Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (169 page)

Her mother stood in front of Tessa,
her hand touching Tessa's pure white locks. Horror rippled across
her mom's features as tears threatened to fall. "Your beautiful
hair."

Tessa watched her warily. She hadn't
expected this strong reaction. "The hair is still there, Mom. It's
just white instead of black, that's all."

"You're a vampire. One of the ancient
ones. We're proud of our family’s dark hair."

"No, you're a vampire. I'm only
part." Nobody understood how she felt. "You're proud of your dark
hair, and I…well, let's just say I was ready for something
different."

Seth, her oldest brother, shot her a
warning look. She glared back at him.

Over the
years her parents had always been understanding as the three of
them had grown through their teenage years, especially with her
brothers. David sported a punk cut, his hair spiked in every
direction and the girls loved it. Then again, girls loved
him
.

She just wanted a piece of the
action. With the guys, of course.

"I like it," Cody said slowly. "It's
really hot."

Tessa beamed. Wow, Cody almost never
said anything directly to her. And when he did, it was usually to
call her down. As David's best friend, he practically lived here –
whether she liked it or not. "Thank you. I'm glad someone
does."

"Oh, Tessa honey. I wish you'd relax
about not having a boyfriend. Don't try to change yourself into
something you're not. You'll find someone soon. Someone who will
love you for who you are."

Easy
for her to say.
Her mom was one of the most
beautiful vampires in existence. Her centuries-old features were
still young and perfect. Her figure – well, Tessa's couldn't even
begin to compare.

Sigh.

Seth might be the quietest in the
family, the older, and more studious one, but he usually nailed the
issue on the head. "And that's the problem, Mom. No guy's going to
fall in love with her when she isn't happy with herself.
Self-confidence is sexy."

Tessa turned her head to hide the
rising warmth on her cheeks. Her family never blushed. They
probably couldn't – yet another way she was different.

With her hands fisted on her hips,
her mom spun around to face Seth. Outrage vibrated through her slim
frame. "That's not true. Tessa knows she's beautiful – inside and
out. Any boy would be happy to go out with her."

Tessa's dad had stayed suspiciously
quiet. She glanced at him warily from the corner of her eye. He
rarely spoke, but when he did…

"What's his name?" his deep voice
boomed and it was like he shouted it to the world. How did he know
she had a crush on someone?

She gasped, her shoulders hunching
protectively. Catcalls and a chorus of teasing bombarded her. Tessa
raced out of the room.

Her mother's chastising voice
lingered in the space she'd left behind. "Stop it. Don't tease her.
You've all been there."

"Yeah, but this is way more
fun!"

Tessa ran faster.

She wanted to run from her
life.

***

Two hours later, Tessa ventured out
of her room a second time and snuck through the house and out the
back door. Exiting the yard, she lifted her face to the sunlight
and smiled. One huge advantage of her genetics – she could go
outside in daylight. David could for a short time. Seth couldn't at
all. That's what evolution did for this new generation. Now there
were mixed breeds and mixed families, but the purists looked down
on all of those.

The treaty between that stopped
vampires from preying on people helped. Although as her family had
never been big on hunting humans to begin with, they'd been happy
to move forward peacefully.

Not that Tessa trusted the treaty to
control all vampires. She'd heard too many stories.

And, if a full-blooded
vampire preyed on her, he'd get a mouthful of something he wasn't
expecting.

She snickered. Maybe someone should
try. He'd probably poison himself. And if he didn't, he'd have to
deal with the rest of her family. She might be different than other
members of her family, but she was theirs. Families. Couldn't live
with them and couldn't live without them.

Now that they'd figured out what was
bothering her, they'd never stop hassling her. If they found out
who she had a crush on, her life would be officially
over.

The sun peeped out from behind a
cloud. Not hot and not cold, it was just a beautiful sunny day. A
breeze whistled down the street. She passed several people on the
sidewalk. With night and day schools to accommodate the two
societies, Tessa was an odd duck in that she often attended both.
It depended on what classes were offered.

The back and forth really messed with
her sleep patterns.

Being part of two worlds gave her an
odd perspective, a unique insight into both – affected by the
prejudices of both. Her human friends often criticized the
vampires, and there'd been times she'd had to bite her tongue
because she wanted to defend her species. She could walk in both
worlds – yet didn't feel normal or fully welcome in
either.

She
attended just enough vampire affairs that most local vampires knew
who she was – but maybe not
what
. Not that she knew, either. She
didn't have the standard fangs – hers elongated, just not as long
as normal vampires’ – yet her wicked retracting fingernails were
envied by many. Not even her mother had those. Tessa was tall, but
not overly tall, compared to her mother. She was skinnier than most
vamps her age. And then there were her eyes. Vampires were known
for their dark eyes. Only Tessa's were emerald green. She liked
them.

"Tessa."

Tessa turned, spotting her friends,
Jill and Catherine, on the other side of the street. They studied
the traffic, then ran across. Idiots. Both of them. They could die
doing that.

She
grinned as they surrounded her. Jill was tiny, dark and on the
plump side. She stared at Tessa, her mouth hanging open. Catherine,
blonder with shoulder length curls, gasped. "Oh my gosh, it
is
you!"

"Look at your hair. It's gorgeous."
Both girls reached out to touch her waist-length hair.

"Really? You aren't just saying that
to be nice?" she asked shyly.

Catherine moaned. "No way. You look
great. How did you get it that color? It's so cool. You know what
you should do now – get a suntan. A honey-nut tan and
wow!"

Tessa
beamed. At least
they
liked her new look. She held out her fingers. "What do you
think about my nails?"

"
Ohh
." The
three girls fell into a full-on fashion discussion as they
completed the walk to the mall.

"So, did you hear about Dane and
Tami?" Catherine always had the latest gossip.

Tessa lit up. Dane and his on-again,
off-again girlfriend kept everyone entertained. "No.
What?"

"They had a huge fight right at the
movie theater. They were actually asked to leave the
building."

"That bad? Oh my." She giggled. Tami
was a drama queen extraordinaire. Dane, on the other hand, was king
of the football field. He liked his girlfriends gorgeous and
stupid. They both liked to be the center of attention. It had
appeared to be a match made in heaven.

"That's so normal for them. They'll
kiss and make up again. They always do." Catherine
snickered.

Jill glanced over at the other two
girls. Words burst from her mouth in a high squeaky voice. "Kurt
called me last night."

"What?" Squeals erupted as the trio
stopped in the middle of the length of sidewalk.

"Spill. Every little detail.
Now!"

As the story unfolded, Tessa found
herself overjoyed her friend had been asked out – but inside a
small kernel of envy reared its ugly head. She was the only one of
the three who couldn't attract any interest from a guy. Was she so
ugly? So yucky?

She peered at her reflection in the
big window of the clothing store beside them. Her hair helped her
stand out, but everything else appeared normal. Too normal. Nothing
special or attractive about her. Obviously nothing that attracted
human males. She frowned at herself.

"Stop doing that." Catherine smacked
her lightly on her shoulder. "You look great. What I wouldn't do to
have those cheekbones."

"Not to mention those witchy eyes.
Your white skin and green eyes… absolute dynamite," Jill added
enviously.

"Right," Tessa scoffed. "Then why
don't I have any guys hanging around me?"

"You probably intimidate
them."

Tessa gave Jill a sidelong look. She
was kidding, right? Her?

Five-foot-nine in her stocking feet
and boyishly slim. Intimidate the guys? Not likely. Or maybe it
would embarrass them to be seen with her? Yeah, that was
closer.

"
Shh
. Look
who's coming."

Tessa twisted around.

"Don't look!" Catherine's horror had
Tessa turning back again without catching a glimpse of who
approached.

"What? Who?" After a moment Tessa
added, trying to look around surreptitiously, "And
where?"

"Behind
you.
Shh
."

Tessa checked out the reflection in
the glass display cases beside her to see who was behind her. She
stiffened. Oh, no. Her stomach jumped with nerves.

"Hi, Catherine, Jill."

Tessa stared at Catherine, her eyes
widening in panic. She slowly turned. "Hi, Jared."

Jared started, his shock turned to
gleaming appreciation as he studied her. He was slightly taller
than Tessa and his gorgeous brown curls hung down his forehead. Her
heart sighed happily.

"Ohh. Wow. I didn't recognize you
there for a second," he said warmly. "Wild hair."

Really?
How sweet.

"Doesn't it look awesome on her?"
Catherine studied Tessa's white tresses enviously. "I wish I had
long hair."

"No, you don't," said Jill. "Your
short curls look great." She turned to Jared. "We don't usually see
you here."

"Nah. I had to pick up some school
supplies. Can you believe in only a couple of weeks we'll be back
in session?"

Everyone groaned.

Jill pounced on him. "Remember that
unwritten rule that you're not allowed to mention school when it's
summer vacation?"

"Sorry."
He grinned that lopsided grin that sent Tessa's heart pumping at a
crazy rate. Damn, he was cute. "I'm going to see
Night Stalker
tonight.
Any of you girls want to join me? I mean us, Billy and Zack will be
going, too."

The three girls exchanged quick
glances. Tessa desperately wanted to say yes, but only if one of
the other two would go with her. She compromised. "I might be able
to go. What about you, Catherine? Jill?"

Jill smiled shyly. "I've got other
plans." Right, she had a date with Kurt.

"Catherine?" Tessa sent her a hopeful
glance. Maybe she'd go? Please let her say yes.

Catherine glanced at Jared. "I might.
I dunno. What time?"

"It starts at 7:30. We're meeting
around the corner from here just after 7:00."

Tessa glanced down at her watch.
Almost four o'clock now. So in three hours. Catherine opened her
mouth. Tessa held her breath. "Oh what the heck." Catherine rolling
her eyes at Tessa. "Sure, why not?"

Tessa could have kissed her. Jumping
jacks bounced in her stomach before they raced up and down her
nerves.

Jared's smile lit up the area. "Hey,
that's great. I'll meet you both in a couple of hours. I'll go
finish my shopping for you-know-what now. Talk to you
later."

He gave a small wave and walked away.
The three girls watched in silence until he disappeared.

"It's okay, Tessa. You can breathe
now." Catherine grinned at her.

Tessa's exhale whooshed out in a
noisy gust. "I was so afraid you'd say no."

"Oh, I got that message. So now on to
something really important. What are we going to wear?" With
Catherine's words, the girls got down to the serious business of
deciding on the right clothes.

***

Tessa panicked as she scrambled
through her closet. There was no other way to describe it. She
couldn't figure out what to wear. Five outfits later, she'd texted
Catherine. Catherine had chosen jeans and a T-shirt. Comfortable in
her skin, Catherine wasn't even going to dress up.

"Oh, no. Now what do I do?" Tessa
looked at her jeans and T-shirts. And hated everything. Okay, this
wasn't exactly a date…but her nerves couldn't be convinced
otherwise.