Love Sucks! (17 page)

D
o you trust me?

Ryan's voice echoed through my head. Was that him in my mind or was that me remembering his words?

Do you trust me?

Yes. Without a doubt, I trust you.

And with that, I sank my teeth into his flesh.

Ryan never wavered from his spell, even with my teeth in his neck. Heat filled me, raced through me like soaring fever, but I held firm, sucking only what felt right and doing everything in my power to keep my venom sacs closed.

My body temperature continued to rise, but Ryan held me firm to his neck, so I continued.

And then he released me.

I looked at Ryan; he was glowing like an ember. “Do not let go of me,” he said. “Do not let go of my hand. No matter what.”

So I held tight to his left hand as a fireball formed in his right palm. His words seemed to nurture the ball, and it grew and grew until finally it was the size of a basketball.

The demon had stopped pacing and was now crouched in a defensive posture, ready to deflect and defend.

Ryan stepped outside of the circle, and the demon roared.

My palm was so sweaty from the heat, but I gripped his hand tighter than ever.

As Ryan threw the fireball, the Bborim pounced.

The two collided midair, and the fireball seemed to just disappear. The demon was unfazed.

It crashed into Ryan, and I gripped his hand so tight, I thought I heard bones crack. The force of the hit jarred us, but Ryan didn't fall, and I didn't lose my grip.

Ryan never wavered from his chanting, and as the Bborim pulled a claw back to swipe him across the face, Ryan lifted his free hand, called the walking stick from the circle, and tapped it on the ground three times.

The demon exploded into burning ash.

W
hoa,” Oz murmured, bringing me out of my stunned silence. “That was badass. Where'd you learn that, and can you teach me?”

Ryan chuckled, then drew me into his embrace. “Are you okay?”

I was overwhelmed with both relief and grief.

“It's over now,” Ryan whispered. “It's over. We're okay. We have the runes. And we're together.”

“Why did you have me bite you?” I asked, finally able to find my words.

“The stronger the bond between the two people casting the spell, the stronger the magic. I knew the demon would be impossible for us to beat separately, but with a united
front of unbreakable trust, it didn't stand a chance.”

“Me biting you was the ultimate show of faith?”

“Yes. For both of us. And the magic we made together proved that.”

The magic we made.
As cheesy as it was, I liked the sound of that.

“Ainsley, are you okay?” She was pale and wide-eyed, still sitting on the ground. She nodded but didn't say anything. I walked over to her, helped her up. “Let's go home. This has been one helluva night.”

“A prom night to remember,” Ryan said with a laugh.

“Or to forget, depending on your point of view.”

The ride home was quiet. We were all a little shell-shocked, although Oz seemed more excited than anything.

Every light seemed to be on in the house when we drove up. We parked, and I helped Ainsley out and walked her inside with my arms around her. Oz ran in, yelling for Rayden.

“Dude! You totally missed it. It was awesome. Next time you have to get kidnapped so you can see how awesome Ryan is!”

“There'll be no next time, lad!” Aunt Doreen said, swatting his head. “Git ye inside and clean up. Ye tell your
brother all about yer adventure after a shower. Go on.” She was smiling, but that quickly faded when she saw Ainsley. “Oh, dearie. C'mere to Aunt D. I have the perfect tea to fix ye right up.”

Ryan and I had barely let go of each other since we left the farm. I was almost afraid that if I stopped holding his hand, it would all go away. I didn't want to take that chance.

We heard voices in the living room and went in to find Robbie, Tave, Lex, and Bridget.

“Where's Grady?” I asked.

“I sent him home,” Aunt D said. “I didn't figure we could talk about everything with him hanging around.”

“Bridget has been brought up to speed,” Auntie Tave said.

“I really wanted to be the one to tell you, Bridge,” I said. “I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner.”

“It's okay. I wasn't ready to hear it anyway. But I'm ready now. To hear everything.”

I finally let go of Ryan's hand and sat next to Bridget on the couch. We hugged, and everything felt right again.

“Crap! I almost forgot Mr. Charles! What happened?” I said.

“Sheriff Christopher had him carted off kicking and
screaming to the state hospital. The man never stopped insisting he was a real vampire and that his superpowers just hadn't developed yet. I almost felt sorry for him,” Lex said, shaking his head. “Now I just feel sorry for myself—looks like I missed all the action.”

“Poor Buffy.” Ryan laughed. “Always a trainer, never a slayer.”

“You crack yourself up, don't you?” Lex said with no animosity at all.

“Totally.”

Robbie cleared his throat. “Em, I'm really sorry about Malia. I don't know what happened, but my lapse of judgment nearly cost this family everything.”

“No, Robbie. It wasn't you. It wasn't any of us,” I said. “They played a brilliant game, but we eventually out-smarted them. She admitted to using her super demon powers and basically sucking you stupid. You couldn't help that. We would still be looking for the runes if it weren't for you, so thank you. For everything. Of course, I hate to break the news to you, but Malia was really my grandfather.”

Lex started laughing. “You snogged an old dude?”

“I need to go wash my mouth out with lye soap,” Robbie said. “Or kill myself.”

“All right. It's been a long week, and an even longer day,” Auntie Tave said. “Let's go to bed. Your parents come home tomorrow—let's get some rest so we can be mentally prepared to fill them in on everything.”

 

The sun was shining bright when I finally opened my eyes after a dreamless, sleep-filled night.

I glanced at the clock and couldn't believe it when I saw the time. I had slept past noon. I hadn't slept that late in forever.

I took my time showering and getting dressed. I was alone inside my head for the first time in a long time. The best part of it was that I didn't have to work at keeping people out; they just weren't there anymore.

And it was a blessed relief having my thoughts, dreams, and feelings all to myself again.

I got dressed, slipped into my flip-flops, and opened the door to head downstairs. And that's when I heard the baby cry.

“Mom?” I called out. “Momma, are you home?”

“We're in the living room,” she answered.

I took the stairs two at a time and found everyone but Ryan and Aunt D in the living room, fawning over the baby. Mom seemed completely herself again. Her coloring
was great, her bruising was gone, and her eyes were shining with happiness.

Rick sat next to her, looking the part of a proud papa, as Rayden and Oz held Baby F. Rayden looked a bit overwhelmed, but Oz seemed completely at ease. Ainsley looked back to normal. Relaxed and worry-free. She and Ana were piled up in the oversized chair with the laptop, checking out the prom pictures that had already been posted to Facebook.

“Why didn't y'all wake me?” I asked.

“We just got home a few minutes ago, and after your big night last night, we wanted you to sleep,” Mom said.

“Ryan told us everything,” Rick said. “We're so proud of you two,” he said with a smile.

Ryan came up behind me and wrapped me in a hug. I tensed up. “Um, I guess you told them everything, everything?” I asked.

Mom and Rick both laughed. “Actually, the bite mark on his neck kind of gave it away,” Mom said.

“Oh, yeah.” I had totally forgotten the bite mark. I turned and inspected the two little holes. “Could've been uglier,” I said. “These aren't too bad.” And that's when I noticed the shock of white hair right above his ear. “Ryan, where did that white hair come from?”

“Oh, well, it seems that's where his birthmark is,” Aunt D chimed in. “Your mark changes as you grow and learn. Ryan's changed last night when he cast that spell. No warlock of his age or experience has ever been successful with such complicated magic. Which is why I did a little diggin' this mornin',” she said. “Ye might want tae sit for this news.”

Ryan and I sat in the love seat together. Worry clawed at my belly again, but I pushed it away. Nothing Aunt D could tell us would be as bad as what we had just survived.

“Baby F is a witch. I've tested her. She'll have some pretty special skills, it appears, but she's definitely not vampire. Therefore, Rick and Liz are not the chosen ones.”

“Okay? So Baby F isn't the prophesied child. Does that mean you'll be having another baby, Mom?” I said.

“No. My body couldn't handle another pregnancy, so the doctor took care of that for me while I was in surgery. This baby factory is closed.”

“So we went through all that for nothing?” Ryan asked. “I mean, not for nothing, but you know what I mean. Baby F wasn't the prophesied child, so all that stuff wasn't necessary. They had the wrong baby. They had the wrong family.”

“Sort of,” Aunt D said. “They had the wrong baby, yes, but not the wrong family. Just the wrong time.”

“Maybe all the stress of the past week has made me slow, because I'm not getting it,” I said.

“They didn't have the wrong family, just the wrong couple. One day, the two of you will have the prophesied child. You will have the baby whose blood will be their antivenom. Ye were destined to be together all along.”

Wow.

“How do you know all this?” I asked.

“My big book. It tells me everything,” she said with a laugh. “Actually, I called Mrs. Christopher. We managed to piece together some of the missing text from both of our old books.” She pulled out a folded-up piece of paper. “I wrote it down so I wouldna forget.

“There's more, but that's the important stuff. Ye two are destined.”

“I guess this means we have permission to date now?” Ryan asked.

Mom and Rick looked at each other.

“There will be boundaries,” Mom warned. “Just because you're going to have the prophesied child one day doesn't mean you have to start trying right away.”

Lex and Robbie came in then. “Clive was dust when we got to the farm. We wiped the place clean and planted the protective herbs you asked us to, Aunt D.”

“Good lads.”

“Well, we're off now. Headed to London for a while,” Lex said. “Sailor, you should really consider joining the training group. They could use a girl like you.”

“I think I'll pass. Besides, fate has something else in mind for my future. Thanks for everything, Lex.”

He smiled. “I should be thanking you,” he said. “Now I know what I've been missing, and I have no intention of settling for less. You've set the bar high.”

My cheeks warmed. “Whoever she is, she's a very lucky girl.”

Robbie cleared his throat. “May I hold the baby just once more? I'm going to miss the little troll doll.”

“Of course,” Mom said.

Robbie was beaming as he lifted the baby from Oz's lap. “Good-bye, Baby F. I'm going to miss you, sweetheart.”

“I guess this is as good a time as any,” Rick said. “Would you like to know your sister's name?”

“Yes!” we all said at once.

“She seemed to like Baby F so much, we decided to go with Fiona. Fiona Ashley Fraser.”

Fiona cooed. I guess she approved.

I felt the warmth of Ryan's hand as he took mine. I looked into his dark eyes and immediately found myself. This was where I belonged.

I love you.

His words were in my head. Strong, clear, and full of emotion.

Maybe love doesn't suck so much after all.

F
irst of all, everything I said in the acknowledgments of
Bite Me!
still holds true today. Writing
Love Sucks!
was one of the biggest challenges of my life, because it happened during one of the highest moments of stress I've ever experienced. I couldn't have written this book without the support, love, and laughter of the people below.

Deidre Knight—you're not only the best agent in the business, but you're also one of the best friends a girl could hope for. I could say thank you a million times over and it wouldn't be enough. Thank you for believing in me. And the TKA supporting team deserves a big shout-out as well. I'm very lucky to call y'all family.

Kristin Daly—editor extraordinaire. You did it again. I am a better writer and a better storyteller because of you. I got very lucky having you as my first editor.

To my critique partners and friends Maria Geraci and Louisa Edwards: If I were going to have any more children, I would be obligated to name them in your honor. I would not have survived December 2008 or January 2009 without the two of you. Love is not a strong enough word.

To my BFF, Jennifer Paulus Bridgers: Thank you for everything. Not only did you help me get through this book, you helped me survive my life.

To my Thursday Girls, who always make sure my wineglass is full and my laughter is real: I am so glad to be home.

Momma, are you sick of me saying thank you yet? And I'll throw in a high five to my sweet daddy, who apparently has been bragging to all his poker buddies about me. Word gets around, old man. Remember that!

To Dana Belfry, Michelle Scheibe, and Naughty Kate Pearce for not letting me give up on anything.

Scott Smith—my awesome boss at SPP. This book would not have been written if you hadn't given me a week off from work so soon after I started. You rock like a hurricane.

As strange as it may seem, this book couldn't have been written without the music of Staind, Theory of a Dead Man, and Bruce Springsteen. Thank you for music that inspires.

On that note, I can't possibly thank Bruce Springsteen without adding a very special thanks to my friend Archie Stone for properly introducing me to the Boss. I can honestly say these are “Better Days” now.

To Ian and Rader, my sweet boys who grew into young men while my head was buried in my computer: Thank you for loving me, for doing the laundry, and for surviving on ramen noodles and Hot Pockets while I was temporarily insane. I love you both more than life, but you still need to clean your rooms.

And last but not least, to Mark Francis. Thank you for giving me sixteen years of marriage, for my two beautiful boys, and for bringing me home.