Born At Midnight

That evening, Kylie stayed behind at the cabin when Miranda and Del a went to the music get-together at the dining hal . Supposedly, some of the guys were going to sing and had brought guitars, and then, a little later, Holiday and Sky were bringing out some music CDs to play so everyone could dance. Kylie wasn't feeling in the mood to dance. Or even to listen to music. She had far more important things to do. Sitting at the smal desk off the kitchen, she reread the e-mail she'd just written, wondering if she should click send or delete the whole thing. Hi Mom,

We got computers in our cabin, so I thought I'd e-mail you instead of call.

Truth was, she figured she could lie better in an e-mail than over the phone.

You know how you are always fussing about me going over my minutes. Anyway, I'm doing okay. Another lie. Nothing felt okay. Wel , except her friendship with Miranda and Del a.

I have a question. We're doing some crazy horoscope readings and it's partly done by comparing your time of birth to that of your parents. And that was the lie that Kylie had been worrying about saying out loud, but she stil felt it was clever. Can you tell me what time you and Dad were born? And is there any way I could check and see when Nana and Papa were born? What about Grandma and Grandpa Galen? Don't we have like that family tree thing that Grandma filled out? Did she put the time of their births on it?

Thanks for your help.

Kylie

Kylie's finger hovered over the send button. She almost added, "please hurry," but decided not to push her luck. If she acted too anxious about it, her mom would start to ask questions. Best to play it cool.

Taking a deep breath, she hit send. Excitement shot through her. If this worked, she'd have her answer. Or at least, she'd be closer to knowing the truth.

She'd asked Miranda to clarify the whole midnight-born rule, and according to her, there were some humans who were born at midnight. And then there were some supernaturals who were not born at midnight. However, the latter were known as the untouchables-demons, born of the devil.

And while Kylie considered her mom cold, she didn't consider her evil. If one of her parents were part demon, she would have known. Right?

Then there was the whole probability that it had skipped a generation. Which was why Kylie had asked for her grandparents' times of birth. She knew she was dreaming that her mom would have that info at her fingertips, but hey, Kylie wanted answers. And she wanted them now.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Kylie stood guard over the computer, obsessively clicking NEW MAIL, when her phone buzzed. She ran to the bedroom to find it. As she hurried through the door, she remembered she hadn't listened to Trey's messages yet. He'd cal ed again during dinner, and she hadn't answered then, either.

She told herself it was because she was surrounded by people who could listen in, but she could have walked outside and taken the cal . She could have, but she hadn't.

Deep down she knew that meant something. She just wasn't sure what it meant.

Snatching her phone from the bed, she eyed the screen. Frowning, she took the cal .

"Hel o, Mom." Kylie fel on top of the mattress. "Didn't you get my-"

"E-mail? Yes, but I don't want to get an e-mail or text. I want to talk to you."

"Okay." Kylie listened as the silence fil ed the line. See, that was the problem with her and her mom. They real y had nothing to talk about.

"Did you have a good day?" her mom asked.

"It was okay." Another awkward moment. "Did you read my e-mail?"

"Yes," her mom said.

"Can you tel me what time you were born?"

"It was late."

Kylie's heart stopped. "How late?"

"I don't know the exact time. Are they feeding you wel ?"

Kylie closed her eyes. "It's camp food, only slightly better than the school cafeteria. Do you have your birth certificate? That should have the exact time."

"I think it was around eleven. Just say eleven."

"I need the exact time, Mom," Kylie muttered. "I told you. It's for a camp project."

"My birth certificate is in the closet in that box with al those other important papers and old pictures. It would take me forever to find it."

"Please?"

"Why is this important? You don't even believe in horoscopes."

There were a lot of things I used to not to believe in. "Like I said, it's for a camp project. Al the kids are doing it." Can't you do that much for me? "Do you have Dad's birth certificate?"

"Have you spoken with him?" her mom asked, lowering her voice.

"No," Kylie answered, and the feeling of abandonment swel ed in her chest.

"You're not angry at him, are you?" her mom asked.

Hell, yes. He left me to live with you. "Honestly, I don't know what I'm feeling."

"It's not good for you to be angry, Kylie."

Why not? You stay angry at him. Right then, Kylie realized something she should have realized long ago. Her mom was forever angry at her dad. Kylie just didn't understand why.

Her mom sighed. "I need to know if he's coming on Sunday."

"Why are y'al doing this?" It was a question Kylie had never asked. She'd always assumed her mom, being her mom, had one of her temper tantrums and told him to get his stuff and leave. She'd even heard her mom tel him to get out a couple of years ago when she'd walked in on them fighting.

"Doing what?" Her mom asked as if she seriously didn't have a friggin' clue.

"The divorce. That's what."

Silence. "Kylie, that's between your dad and me."

"Like it doesn't affect me? How can you even think this wouldn't affect me?" Tears fil ed her eyes.

"I'm sorry this is hurting you, Kylie." Her mom's tone came out hoarse. "I never wanted it to hurt you."

Was the Ice Queen crying?

Kylie closed her eyes and felt a few tears slip down her cheeks. "Wil you please look for your birth certificates?" she asked, trying to hold back the tears.

"Fine," her mom said. "I'l see if I can find them and I'l e-mail the information to you. If not tonight, tomorrow."

"Tonight would be better." Kylie pul ed one of her knees to her chest.

"I'l see," her mom said. Which meant Kylie could expect it to happen tomorrow. "Promise me you'l cal your dad about Sunday."

"Bye," Kylie said.

"Kylie. Promise me."

The knot tightened in her throat. "Promise."

Kylie hung up and stared at her phone. What was she going to say to her dad? Oh, hel , why not just do it and get it over with. She started punching in his number, only to realize she'd accidently punched in Nana's old number.

And just like that, it hit. The swel of grief. She missed her grandmother so much. Missed cal ing her whenever she had some crazy problem with her mom. Missed the way Nana would pat Kylie's cheek and say, "It's al gonna be okay."

A knock sounded at her bedroom door. "Kylie?" Del a's voice echoed on the other side.

Kylie closed her phone and wiped her tears from her face. "I'm on the phone," she said. "Can't visit now."

"But, I ... I have a surprise for you," Del a said.

"I don't want a surprise." Couldn't they just leave her alone? For once?

"I'm opening the door. I hope you're dressed."

The bedroom door opened. "I said I..." Kylie's words evaporated from the tip of her tongue, or maybe they crawled down the back her throat. That might explain her inability to speak. Then again, it was probably just the shock of seeing who stood beside Del a.