"Yeah," Alexis hesitates. "Would you…" Holy crap, is she actually going to ask him to come with?! "I don't know, would you want to go to Madrid with me?"
Quigley laughs, "You don't sound so sure."
"I'm torn. I want to do something myself, but spending a month hanging with you is also really tempting."
"Is that right? Well, Storeen, sorry to disappoint, but I'll be returning to Ireland for a time. I figured I'd leave after your graduation."
"Ireland isn't far from Madrid," she offers.
Quigley laughs again, "I suppose I could make a detour if I finish my business early."
"Call me and let me know ahead of time," Alexis makes him promise.
"Oi, since I can't go with you on your holiday, how about you let me take you to your Prom? That's coming up, innit?" Quigley suggests. Crap, I forgot all about Prom… I wonder if D would be interested in going with me.
"Wow," Alexis actually sounds surprised he asked, let alone knew about Prom. "Um, there's an age limit for students' dates. I don't think you could ever pass for twenty or younger."
"Oh…"
I hear the two reach the door, but before they say anything else, I hear my ma call, "Cammie can take care of that! Go to your darn Prom!"
Alexis lets out a nervous laugh, "It's just a dumb dance. You don't have to go through all the trouble-"
"It's no trouble, Alexis," Quigley assures. "I'd love to get the chance to take you."
"O-okay," she agrees slowly. "Goodnight?"
"G'night, Storeen."
I hear him give her a goodnight kiss, and then the next thing I know there's a knock on my door. Unlike me, Alexis actually waits for me to answer before coming in. "Get in here." Alexis rushes through my door, bounces onto my bed and stares at me worriedly. "What's up?"
"Quigley asked me to Prom," she says.
"Duh, the whole house heard… Well, maybe not Cammie. Is she still here?"
"No, they left before you got home from your date with Diedre."
"Well, then the whole house heard. You coming here to brag?" I ask with a laugh.
"I… (don't wanna go)." She mouths the last part.
"Yeah?" I'm only a little surprised. After all the shit she's been dealing with since the week we turned eighteen, it doesn't really surprise me that Prom isn't at the top of her list of things to do. "What if I ask D if she'll go with me? The two of us could double," I suggest. "It would give you and D a chance to get to know each other better instead of just what the other hears between me and Quigley."
"I guess that wouldn't be so bad," she slowly resigns herself.
"And if it's stupid lame or total trash, we take off with our vamps and do something else after we get our Prom pics."
"Something else like what?" She asks, and I know it's 'cause she always likes to know the plan. She needs the contingency in place.
I take a minute to think and then suggest, "We can stow a wardrobe change in the car, just in case, and go to a club in Columbus. They got eighteen and over clubs. We still get to party if Prom totally sucks."
Alexis nods in agreement to my plan and I smile, happy that I've helped relieve some of her worry. It isn't fair that she would have to miss out on our prom just because her supposed friends all decided to act like assholes the final semester of our senior year.
Honestly, the whole thing bugs me even more than I let on. Bella Sims has always been a bitch, and I never thought she was a very good friend to my sister. Still, I didn't expect her to do something like this, or even be part of it. I wish Mom would tell us what the actual hell caused the whole thing, but if it were supernatural, it would be handled. Since it hasn't been handled, I can only guess that it's a very human reason, and that just sucks so bad.
Alexis hangs out in my room as we both finish our homework together. Most of our stuff right now is review materials for finals, but the teachers still expect the packets to be done. So, we sit together, finishing packets for our two classes we have together, quizzing each other on the classes we don't share. Just a typical Sunday night.
I still haven't gotten a text back from D about going to Prom. After studying with my sister, I sent off a message to Diedre with the date of Prom and all the stuff involved, asking if she'd go with me. It's Tuesday now and I still haven't heard back. Not that there's not enough time or anything, but I'm kinda put off she hasn't said anything- even to say she's too busy and can't go. Maybe she is busy and is trying to get things shuffled around to go? And she doesn't want to tell me 'yes' and then have to bail later 'cause she couldn't get her schedule rearranged?
I try to get out of my head, but another part of me is worried that maybe I put her off 'cause I didn't ask her to go in person. Was a text too informal? Do vampires care about that? I know if I pulled that crap with a human girl she'd send a middle finger emoji back.
Uuuughh, this is the total worst.
"Leif… Leif?"
Liam pokes me in the arm and I finally look at him. "What?"
"The bell rang. Let's go," Liam looks at me like I'm an idiot.
"Sorry." I grab my Chrome Book and follow him out of the classroom.
"What's got you all spaced out?" Liam asks
"My girlfriend still hasn't replied about going to Prom with me," I confess.
"The girl you met at the gas station?" Liam confirms.
"Her name's Diedre," I remind him.
"Right. She's British, right? That's so hot!" He punches my arm.
"Actually, she's Egyptian, but she speaks British English," I explain.
"That's even hotter," Liam looks wistful. "What did she say when you asked her?"
"Nothing, that's my point."
"So you asked her and she just stared blankly and left without a word?" Liam looks confused.
"Well, I texted her and asked if she'd go with me." I am more than aware that Liam is looking at me like I'm a huge asshole. "Since she goes to a different school and works afterward, we don't get to see each other all the time-"
"That's no excuse, bro," Liam shakes his head disappointedly.
"She's not even American," I try to defend myself. "It's not like she's been dreaming of Prom since middle school or something."
"Still not an excuse," Liam deflects again.
"Well, not much I can do about it now," I shrug. "Besides, if Prom blows, I'm bailing early."
"I mean, it's a school dance, and you've always been anti-school-spirit. Did you expect it not to blow?" Liam asks in surprise.
"I'm only going so Alexis has some backup. She's bringing her boyfriend," I tell him.
"I didn't know Alexis has a boyfriend," Liam looks at me in surprise.
"Yeah, they've been dating since our birthday."
"Dang, so right when all the bullshit started?" Liam looks sad for my sister. "How'd her boyfriend take it?"
"He was pissed off for her. You know Lex. She's always gotta shoulder everything and not show when she's upset."
"I'm surprised he hasn't shown up to one of her practices if he's as mad as you say."
"Oh, well, he's also pretty religious, too. Just 'cause he was mad, doesn't mean he'd go on a murder spree," I try to explain away that Quigley's vampirism would make it pretty hard to interrupt a practice- especially since by the time the two had been dating long enough for him to react like that- the nights had shortened.
"Really? She's dating an altar boy?" Liam is even more surprised. "Never would of thought that would be up her alley.
"Think Boondocks Saints religious, not Book of Mormon," I try to explain.
"Daaamn," Liam looks impressed.
"He's actually really good friends with Diedre. They're part of the same exchange program," I tell him. If the two of them do end up at our Prom, I want to lay a foundation to explain why the two of them might be real comfortable with each other. Last thing I need is gossip that Alexis's date is cheating on her with mine.
"There any other history there?" Liam asks.
"Nah, they're like family. Nothing romantic," I assure.
"I wouldn't be that confidence, man," Liam shakes his head worriedly. "They know stuff about each other you never will."
"D knows she could tell me if there had been. I wouldn't have cared."
"Really?"
"Sure. Past is past. As long as it's just me now, I don't care."
I really don't care. I mean, if I did, a vampire would have to be out of the question for me. Besides, the sex is so freaking good, I wouldn't want to take away a second of her experience that built that expertise. If I could, I would take a gap year and just spend it in bed with D.
Diedre, I think. The name just feels weird to me. That's why I usually call her 'D'. I'm not sure why I feel that way, but it's almost like there's a name that fits her better. Like I don't want to get familiar with the name Diedre because it's meant to be something else.
Something to think about tomorrow.
TBC
A/N: Please, remember to review!
-Andi