Growing Wildflowers | WLW

Hyacinth

It's her. I know it's her. I've been studying her photo from the newspaper article for hours.

Sandy blonde hair. Tan skin. Emerald green eyes and a stream of freckles running across both cheeks. One of those girls that would have made me nervous when I was human. Before every emotion in my body was numbed by thirst. One of those girls who still makes me nervous, if I'm being honest.

John taps his fingers against the peeling steering wheel. "Gwen." He shakes his head and lets out a breath he's been holding since we started driving. "If you accidentally drain someone out here in the city...,"

He doesn't have to finish his thought. I know the consequences of killing someone in the

open. I'll get myself killed and put us all in danger.

It's silent for a beat. "I'm the one who let her escape. I'm going to fix this." I wouldn't want John to put himself in danger like this anyway. It would give me too much anxiety.

He nods. "You know... Sometimes, I can't tell if you're the bravest vampire I know or if you just have a death wish."

My chest clenches. Did he overhear my conversation with Bri earlier? I climb out of the car to avoid the conversation.

John rolls the window down and leans so he can look me in the eye as he says, "Just be careful, Gwen. Okay?"

"I'll keep you updated," I tell him and start toward the science building.

Steady heartbeats flood my ears from every direction. I shut my eyes tight and try to push the sound to the back of my head as I walk. This is going to be harder than I thought.

My target is sitting at a picnic table peering into a textbook, snapping a hair tie on her wrist.

I sit on the bench across from her. I can taste the air around her like it's tinted with her blood just to taunt me.

"Hey." The word sounds wrong, feels wrong in my mouth, half-choked because I'm trying to hold my breath and talk at the same time.

She looks up at me; her eyes a beautiful green with specks of brown like her own bit of forest she can take with her everywhere she goes.

I swallow hard and continue. "I was wondering—"

"I'm sorry. I'm not interested in answering any more questions." She flips her book closed and stands but pauses when I flash a confused look. "Oh my god. You're not a reporter..."

I shake my head slowly. I can't hold my smile back when her cheeks flush a delicate shade of pink under her freckles.

"Do I really look like a journalist?"

"No, no. I'm just—" She shakes her head and lowers herself back to the bench. "I'm sorry. That was hella rude of me. I'm Jamie."

I know.

"You're the president of the environmental club. Right?"

"Vice president," she corrects.

I know that too, but I need this to be believable. "I was wondering if you could tell me how to join."

"Oh." She sounds surprised; skeptical even. "Yeah, for sure. We have an event like," she checks her watch, "like right now actually. You can ride with me, and I can give you the details on the way there... If you want?" There's something flirty in the way she finishes her sentence.

My chest clenches as her cheeks flush again. I need her to stop doing that. I need her to keep her blood somewhere less noticeable. I act surprised by the invitation even though I already knew about the event. Phase one of my plan: Get Jamie to trust me enough to go onto the science building's roof with me tonight. "That sounds great."