Diary of the Unbroken (BOOK #4)

Burning Bright

Ava

            "Ava."

            Over and over he called my name. I heard him perfectly fine. Vampire and Hunter senses were absolute. But my mind sat elsewhere.  While sitting on the front steps of the house in Newberry, I was also sitting with William, wherever the hell he was.

            "Ava," he said again.

            Finally I gave up and looked up at him. There was that familiar stern expression--the way he always seemed so seriously concerned. But tonight it wasn't just there for kicks. These days there seemed a lot to be concerned about.

            "I've been saying your name for nearly a minute," Derek said, lowering himself to sit down beside me. "What's on your mind?"

            I sighed. "Everything. Nothing."

            "I'd drink to that."

            I glanced over at him noticing the bottle of whiskey. Derek had a knack for facing the hard stuff with the hard stuff. About a month ago we sat in this same place drinking probably from the same bottle.

            "No thank you,"  I waved him off.

            "Really?" He raised an eyebrow before taking a swig. "More for me then."

            I bit my lip at the thought, feeling overall queasy at why Derek was still here. William had told his father to keep an eye on me. You would think that with a bond like mine and William's we would be able to feel each other even from miles upon  miles away. But I couldn't catch a glimpse of anything. All I felt was empty inside.

            "Where is he?" I breathed, ducking my head into my knees where I hugged them to my chest. "It's been a month."

            Derek grasped the bottle tightly, his knuckles turning white. "He's doing everything he can to find answers. You know him. He won't stop until he can save the people he loves."

            Love. Such a funny word. One that I couldn't even talk about. My feelings for William sat right there, but I never had the guts to tell him. I should have told him. I should have--

            "Stop," Derek said abruptly. "I know what you're thinking, and no. None of this is your fault.  He's not going to die."

            I licked my lips, really wanting to roll my eyes. "God, Derek. I know you're an Original and all but you could have told me mind-reading is on your list of superpowers."

            "I can't read minds," he told me. "People, however--I've had my time on Earth. I can sense when someone is upset and what it may be about. You, Ava Sumner, for some reason give me a challenge. But at the same I recognize something in you--something that makes it almost easier. You and me, we're not that different."

            "I'm sure William would have loved to hear that."

            He chucked lightly now, the sound reminding me of William. Slowly,  the sound faded as reality set back in. A month. Thirty-four days exactly. Thirty-four days of me wondering , me waiting. I went to school--only a month left, actually. I worried about my sister--just hoping that she was still alive. I dealt with my best friend who was slowly deteriorating--more and more each day.

            Only a month ago, William told me he would be leaving. He said he wanted answers--not just for me or him but for everyone we cared about. He was going to find Val and whatever the Original vampires and done with the cure.