Shadow Falls After Dark: Eternal Part 28

"Then d.a.m.n it to h.e.l.l and back! Call Shawn!"

Della pulled out her phone and texted Miranda the warlock's number. "Call him!" she snapped when the witch's phone dinged. "We had a deal, remember?"

Miranda pouted and stared daggers at Della and it was hard to do both, but she managed. "Did you keep up your end of the bargain ... with Chase? Because if you didn't, I'm not-"

"He had his hand in my bra, and I had mine on his bare a.s.s. Does that const.i.tute my end of the bargain?"

An hour later, on the way to math cla.s.s, Della's phone dinged with a call. She glanced at the screen; it was one of those junk calls trying to sell her insurance. But right before she went to stick her phone back in her pocket, she realized she hadn't spoken with her mom in ... forever. Her mom didn't call every day, but at least twice a week Della would get the "just checking in" call.

The realization swirled around her head, then dropped like a dead bird in her heart. Was her mother trying to forget she existed along with her dad now?

Or maybe her mom was just busy. Before she could chicken out, she hit her mom's name in her contact list and listened for the ring.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

It went to voice mail. "Hey, Mom, it's me, Della." In case you forgot who I am. "I just realized we haven't talked, and I wanted to make sure everything is okay." I love you. Miss you. "Call me."

Della had just tucked her phone back into her pocket when Holiday came walking up.

"Hey, I was looking for you."

"Why, did my mom call you?" Della asked, thinking maybe she'd just somehow missed her mom's call earlier.

"Uh, no. Is something wrong?"

"No, I just ... I haven't heard from her in a while. Has she called you lately to check on me?"

Holiday pondered a second. "Not in the last week. You worried about something?" the camp leader asked, picking up on Della's emotion.

"Normal c.r.a.p," Della said, and then asked, "What did you need?"

"Oh, well, I needed to stretch my legs and thought you'd join me."

Della studied the camp leader. "What did I do?"

Holiday laughed. "Nothing."

"So what do you need to talk to me about?" Della asked. "And don't tell me nothing because that would be a lie and good faes don't lie."

Holiday made a face. "We do sometimes. White lies." She grinned. "So, okay, I want to talk with you, but you're not in trouble."

"If you're pregnant and want me to deliver your second child, the answer is no," Della teased. "I'm not over the first one yet."

Holiday chuckled. "Well, if you need therapy, I'll pay for it. Come on, let's walk to the lake."

They entered the path in the woods and it got quiet. The sounds of the other campers faded, and only an occasional insect made a noise.

"You sure I'm not in trouble?" Della asked.

"I'm just a little worried," Holiday said.

"About what?"

"You ... and the whole bonding thing with Chase. You're spending a lot of time with him. I just wanted to make sure that you're ... okay."

"We're not b.u.mping uglies," Della told her.

Holiday laughed. "You do have a way with words, young lady. And yes, that was one of my concerns, but only part of it." Holiday looked serious again. "So you aren't interested in him that way, at all?"

Della kicked at an innocent rock that happened to be at her feet.

"I wouldn't say 'at all.'"

"So what would you say?"

"I would prefer nothing." She shrugged.

Holiday sighed.

They arrived at the lake and Holiday motioned ahead. "Let's go sit out on the pier." They walked all the way to the end of the wood planks.

Holiday plopped down, took off her shoes, and rolled up the bottom of her jeans. Her toes barely met the water. "It's a nice day," she said.

"Yeah," Della agreed, and it was. Not cold, not hot. The sky was a bright blue, the clouds puffy white and the sun felt warm on her shoulders. Della dropped down beside her and removed her boots and socks. The water held just enough of a chill to be refres.h.i.+ng on her feet.

"Where's Hannah?" Della asked.

"I've hired a nanny to come in and help take care of her for part of the day. I feel as if I've been ignoring my job."

After a few minutes, Holiday spoke again. "Burnett's checked into the whole bonding thing, and there's a little information that backs up the fact that it's real, but what it says is vague. Very vague."

"What did it say?" Della asked, wondering if she knew more than Chase had told her.

"That the two vampires are emotionally connected. There is some proof that it can be between family members, so it's not necessarily a romantic type of bond."

A fish jumped up a few feet from the pier and both Holiday and Della looked over at it. "What do you think the bond means? Is it a romantic connection?"

"Did you know fish pee and p.o.o.p in the water?" Della said as Holiday stretched her legs down to submerge her whole foot.

Holiday rolled her eyes. "I do. And that was probably the worst attempt to change a subject I've ever heard."

"Yeah, but I couldn't come up with anything else," Della said.

Holiday grinned and then her expression got serious again. "I guess what I'm saying is that what Chase did for you was a wonderful thing, but I don't want you to feel you have to offer part of yourself that you don't want to offer."

"He's not pressuring me to have to s.e.x," Della said, knowing it was true. The whole closet thing had been about the vision, not about them. Even if he did enjoy it. And she did, too, she admitted to herself.

"That makes me feel better," Holiday said, and ran her foot along the top of the water. "But you feel something for him. I can tell. And I can also tell that you aren't altogether comfortable with it. And that worries me."

Della kicked at the water. "I hate when you do that, you know."

"Do what?" Holiday pulled her hair over one shoulder.

"Read me." Della frowned. "Because while you're right about me being uncomfortable, it's not what you think. If I'm uncomfortable, it's because of what I feel, not because he's trying to push me into something."

Holiday looked at her. "And what do you feel?"

"Crazy," Della said.

"That makes sense." She reached over and touched Della's arm. "I just want to help. And I know you are a very private person, but sometimes it does help to talk about things."

"What things?" Della asked.

"About what you feel?"

Della swallowed her frustration. "I told you: crazy." She sighed. "Look, if I knew the truth of exactly what I felt, I'd tell you, but I don't. Do I like him? Yes. Am I attracted to him? Yes. Do I think the bonding thing is real?" She almost said no, but the truth came out. "Yes. But I don't know to what extent, or where it will lead. Part of me trusts him. Part of me doesn't. So there, did you get anything out of that except I'm completely confused and feeling pretty much bonkers?"

Holiday smiled. "Love's confusing and can make you bonkers."

"I didn't say anything about love," Della said.

Holiday smiled. "I don't mean 'love' as in the-rest-of-your-life love. Just romance." She leaned back and looked up at the sky. "However, I wouldn't be doing my job as a camp leader if I didn't share Burnett's concerns with you."

"Oh, h.e.l.l! He sent you to talk to me about Chase?"

"No, it was my idea, and when I mentioned it, he ... well, he sort of shared how he felt about it."

"He doesn't like Chase," Della said.

"He doesn't completely trust Chase. He really doesn't trust the Vampire Council."

"And I think he's being a tad overprotective."

Holiday grinned. "It would be out of his character if he wasn't. But he does have good instincts. So I just want you to be careful."

"I'm always careful." At least most of the time.

Chapter Thirty.

Della had lunch with Jenny, Kylie, and Miranda. They got their food and took it behind the office and sat under the trees to eat.

They spent half the time laughing due to Miranda recounting some of her goofed spells. Like the day she wanted to remove a stain from her dad's s.h.i.+rt and ended up removing all his clothes.

Seeing as they had their elderly "human" neighbor over, it caused quite a stir. Especially because the clothes disappeared when he was bent over pulling a roast from the oven. Moments later, her dad had used two pot holders to cover the important parts.

Della needed a laugh. Once or twice, she saw the temptation in Miranda's eyes to bring up what Della had told her about Chase and the whole his-hand-her-hand thing, but the girl must have read Della's "I'll-kill-you" glare and bypa.s.sed that conversation. Della had no need to talk about that.

Especially after Holiday's little talk. Not that Holiday made her feel any different, but she didn't want Burnett to get wind of anything and really start flipping out.

Miranda didn't mention if she'd called Shawn. Della decided that she wouldn't push any more. It had to be Miranda's decision. But if she started back into the ice cream and tears mode, Della might change her mind.

She couldn't, wouldn't, stand by and watch her friend suffer and punish herself for a boy's stupidity. And yes, she considered Perry stupid. Miranda cared about him, and for him to ask for a break, when in fact he cared about her, too, was stupid.

After such a fun lunch, the day seemed lighter. After school, Della waited for Chase at the front gate. Burnett had to leave on another case so they weren't going to get their regular rule-checking meeting first. The plan was to go back to Uck's Burgers and see if she picked up any more traces of weres.

When Chase's blue Camaro pulled up, she moved to the car. She hadn't driven in a car this much in months, and while she loved flying, all the car time made her feel a little more human. Like a real teenager. And that was kind of nice.

He came to a stop right beside her. His hair was windblown, he wore sungla.s.ses, and his smile held the warmth of the sun. She felt the familiar thrill she got every time she saw him. The bonding? Or was it like Holiday said, just normal romance stuff? But for right now, she didn't want to think or judge. When she jumped over the door, landing in the pa.s.senger seat, he held out a bag.

"What's this?" she asked.

"I bought you some new hair bands. You keep taking them and not bringing them back."

She took the bag, and when she turned it over in her lap, more than just hair bands came out. A small stuffed Smurf-Smurfette-fell into her lap. She looked at him.

His grin widened. "I'm sorry, I saw it and I had to buy it. Seriously, I tried to walk away and couldn't. It called my name and wouldn't let me leave. And you should have seen the look I got from the big bald tattooed guy at the register."

Before she realized it, she was smiling back. "Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome." Their eyes met and held for a second too long.

She pulled one of the hair bands loose and put it in her hair. He watched her and she saw his gaze slip to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s for a couple beats, and she sensed he was remembering their time in the closet. And, for one tiny second, she almost envied Natasha, who had lived it all while she'd only gotten to live a few seconds of it. How odd was it that a girl facing death was experiencing and letting herself live more than Della was?

"We should go," she said, remembering her conversation with Holiday.

"Yeah." He started the car, and as he backed up, he put his hand on the back of the pa.s.senger seat, twisting around to look over his shoulder. The move came off as something he always did when he was backing up. But while his hand was there, his fingers brushed against her bare neck. The touch, accidental or intentional, sent a sweet s.h.i.+ver down her spine.

She watched as he drove out of the parking lot, s.h.i.+fting gears. Something about the process just seemed cool. She recalled how when she was younger and her dad would watch the car races, she'd been sort of captivated by the drivers in the cars. When she looked up, Chase was watching her again.

After a few minutes, enjoying the wind in her hair, she noted he'd turned onto a back road.

"Where are you going?"

"You'll see," he said.

He drove a few more miles and then pulled into what looked like a country road that ended in an undeveloped subdivision. There were roads, but no houses. He parked the car and then got out and came around to her side.