Hopefully, that time would come before Halloween and the ball he was supposed to attend. Knowledge was power and Aden had a feeling he would need all the power he could get to face Victoria’s dad. He loved her, planned to be a part of her life for as long as he had left, and her father’s permission would help. As it was, he wasn’t likely to gain it. He was a troublemaker, a “schizo.”
“We’ll learn about you, don’t worry,” Mary Ann said, probably sensing the direction of his thoughts.
They drove to her house, and this time Aden obeyed the speed laws. He couldn’t risk being pulled over. To his disappointment, no package was waiting on Mary Ann’s porch, and Riley and Victoria were not there, either. Where were they?
“Your dad’s still at work, right?” he asked before stepping foot in the house.
“Yeah. He won’t be home for hours yet.”
“Then I’ll stay. For a little while, at least.”
“Just…promise me you won’t talk about what’s happening, the past, the future. I just can’t handle it right now.”
She was pale. “I promise,” he said.
They climbed the stairs and turned on the TV, as if this were a normal day and they themselves were normal. For the first time in his life, he was able to enjoy a show without any distractions.
The package never arrived. Neither did Riley nor Victoria. He couldn’t wait it, or them, out. If he didn’t return to school and walk home with Shannon as if he’d been there all day, he’d ruin all of Victoria’s hard work.
He glanced out Mary Ann’s bedroom window. Victoria’s car was still parked there. He’d use it one more time, he decided, but he wouldn’t leave it at Crossroads High. He’d park a block away and hide it in the woods until the vampire could retrieve it.
“Lock your doors when I leave,” he said. “If you hear from Riley or Victoria, call the D and M. I don’t care if it gets me in trouble. I’d rather be punished than worry.”
She nodded, hugged him. “Be careful.”
“You, too.”
CHAPTER 20
Of course, Mary Ann’s package came at seven that evening, the last delivery of the day. Her dad was home, in his office, probably poring over his notes about Aden, trying to think up a rational reason he’d been able to claim a friendship with Mary Ann years before he’d actually met her.
She was about to open the package when she realized Penny was tentatively scaling the steps.
“Hey,” Penny said.
Mary Ann froze.
They stood facing each other for an eternity, silent, unsure. Mary Ann had avoided her so steadfastly, her friend had eventually stopped calling, stopped seeking her out at school. Or maybe Penny hadn’t been there. Sadly, she couldn’t be sure. She’d been too preoccupied.
“Hey,” Penny said again.
“Hey.”
Penny gazed down at her hands, fingers twisting together. She looked awful. Defeated. How long had it been since Mary Ann had seen the girl’s usual sparkle?
“How are you?” Mary Ann asked, not knowing what else to say.
“I could be better. Morning sickness has been a bitch.” That flat tone hurt more than it should have, all things considered. “My parents want me to get rid of the baby.”
“Are you?”
“Yes. No. Maybe.” A sigh. “I don’t think so. I hate Tucker, but the baby is also a part of me, you know? I want it. I think.”
Tucker was a demon. Would that mean the child Penny carried also carried that taint? She’d wondered before, but now, with Penny right in front of her, that didn’t seem to matter. “That’s good.” Yes or no, a baby was a baby. Innocent and precious.
Silence met her words, heavy, oppressive.
“I miss us,” Penny suddenly burst out. “I want us to be the way we were. I’m so sorry for what I did to you. I was drinking, but that’s no excuse. I knew better. Oh, God, Mary Ann. I’m so sorry.” Tears streamed down her cheeks. “You have to believe me.”
Mary Ann waited for the sense of betrayal to surface, but it never did. For all she knew, Tucker could have used his power of illusion on her friend, making her more susceptible to him. Besides, she hated seeing Penny like this, so torn up, so beaten down.
“I believe you,” she said. “I don’t think we can go back to the way we were, not yet, but I do believe you.”
Penny regarded her for a moment, then whimpered and rushed forward, throwing herself against Mary Ann. Mary Ann gasped in surprise. But as Penny cried, she couldn’t help but hold her, tracing her free hand along her friend’s spine and uttering soothing coos.
As Riley had said, everyone made mistakes. This was Penny’s, and if Mary Ann wanted the girl in her life—and she was beginning to think that she did, for she, too, missed their friendship—she had to forgive.
“I’m so sorry. I swear I am. I’ll never do anything like that again. You can trust me. I learned my lesson. I swear to God I did.”
“Shh, shh. It’s okay. I’m not mad at you anymore.”
Penny pulled back, though she kept her arms tight around Mary Ann’s middle. “You’re not?”
“You’re an important part of my life. I don’t know how long it’ll take for me to trust you again, but it no longer seems impossible.”
“I don’t deserve you.” Penny swiped at her face with the back of her wrist. “I know I don’t, and I know I should walk away from you and leave you in peace, but I just can’t. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. You understand me in ways no one else ever has, and I’ve hated myself since this thing with Tucker. I wanted to tell you, I did, but I was so afraid of losing you.”
“You’re not going to lose me. I need you, too.” She saw that now. The tension that had settled on her shoulders since seeing all those creatures in town had just kind of melted away with Penny’s appearance. Was this how Mary Ann made Aden—and Tucker—feel? “Besides, you did me a favor. I’d needed to kick Tucker out of my life. You gave me the push to actually do it.”
That earned her a watery smile. “He is a jerk, isn’t he?”
“Beyond a doubt. Does he plan to help you—”
Penny was shaking her head before Mary Ann could finish the sentence. “He let me know he wants nothing to do with me or the kid.” Her chin trembled and the moisture in her eyes once again spilled over. “I’m on my own.”
“Well, you’ve got Aunt Mary Ann. I’ve never been around kids, but I’m willing to learn.”
She was awarded another smile, this one reminiscent of the old Penny. “I have to get back. I’m grounded for being a slut, as my mom says, but I want to get together with you soon. I want to talk.”
“Absolutely. I want to hear all about the baby.”
Penny rubbed the slight bump in her belly, one Mary Ann hadn’t noticed before. “I love you, girl.” She kissed her cheek and walked away, her step much lighter than when she’d first approached.
Mary Ann watched her until she disappeared inside her house. What a day.
She opened the package eagerly, wishing Aden, Riley and Victoria were with her so they could share this moment together. But she still hadn’t heard from the latter two, and didn’t want to contact the first without news of their friends.
When she read over Aden’s birth certificate, she made note of the hospital where he’d been born—St. Mary’s—the names of his parents—Joe and Paula Stone—as well as his birthday—December twelfth. Funny. Her birthday was December twelfth, as well.
She read over her own certificate next. Shook her head. Stared. The words never changed. She stumbled backward, reeling. This wasn’t right. Couldn’t be right. She’d never thought to ask her dad where she’d been born, but she, too, had entered the world at St. Mary’s. Worse, the woman she’d called Mom her entire life was not her mother after all.
Everything suddenly made sense. How she could look like the woman who had raised her, but not be that woman’s biological child. How her dad had had two wives.