"I've missed you so much."
"Me, too. I think even the Mansion misses you."
" Howare your parents?"
"Fine."
"What are they like?" I probed.
"I don't know...The same as any others."
"Are they happy to be home?"
"My mom says the Mansion smells like flowers."
"Did you tell her I placed them around?" I asked.
"I think she guessed."
"I bet you're glad to see them."
Alexander shrugged his shoulders.
"It'sokay-I know you had to have missed them."
He hesitated and then began as if he were revealing a national secret. "It's been great to talk to my dad. He's an art dealer. He's very interesting and has so much to share about the art world. He brought me a painting from a rising artist inFrance ."
"Does he like your artwork?"
"I'm not sure he takes me seriously yet. He thinks I just I -.tint for fun."
"And your mom?"
Alexander's eyes couldn't help but twinkle.
"I bet she dotes on you," I said.
"She's my mom. She's insisting that I haven't eaten and I us promised to fatten me up."
"When will I meet them?"
"Hopefully soon."
"I think you're hiding me."
"It's true... I want you all to myself." He squeezed me hard and swung me around.
"Do they know everything?"
"I don't tell my parentseverything. Do you?"
Alexander had a point. I certainly didn't tell my parents I hat we had dates in the cemetery and I slept during the day with him in a coffin.
"Do they know Tm not a vampire?" I asked.
"Do your parents know Iam one?"
I was shocked. Did Alexander have to hide my identity like I had to hide his? I thought maybe they knew already or they'd gotten wind of it from Jameson or theMaxwells .hut eitherJagger and his siblings, Luna and Valentine, hadn't returned toRomania or they hadn't wanted to sharei hat Alexander had preferred a mortal to Luna.
And maybe Alexander chose not to tell his parents that L was mortal-like I'd chosen not to tell mine that he was a vampire. It didn't occur to me that he couldn't tell them the truth about me, I never realized how painful it must be for him that I couldn't disclose his reality to my parents or even my best friend.
"You don't want me to meet them, do you?" I asked. "Then they'll know."
"What?"
"You are ashamed of me."
"Why would I be ashamed?"
"That I'm mortal."
"All they know is that I have a girlfriend and that I'm happy."
I wasn't mad at Alexander. How could I beangty with him, when I hadn't shared him with my family, who I saw every day and he hadn't seen his in months?
But I was disappointed. I assumed Alexander would have told his parents every detail about finding the girl of his dreams in Dullsville and our adventures. But then, Alexander was a guy. I knew Billy Boy hadn't shared with my mom any crush he'd had on a very unlucky girl. I couldn't imagine Trevor spilling his guts about every girl he dated to Mrs. Mitchell-though he probably told the entire soccer team. Not only didn't Alexander talk to his parents, but he didn't have a friend in Dullsville besides me.
I felt a pang of loneliness for Alexander. He didn't have anyone to share his thoughts with. I guess that's why he spent so much of his waking hours painting.
Instead of being impatient as I normally was, I knew I needed to give Alexander space to reunite with his family.
"I have to go now. But I wanted to say hi," he said suddenly.
"I wish you could come to school with me tomorrow. I might be more motivated to get a better education if you were in my classes.Especially if I got to pass you in the way for a quick kiss."
"How about this to keep you company, since I can't be there with you?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a dark-stained wooden bracelet with a dangling silver heart.
"I love it!" I said, putting it on.
Alexander gave me a long squeeze and a tender good-night kiss.
"When will I see you?" I asked, wrapping my arms around his waist like a giant handcuff.
"Sooner than you think."He gently pried my hands apart, stepped into the shadows, and disappeared.
Alexander was still a mystery. I ached to know everything about him, and his evasiveness only made me want him more.
Chapter 4 Monster High
Most people fear the dark, afraid of the unknown- unsure what curious creatures might be hiding in their bedroom closets or on deserted streets. I embraced the night. It was the daylight I dreaded. I could see the monsters-and they all went to Dullsville High,
This year I'd be entering school a little differently than in the past.Not only would I be a junior, but this would be the first time I was returning to Dullsville High with a boyfriend. Plus I had knowledge of a vampire world and had many nocturnal adventures under my studded belt. But one thing hadn't changed: I was late.
The bell had already rung when Becky and I parked her truck. Suntanned students were scampering to class. I still hadn't adjusted to the early-morning school schedule. My stomach was churning and my eyelids hung heavy. Becky eagerly raced ahead of me as I climbed up the school steps like a zombie.
"Hurry", she said, diligently holding her books and class schedule at the front entrance.
It was then I realized I was missing some valuable information.
"Where's my schedule?" I ransacked myCorpse Bride purse, safety-pinned jeans pockets, and my backpack. Becky grew fidgety.
We had requested the same classes, but we had only gotten a few. And I didn't remember which ones.
"I know I have English first bell," I said, straining to remember. But I hadn't checked the schedule since summer break. "I think I might have Spanish second bell and third bell gym."
"Well be late to them all!" Becky's face flushed red. Panic grew in her big brown eyes.
The sound of lockers shutting and classroom doors closing echoed off the hallway walls.
"Go ahead. I don't want us both to get suspended on the first day," I teased.
Relieved, Becky hurried to Mrs.Naper's English class while I proceeded back to the school's main entrance.
I plopped my backpack on the registrar's desk. The administrators were bright and perky, fresh from the glow of the summer sun and a few months sans students.
"Wow, classes haven't even begun and you're already in the principal's office," I heard a man's voice say as he came through the door behind me. "That's a first for you, isn't it?"