Blood Type (3 page)

There
was
a staccato rap at the balcony door and
my entire body
jerked
to attention
. I hadn’t seen John at all since
the day we broke up in my kitchen
—he hadn’t even bothered to show up
at school
for senior year—
and yet I didn’t have to look to know it was him. Normal
humans—or humans in general—
used the front door.
Besides that
, John’s pleading messages for me to
please
call him back
were currently clogging my voice mail
. I knew he
c
ouldn’t stay away forever.

“Can I come in?” John said, his pale face pressed
against
the pane of glass. His dark hair hung in his eyes, dripping water down his face and onto the collar of his coat.

I wrapped my fingers around the bed post, fighting the urge to get up and throw the door wide
open
. I did not want to see him, let alone talk to him
. E
ver again
!
And yet there was a part of me that desperately wanted, and needed, him.

“Let me in,” he repeated, this time with an edge to his voice that left no room for argument. I got up and unlocked the door, helpless against the compelling sound of his voice and the need to follow his order.

“I wondered when I would see you again,” I said. And that was the truth. I had known it was only a matter of time before he showed his face.

“What did you do to your neck?” He reached out to touch the bandage, but I dodged his hand.

“It’s none of your business, John. What do you want?”

“I know how sick you are,” he said. “I’ve been keeping an eye on you. You’re running out of time.”

“You’ve been
spying
on me?”

“Not spying, Blake. I care about what happens to you
, whether you believe it or not
.”

“If you cared, you wouldn’t have let
that monster
anywhere near me. You would have been straight with me in the first place!”

John
took a tentative step closer, and then another, forcing me back until
every vertebra of my
spine pressed
painfully
against the wall. I put a hand on his chest, but not in an intimate way. He
smelled refreshingly like wet snow, but underneath was a
mouthwatering sweetness that set my entire body on
fire
and burned from within
.

“I told you the last time we spoke that I never wanted to see you again.”

“If you didn’t want to see me,” he said,
his lips grazing my ear
, “then why did you let me in?”

I
pushed him back and
clamped my hands over my ears. “Don’t be cruel. I know what you can do. Be quiet and don’t talk to me.” I began to hum the
Star Spangled Banner
in case he got any ideas.

“Look at me, Blake.”

I turned my head, humming louder to drown out the hypnotic sound of his voice.

“Remove your hands and look at me.”

I stopped humming at once, as though my voice had been magically muted. I placed my hands against my sides, feeling resentful that all of this was happening against my will. I met John’s eyes, trying with difficulty not to get lost in them.
His hold on me was strong
.

“Tell me why you let me in,” he said, his voice a gentle, yet commanding, whisper.

My
vision
clouded with unshed tears.
“Because you told me to.”

He seemed to be waiting for some other answer
, and his expression slowly morphed from one of cautious hope to grim resignation. He carefully traced the line of my jaw with his finger, trailing down to pick at the edge of the bandage.

“Fair enough.
Now, tell me what happened here.”

“It’s a reminder. So I will never forget.”

The crease between John’s brow deepened
,
and he ripped off the bandage in one swift movement. I gasped against the unexpected pain, the tears spilling over at once.

“Oh, Blake.
”
His shoulders slumped at the sight of the tattoo.
“As if you could ever forget.
In all the years I’ve been alive in this body, that one night is still fresh in my mind.”

We had never discuss
ed
how
John
had become what he was; we had never had the opportunity.
And as curious as I was now, I wasn’t about to start asking questions.

“Before long this won’t even matter,” he said, lowering his head to lay a gentle kiss on my neck. A ripple of
longing
shot
up my spine. 

I closed my eyes
, and m
y voice
came out low and hoarse
.
“And why is that?”

“Because you’ll be dead.”

I flinched at his words,
e
ven though
I knew that’s the reaction he had been after.

“Why won’t you get it through that thick, beautiful head of yours that I am only trying to help? I am not your enemy, Blake. You have to understand that.
Don’t you remember how good we were together?
”

“You manipulated me,” I said through my teeth.
“How is that a good thing?”

“No. I made
the
mistake
of
not telling you sooner. But I never meant for you to get hurt.”

He leaned in to kiss me, and I turned so that his lips grazed the corner of my mouth. I shook my head, trying to clear it of the addled feeling his kisses always left
behind
. 

“I’ve missed you,” he said against my cheek.
“So very badly, Blake.
I’ve missed you.”

He bent his mouth to my neck, and I stiffened at the feel of sharp teeth against my skin. “Back off,” I said with
a bravado
I did not feel and a craving I most certainly did.

My heart stuttered at the prick of his elongated canines against my artery, just shy of puncturing. He must have heard the fear in my voice, because he raised his head and took a small step back.

“It’s only because I want you so,” he said, his teeth
retracting
before my eyes. “I dream about you, Blake. And I know you want me, too.”

He moved forward again with a cautious step. “I would never hurt you,” he whispered as he lowered his mouth to my
neck. His tongue
, warm against my skin,
flicked over the raw wound of the tattoo. It felt undeniably good.

“Stop it, John.”

“I am what your body
craves
,” he said. “
Your body
needs
the healing power of
my blood. Why do you continue to resist?”

My voice came out in a strangled whisper.
“Please, don’t.”

“Blake
,
it doesn’t have to end. We can
—”

“Stay away from me.”
My resolve
had begun
to crumble into a million pieces, and I clasped my hands behind my back to keep from pulling him closer. 

“
I won’t
. You need me. You know you do.”

I shook my head, and yet my body arched to meet his, seemingly of its own
accord
. “I would rather die.”

“Blake?”
I turned
at once
toward the door.

“I won’t let you go,”
John
said
into my ear
.

Mom entered balancing a tray in her hands. “I brought you homemade minestrone. Just because you’re grounded doesn’t mean you should go hungry.”

John had managed to slip out the balcony door, silent as
a sigh on the
wind. I reached up to fix the bandage at my neck, my hands trembling so badly my fingers would hardly cooperate.

Mom set the dinner tray on the desk and turned to me. “Are you okay? You look even more pale than usual. And you’re shaking. Have you taken your medication today?
You know what the doctor said.
”

“I’m fine, Mom.
Really.
I haven’t eaten much of anything today, and I guess I’m just hungry now.
”

The lines around her mouth relaxed a little. “Maybe that means the pills are working.”

“Maybe.”

Her eyes wandered to the bandage on my neck and she shook her head, obviously not ready to give up this argument. “Honestly, Blake. What were you thinking? You passed out when you got your ears pierced. What made you think you could handle a tattoo?”

“Can we please not talk about this, Mom? I just want to eat and go to bed.”

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly between her teeth in reluctant
agreement
. Then she pointed at the bowl of soup. “Eat up and then bring your dishes down. Don’t let them sit up here to fester. We’re not
running a laboratory
.”

“Okay.”

Before leaving, she paused at the doorway and said, “I’ll
have a word with Daddy
.”

“Thanks.” 

“Everything will be okay, Blake. You’ll see.” Then she smiled and closed the door behind her.

I sat down in front of the steaming bowl of soup and my eyes traveled to the motivational poster hanging above my desk. It was a picture of dandelion fluff blowing on the wind with the
caption
Every Day is a New Beginning
in bold font underneath. I reached up and tore the poster from the wall, balling it up and chucking it into the garbage.

Since getting attacked by a vampire, I didn’t believe in beginnings.
Only endings.
Every person born to this world comes with an expiration date, but I had never considered mine.
At least not until I met John.

Now the end was all I ever thought about. I woke up every morning wondering if that day would be my last. Venom pulsed in my veins and seeped into my bones, infecting all my vital organs and changing me from the inside out.
Slowly killing me.

But I’d welcome death in the end, if only because the alternative was even more frightening.

July 28

“
Is this seat taken
?”

I
looked over my shoulder
, startled out of a mental replay of complicated cheerleading stunts we’d been eating, breathing, and sleeping for the past two weeks. I’d
also
been absently kneading a painful Charley horse in my thigh, and I stopped, pulling down
the hem of my cover-up
and steadying my hands on the rough wood of the dock instead.
The sound of h
is voice
made my stomach flutter.

I shook my head and smiled, feeling a
familiar
blush creep into my cheeks
whenever our eyes met
. “Hey.
I mean, hi again.
”

“Hi again,” he said.

I
had
accidentally bumped in
to
John Kelly
on my way to dig a ginger ale from the Coleman
earlier that afternoon
. He had smiled and said it was okay. No harm done. He didn’t bruise easily,
ha
ha
. We’d shared a moment, and then I’d taken my drink and walked away
in a daze
.
I’d had a secret crush on
John
since
ninth-grade geometry
, n
ever mind the fact
we
had barely said two words to each other
and
I had a steady boyfriend.

“
You came with
Jill Honeycutt
, right
?”
An inexplicable jealousy reared
inside me
like an untamed horse.

His left eyebrow shot up
and he laughed
.
“
Um, yeah
. .
.”

He looked over his shoulder, and I followed his gaze to the in-ground pool
where everyone
else
had gathered
.
Jill
sat
straddled
atop
Brandon Stevenson’s wide shoulders, the two of them
playing
a game of “Chicken” with Kayla Adams and her boyfriend.

“
Omigod
.”
I shaded my eyes to get a better look. “Are they doing what I think they’re doing?”

From my perspective, it looked a lot like Jill and Kayla were doing battle to see who could rip off the other’s top first. The strings on Kayla’s bikini had come loose and
trailed
down her arms, which were crossed over her chest to keep her top from falling
off
completely. “
They’re so obnoxious
.
”

John shrugged and
finally
sat down, placing a clear glass bottle in the space between us. “I thought you could use another.”

I shot him a look from the corner of my eye as I twisted off the soda cap. “Thanks. That was . . .
sweet
of you.”

The
corner
of his mouth curved up.
“You’re welcome. I’m John Kelly, by the way.”

“I know who you are,” I said
, giving him a funny look
. “We had history together
last semester
, remember? You sat in the row next to mine,
right
behind Olivia Martin.” I took a swig
of the soda
and
twisted the cap back on
before
nestling it between my knees
.

“
True, but w
e don’t exactly run with the same crowd.”

I crooked an eyebrow but felt a smile sneak out. “And you think I’m too high and mighty to talk to the regular folk, is that it?”

He shrugged again. “I know you were voted Homecoming Queen
Sophomore
and
J
unior
year
,
which is pretty impressive. You’re
dating the star of the football team
. Y
ou’re one of the most popular girls—”

I held up a hand. “
Your point
is
? For your information,
John Kelly,
I’m more than all that.” I
stared at John, challenging him to respond.

H
e offered me a slow smile.
“
Oh, I know.
”

I turned away
as m
y cheeks flame
d
and blood pounded in my ears.
If I didn’t know better, John Kelly was flirting with me.
But why?
He knew I had a boyfriend. What was wrong with him?
And w
hat was wrong with
me
?

I
realized a little too late that John
had asked a question.
I hadn’t been paying attention,
too absorbed in my own
obsessive
thoughts
.
I shook away the mental fog, grasping for any nugget of the conversation
, but coming up short
. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“The Marauder’s Cove,” he said. “I bus tables there and wondered if you’ve ever been.”

“
I’ve heard of it,
” I said, strictly thinking of my parents. They wouldn’t be caught dead in a hole like that. It had a reputation,
a
nd not a good one.
I couldn’t believe John worked there.

“It can be a little intense,” he said, as if reading my thoughts.

I laughed. “And you think I can’t handle intense?”

T
he corners of
John’s eyes wrinkled
in amusement
. “
Wanna find out?
”

I bowed my head to cover my smile. “
I just might surprise you, John
.”

We sat for a few moments in silence, our legs dangling over the edge of the dock. Then John nodded toward the water and asked
if I wanted to go
for a swim. I swallowed hard, not wanting to admit I didn’t know how
. So much for showing him I could handle intense.
“No thanks,
”
I said.
  

But John just shrugged it off like it was no big deal. He stood up and kicked off his sandals before pulling his t-shirt over his head. He backed up a few paces and then, with
out so much as a word,
took a running jump off the dock and plummeted into the water some four feet below. His splash sent up a cool spray that left droplets of water purling on my lotion-slicked shins and spotting the hem of my
cover-up
.

John’s head bobbed into view seconds later
, water dripping from his jet-black hair and pinking his
pale
cheeks
. “
The water f
eels great!”

It was a blatant invitation for me to jump in and see for myself, but I wasn’t about to do it. The water lapped just below the midline of his chest, leaving his head well above the surface—
he was
only a few inches taller than
me
,
and
I
was
pretty confidant I wouldn’t go under. Still, I’d read plenty accounts of people drowning in far less water than that. I wasn’t taking any chances.

“Don’t you want to come in?”

I peered down at him, getting dizzy just thinking about
becoming
lost in that vast expanse of water. “I said no thanks.
Maybe some other time.
”

“
Come on!
You’ll have fun.
Get in the water
, Blake
.” 

I stood as though jerked
up by some unseen force
and slid the straps of my
cover-up
off my shoulders, letting the bright pink and lavender sarong pool
at
my ankles. I stepped to the edge of the dock and looked down on John staring up at me. He
studied me with a grin
, one green eye closed in a squint against the sharp glare of the sun.

“Now jump!”

I felt like I was
in a dream
and had no control over
my actions
. I bent my knees and launched myself into the air without a second’s hesitation. It seemed to take forever from the
moment
my feet left the warm solidness of the wood planks until I came crashing down
again
. Turns out it
was
more than enough
time to wonder what the heck I was doing
.

I
went under, and the cold water washed away the fuzz
iness
in my head
. For a split second I panicked, believing that I had jumped too far out. But then a hand clamped around my arm and pulled me to a standing position.

“See? I told you it feels great,” John said, as I brushed my sopping hair out of my face
and blew water out of my nose
.

M
y shoulders and head were still safely above the water. I curled my toes into the
rocky
lake bottom, steadying myself against the dissipating wake of a speeding boat in the distance.
My calf began to cramp with the tension.

“It doesn’t feel great,” I said. “
It’s cold!”

I couldn’t believe he’d actually talked me in to jumping, and with apparently little effort. I didn’t know whether to be angrier at him
,
or myself. Since when had I become the girl that jumps just
to impress the guy she has a crush on
?
Olivia would have a few words to say for sure.

John
splashed water in my
direction
and I shrieked in response,
becoming even more aggravated
.
I could hardly feel my toes anymore
, and I was afraid that if I lost my hold I would drift away and drown. “Stop it!”

He splashed me again. “I’m just playing
, Blake
.”

I grabbed his arm, panic taking over. “I
said stop it! I
can’t swim!”

The
playful
smile fell from John’s mouth and he immediately linked his arm around my waist. “Why didn’t you tell me? I wouldn’t have made you jump.”

I breathed out through clenched teeth.
“Because everyone in the world knows how to swim except me!”
I looked away
and said in a smaller voice
. “It’s humiliating.”

John laughed
. “First of all, e
veryone in the world does
not
know how to swim. And besides, it’s easy
enough
to learn. Basically all you have to do is move your arms and legs.”

“And try not to drown,” I pointed out.

“And that,” John said. “
Want me to teach you?
”

My teeth
clacked together from the cold
.
What I wanted w
as to get out and find a warm, dry towel. “That’s okay. You don’t have to do that.”

“I don’t mind.”

“No, really—”

“I said I don’t mind. But you have to trust me,
okay?
” he said, no hint of teasing in his voice
now
. “Whatever I tell you to do, do it. No questions. Swear
to me
.”

I
grabbed his arm again, overcom
e
with a sudden bout of lightheadedness.
I hadn’t had much for breakfast and was starving
. That
,
combined with the oppressive heat and John’s good looks
,
it was
no wonder I was acting
so unlike myself
. “I swear
to you
.”

“Good. Now
bring your legs up
.”

I did as he said, and John guided me in
to a reclining position. The sensation of falling back into what felt like empty space
made my body zing with
adrenaline
, and
I clutched reflexively at John’s arm
, digging m
y nails into his skin. But then his sturdy hand came to rest between my shoulder blades, and I took a deep breath, willing myself to relax.