Chosen at Nightfall

Kylie's day hadn't gotten much better. But it hadn't gotten much worse either. She found herself finding things to be thankful for. Nana used to say whenever you start feeling like the world is taking a bite out of you, bite back by counting your blessings.

And number one on Kylie's blessing list was being back at Shadow Falls. Even with all the issues, she belonged here. Every hour or so, she'd recall how it had felt to be at her grandfather's place. And while she missed the man, and even her great-aunt, she didn't miss the cumbersome feeling that being there brought-the feeling of being in the wrong place.

Number two on that list was that the sword hadn't decided to magically appear again. Of course, it could be waiting for her back at her cabin right now, but she was thankful she didn't have to explain it to anyone for the moment. And last, but not least, on her list was that Mario seemed to have crept back under some dirty, slimy rock again.

At least Kylie didn't feel him, and Miranda agreed that she didn't sense any strangers lingering around.

A part of Kylie wanted to believe he'd just stay there, but part of her still wanted to believe in Santa Claus, too.

Mario would be back. The question was, would she be ready? For the life of her, she didn't have a clue how one prepared to take on someone that powerful, that evil.

Waiting for the last bell to ring and school to be over so she could leave history, she looked up at Mr.

Cary Cannon. He pointed to the written assignment on the board. His starched, white shirt stretched across his broad chest.

Giving Fredericka credit, the teacher wasn't hard on the eyes. If he would lose the tie and dress pants, and put on a T-shirt and pair of jeans, he could look like a student instead of a teacher. Tall, dark, with black eyes, he carried himself well. And taught even better. He obviously had a passion for history, because it came across in his lessons. For a werewolf, he was amazingly friendly. Probably something he'd learned in school.

Kylie had even seen the guy cut his eyes to Fredericka at least a dozen times. That told Kylie that the infatuation wasn't one-sided. She hoped so, for Fredericka's sake at least.

Three minutes later, school over, Kylie stepped out of class. Della, her official shadow, walked beside her. Kylie hadn't gotten a foot out the door when someone grabbed her around the forearm. She almost yelped, but the warmth of the touch told her it was Holiday before she looked back.

"Hey..." Holiday glanced at Della. "I need to borrow Kylie."

"Okay. Are you going to deliver her back to the cabin later? Or do I need to meet you somewhere?"

"I'll walk her back to the cabin."

Della looked a little concerned at having her shadowing duties yanked away.

And she wasn't the only one. "What's wrong?" Kylie asked as soon as Della was out of hearing range."Nothing's, hiccup ... wrong. Except that-" She pointed to her mouth. "Actually, I have a few things to discuss with you, but first things first." She let go of a deep sigh, as if to impart bad news. "I kind of told a roundabout untruth to Burnett. And I kind of need you to back me up."

"You want me to lie to a vampire?" Kylie asked. "Wow, you don't ask very much, do you?"

"No, not lie." Holiday reached back for her hair and twisted it in a knot. "He's not going to ask you anything. I just need you to follow through with something."

"I don't understand."

"Okay, here's what happened. I told Burnett I needed to run to the drugstore and he told me he'd just pick up whatever I needed.

"So I went into this song and dance about how I'd told you that you weren't a prisoner here and I thought you might like to get out. I said you hadn't actually told me this, but I had a feeling you needed something from the drugstore, some tampons or something."

Kylie gasped. "You told Burnett I needed tampons?"

"No, I told him that you hadn't said it, but I had a feeling you might need them. And thankfully it wasn't a lie because Miranda told me while you were away that she had to borrow some of yours."

"Okay...," Kylie said, still not understanding what was really going on. "So..."

"So I need you to come with Burnett and me, and when you go to buy the tampons, I need you to also ...

hiccup ... buy me a pregnancy test."

"Oh, I get it. But what if he asks ... Wait. He won't ask what I bought because he thinks I bought tampons, and guys can't stand any talk of tampons."

"See, I knew you'd get it," Holiday said.

"That's clever," Kylie said.

"You have to be smart to deal with a vampire."

They started walking. "But wait." Kylie stopped. "What kind of test do I buy?"

"I don't know, I've never bought one ... hiccup ... but buy two of them. Different kinds. Something that looks accurate. I'll have Burnett with me helping pick out something for my hiccups."

Kylie tried to think. "How does an accurate pregnancy test look any different from one that's not accurate?"

"Just buy two, but not the cheap ones." Holiday sighed as they made their way down the path back to the office.

"Here." Holiday handed her a couple of bills and Kylie stuffed them in her pocket with her small wallet. "Now that's taken care of, let me tell you the other stuff."

Oh, yeah, the other stuff. "What is it?" Kylie asked, suddenly concerned.

"Your dad called. You need to call him."

"Okay," Kylie said. "Can I use your phone?"

"Yeah." She reached in her pocket and handed Kylie her phone. "And the next thing-"

"There's more?" Kylie asked.

"Yeah. Tomorrow you're getting visitors. If you want them."

"Visitors? Who?" Kylie stuck the phone in her pocket.

"The Brightens. Your real dad's adoptive parents. They are back from Ireland and got all the messages.

They're eager to meet you."Chills ran down Kylie's arms. "I'd almost given up on meeting them."

"Well, they will be here tomorrow, at two, if you agree to it."

Kylie swallowed. "Yeah, of course I want to meet them." And just like that, Kylie started missing her dad again. More than that, she could swear she felt a touch of cold. Cold that reminded her of him. And oh boy, could she ever use a visit from him now.

* * *

When they arrived at the office, Hayden and Burnett were standing by the coffee machine-not talking.

The awkward silence told Kylie that they'd recently halted the conversation when they heard them coming. Meaning they were keeping secrets.

Which frustrated the fire out of her, because after all, this was about her, wasn't it? She almost called them on it, too, but realized an argument might delay the trip into town. And Holiday needed her. So Kylie buried her frustration, vowing it would be unearthed, resuscitated, and dealt with full-force later on.

Holiday cut a glance to Kylie as if she'd read the emotional marathon happening inside her. After a few nods of uncomfortable greetings, Holiday glanced at Burnett. "You ready?"

On the ride to town, Holiday drove and hiccuped the whole way. Burnett fretted over her hiccups and kept a keen lookout as if he was worried Mario would drop in.

"We should call the doctor," Burnett said when Holiday let out another one.

"I'll just pick up some antacid or something," Holiday said.

When they entered the pharmacy, Kylie started to the feminine product aisle. Burnett started after her, but when he saw her walk up to the tampon rack, he turned around.

Kylie saw Holiday pull him with her to a different aisle.

Taking a deep sigh, Kylie went to look for the pregnancy tests. Feeling rushed, she scanned the different packages but was at a loss. There were numerous kinds, each offering a different promise.

Realizing she didn't have time to read them all, she grabbed two and then just to be sure she got the right one, she grabbed another. Checking to make sure no one was looking, she bolted to the pharmacy counter to pay for them. It wasn't until she saw the older man standing there that Kylie realized how hard this was going to be.

The man, an elderly preacher-looking type, was going to think that the tests were for her. Oh, just great.

She swallowed a big lump of embarrassment down her throat. Then, thinking of Holiday, she put the three boxes on the counter.

The man eyed her purchase, then looked up. Kylie could see the judgment in his old gray eyes as a frown marred his face. Lovely! She was getting judged for being pregnant and she was still a virgin.

"Do you know how to use these?" he asked in a very condescending voice.

Kylie felt her face flush red. "I ... will read the instructions."

"Would you like my assistant Angela to speak with you about ... anything?"

Like safe sex, Kylie bet he was thinking. "No," she blurted out. When the man just kept staring at her, she added, "Thank you."

He rang up the items slowly. Kylie's heart beat to a nice, steady rhythm of embarrassment. She opened her mouth to say: "These are for a friend." But what was the chance of him believing that?

"That will be forty-two and ninety-six."Kylie went for the bills Holiday gave her. "Shit," Kylie mumbled when she saw she didn't have enough.

"Excuse me?" the little old man said, now not only offended that she was pregnant but because of her language.

And he should be offended-by the language. She knew better than to curse in public. But face it, the man's opinion of her was already in the pits, what was one little word going to matter? But still, she offered, "Sorry."

"Do you want to buy these or not?"

She nodded. "Yes, it's just ... I don't think I need three. Just two."

Frowning, he looked down at the boxes. "Which one would you like to return?"

She took a deep breath, realizing somewhere along the line she'd stopped doing that.

Then, remembering her mom's credit card-to use only in case of emergencies-she pulled out Holiday's phone and then the little wallet. "Never mind, I'll take them all."

Tossing the card on the counter, she bit down on her lip. She wasn't sure this was the kind of emergency her mom was referring to, but getting away from this man's judging eyes seemed pretty important.

He studied the card carefully.

Friggin' great. Now he was suspecting her of credit card fraud.

"It's good!" Kylie said. "I swear."

He didn't look convinced. "Can I see an ID?"

She heard Burnett and Holiday somewhere a few aisles behind her. Biting her lip, she opened her wallet and let him see her driver's license. She had never seen anyone take so much time reading a license.

Fear that she was going to let Holiday down had her stomach clenching. "I'm kind of in a hurry," Kylie said.

Finally, he dropped her license and finished the transaction. She heard someone shift behind her, and her heart tightened. She glanced down to see shoes, praying they weren't going to be Burnett's tennis shoes.

It wasn't Burnett. A pair of dress shoes, the kind businesspeople wore, adorned the feet of the man standing behind her. Thank God.

The cashier pushed a receipt over to her. "Would you mind some informational pamphlets?" he asked.

"Fine." Kylie signed the receipt then watched him drop sex pamphlets in her bag with the pregnancy tests.

Little did he know, those pamphlets were outdated. She'd read those over a year ago.

When at last he handed her the bag, Kylie swung around to leave, but came to an abrupt stop when she saw the face of the man standing behind her.

"Oh, shit," Kylie said again.