Born at Midnight (18 page)

“So, are they still excavating the site?” Kylie asked. “Couldn’t there be even more dinosaur bones here?”

Lucas turned to her. “Not on camp property, they’re not.” His tone lost its earlier enthusiasm and his focus shifted back to the others so fast Kylie had no doubt that her being here annoyed the hell out of him. Surely he knew she hadn’t chosen to be on his little adventure.

If Kylie had any reservations about his attitude being a figment of her imagination, it died when Miranda whispered, “I don’t see why that bitch Fredericka thinks he’s into you. From what I can see, he barely tolerates you.”

“I know,” Kylie muttered, but even as the words left her lips, she recalled how he’d looked at her last night in her PJs.

“I’ve been thinking about Fredericka and I swear, she’s so evil,” Miranda whispered. “I’ll betcha she wasn’t born at midnight. Some supernaturals lie…”

Kylie nodded, only half listening, and that’s when it hit. “Oh my God, that’s how I can do it. Thank you.” Kylie gave Miranda’s arm a good squeeze, and for the first time she felt as if uncovering the truth was in her reach.

Chapter Twenty-five

That evening, Kylie stayed behind at the cabin when Miranda and Della went to the music get-together at the dining hall. Supposedly, some of the guys were going to sing and had brought guitars, and then, a little later, Holiday and Sky were bringing out some music CDs to play so everyone could dance. Kylie wasn’t feeling in the mood to dance. Or even to listen to music. She had far more important things to do. Sitting at the small desk off the kitchen, she reread the e-mail she’d just written, wondering if she should click send or delete the whole thing.

Hi Mom,

We got computers in our cabin, so I thought I’d e-mail you instead of call.

Truth was, she figured she could lie better in an e-mail than over the phone.

You know how you are always fussing about me going over my minutes. Anyway, I’m doing okay.

Another lie. Nothing felt okay. Well, except her friendship with Miranda and Della.

I have a question. We’re doing some crazy horoscope readings and it’s partly done by comparing your time of birth to that of your parents.

And that was the lie that Kylie had been worrying about saying out loud, but she still felt it was clever.

Can you tell me what time you and Dad were born? And is there any way I could check and see when Nana and Papa were born? What about Grandma and Grandpa Galen? Don’t we have like that family tree thing that Grandma filled out? Did she put the time of their births on it?

Thanks for your help.

Kylie

Kylie’s finger hovered over the send button. She almost added, “please hurry,” but decided not to push her luck. If she acted too anxious about it, her mom would start to ask questions. Best to play it cool.

Taking a deep breath, she hit send. Excitement shot through her. If this worked, she’d have her answer. Or at least, she’d be closer to knowing the truth.

She’d asked Miranda to clarify the whole midnight-born rule, and according to her, there were some humans who were born at midnight. And then there were some supernaturals who were not born at midnight. However, the latter were known as the untouchables—demons, born of the devil.

And while Kylie considered her mom cold, she didn’t consider her evil. If one of her parents were part demon, she would have known. Right?

Then there was the whole probability that it had skipped a generation. Which was why Kylie had asked for her grandparents’ times of birth. She knew she was dreaming that her mom would have that info at her fingertips, but hey, Kylie wanted answers.

And she wanted them now.

*   *   *

Thirty minutes later, Kylie stood guard over the computer, obsessively clicking
NEW MAIL
, when her phone buzzed. She ran to the bedroom to find it. As she hurried through the door, she remembered she hadn’t listened to Trey’s messages yet. He’d called again during dinner, and she hadn’t answered then, either.

She told herself it was because she was surrounded by people who could listen in, but she could have walked outside and taken the call.

She could have, but she hadn’t.

Deep down she knew that meant something. She just wasn’t sure what it meant.

Snatching her phone from the bed, she eyed the screen. Frowning, she took the call.

“Hello, Mom.” Kylie fell on top of the mattress. “Didn’t you get my—”

“E-mail? Yes, but I don’t want to get an e-mail or text. I want to talk to you.”

“Okay.” Kylie listened as the silence filled the line. See, that was the problem with her and her mom. They really had nothing to talk about.

“Did you have a good day?” her mom asked.

“It was okay.” Another awkward moment. “Did you read my e-mail?”

“Yes,” her mom said.

“Can you tell me what time you were born?”

“It was late.”

Kylie’s heart stopped. “How late?”

“I don’t know the exact time. Are they feeding you well?”

Kylie closed her eyes. “It’s camp food, only slightly better than the school cafeteria. Do you have your birth certificate? That should have the exact time.”

“I think it was around eleven. Just say eleven.”

“I need the exact time, Mom,” Kylie muttered. “I told you. It’s for a camp project.”

“My birth certificate is in the closet in that box with all those other important papers and old pictures. It would take me forever to find it.”

“Please?”

“Why is this important? You don’t even believe in horoscopes.”

There were a lot of things I used to not to believe in.
“Like I said, it’s for a camp project. All the kids are doing it.”
Can’t you do that much for me?
“Do you have Dad’s birth certificate?”

“Have you spoken with him?” her mom asked, lowering her voice.

“No,” Kylie answered, and the feeling of abandonment swelled in her chest.

“You’re not angry at him, are you?” her mom asked.

Hell, yes. He left me to live with you.
“Honestly, I don’t know what I’m feeling.”

“It’s not good for you to be angry, Kylie.”

Why not? You stay angry at him.
Right then, Kylie realized something she should have realized long ago. Her mom was forever angry at her dad. Kylie just didn’t understand why.

Her mom sighed. “I need to know if he’s coming on Sunday.”

“Why are y’all doing this?” It was a question Kylie had never asked. She’d always assumed her mom, being her mom, had one of her temper tantrums and told him to get his stuff and leave. She’d even heard her mom tell him to get out a couple of years ago when she’d walked in on them fighting.

“Doing what?” Her mom asked as if she seriously didn’t have a friggin’ clue.

“The divorce. That’s what.”

Silence. “Kylie, that’s between your dad and me.”

“Like it doesn’t affect me? How can you even think this wouldn’t affect me?” Tears filled her eyes.

“I’m sorry this is hurting you, Kylie.” Her mom’s tone came out hoarse. “I never wanted it to hurt you.”

Was the Ice Queen crying?

Kylie closed her eyes and felt a few tears slip down her cheeks. “Will you
please
look for your birth certificates?” she asked, trying to hold back the tears.

“Fine,” her mom said. “I’ll see if I can find them and I’ll e-mail the information to you. If not tonight, tomorrow.”

“Tonight would be better.” Kylie pulled one of her knees to her chest.

“I’ll see,” her mom said. Which meant Kylie could expect it to happen tomorrow. “Promise me you’ll call your dad about Sunday.”

“Bye,” Kylie said.

“Kylie. Promise me.”

The knot tightened in her throat. “Promise.”

Kylie hung up and stared at her phone. What was she going to say to her dad? Oh, hell, why not just do it and get it over with. She started punching in his number, only to realize she’d accidently punched in Nana’s old number.

And just like that, it hit. The swell of grief. She missed her grandmother so much. Missed calling her whenever she had some crazy problem with her mom. Missed the way Nana would pat Kylie’s cheek and say, “It’s all gonna be okay.”

A knock sounded at her bedroom door. “Kylie?” Della’s voice echoed on the other side.

Kylie closed her phone and wiped her tears from her face. “I’m on the phone,” she said. “Can’t visit now.”

“But, I … I have a surprise for you,” Della said.

“I don’t want a surprise.” Couldn’t they just leave her alone? For once?

“I’m opening the door. I hope you’re dressed.”

The bedroom door opened. “I said I…” Kylie’s words evaporated from the tip of her tongue, or maybe they crawled down the back her throat. That might explain her inability to speak. Then again, it was probably just the shock of seeing who stood beside Della.

Chapter Twenty-six

“I found him sneaking into the camp. Better me, I suppose, than one of the others.” Della stared at Kylie. “Do you want to see him?” She gave Trey the up and down look. “He’s kind of cute. If you like his type.”

Kylie opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. So she just sat there with her mouth hanging open like an idiot, staring at Trey.

“Hey.” He pushed Della aside and moved into her bedroom.

“Not so fast!” Della yanked him back a good three feet and looked at Kylie. “You wanna keep him, or should I toss him to the wolves? I heard they’re hungry.”

Trey, looking stunned that Della—only an inch or so over five feet—could move him so easily, rubbed his arm where she’d latched on to him and stared down at her.

“It’s okay,” Kylie managed to say.

“Thanks,” Trey said, cutting Della an odd look, and Kylie wasn’t sure who he was thanking. Her for agreeing to see him, or Della for bringing him here.

“Okie dokie. Later.” Della leaned in. “By the way, no one knows he’s here but me. So you’re gonna have to sneak him out.” Della waved and then stepped out and shut the door.

Trey rubbed his arm one more time and stared at the door before he turned back to her. “That is one weird and strong bitch.”

Kylie’s shot her gaze to the door, afraid Della would storm back in and defend herself. “She’s not a bitch. She’s my friend. What are you … doing here?”

“What do you think I’m doing? I came to see you.”

Kylie shook her head. “You said it would be next week.”

“Yeah, but I have a cousin who lives a couple of miles from here. I talked Mom into letting me come up early so I could see you.” His gaze shot to the phone in her hands. “I called you at least twice and left messages. Didn’t you get them?”

Realizing what he’d done to see her, Kylie felt guilty for not taking his calls or even checking his messages. “I … it’s been crazy.” A few lingering tears slipped from her lashes. She blinked them away and just stared at him. His sandy brown hair hung just a little longer than before and his bangs brushed against his eyebrows. He wore a dark green T-shirt and jeans. Her gaze lowered to his chest. The place she always loved to rest against. Oddly, she remembered him as being buffer. Or was she remembering Derek?

“You’re crying.” He moved in and concern, honest to goodness concern, filled his green eyes. “Are you okay?”

The compassion in his gaze sent a wave of emotion through her. She stopped caring about what he looked like and just wanted to feel loved. She nodded yes, but the truth slipped from her lips. “No. Everything in my life is falling apart.”

Trey moved in and before Kylie could stop him, he was doing what Trey did best, holding her. He’d joined her on the twin bed. Her cheek rested against his chest, and she listened to the steady pounding of his heart. Inhaling his familiar scent, she closed her eyes. She’d give in for a moment. Just a moment. Then she’d push him away.

“Is this about your parents’ divorce?” His hands moved tenderly against her back. His touch felt good. Familiar. Normal. Life the way it should be. Like the way it was less than a month ago.

“That and everything else,” she said, accepting that she couldn’t tell him about the camp and what was happening to her.

“You mean your grandma?” he asked. “I know you two were close.”

“Yeah.” She pulled back, wiped her eyes, and stared at him stretched out beside her on the tiny twin bed. Silence and sudden physical awareness vibrated in the small room. They were alone. They were in a bed.

It wasn’t as if they hadn’t been in bed together before. He’d visited her several times when her parents hadn’t been home. And they had met at Sara’s house a couple of times when her parents hadn’t been there. It was just … those were the times that things usually went too far. When telling him to stop had made him mad.

“My camp is right next to yours,” he said.

She nodded and then blurted out what she needed to say to him before she lost her nerve. “You shouldn’t have come here, Trey. I have no idea what kind of trouble I’ll get into if we’re caught.” She did know the number one rule posted: no normals allowed on camp property without permission. And here she was with one stretched out in her bed. It felt wrong. But it still felt right.

“I miss you, Kylie,” he said, ignoring what she’d said to him. “Really miss you.” He reached up and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

She swallowed. “I miss you, too, but—”

He leaned in and placed a soft kiss beside her lips. Whatever she was about to say got lost in her head. She closed her eyes and even while a little voice inside her told her to stop him, she didn’t want to stop this. She wanted him to kiss her, to make her forget.

Oh, yes, she wanted to forget.

His mouth touched hers, slow at first, as if making sure she wanted it, and then he slipped his tongue into her mouth. She loved it when he kissed her like that.

The next thing Kylie knew, Trey had his hand up the back of her shirt and if she didn’t stop him, she knew what came next. He would undo her bra. He would touch her breasts, and it always felt so good when he touched her. There was even that one time that she’d let him take her shirt off.

She felt his hands on her bra hook. He deepened the kiss, as if to distract her. She decided to let him do it, too.

But then what?
The question bounced around her head. She would stop him, right? She always stopped him. That was the reason he’d dumped her, the reason he’d hooked up with that other girl.

That was when he’d broken her heart.

Opening her eyes, Kylie broke the kiss.

His eyelids fluttered open and she stared at his eyes, searching for a reason
not
to stop him this time. She wanted to lose herself in his eyes … to see the gold flecks sparkle.

Oh crap! Trey didn’t have gold flecks in his green eyes. Derek had the eyes that pulled her in. Shocked, she put a hand on Trey’s chest and recalled how good it had felt to lean against Derek’s chest just this morning—how she had felt safe and accepted. “I … maybe we shouldn’t—”

“Shh. Please don’t say it.” He put his finger over her lips. “This feels so good, Kylie. And I want to hold you like this, I want to touch you.” His hand shifted around to her front and softly passed over her bra, making her breast feel tight. “What’s wrong with us being together if we love each other? And you know that’s how I feel, don’t you? I love you.”

I love you.
Those three little words played like a slow song in her head. He moved in again for another kiss. She wanted to be loved so badly. And it did feel good, Kylie admitted to herself. It helped her forget.

She let herself become lost in his kisses again. Lost in how his hands moved over her naked skin over her back up to the bra latch. Unlike before, he had her bra unclasped in seconds.

Probably because he’d had practice.
Okay, that thought put an end to the warm emotions swirling inside her. Or was it the cold that suddenly invaded the room? Oh, gawd, Soldier Dude was back.

Here.

Now.

Watching her make out with Trey.

“Okay, sorry. I can’t do this.” She pulled away and stood beside the bed, not looking anywhere but at Trey.
Go away,
she told the coldness, and squeezed her eyes closed.

When she opened her eyes, she felt the chill fade. She focused again on Trey, stretched out on the bed frowning at the ceiling.

“Not again,” Trey muttered, and he sounded angry. He always got a little mad when she first stopped him. One time, he even dropped her off at her house without speaking to her.

Without wanting to, she found herself comparing him to Derek. Not just his body, in that Derek won hands down, but his attitude. For some reason, she didn’t think Derek would pressure her so hard to give it up.

And then pout like a spoiled brat when she refused.

A tiny ribbon of anger swirled around her other emotions, overpowering passion and hunger and even her fear. “Who do you think you are, Trey? You can’t just come into camp and expect me to have sex with you, especially after everything that’s happened.”

He sat up and brushed a hand over his face. “I didn’t come here expecting to have sex.” He let go of a deep gush of air. “I came to talk. Fine … yeah, I want sex, too. And I don’t understand why you keep—”

“You want it enough that you’d break up with me and find someone who would give it to you?” Why she’d asked that she didn’t know, because it had already happened.

He frowned.

“Did you sleep with her?” Kylie asked. In her heart she already knew the answer, but for some reason she needed it confirmed.

He didn’t say a word. He didn’t have to. The confirmation was all over his face.

“Did you tell her you loved her, too?” The thought stung like a paper cut right across the heart.

Even more guilt filled his eyes, and then he shook his head and fell face-first into denial. “No, I didn’t sleep with her. And why would I tell her I love her, when I love you?”

Kylie didn’t have Della’s super lie-detecting skill, but she knew he’d just lied to her. Knew it with certainty and she wanted to throw something at him. “Don’t lie, Derek.”

“Derek?” He sat up in bed. “Who the hell is Derek?”

“Trey,” she snapped.

“Who’s Derek?” Trey asked again.

She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. We … you and I aren’t together anymore.”

“So you’re together with him?”

She shook her head. Then, realizing what a mistake this had been, she faced the fact that this was partly her fault. “I’m sorry. I should have just told you no when you asked if I would see you. I can’t see you now or next week.”

He looked so hurt. Just as she’d known he’d been lying about sleeping with that girl, Kylie knew the hurt on his face was real. Trey did care about her. He’d just cared about having sex more.

“Are you seeing someone else? Is that who Derek is?” He jumped off the bed and stopped right in front of her. “I know I screwed up, Kylie. But … please, give me another chance. I really miss you.” He reached out to touch her.

She pushed his hand back. “I believe you miss me, Trey. I do. But I can’t do this now.”

“We don’t have to have sex. We can just talk, okay? I’ll wait until you’re ready, I swear. Let me take you out for a pizza or something. I drove my dad’s truck and—”

“I already ate dinner. Where did you park the truck?”

“At the front gate, but please…”

“I can’t,” she said.

“Don’t tell me you don’t care about me anymore. We dated for almost a year.”

“I don’t know what I feel.” She reached back under her shirt and rehooked her bra. “I’m confused about everything right now … except that I know you hurt me, Trey. When school starts up, maybe we can … talk. But right now I have to get you out of this camp before something bad happens.”

“Like what?” he asked. Something close to disgust crossed his face. “Is it true what they say about this place?”

“What who says?” she asked.

“My cousin and the other campers from last year. They say that all the kids who attend here are juvenile delinquents who were into really weird crap. Real freaks.”

Only a few days ago, she would have totally agreed with him, but now … “Don’t believe everything you hear.” She reached down and found her phone on the bed. “Just trust me on this, okay? You’ve got to go.” She gave him a nudge toward the door.

She took him through the woods, staying a few feet from the trail back to the dining hall. Once there, she peered around a tree to make sure the coast was clear. The muscles in her gut relaxed a little when no one was hanging outside. She hurried Trey past the entrance and breathed a sigh of relief when they moved behind the gate to his truck.

He looked down at her. “I do love you,” he said.

She only nodded and motioned for him to go.

He reached out and she let him hug her. She even returned the embrace. Her emotions started zipping all over the place again. Deep down, she admitted that while she didn’t think she’d ever forgive Trey for dumping her, a small part of her still cared about him. And who knew, maybe by the time school started up again, she’d feel differently. But as for now …

As he drove away, Kylie stayed in the parking lot until his taillights faded into the darkness. Standing there, she hated how alone she felt.

When she turned around, she realized she’d been wrong. She wasn’t alone. Just friggin’ great. Someone stood by the gate, watching her. Kylie couldn’t make out who it was, but she prayed it wasn’t Holiday or Sky. As she got closer, she recognized her lone watcher.

It wasn’t Sky or Holiday.

It was worse.

Fredericka.

Determined not to show any fear, Kylie walked right past her. She got almost to the dining hall when the girl whizzed by and came to a sudden stop in front of Kylie.

She managed to stop right before slamming into the she-wolf.

“So, Ghost Girl had company, huh?” Fredericka said in a condescending voice. “What have you been doing? Screwing in your cabin?”