Love is Darkness

Chapter 1

San Loaran, California

5 years ago

"Why?" Valerie's heart was hammering in her chest, a dull ringing in her ears. If I puke, I hope it's on his shoes. She inhaled deeply, trying to keep the nausea at bay.

She looked around the living room, at the boring furniture, the slider that led to the backyard, then to the front door, which she'd no doubt be leaving through in a few minutes. Unless she was crafty. Who was she kidding? The odds of her being crafty enough to get out of this were just about as good as a hamster seeing a shiny new wheel and choosing not to run.

I might die and I can barely drive.

Her father, Nate, looked at her disappointedly. "Valerie, I've been lenient with you. I had hoped that given a little distance, a little time to mature, you would get over your fear, but that hasn't happened. Don't you want to survive?"

This is a trick question. Val felt her palms get damp as she tried to think of the right thing to say—something that would make him leave her alone. If she said she could defend herself he'd want her to prove it. But, if she said she couldn't defend herself, then he'd take her out there to learn. This is so messed up.

Jack stood beside her father, examining the floor and trying not to draw attention to himself. He was 19, her father's apprentice, and the star of every fantasy she had. And it was always a fantasy, because in real life he didn't want her. And he certainly wasn't going to stand up for her like a fantasy man should.

Jack probably knew she'd attack him if he tried to leave her here with dad while he snuck off, so he stood there, but he wouldn't help. Jack was too good. He owed her father, was grateful that he'd given Jack a purpose in life.

Her father gave an impatient sigh and she tried to remember the question. Oh yeah, don't you want to survive? She felt the tension building, her father becoming frustrated by her silence.

She gave them an overly bright smile, hoping it would make her dad think she wasn't about to pee her pants. "I have a quiz tomorrow in science and I'm not ready. Doesn't school come first?"

Her father was a tall, thin man. His hair had been light brown but was now mostly gray. His eyes were brown and sad. In old pictures, his eyes were different.

Valerie thought grief from her mother's death had changed them, sucked the vitality right out of them. Even though her mom's death had been over a decade ago, he still hadn't recovered.

He never would.

Those sad brown eyes stared at her like he was deciding whether or not to confront her on her probable lie. She did have a science quiz tomorrow, but she wasn't worried about it, knew she'd get an A. But did he know that?

"I'm sure we will be home in time for you to study." Nate raised an eyebrow at her.

Could an eyebrow express 'gotcha'? Apparently.

"Perhaps next time you can study appropriately, during the allotted time, and then you won't find yourself with a time conflict. Life is about juggling obligations, Valerie. You need to study smarter, not harder." Great. What did that even mean? If I could study smarter, wouldn't I be doing it already?

"You're right! That's why I make sure to do my homework before cheerleading, and stay at school to do it. That's why I get to school early on Wednesday so that I can go to swim team." Her voice was rising and she felt some air quotes coming on, "If I have warning I can put it in my schedule, and study "appropriately". Surprisingly, random vampire stake-outs don't fit into my schedule easily." Crossing her arms under her chest defiantly, she waited for the verdict.