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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
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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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“This must be the place” Leesa said.She stood with Rave and Max at the top of a long asphalt driveway above Black Pond State Park. Below them, the waters of a beautiful lake sparkled in the sunshine. Leesa wore a heavy blue sweatshirt over a long sleeve pullover shirt and black leggings. Rave had on a dark brown, long sleeve waffle-knit shirt and jeans. With his inner heat, Rave didn’t require much in the way of clothes, but he made sure always to wear something somewhat appropriate for the weather to avoid drawing unnecessary attention.Max waited patiently in front of them, his side pressed up against Rave’s leg. His tail wagged excitedly as he looked down toward the park, but he made no move to head down the driveway without them. Rave carried Max’s leash in his hand—he had unfastened it as soon as they were out of sight of the house. Leesa had looked at him worriedly when he undid the leash, but Rave assured her there was nothin
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Leesa and Rave walked back up the entrance drive of Black Pond Park. Halfway up the hill, her phone buzzed. She didn’t know why, but a sense of impending trouble stole over her as she unzipped her small fanny pack and grabbed the cell. She automatically stepped away from Rave, taking no chances his energy would zap her phone. He grinned at her in understanding. Max just looked on curiously. The screen showed the call was from an unknown caller. Leesa breathed a bit easier. At least the call wasn’t from her mom or her brother. Still, she could not shake the feeling that this call meant trouble. “Hello?” she said. “Is this Leesa Nyland?” asked an unfamiliar male voice on the other end. “Yes, it is.” “The Leesa Nyland who was born eighteen years ago in Springfield, New Jersey?” The alarm bells in Leesa’s head really started clanging now. What was this all about? Her fingers began twirling in hair. “Yeah, that’s me,” she said cauti
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“You’re gonna be in for a long winter, girl,” Cali said, grinning. She puffed out another big cloud of steamy breath. “Ol’ Man Winter is barely getting started.Leesa pulled her gloved hands out of her pocket. “Heck, it’s not like I lived in San Diego my whole life,” she said, a bit defensively. “I grew up in New Jersey, remember?”“Yeah, but only until you were seven, right? That was a long time ago. I bet your blood has thinned a lot by now.”Leesa wondered what Cali would think if she knew about the grafhym blood in her veins. Knowing Cali, she would probably think it was way cool. When Leesa told Cali Stefan was a vampire, she had asked if he had any vampire friends he could fix her up with. She had been joking, of course. At least, Leesa hoped she had been joking. Besides, Cali already had a boyfriend, a cute frat guy named Andy, who she really liked.“So,
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