Chapter six

AMELIA

My days passed uneventfully at the varsity. Hot frat party guy still refused to tell me his name. He still kept draining information from me about my Daddy. I didn’t believe he could come close to killing him and so I answered all of his questions – truthfully. I really don't know how to die -- or so I believe.

He still kept up the sexual energy, kissing me at times, touching me in places his hands had no business going to, until I stopped trying to decieve myself. I had a crush on him, a massive one and I think he knew it. I guess it made him feel big and powerful, it made me feel small and powerless.

I and Clarrisa had finally gotten to some unspoken understanding of some sorts, she stopped trying to make me talk about frat guy and I stopped stuttering. Most of the times now, she was wrapped up in her romance with one Percy King, I didn’t ask her about him either.

I was passing beside the basketball court, already late for an evening class when I saw a two basketball players. I had never really liked sports and least of all basketball so I would never have stopped to watch them if….

If I hadn’t seen the look of determination in the two girls’ eyes. It was just the two of them, they weren’t really playing any major game and all they had in place of fans were bystanders who stopped occasionally to watch before they continued off to where ever it was they were going. Yet they looked so determined training, doing what they loved most.

It caught me off guard, there was a mixed feeling of envy and admiration I had never felt before. It made me reconsider everything I had been doing since I stepped into the Varsity.

It was because of what those two girls playing basketball had that I had wanted to go away from my family, to come to college. I had wanted to see what life was like beyond our Los Angeles home and my father’s various other houses scattered across the country. I had wanted to find out what I was passionate about, to find myself – follow my dream, conquer the world. I didn’t need someone to tell me I had been conquered by my varsity.

I knew then that I was not going to keep letting hot frat guy control my life. I had to put an end to this. Instead of continuing on to my evening class, I called him.

He answered at the first ring. ‘’Vampire.’’

‘’Human?’’

‘’ Okay, I’m in the middle of something, why are you calling?’’ He said impatiently. He sounded like he was a bit out of breath and I wondered if he was teaching another cute blond or redhead how to kiss. I shook thoughts of him kissing me – or anyone else off my mind, that was not why I had called him.

‘’Can we meet up?’’

‘’ That’s not how this works Vampire, I set the meetings you only attend.’’

‘’ My name is Amelia Rhinehart, human.’’ I said, enunciating each word slowly. ‘’ And if you don’t round up what ever it is you’re doing and come to our usual spot then this—whatever deal we’ve had is off. I’ll remove the stupid device you put in my hair and you can do your worst.’’

I half expected him to do that thing he had done to me in the cafeteria, draining my strength and all and I tried to prepare myself for it but he seemed to understand that I was not bluffing.

‘’ I’ll be there in ten minutes, this had better be good.’’

I smiled. ‘’Oh, it is good human.’’

As we sat opposite each other at our usual place, I tried to call up the boldness I had once felt but instead I only felt scared. He was starring silently at me from opposite the table and I wondered how he managed to look so threatening in a simple tank top and jeans.

His hair, usually disheveled was slightly wet and sleeked back and I wondered if he had been having sex in the shower.

‘’ Did you call me up here Vampire, to admire my unconventional looks?’’ He finally asked, with a slight raise of his eyebrow.

I didn’t tell him that my name wasn’t Vampire again, I was still trying to drum up courage to tell him what this meeting was all about.

I started tracing patterns on the padded surface of the table till he sighed and got up to leave.

‘’Wait!’’

He turned around slightly.

I swallowed. ‘’I want this – whatever it is to come to an end.’’

He sat down again. ‘’And what exactly do you want to come to an end? You want me to stop touching you? Cause the last time, you looked like you wanted it even more than me.

I tried not to blush but I could still feel the heat rising up to my cheeks. ‘’I want you to take whatever information you want from me once and for all and I – I … do …. Do.. I’’

He smiled now, it was a victorious smile and it made him look even more dangerous. ‘’You’re doing it again Amelia.’’

‘’Doing what?’’ I snapped, trying my best to still my erratic heart. He had called me Amelia.

‘’Stuttering!’’

‘’Well I’m sorry if that’s another thing about me that disgusts you but I can’t help it.’’

He nodded and I thought I saw a flicker of compassion in his eyes but then he blinked and his eyes were once again the coldest, bluest eyes I had ever seen. ‘’If you help smuggle me into your Los Angeles home, you’re off the hook, I promise.’’

I nodded. ‘’When would that be?’’

He got up and was already heading out. ‘’I’ll call you when I need you Vampire.’’

I call you when I need you…. That had sounded so good, right up until he had spoiled it my calling me Vampire.

PERCY

As I walked out of the cafeteria, I couldn’t just shake off the feeling that something was not right. Why did an experienced vampire keep blushing anytime I made the slightest suggestive comment. I hadn’t known any girl that blushed – except back in high school and they were all in the tenth grade.

The wolf in me was hinting on something . . . a warning perhaps. Something was off. I smiled briefly to myself remembering the way she called me 'human', then I frowned. What kind of experienced Vampire couldn't tell a werewolf, an Alpha for that matter, from a human. Something was definitely up.

She had looked innocent, vulnerable sitting across me just now and I wondered how she managed to look that way, or maybe a thousand years of practice had made her able to pull it off well enough, but…

There was still the issue of an arrangement already being made for blood parcels to be sent to her. I tried not to gag at the thought but why had she come to this school anyway. I made a mental note to dig more into her history, it was possible she was trying to lure me into a trap, if there was anything I had learned, it was that overconfidence killed faster than inexperience and I was not ready to die yet, not because of the schemes of a violet eyed vampire.

She stuttered, I remembered that aspect too. Vampires could not lie and each time they tried, the words remained stuck in their mouth, unable to come out and making them stutter. I wondered why she hadn’t already figured this out, but I wasn’t about to tell her. Vampires who played at deceit didn’t lie, instead they tried to manipulate the truth, telling you different truths that would help make you come to a certain conclusion –the conclusion they wanted.

I wondered what game it was Amelia was trying to play but I was determined to get to the bottom of it before I trusted her enough to smuggle me into her Los Angeles home, but in the meantime, I wanted to see Clarrisa. The vampire chick had interrupted a hot session with a curvy brunette and I had already lost interest. Clarrisa was not only beautiful, she was sexy and even though she wanted some kind of long term relationship while I wanted something casual, I was sure we could both come to an understanding of sorts.

She answered at the first ring. ‘’Let me guess, you were with some redhead and you couldn’t stop thinking about me and so you decided to call.’’ Her voice sounded soft, like it was coming from far away and her words were a bit….

‘’Are you okay Clarrisa?’’

‘’Yes…. My ringing phone woke me up from sleep that’s all. So what’s up?’’ She sounded better now.

‘’ Would you be busy later this evening?’’

She laughed then, the sound low and sultry. ‘’ Do you want to take me out on a date Percy King or is this just another hook up?’’

I smiled. I liked her, she didn’t play games. ‘’ Can’t it be both?’’

‘’ It sure as hell is going to be both. It’s been a long time since a hot guy treated me like the queen I am, don’t disappoint me King.’’

I smiled then. ‘’I never do.’’

AMELIA

You are not a traitor, you are not a traitor….

I kept chanting to myself as I walked to the dorm. I had no choice – or I tried to convince myself that I had no choice. I knew that he really meant to kill my father. But my father was king, he hadn’t survived many attempts on his life by fellow vampires only to get killed by some college guy, never mind how hot he was.

My father had never seen the need to train me in battle strategies mustly because even the first child of a king was not considered a heir, the king was just not supposed to die. Now I wished I had attended all the meetings on strategy he had had with my uncles. Who knew I would be needing them this much.

When I got to my room, Clarrisa was just preparing to go out. Because of how careful she was with her make up, styling her hair in a way it looked like it had been pinned up securely but actually, it would come tumbling down once she put her hand in it, I knew she was going to see Percy.

She usually tried to appear cool and sophisticated but I could tell she really liked Percy form how she talked about him, the rare times she did. I hoped he liked her as much as she liked him, it would be a big coincidence to have two roommates pinning after guys that didn’t care about them.

‘’Well don’t just stand there starring. Do you think I should wear heels or something flat.’’ She asked scrunching beside her shoes.

‘’ I think you should wear anything you’re most comfortable in.’’ I said and she looked at me like I was slightly mad.

‘’ It’s not comfort I’m after Rhinehart.’’ She said finally. ‘’ I’m trying to get a man to like me… to really like me. I read an article that said men tended to feel protective over women in flats but then they believed the one in heels was the sexy goddess.’’

I shrugged, if only she knew about my problems… ‘’Then go for flats. He probably already considers you a sexy goddess or you wouldn’t be having this date with him now. It’s time to make him feel protective over you.’’

She smiled, a genuine smile that touched her eyes, softening the hard plane of her face. ‘’You know Rhinehart, this is the best thing you’ve ever said since we became roommates. If you ever want advice about your frat party guy, all my experience is at your disposal.’’

I smiled and nodded wondering what she would say if I told her I was attracted to a man who thought I was disgusting and who I was going to help murder my father.