Free Birth of the Vampire (The Vanderlind Realm) by Gayla Twist

“Jessie said the same thing about you not half an hour ago.” I shook my head and shrugged. “I just can’t understand it. The whole notion is so provincial.”
    The mortal drew breath, and I could tell she intended to contradict me, but then a few more mortal girls fluttered over, and we had to turn the conversation to less-intriguing topics.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 12
    Haley
     
     
    As we walked into the party, I felt a little sick. This wasn’t how I’d imagined the evening. Tommy didn’t have his arm around me. His friends wouldn’t call out greetings and then do a double take before accepting me as one of their own. Instead, I was an interloper.
    The party was on the back patio of a house. We didn’t even go inside; we just entered through a side gate. It was pretty damn cold to have a Christmas Eve party outside, but there were heat lamps set up and twinkle lights strung across the yard. A bunch of kids had already arrived, and there was music coming from somewhere. Everyone was chatting and looking relaxed. No one appeared to have their guts clenched up inside them like they were going to vomit up the few carrot sticks that they’d munched on while a new friend did their makeup.
    I had to wonder if I had some kind of social anxiety disorder or if I really was just a total loser. Because even though I’d entered the party with a group of giggling girls, I still felt uncomfortable. I knew I didn’t fit in. Erika had done her best to camouflage me as a member of the in crowd, but I felt like every guest could see right through me for the unwanted loser that I was.
    It didn’t help that some random girl immediately stormed up to me and demanded, “What the hell are you doing here?”
    I had no idea what she was talking about. My heart was in my throat, but I managed to shrug and said, “It’s a party.”
    “Yeah, but it’s an exclusive party,” she told me.
    “Relax, Sheila,” Erika said, walking over to stand by my side. “She came with us.” I really was starting to absolutely love Erika.
    Ashley whipped her head around, a horrified expression on her face. I guess she hadn’t realized that there was going to be an announcement that we’d all arrived together. “Well, like, she has a car and no one else had a ride, so …” She gave a cutesy little shrug like that explained everything. She obviously didn’t want to be seen with me, but a ride was a ride, after all.
    Erika rolled her eyes and shook her head, flashing a disgusted look in Ashley's direction. “She came with me,” she said to the confrontational girl, who was apparently the notorious Sheila. “We’ve been hanging out all afternoon.”
    “As if that’s an excuse,” the other girl said. She opened her mouth to share more of her opinion about my attendance when the hostess of the party hurried over.
    “Erika, hi,” Blossom Coster said, inserting herself between Sheila and me. “I’m so glad you could make it. Who’s your friend?”
    “You know Haley,” Erika said. “She moved here a couple of months ago.”
    “Haley. Oh, hi.” Blossom flashed me a big smile. “I’m sorry. Of course I know who you are. I just didn’t recognize you.”
    “Hi,” I said, immediately feeling grateful toward the hostess for elbowing Sheila out of the way. “I know I wasn’t exactly invited, but thanks for having me.”
    “It’s not exactly a fancy invitation-type party,” Blossom assured me. “You go to Tiburon and you’re friends with Erika, so that’s good enough for me.” She gestured toward a table with an actual tablecloth that was ladened with food. “Help yourself to something to eat. There’s punch, but watch out because it has a special