Dark Secrets (Dark Secrets #1)(112)
Author: A.M. Hudson

“Ara?” Vicki said, staring at my face. “Are you awake?”

“Yes.” I flopped back on my pillow. “I don’t wanna go to school today.”

“You know full well where we’re going today, young lady,” Vicki said in an insistent tone.

“Yes, which is why I’m staying in bed.”

“That’s enough. Now, just humour me and your boyfriend, and let him spend some money on you.”

I pulled the covers over my head.

“Be nice.” She ripped my blanket away and dumped it on my chair, leaving me cold in the nakedness of my bed. “Is it really so bad that David wants to buy you a dress?”

“Yes.” I pushed up on my elbow. “I have savings, Vicki. I can buy my own dress.”

“Ara-Rose!” She folded her arms. “Where are your manners?”

“In my drawer, where I left them.”

She shook her head, sighing, and wandered over to find them, pulling out some jeans and a T-shirt instead. “Get dressed. We leave in ten minutes.”

“Argh. Fine.”

“Thank you.”

I flipped my legs over the side of the bed and stumbled to the window. I wanted to grunt at her, but held it in, folding my arms and resting my head on the glass pane instead. Outside, the dull grey clouds hid the sun, making everything under its suppressed glare seem vividly white—lighting up the entire yard and all the garden debris. “Did it storm last night?”

“Yes. You didn’t hear it?” Vicki folded her arms, looking out at the clouds as they spilled over and the soft pattering of rain filled the desolate street below.

“Nope. Slept like a baby.” I shrugged. “Maybe I’m just getting over my fear of storms.”

“Well, lucky Dad closed your window then.”

A pensive twist to my lips became the first smile of the day. “Yeah. Really lucky.” Thanks, David.

“And tidy this room,” Vicki added as she closed my door.

With a certain amount of dread, I studied the chaos around me; clothes on every piece of furniture, covering every scrap of carpet—looking remarkably like a storm broke loose in here last night.

I got dressed, then shook my quilt out over my bed and hid my clothes, clean and dirty, in the laundry basket so Alana and Emily wouldn’t think I was a total pig when they came to stay tonight.

“Ara. I’m going to the car—hurry up,” Vicki called.

“Just a sec.” I ran to the bathroom, locking both doors, then smeared another layer of concealer over the bruises David left when he ate me in the auditorium closet. The leftover proof of my insanity looked mean and ugly—like a swollen, purple infection, leaking some kind of clear fluid. But, thanks to Vicki’s shopping obsession, another layer of this two-hundred-dollar bottle of concealer, that could cover up a nose if you wanted to, saw my mark disappear.

I stood back and observed my handiwork. I’d actually healed pretty well for such a short time, really, but a part of me wished it would leave a little scar—a permanent mark to remind me that I was David’s and he was mine. And as that thought entered my head, a giant hand, bearing my name, came down across my brow.

“Sick, Ara-Rose. You’re sick,” I said to the girl in the mirror.

All the common sense I once had evaporated into the background of my subconscious when it came to David—even making me delusional enough to offer him my blood. And in the clarity of daylight, I was glad he didn’t drink it. I could see the insanity in it now. But deep down inside, that lust-driven human in me was screaming for him to do it.

Outside, a horn beeped twice. I patted my pocket, slipped my shoes on, and stuffed the last of my savings into my purse as I left my bedroom. But as I reached the front door, a hand grabbed mine.

“You won’t be needing this.”

“Hey!” I screeched, watching my purse leave my grip by force of David’s. “It’s for lunch, or if I need anything else, you know, for the sleepover or, like, girlie stuff.”

“Nice try. If you need anything else, I’ll take you shopping later.” He tucked my purse into his pocket and kissed my cheek, then, as the front door swung open and Vicki called out again, he disappeared. A victory grin spread across my face, though, as I slid into the car, patting the roll of bills I’d stuffed in my pocket earlier. He clearly didn’t see that thought, and since he didn’t check my purse to see the grand amount of ten dollars I really put in there, he’d never know about it.

Human: one. Vampire: zero.

Vicki parked at the centre of the long, outdoor strip of shops. I jumped out of the car and looked up at the sky. Even though the sun wasn’t shining, as it had been last time I was here, somehow, everything felt so much brighter. The shopping strip was quiet for a Saturday, not that it was usually very busy anyway. It reminded me of my hometown; how there were people out and about, but scattered and far between. I checked my watch, hoping we’d be out of here by the time Emily and Alana came over.

By eleven o’clock, exhausted from moaning and whining my way around the entire shop, I decided enough was enough, but Vicki dragged me to her favourite café and made me order lunch. I just wanted to go home. After trying on thirty dresses, the only one I remotely liked was an emerald-green one—like David’s eyes. But it wasn’t really grand enough, so Vicki said. I thought it was fine.

“So, I still have to find some pretty new underwear and a mask.” I laid my shopping list down on the table beside my plate.

“Well, you can’t get a mask until you have a dress,” Vicki said with a mouthful of salad. “And the underwear you get will depend on the fabric of the dress, too.”

“Why?”

“Because, if you get a satin dress, you won’t want lace underwear.”

“Oh,” I said, swallowing a chunk of salt-coated steak. “I think I’ll just get that green dress then—the satin one. I’m kinda done with shopping for today.”

Vicki stopped chewing, making her glare seem more severe. “Ara. David has given you a lot more than that to spend. The green one’s pretty, but you can do better.”

“I know. But I’m not gonna let him buy the dress, Vicki.”

She looked up quickly.

“You didn’t really think I’d just go along with this, did you?”

She took a deep breath. “I had a feeling you’d protest at some point.”

I smirked, thinking, You’re not as dumb as you look, then.