Hidden in the Immortals (Book #1)

Chapter 9

It was noon. Today was going to be a difficult day, one way or another. Andres hadn't been mentioned in the house since we got back from Aunt Danielle and Uncle Romeo's. But he was all we were thinking about. The house was solemn and dreary; conversations dry and empty. Nobody wanted to hurt, but that's all we did. And I couldn't stand it a second longer. My cousin was out there somewhere and I was going to figure out where. There was nothing more I wanted in the world than that. The cops had no leads and no one had seen hide nor tail of him; so I was going to step up and do it myself. With Chad, of course. Andres had been missing for almost a month and the cops were going to call off their search soon; which was yet another possibility nobody wanted to talk about.

I silently hopped into the passenger side of Chad's car. I wanted to put off discussing what we were about to go do for as long as I could. It seemed like Chad wasn't in a chatty mood today either. He backed his car out of my driveway and we began driving in the direction of Bluedale. Neither of us spoke for the first twenty minutes. I gazed out of the window the entire time, watching the grey blurs rush passed me. Chad cleared his throat. "So, we're going to Bluedale University?" He inquired, finally breaking the ice.

I let out a small sigh and glanced over at him. His pretty hazel eyes flickered between me and the road. Chad's brown hair was slightly darker from it being damp from a shower not too long ago, he wore a white t-shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans. Now, to be honest; Chad was obviously extremely attractive. Anyone with eyes could see that. He knew it, I knew it --everyone knew it. And now that he had admitted his feelings for me, it was beginning to make me question my own. "Umm, yeah... I guess." I answered with a shrug. "It was the last place anyone saw him. I don't know where else to look."

His eyes flickered back over to me from the road. He wore an unsure look. "I hate to be a Debbie Downer; but haven't the cops searched that place high and low?"

He was right; the cops looked everywhere they could on the campus. They asked every student, every staff member, even the janitors. But all they got were a bunch of dead ends. No one had seen Andres in weeks. I, however, was by no means a quitter. I was going to search that place somehow more thoroughly than the police had, I was going to question the students and faculty harder, I wasn't going to leave a stone unturned, and I was going to find him. Andres was alive. Andres was alive. Andres was alive. "Me and you," I pointed between the two of us. "Are going to find him." He looked at me skeptically. I sighed to the fact that I even needed to tell him why. "Because we're Vampires. We kind of have something the police don't."

He gave me a smirk. "I love that about you." His voice came out almost as a melody as he said this. I looked at him curiously. "Your confidence. Your determination. Your relentlessness." I looked down at my lap and smiled. He chuckled. "Your modesty." He added as he reached over and patted my knee. "Boy, does it feel good to tell you all of the things that I love about you." He grinned, but kept his eyes focused on the road. "Admitting I like you was a pretty good thing after all."

I grimaced and ran a hand through my hair. "Chad listen,"I began in a serious voice. "I think it's best that you don't spurt out all of the things on your mind about me, because if things get serious between me and Garrett..."

He did a double take at me. "D-do you think it will become serious between you and Garrett?" His voice was almost frantic, but mostly just wondering.

I shrugged and let out a happy sigh. "I don't know. I mean, I like him and I really want to keep seeing him." I sounded like such a cliché love struck teenager; but I deserved it because I never actually had a serious boyfriend. "Who knows what could happen."

He cleared his throat. "Julianna..." He tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. "He's a Nelson." He reminded me. "He could very well be a hunter."