"No, calm down. He wiped off your blood from your knee. That's all."
"Why would he do that?" she wondered. "There's more, isn't there?"
"Not really. He didn't bite you. That's all you need to know."
"But he wiped it off. I remember."
"Yes, he did."
"But what did he do with the blood?" she asked, trying to remember. Then she looked at me as2emked at if she already knew the answer.
I reluctantly nodded, recalling how he put his bloodstained finger to his mouth.
"Oh, gross!" She covered her ears. "I don't want to hear."
"You just told me you want to know everything."
"I didn't need to know that part. I feel woozy." Then, suddenly, she clutched my shirt. "Will I turn into a vampire?" she asked desperately.
"No. You are no more a vampire than I am."
"Are you sure?"
"Dead sure."
My best friend sighed with relief.
"No, you have to be bitten for that to happen," I said with a sigh of my own. But there was something I wasn't sure she knew. Something I wanted to have happen to me. "And if the vampire bites another on sacred ground, then they are bonded together for eternity," I said. "Isn't that romantic?"
"Uh ... yes. I guess," she said uneasily. "But what is sacred ground?"
"A burial site. A cemetery. Or a tomb. But Alexander took my blood, too," I said, not wanting to feel left out of the drama. "Not on sacred ground, but like Sebastian did to you. Only it was really magical for us."
"Well, it would be to you, but to me, it's completely gross. I think I will stick with Matt. Fortunately for me the only thing he likes to drink is Gatorade." We both laughed at the extraordinary situation that was now our reality.
"But do you still want to be a vampire now that you know the truth?" Becky asked.
"I've known for a while."
"I know. But seeing them interact - their lifestyle and their needs. Do you really want to be one like you've always wanted to before?"
"Yes. More so than ever."
She nervously twisted the ends of her hair and took a moment to process my answer.
"Would we still be able to be best friends?" Becky seemed seriously worried.
"Why not?"
"Because if youxtrcause i are a vampire ... you wouldn't be going to school anymore. I'd miss you in classes, lunch, and after school. I'd only be able to see you a few hours in the evenings. Who would I talk to at school?"
"Matt."
"But you are my best friend."
"I would still be your best friend. Nothing will change that."
"I need girl time. I can't imagine going to school without you."
Her words hit me like a dagger in my heart. I didn't want to hurt Becky by becoming what I wanted to be. I'd always thought about the positives of being a vampire, with one of the best being that I wouldn't have to go to school during the day anymore. But I hadn't thought about the downside - not seeing my best friend, Becky, every day.
"Well, we don't have to worry about that now." I tried to ease her mind. "Alexander isn't planning on turning me any time soon - at least not that I know of."
"It must be hard for him, being a vampire and loving a human."
"I think it is. He tells me so."
"Maybe that's why you two get along so well. You both understand and crave the other's world." I leaned back in my swing. "Yes. I crave it even more since I met Alexander. I feel like I'm only a step away."
"Really. So soon?"
"I don't know. I just want it so bad."
"We only have one more year in school before college," she said. "I'm hoping you'll at least wait until then?" I could feel the sense of dread coming from Becky regarding this change. It could have simply been college - but this matter was also about a life change.
I could feel the sense of dread coming from Becky regarding this change. It could have simply been college - but this matter was also about a life change.
Becky and I had been best friends since third grade. Our friendship wasn't something either one of us was prepared to give up - and I had truly never thought about that when I envisioned being a vampire.
"I'd die without you, Raven," she burst out, hopping off her swing.
"Me too, Becky," I said, following after her. "Nothing will keep us apart."
"Not college - " she urged.
"Or the Underworld," I added. I was surprised I said it. It was new to me to be able to share the secret I'd been holding about Alexander, the Maxwells, and Sebastian.
Her smooth forehead wrinkled in shock. She was still getting used to the idea of the new reality herself.
"Besides, it isn't something we have to deal with now." I tried to reassure her. "Alexander hasn't walked me down the cemetery aisle yet, has he? And neither one of us has really talked about college."
"We'll agree to go to the same one, then. You and me and Matt and Alexander."
"Duh!" I said. I didn't imagine Becky was planning to go to some fancy-schmancy college with outrageous tuition and a billion miles from Dullsville.
"Even if we have to meet in night classes," she added.
"Agreed!" I put my arm around her shoulder.
"But what if you don't wait until then?" she asked. "Alexander gave you that eternity ring." She pointed to my ring finger.
I never took off the glistening ring with a black diamond heart in the center. Not even in the shower or when I slept.
"Yes ... but..."
"I see the way Alexander looks at you. Now that I know the truth, I know what he is thinking. I thought it was just his European charisma." She laughed. "But it's not, Raven. He wants you in a way that is not..."
"Human?" I asked.
She nodded her head.
I felt a huge beam of warm energy flood through me. But what I took as a compliment from Becky was something she meant as a big concern.
Though I felt melancholy about any type of change that led my best friend and me to being apart even for a minute, I did like the reassurance from someone else that Alexander craved me in a way that only a vampire could.
"It will be okay, Becky," I said. "No matter what happens between Alexander and me, you and I will always be best friends. You can count on that forever." Becky and I gave each other a quick hug before heading off to her truck to get some coffee.
I was ready for an eternity with my true love, but not an eternity apart from my best friend.