‘Please,’ Ivy replied. ‘You two couldn’t knock me anywhere. It’s my super-vampy powers that got me into this mess in the first place, remember.’ Ivy tried to joke, but even as she said it she was almost overwhelmed at the thought of her family getting on the plane without her. She’d be staying here and Brendan would be waiting for her there, in Franklin Grove. What if she hated Wallachia? The only person she knew there was Petra, and she wasn’t so sure that girl could be trusted. Sophia, Camilla, Brendan, Olivia – she already had the best friends anyone could ask for. All of these changes were too much to bear. ‘It’s just that I’m really going to miss you,’ she admitted. ‘Even more than I realised. Coming to Transylvania has made me see how difficult it will be.’
She heard Brendan gasp. ‘Did Ivy Vega just get all sappy on me?’
Ivy knew her boyfriend couldn’t see her fist planted firmly on her left hip, but she hoped he would sense it, and get the point. ‘You better not tell a soul.’
‘Cross my heart.’ Brendan chuckled. ‘But, for the record . . . I’ll miss you too.’
After they had said their goodbyes – maybe three or four times more than was necessary – Ivy clicked her phone shut and stuffed it back into her elegant but too-tiny bag. Smeared eyeliner would most definitely not be a good look, she thought, swiping underneath her eyes.
When she re-entered the hall, her eyes locked with Olivia’s. Her sister was waiting with her patented Olivia smile and open arms.
‘Don’t forget about me, OK?’ Ivy said, hugging her twin.
‘Hello?’ Her sister fake-slapped her. ‘How could I? Whenever I look in the mirror, I’m reminded of you. We’re identical, remember?’
‘Except for the blusher.’
‘And the extra eyeliner.’
The girls giggled, before their sweet moment was broken by a single word: Paaarty!
Vincenzo pumped his fist on the dance floor and jumped into a split mid-air.
‘Ouch!’ Both girls cringed in unison. There was the sound of fabric tearing. ‘That looked like it hurt.’
The wedding band sped up the number and vampires dressed in their evening best flocked to the dance floor. When in Rome . . . thought Ivy, as she dragged Olivia out after her.
‘Let’s dance!’
Two conga lines, a vamp sing-a-long, and a good old boogie to ‘Let’s Do the Vamp Walk’, and Olivia was worn out. She wandered out of the dance hall, breathless. She’d been cheering at football games for years, but these vamps had party stamina! She stopped in the archway to watch everyone dance to ‘A Hard Day’s Bite’.
Olivia looked from Ivy to her dad and Lillian, and finally to her grandparents, who were bopping away like they were two hundred years younger than they really were. These people were her family and maybe, just maybe, she’d be OK without . . . She forced herself to think the name.
Jackson.
She strolled along the outside passageway that ran along the edge of the mansion. Crickets were chirping and Olivia could just make out the Big Dipper if she ducked her head out into the open air.
Voices were coming from an adjoining room. ‘The bats have to be ready for their release at ten sharp!’ Olivia overheard Lucia the wedding planner directing. ‘The couple simply cannot leave without a flock to herald their new start. It’s bad luck not to have bats!’
Olivia chuckled to herself. Vamps! They have some crazy traditions. She walked along, appreciating the gardens and the starry night, the soft grass sinking under her high heels. The night was so tranquil that she was startled by the sound of her phone beeping.
She pulled it out of her clutch bag. The screen glowed green, looking radioactive in the darkness. Her heart flip-flopped. It was a text. From him.
Miss you xoxo
Olivia hugged the phone to her chest. Maybe the rose was wrong. Blue could mean all sorts of things, right? Since when did it mean ‘impossible love’, anyway? Plus, Olivia wasn’t a vampire, she was human. The Free Rose of Summer might work differently for her. It was possible. Perhaps . . .
Olivia plucked a pink primrose from one of the flower beds and held it up to her nose. Pink was more her colour, after all. As she wandered the grounds outside, a funny feeling started to take over. She felt light, happy even. Sure, Jackson was far away and had his exciting movie career, and Ivy was leaving her to start a new school – but perhaps there were new opportunities ahead for Olivia too.
Who knows? she thought. Maybe this just means it’s time for me to focus on . . . me!