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Chapter 49
“All this happened, more or less,” Leesa said to Cali over a deliciously greasy sausage and pepperoni pizza in a popular pizza joint a block off campus. “Pretty hard to believe, I know.”
They sat opposite each other in a booth in the back corner of the restaurant. The burgundy vinyl benches were worn and lumpy, but neither of them cared. Cali's dark gray Abercrombie hoodie was unzipped, and the stylish purple, gray and white Burberry scarf she had contrarily paired with the casual sweatshirt rested on the end of the table. The varnished wood bore the scratched markings of decades of young revelers, the modern-day equivalent of ancient cave paintings. Leesa had taken off her fleece-lined beige suede jacket, leaving her in a dark brown cotton turtleneck.
The place was jammed with Weston students. Their raucous chatter provided plenty of privacy for the two best friends, and Leesa had spent the last twenty minutes recounting her entire strange stor
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Leesa remembered Rave saying something similar about hunger and control. She glanced around, suddenly afraid he might show up and interrupt them again. They needed to go somewhere he would be less likely to find them, just in case. The bright sunshine argued against anywhere outside or too far away, which left her dorm. Not her room, though. Rave could show up there. “Let's go inside,” she said. “It'll be easier to talk there.”A half smile appeared on Stefan's lips. Leesa thought he had probably guessed why she wanted to go somewhere else, but he didn't say anything about it, for which she was grateful. She didn't want to talk about Rave, and she certainly didn't want to have to explain her relationship with him.Stefan pulled his hood up and donned dark sunglasses. Now he looked like a dozen other guys Leesa had seen around campus today. She led him through her dorm to a small lounge at the far end of the building. Sunlight streamed in through
Leesa's Advent Chapter 51
There was no possibility of taking a walk that day—at least not outside, where a fast-moving front had swept though overnight and deposited almost an inch of rain in less than two hours. Following the rain, the temperature plummeted, leaving a sheath of ice coating the sidewalks, streets, trees and power lines. The television was filled with news of jackknifed trucks, chain reaction collisions and downed electrical lines. Luckily, it was Sunday, so traffic was light and schools and many businesses were closed, but people were being warned to stay home and avoid the dangerous roads and walkways.It was a warning Leesa hated to hear. She desperately needed a walk, after suffering a sleepless night tossing and turning while replaying her talk with Stefan and stewing over the deal he'd offered her. She had bundled up and gotten as far as the front door, but one look at the deserted, ice -coated sidewalks had been enough to send her back to her room. But she still needed to
Leesa's Advent Chapter 52
Chill winds still blew, and yesterday's sunshine had given way to a high layer of gray clouds. Above the eastern horizon, a narrow strip of blue accented the gray like the painted trim on an old house. The cold, dim day mirrored Leesa's mood as she limped along the dirt road toward Balin's cabin—“road” being a kind description, she thought, of the rutted pathway. The musty odor of damp, dead leaves filled the air, and the farther she got from the lightly traveled highway where she'd parked her aunt's car, the quieter it became. Eventually, only the strident, irregular call of some kind of bird that hadn't headed south for the winter broke the silence, and she wasn't happy with the quiet. The last song she'd heard on the radio before leaving the car had been “Meet Me on the Equinox” by Death Cab for Cutie, and its plaintive, drawn out chorus—“everything, everything ends…everything, everything ends”—kept replaying in her hea
Leesa's Advent Chapter 53
Cradled in Rave's arms, Leesa kept her cheek pressed against his warm chest as he whisked her along the roadway, deeper into the volkaane settlement. The orchard she had seen her first day here flew by in a blur, as did a few cabins and several small houses more visible from the road now that the trees had discarded their leaves. After a few minutes, Rave turned off into the woods, following an almost invisible trail up a sloping hillside and down the other side. He carried her along the bottom of a small ravine, then back up another ridge, steeper than the first. No matter what the terrain, his footing was sure, his gait effortless. Even with her in his arms, he made no sound. She felt almost as if she were floating.She wished she could remain like this forever, her body held tight against his, speeding through the countryside, across the state, across the country, around the world, even. She was certain Rave could do it. She sighed. If only.If only it wasn't for he
Leesa's Advent Chapter 54
It was a dark and stormy night. Not long past sunset, but it might as well have been midnight for all Leesa could see outside the windows of Professor Clerval's old VW van. Lightning crackled to the west, sending twisting yellow forks ripping through the umber sky, followed by rumbling explosions of thunder that seemed ready to shake the van apart. Every time the lightning flashed, Leesa's muscles tensed in preparation for the next fusillade of thunder. The rain was intermittent, at times pelting down in gust-driven torrents that rattled against the van, then subsiding to a light drizzle that floated quietly down, enveloping them in an eerie silence until the next peal of thunder. No screenwriter could have scripted a more fitting night for what she was about to do. She was alone with the professor, parked beside the road just outside the closed parking lot for the Hadlyme Ferry. She had considered asking her uncle to drive her, but decided Dr. Clerval was the better choice
Leesa's Advent Chapter 55
This was not the Bradley she had been expecting, not the Bradley she could return to their mom's joyous embrace. This was a zombie straight from some horror movie. She should have rushed forward to hug him, but was unable to move. Her vocal cords seemed frozen as well.“He'll recover,” Stefan said, reading the distress on Leesa's face as he brought Bradley forward the last few steps. “His blood level is very low. He'll need rest, and lots to eat and drink.” He looked at Professor Clerval. “And keep him warm. Very warm.”Leesa stepped forward and placed her hand lightly against Bradley's cheek. His skin felt like rubber and was icy cold. “Bradley?”Bradley lifted his head. His eyes seemed to find some focus as he looked at her. “Pumpkin?” Tears streamed down Leesa's cheeks at the sound of that single word. She dropped the umbrella and threw her arms around her brother, holding him close and trying to wil
Leesa's Advent Chapter 56
It was a bright cold day. Bradley stood next to his mother on the deck of the Harbor Park Restaurant, leaning against the wooden railing and gazing out onto the sun-dappled river. He was bundled up in a dark green down jacket and wore a matching woolen ski cap drawn down over his ears. A week had passed since Leesa rescued him from the vampires, and while he was recovering rapidly, he still felt the cold more than most. Today was his first real outing, after five days spent lying in bed at Professor Clerval's, warmed by an electric blanket, getting up only to eat and take short walks inside the house. His stay at the professor's was followed by two more days recuperating at Aunt Janet's, where he'd gone for a brief stroll outside with his mom each afternoon. Determined to make the most out of this trip to Middletown, he had insisted they go to the edge of the deck and watch the river before going inside to eat.“Are you warm enough, Bradley?” Judy asked.&l
Leesa's Advent Chapter 57
Leesa Nyland was afraid to open her eyes. Not because she was scared she might see something frightening—though god knows she had seen and experienced enough scary stuff her first few months at Weston College to last her a lifetime—but because she was afraid that if she opened her eyes she might discover she had merely been dreaming all the wonderful things that had happened.She had every right to be worried about that, she knew. She had seen and done things in the last three months that few people would believe, or could even imagine. Maybe it all was just a dream. Maybe there were no vampires. Maybe she had never allowed herself to be bitten by the enigmatic Stefan as part of a bargain to save her brother Bradley. She almost reached for her throat, but pulled her fingers back. What if she found no twin puncture scars there? That would mean it was only a dream, and that Bradley was still missing. It would also mean that her mom was probably sti
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