15 Secrets and Spies - My Sister the Vampire (7 page)

Blue Skye blinked. ‘Are you girls expecting another friend to join us? Because I’d be happy to share my threads with her as well.’

‘Um . . .’ Olivia took a deep breath for courage. ‘Actually,’ she said, as gently as she could, ‘we really appreciate the offer, but we’re just browsing
today.’

Blue Skye dropped her hands, her bracelets and bangles clattering loudly. Her smile disappeared as she advanced on Olivia. ‘Browsing is like copping out on
life
,’ she said,
her face flushing red. ‘Do you not understand that? Are you not tired of walking a meandering path, not even in zigzags, but loose circles?’

Olivia’s mouth dropped open. She stared at Blue Skye in flabbergasted silence.
Where is all her serenity now?

‘OK, we have to go.’ Without so much as a glance at Blue Skye, Ivy started for the door. ‘Maya’s walking away. Come on, guys!’

‘Have you not
listened
to a word I told you?’ Blue Skye shouted. ‘You’re following a false path!’

Ducking her head, Olivia scurried after her sister, catching the eye of a uniformed security guard standing nearby with a pained expression. ‘Sorry,’ he muttered to them as they
passed. ‘She, uh . . . really doesn’t like browsers.’

Sophia snorted. ‘We guessed that!’

The shop owner’s shouts didn’t fade away until they’d reached the escalator.

Even as Olivia sagged with relief, she couldn’t stop herself from laughing.
I’ll never think of incense the same way again!

Still smiling, she stepped off the escalator at the second-floor landing . . . and walked straight into her twin. Ivy had stopped dead.

‘I can’t believe it,’ Ivy said blankly. She turned her head back and forth, her gaze criss-crossing the shifting crowds of shoppers that filled the hall and the food court
ahead. ‘I’ve lost track of Maya. How is that even possible? I’m a vam–mmmph!’ She broke off just in time, as Olivia and Sophia both leaped to stop her. ‘I mean,
I’m a
V and she’s a human
,’ she finished irritably. ‘Maya should
not
be giving me the slip like this!’

‘Well, the mall
is
crowded,’ Sophia pointed out, nudging Ivy away from the top of the escalator. A group of girls with bright shopping bags flooded past them, laughing and
talking as they headed for the packed food court. Sophia dropped her voice. ‘Maybe the other shoppers are just too big an obstacle?’

‘Maybe,’ Ivy whispered. ‘But . . .’ Her voice faded away. With a muffled groan, she spun around in a tight circle again and again, looking frantically in every direction
as her eyes grew wider and her expression more tense.

Olivia felt her own chest tightening with anxiety.
This is not Ivy
, she thought.
What’s going on?

Then, Ivy walked to a nearby bench and slumped on to it.

Olivia and Sophia sat down on either side of her. As she watched her sister shake her head and stare into space, Olivia felt a jolt of dread – she had seen Ivy upset and angry before, and
she knew what to do in those situations. She had never seen her sister so confused, so . . .
lost
.

‘It’s going to be OK,’ she said. It was the only sentence that came to mind.

Ivy shrugged, seemingly too tired to argue. ‘I just hate it when things don’t make sense,’ she said. ‘This whole past year, there have been literally only
two
things in my life that have made any sense: my bonds with you two, and my relationship with Brendan. I just . . .’ She took a deep breath, as if she needed a moment to force out her next
words. ‘. . . can’t shake the feeling one of those things is going to change.’

‘Are you kidding?’ Sophia squeezed Ivy’s shoulder. ‘You’re not losing Brendan.’

‘There
must
be a logical explanation for all of this,’ Olivia insisted. ‘We just need to keep our heads, that’s all. Brendan is just not the type to
–’

‘Ivy?’ Two voices spoke over them at the same time, interrupting the moment of privacy.

All three girls jerked upright to find Franklin Grove High’s ‘It’ couple, ‘Famelia,’ standing just in front of them. Goth-Queen Amelia held hands with Skater King
Finn. She had his skateboard tucked under her free arm.

Even in the midst of all her worries, Olivia couldn’t help smiling as she looked at them. After all, bringing these two together had been her greatest matchmaking triumph! And she could
already see how much they’d changed.

Amelia might still be pale of face and goth of fashion, but the stark black of her old attire was broken up with lashings of fabulous purple now. At Amelia’s side, Finn smiled broadly,
apparently in a permanent state of bliss. He obviously knew he was in exactly the right place, with exactly the right girl. Even Amelia, who used to wear a stony expression all day long, kept
breaking out into sunny grins. Although she regularly corrected herself into a tight smirk, as if she were trying to keep up appearances.

Aw
, Olivia thought fondly.
She can’t really help herself!

Amelia’s smirk turned into a look of genuine concern, though, as she looked down at Ivy. ‘Something’s really wrong, isn’t it?’ she asked.

‘Oh . . .’ Taking a deep breath, Ivy shook her head, keeping her eyes lowered. ‘I’m just being silly, that’s all.’

‘You need cheering up.’ Finn scooped his skateboard out of Amelia’s arms and held it out. ‘Why don’t you give this a try?’

Ivy just stared at him, looking as stunned – and wary – as Olivia felt.
Is he serious?

Finn wasn’t usually the type to be mean or sarcastic, but . . .

Oh, what was I thinking?
Meeting Ivy’s eyes, Olivia stifled a giggle.
Of course
Finn was genuine in his offer!

The skater-boy grinned, obviously unoffended by her laughter. ‘Why not?’ he said. ‘It’ll get the endorphins flowing. My gym teacher says that’s a good
thing.’

Despite her concern for Ivy, Olivia couldn’t help the big, goofy smile that spread across her face.
Lincoln Vale isn’t so dangerous after all, is it?
The people of this town
might be a kooky bunch, but most of them were sweet.

‘Thanks, Finn,’ Ivy said, ‘but I’ll pass this time.’

‘If you say so.’ Shrugging, he tucked the skateboard under his arm.

‘We’re on our way to get food,’ Amelia said. ‘Want to join us?’

‘Another time?’ Ivy suggested. ‘We really need to get back to Franklin Grove.’

‘See you at school, then!’ Famelia chorused, and the couple headed off, hand in hand, in perfect harmony.

Ivy jumped to her feet. ‘We should go home,’ she said. ‘Right now.’

Without waiting for a reply, she turned around and walked back towards the escalators. The conversation was clearly over.

Sophia shrugged, her expression hopeless. Olivia’s own shoulders sagged as she watched Ivy step on to the escalators. Her back was rigidly straight, and her fists were tightly
clenched.

She was wound more tightly than ever now their whole crazy mission to find out the truth about Maya had come to nothing. Worse yet, Olivia had no idea how they would even get home from Lincoln
Vale.

Most of all, she just couldn’t believe that Brendan would ever be
that
boy . . . the one who cheated on his girlfriend. Even if Ivy hadn’t been, in Olivia’s opinion,
pretty much the World’s Greatest Human (or
half-
human!), it wouldn’t make any sense.

But she couldn’t deny that something very strange was going on with Brendan. And she couldn’t bear it if he created real heartache for her sister.

Isn’t there enough heartache already in our family?
Judging by Lillian’s recent behaviour . . .

Olivia sighed as she hurried after her twin. Even if Ivy didn’t realise it, there were
two
couples in trouble in their own family, now.
I just have to try to help them
both!

T
hat evening, as twilight spread across Franklin Grove, Ivy started up the steps towards Brendan’s house . . . then turned around and walked
back down.

Stopping at the bottom step, she closed her eyes, gritting her teeth.

You have to do this
, she told herself.

. . .
But what if he tells me it’s all true?

The question brought a strange, heavy feeling to her stomach. It was the same feeling she used to get when her old middle school had served pizzas with garlic, and she’d taken a bite
without checking.

Tipping her head forwards, she thought wistfully back to Franklin Grove Middle School. Life had been so much simpler then. The people were nicer, the homework was easier, and she’d spent
a lot
less time wondering whether her boyfriend was a dishonest, lying –

No!
Everything in her heart shouted the word.
That’s not Brendan!

Something was definitely going on, though, and, like it or not, Ivy
needed
to know what it was before it drove her completely crazy.

Behind her, the front door opened, making her jump.

‘Ivy?’ It was Brendan’s dad, Marc Daniels. ‘What’s wrong?’

Oops. Way to look like an idiot, Ivy!

Ivy tried to put on a smile – but it felt fake, even to her. ‘Nothing,’ she mumbled. ‘I was just passing and I thought I’d drop in on Brendan.’

‘Come on,’ Mr Daniels grinned. ‘You can’t have been “just passing”. You’ve walked up to the door and back twice now.’

Ivy winced. It was no wonder vampire kids grew up to be terrible liars, when the grown-ups had super-hearing.

But that was just one more reminder that Brendan actually
had
been lying to her. So he
must
have had
something
to hide . . .

‘Are you coming in?’ Mr Daniels raised his eyebrows.

‘Um . . . no.’ Ivy sighed. The conversation she had to have with her boyfriend was definitely not one he’d want his dad to overhear. ‘Would you mind calling up to
Brendan, and asking him to meet me out here?’

Mr Daniels’ smile dropped. He stepped outside, closing the door behind him. ‘You’re not here to dump him, are you? I know Brendan can sometimes tell stupid jokes but,
seriously, he
will
grow out of it. All boys do, eventually.’

Argh.
Ivy cringed.
Could this
be
any more awkward?
It was hard enough to work up the nerve to talk with
Brendan
about their relationship, never mind his
dad!

‘I’m not here to break up with him,’ she said, adding silently:
But he might be about to break up with
me.

Anguish shot through her at the thought, but Mr Daniels visibly relaxed. ‘That’s a relief. We’re all very fond of you, Ivy.’ Opening the door wide, he stepped back
inside. ‘Brendan! You have a visitor!’

Brendan clattered down the stairs a moment later . . . and froze as his gaze landed on Ivy, still standing outside.

Aaand . . . that’s not the look of a boy who wants to see his girlfriend.

It was another bad sign, but she couldn’t turn back now.

‘Hey.’ She tried to smile. ‘Do you feel like taking a walk?’

‘I don’t know . . .’ Brendan’s shoulders hunched. ‘I’ve got some homework I really need to do.’

‘Oh, come on, son.’ Mr Daniels gave him a hearty clap on the back. ‘Fresh fall air is
just
the thing to clear out the cobwebs.’

Brendan blinked, looking doubly confused now. ‘OK,’ he mumbled. ‘I’ll just get my coat.’

‘No need. I’ll get it for you.’ Mr Daniels ducked into the hallway and returned with Brendan’s leather coat. In one motion, he thrust it into Brendan’s hands and
gently pushed him towards Ivy. ‘You kids go have fun!’

Brendan’s head was lowered as he joined Ivy, and he didn’t meet her eyes. They both waited until the front door had closed behind them before they started walking. Instinctively, Ivy
reached out to hold Brendan’s hand . . . but her fingers only found his forearm. Both of his hands were buried in his pockets – completely un-holdable.

This is officially the most tense I have ever seen him
, she realised, swallowing hard.
There really must be something worth worrying about.

Trying to look casual, she said, ‘Is there anything you want to . . . talk over?’

Brendan shot her a dark look. ‘What do you mean?’

Ivy tried to keep her voice level. ‘It’s just seemed like you have something on your mind lately. If you ever wanted to talk about anything . . . well, you know I’m here for
you, right?’

Brendan’s lips curved into a smile that looked somewhere between touched and confused. ‘Of course I do,’ he said. ‘You don’t need to prove yourself to
me.’

Aw!
Ivy was already automatically reaching out to take his hand when she remembered and yanked hers back. ‘I’m glad to hear that,’ she said, forging forwards. ‘I
hope you feel like you can always talk to me, no matter what it’s about . . .’ She took a deep breath. ‘And no matter how difficult it might be.’

‘OK . . .’ Brendan came to a dead stop and stared at her. ‘What’s
really
going on here?’