Free 11 Flying Solo - My Sister the Vampire by Sienna Mercer Page B

little girl!’ Whoa, where did that come from?
    Garrick’s face darkened. ‘I’ll bite you for that.’
    The boys tightened the circle around her. Garrick bared his teeth. Suddenly Olivia felt suffocated.
    ‘Get away from me, or I’ll . . . I’ll –’
    ‘You’ll what   ?’ interrupted Garrick nastily. ‘You don’t have your sister now. You don’t even have your Hollywood boyfriend. Like you were ever going to keep him !’ Garrick spat the last word, bringing his face close. ‘A-list stars don’t date nobodies. And without him and Ivy, that’s what you are – a nobody.’
    Olivia could feel her face crumpling. Then . . . Ding, ding! Ding, ding! Was that a bicycle bell? A figure appeared from around the corner, riding a blue vintage-style bicycle. She leaned low over her handlebars, aiming straight for the Beasts. They leaped out of the way as the girl slammed on her brakes and sent the back wheel skidding out so that the boys’ legs were nearly knocked out from under them. They scattered just in time, yelping in protest. One of them fell on the ground, limbs flailing. The others bent to help him up, dusting him down. Looking at them over the handlebars of the bike was Holly.
    ‘Are you crazy?’ yelled Garrick.
    Holly was wearing a long, flower-power summer dress, and a camera dangled round her neck. Her hair was dyed with gorgeous bright red streaks.
    ‘You could have hurt someone,’ said another Beast, as Holly came to a stop next to Olivia.
    Olivia furrowed her eyebrows and got up in Garrick’s face. ‘You guys are so tough until somebody stands up to you, isn’t that right?’
    He stepped back, rubbing the back of his neck. ‘Whatever,’ he mumbled.
    Holly tapped her camera. ‘You guys better leave or I’ll take a few more pictures of you harassing an innocent girl. How would you like that?’
    Garrick’s eyes widened, and he held up his hands in surrender. ‘OK, OK. We’re going!’
    Olivia knew that Garrick wouldn’t want the authorities looking at those pictures. That might lead to people snooping around, and if the vampire community wanted to maintain their secrecy, they couldn’t afford any prying. The Beasts were dumb, but they weren’t that dumb.
    She could feel her whole body trembling as they backed away, and she loosened the silk scarf at her throat. Thank goodness Holly turned up when she did . Olivia hated to admit it, but she hadn’t been sure how she was going to hold it together just then.
    Garrick grabbed his basketball and motioned for the other Beasts to follow, throwing a final filthy look in Olivia’s direction. They wandered off, grumbling and playfully shoving each other.
    ‘That’s it,’ called Holly after them. ‘Go home . . . and take a shower!’ She turned to Olivia, cupping Olivia’s elbow. ‘Are you OK?’
    ‘Yeah.’ She smoothed her skirt. ‘It’s not the first time I’ve had a run-in with those boys.’ But the mention of Jackson had shaken her in a way that none of the other close calls had. Olivia hugged her arms to her chest. The Beasts had actually been right about one thing: she didn’t have Jackson and she didn’t have Ivy. For the first time ever, Olivia Abbott was lonely.
    Holly stared after Garrick and Co. as they walked away. ‘Does this sort of thing happen a lot in Franklin Grove?’ She dismounted her bike.
    ‘It’s almost like an occupational hazard,’ said Olivia, remembering again her first day at school, when Ivy had saved her from being picked on by the Beasts.
    ‘Come here and take a breather,’ Holly told Olivia, leading her to a bus-stop bench. They sat down together and Holly positioned her camera on her lap. She clicked the ‘ON’ button and the viewfinder lit up. ‘Want to see some of my photos?’ she asked.
    ‘Sure.’ Olivia nodded. Her voice sounded smaller than usual.
    Holly began scrolling through the pictures stored on her camera. The first one was of a brightly painted sign that read, ‘Franklin