Valentine's Day Sucks (A Young Adult Romance Novella)
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Who would have thought that a night of babysitting could change her life forever?
Since his little sister bit her in November, Matt Johnson has kept her alive. Only Natalie could have a hot guy climb through her bedroom window every night and have it mean absolutely nothing romantic. Natalie works hard to hide her crush on Matt because the last thing this newly-turned vampire needs to deal with is a broken heart. Her insecurities about Matt come to a head when the mothers insist on them going to the Valentine's dance together. Will this Valentine's Day suck worse than all her previous Valentine's days?
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Valentine's Day Sucks (A Young Adult Romance Novella) - Juli Alexander
Valentine's Day Sucks (A Young Adult Romance Novella)
by Juli Alexander
Copyright 2012 by Juli Alexander
All the characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living, or dead is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved.
No part of the book may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in encouraging piracy of copyrighted materials in violation with the author's rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
Author's Note: Thank you for downloading this short novella. As noted in the retail description, this novella is approximately 62 pages long or 16,000 words. Keep reading at the end for a sample of Stirring Up Trouble, a novel currently available at all major retailers.
Chapter One
At times like this, I was grateful that I hadn't sprouted fangs. My parents would have freaked! Things were bad enough around here with my mother angry about staying home for New Year's Eve.
You haven’t used your gift cards from Christmas, yet,
Mom said, handing me another china plate to dry. I’ve never known you to hold off on shopping for six whole days.
I don't know what I want,
I said as I carefully stacked the plate on the table. I knew exactly what I wanted, of course. Blood, blood, and more blood. I’d thought of nothing else in the months since I’d turned.
I almost smiled as I imagined my mother’s expression if she read that Christmas list.
Remember that you promised me you wouldn’t just order a bunch of sweatshirts and t-shirts, Natalie.
My mother said giving gift cards robbed her of the joy of shopping. She agreed to give them to me only after giving me guidelines on my shopping choices. I didn’t have the luxury of worrying about little, insignificant things like whether my wardrobe was too grungy in her opinion. I had real problems.
I knew my mother was irritated with my behavior. She couldn’t understand why I hadn’t rushed out to the mall with a joyous expression. The holidays had not gone well for me. Today had been one more insufferably long day. My mother was losing patience with me, and if I wasn't careful, she'd lose her temper. Luckily, I could control mine. I had learned to be as apathetic, as close to the I-don’t-care line, as possible. Any strong emotions could prompt me to lose control of myself and my disconcerting appetites.
Your father better plan an amazing Valentine's Day. We've always gone out for a romantic New Year's Eve.
Whatever, I thought. I'd never been a big fan of Valentine's Day. The truth is that Valentine's Day sucks.
A clamor of excited voices from the media room gave me an idea. Should I take Dad and Uncle Jerry some more beer?
Go,
Mom said without looking at me.
My uncle’s visit had ruined my mother’s plans for New Year’s Eve. My father and uncle were having a blast, but Mom wanted her champagne and dancing. I ran to the fridge, grabbed two bottles, and left the kitchen. It wasn't convenient for me either. I’d suffered through days of holiday activities and family traditions. Tonight should have meant freedom for me. My parents should have been out celebrating. And, did I mention that all I could think about was blood?
In the media room, I stepped over my two younger brothers who were lying on the floor to watch the game. Dad, Uncle Jerry, and my oldest brother, Travis, had hogged the media chairs. I set a beer by each of the adults, glared when sixteen-year-old Travis tried to snake Jerry’s half-empty old one, and left the guys to their football.
Once upstairs in my room, I relaxed. I felt in control when I was in my room. Everywhere else, I struggled to behave like a normal person.
I plopped onto my bed. Normal. As if. I hadn’t actually pulled it off. My parents were concerned
about the changes in my personality. I glanced over to see that the drawers of my dresser were all firmly closed. I had purposely left the middle left drawer slightly open, and yes, I did all my own laundry. So the parents had taken time out from our family weekend to search my bedroom. Again.
Mom and Dad had decided their fifteen-year-old daughter was on drugs. How else could they explain the way I’d started keeping my distance from my family? It would never occur to them that I was staying away to protect them. They couldn’t fathom the truth--I didn’t want to accidentally eat them. Or more accurately, drink them.
My parents’ misdirected paranoia made it difficult for me to feed. I couldn’t keep anything in my room, my purse, my backpack. If I could just chew the anti-craving gum or suck on the lozenges that the other vampires used, I wouldn’t be in agony listening to the beating hearts of my family as the blood pumped through their veins. I could deal. I could be around them. Unfortunately, their determination to attribute my weirdness to drugs meant that I couldn’t use the tools to minimize my weirdness.
The soft knock on my window could not have come at a better time. I jumped up, parted the curtains, and opened the window for Matt.
Thanks for remembering to knock,
I said. I didn’t like when he just barged in. Last night, he’d come in ten seconds after I’d changed into my nightgown.
Matt handed me a water bottle. You were pretty clear that my life was in danger if I forgot.
I didn’t bother to answer. I just unscrewed the cap and chugged the synthetic blood in a few seconds. I handed him the empty bottle. Is that all you brought?
I didn’t think you would have room for more. Didn’t you eat a massive dinner?
Each word sounded delicious with his Georgia accent. Not the fake Southern accent they always had on television. A Georgia accent was cultured and confident, and in the right guy, the heat