Deadly Offer Read Online Free PDF

struggled to think of things to talk about. Had anything happened in class? After school? Had she gone shopping? Or even cleaned her room?
    It seemed to Althea that, except for the vampire, she had no life.
    Suddenly, to her horror, the vampire was standing there. Her throat closed up. Her eyes glazed.
    He’s not here! she thought. He can’t come into a McDonald’s! Certainly not in broad daylight. This is not fair. The backyard is one thing, but—
    She opened her eyes.
    He was not there.
    Her nerves had fabricated him.
    She breathed again, and realized to her shame that the solitary sigh was her only contribution to the conversation around her.
    Becky giggled. “Well, that was exciting, Althea,” she said. “We must chat about this again one day.”
    “Don’t pick on her,” said Ryan. “You’re so mean, Becky.”
    “She’s not mean,” said Althea quickly. “I’m slow.”
    Ryan took this opportunity to discuss his telescope. Weight lifting was his daytime activity; stars were his nighttime activity. Scottie took this opportunity to mention several things that normal teenage boys enjoyed doing at night, as opposed to something lame and pitiful like studying satellite orbits.
    “Here’s what I say,” said Becky. “I say we have a party at Althea’s, because it’s new, and we haven’t partied there, and I’m sick of all the old places. Ryan can set up his telescope in that tower room, while we dance on those big old porches.”
    Althea’s smile trembled. She had fulfilled her obligation to the vampire. She could do as she pleased. And yet … she had not shut the shutters. Was he still there? Where was that dark path, exactly? Could he touch other people? Would Becky … ?
    Althea’s body was rigid, as if her blood had stopped circulating—or been drained. “I don’t know if that would work out, Becky. I mean, I’d love to, but—”
    “All right, all right,” said Becky, sulkily. “I just think it’s somebody else’s turn, is all. It seems to me the parties are always at my house.”
    “That’s because your parents let you do anything all the time, Becky,” Ryan said. “Most people’s parents never let them do anything.” He stuffed his napkins into his cup, stuffed his cup into his burger box, and squashed the whole thing into a remarkably small square. “So, what’s Celeste’s problem?” he said to Becky.
    Althea’s stomach knotted up. This was it. This was where they found out, where they understood, where they caught her!
    Becky shrugged. “She didn’t want to talk. Said she was tired.”
    “She stumbled around the school today like a zombie,” said Scottie.
    “She could at least have been polite,” said Becky. “Here she is, a ninth-grader, everybody on the squad has been very nice to her, and she couldn’t even be bothered to let us in on her problem. I asked her if I could help and she shrugged. That did it, that shrug. You can’t have secrets from your teammates. They don’t like it.”
    “Let’s not talk about Celeste,” said Ryan. “Let’s talk about you.”
    He meant her. Althea. Ryan wanted to talk about Althea. An uncertain, joyous smile began on her lips. Ryan said, “Come on, more. More.” He touched her lip corner with his finger and drew the corner up till Althea laughed out loud.
    Celeste won’t be tired long, Althea thought. She’ll perk up in a few days. I’m not going to worry.
    Anyway, it’s worth it.

Chapter 6
    H OW DARK THE YARD was.
    Althea had not known such darkness existed in the world. There was not a hint of light. Nothing at all that was less than black. And yet she could see where the vampire was and where he wasn’t.
    He was half in the hemlocks. Indeed, he seemed half hemlock. His arms were among the needled branches; his hair might have been growing straight from the trees.
    “You wanted me?” he said. “How flattering. You want to give a report, perhaps? Tell me how things are going with your new popularity, perhaps? It