* * *
The next four days passed in a blur. Kylie tried to talk Del a and Miranda into taking a hike to the fal s, but neither of them wanted any part of it. It appeared that if Kylie wanted to see the fal s, she was going to have to go by herself. There was only one little problem-the thought of facing dancing death angels by herself scared the crap out of her. So she decided to stop fixating over seeing the waterfal s. It wasn't as if she didn't have other things to fixate about. Things like Del a and Miranda's persistent bickering. They continued to fight at least once a day. And Kylie continued to break them up before one of them murdered the other.
Kylie spoke with her mom every morning and night, too. When Kylie didn't cal her, her mom took it upon herself to cal Kylie. The fact that her mom did cal made Kylie more aware that her daddy didn't. She told herself it was simply a male thing, that most men didn't cal unless they had something to say.
Besides, she'd see him Sunday, which was tomorrow. A fact her mother had been a tad upset about. But please, her mom had been the one who told her to ask if he was coming.
And Kylie was glad she had. She real y wanted-needed-to see her dad. And for some reason, probably because she missed him so much, the closer Sunday came, the closer Kylie was to forgiving her dad. Hopeful y, by tomorrow her dad would have missed her enough that he would agree to let Kylie live with him when her two weeks were done at camp.
Kylie ate up about sixty minutes talking and texting Sara, who amazingly had completely recovered from her pregnancy scare and was now back in ful swing with her new boyfriend-a nineteen-year-old cousin of one of her neighbors.
If Kylie read Sara's innuendos correctly, the two of them would be having sex in the near future. Kylie had come so close to reminding her friend what she'd just gone through, but at the last minute, she lost her nerve. That or she simply decided that saying it would accomplish nothing other than to push her best friend further away.
Sara never excel ed at taking advice.
Trey had cal ed twice with the same song and dance. He loved her, he was sorry. If she'd just give him a chance he'd prove how much he loved her.
Kylie suspected his "proof" would include their getting naked. And the more she thought about it, the more inclined she was to keep her clothes on. She'd even asked Trey if he could just be her friend for the summer. But then he'd freaked out when she'd said another boy's name. What would he do if she decided to move on and go out with someone else? Go off the deep end, she suspected. Why couldn't Trey be more like Derek? She'd asked the half Fae to be her friend, and other than tel ing her he had wanted her to kiss him, he had stopped coming on to her.
Oh, he was nice. Always spoke to her, even asked about her problems with her parents. They also talked about Holiday's resentment at both of them for wanting to turn off their gifts. Most days, he would even come and sit with her for at least one of their meals. Nevertheless, everything about his behavior spoke only of friendship.
No more hot lingering gazes up close where she could see the flecks of gold in his eyes.
No more special smiles.
No more feeling his breath on her cheek.
No more touching.
Even when he sat beside her, he always seemed to make sure there was a good six inches of space between them. The fact that she'd see him sitting shoulder to shoulder with other girls stung like a fire ant. She ignored the sting and told herself it was for the best. She was leaving in a little more than a week. And face it, the best things weren't always fun.
For example, learning how to meditate, trying to get to the off switch to cut off the ghosts, was turning into an al -time dreaded chore. Holiday had her hitting the mat three times a day. They'd tried burning incense, counting, music, and even visualization, but nothing seemed to help. Kylie's mind refused to find an altered state of any kind.
Holiday stayed forever hopeful, Kylie not so much. "It wil happen, I promise," Holiday would say after each failed session. For Kylie, it was just more proof that she wasn't one of them. Not that she real y needed more proof, but stil ...
The only thing that left the slightest bit of a question in her mind was that Soldier Dude wouldn't quit showing up. Kylie told Holiday to send him a message to quit wasting her time. Holiday gave Kylie the pat answer of, "It doesn't work like that."
Kylie had learned to hate that saying.
Almost as much as she hated the daily visits with the ghost.
Thankful y, he hadn't gone spastic on her with the blood games again, but just seeing him was starting to give her the heebie jeebies. The way he looked at her, the way he stood, it was eerily familiar. Kylie convinced herself that Holiday had been right. Her night terrors had probably been fil ed with images of him, hence the reason seeing him gave her an odd sense of deja vu.
Holiday had even suggested Kylie try talking to him, but that idea total y creeped Kylie out. She got this mental image of him opening his mouth only to have worms or blood ooze out. Nope, she'd keep her mouth closed and pray he did the same. Thankful y, the last few days she'd pretty much managed to stay out of Lucas's and Fredericka's way. But every morning when she waited to see who drew her name in the Meet Your Campmates Hour, Kylie would hyperventilate, worrying one of them would get it. And today was no different. If they did draw her name, Kylie had already decided to fake a bad headache and beg off. Sure, Fredericka would probably accuse Kylie of being afraid of her. But best to have her accuse Kylie of it than to have her know it for certain. And if Kylie had to spend an hour alone with the she-wolf, Fredericka would for sure smel Kylie's fear.
Kylie stood between Miranda and Del a watching as the campers drew names and announced their companions. Kylie knew Miranda was praying that Chris, a real y cute vampire, would draw her name. Del a never seemed to care who got her name, but yesterday Kylie had seen the way the sneaky vampire kept eyeing Steve, one of the shape-shifters. When Kylie asked Del a about it, she denied it, but Kylie noticed Del a's cheeks had actual y gotten a little color in them. Who knew a vampire could blush?
Derek walked up beside Kylie. "Hey." She smiled. And yeah, maybe her smile was a little wider than normal.
"Hi," he said rather matter-of-factly, and then focused on the campers drawing names. With his attention not on her, Kylie let her gaze move over him. He wore a light green T-shirt that fit tight across his chest. Kylie remembered resting her head against him. She recal ed with clarity how good it had felt, and how when she looked up, his lips had been so close to hers.
Blinking, trying not to let her mind go there, she shifted her gaze away from his chest. He wore khaki shorts that hit almost to the knee. His legs were a bit hairy but not at al skinny. She was moving her gaze up when she noticed the Band-Aid on the middle of his elbow joint. She reached over and pul ed his arm closer. "Is this ... is that ... You gave the blood?"