The Vampire Prince graduates High School (Book 3)

I Know

After the charity ball disaster, I stayed in my room for the next two days. All over social media, the vampires supporting Lady Hargrave called for intervention not to let me (a human) be with Alexander. Everyone had their two cents to put in. The majority said I wasn't qualified because there were many better marriage candidates. Some even said I was part of the agenda to allow humans to hold governing power over vampires.

"They don't know anything about me," I grumbled, scrolling the forums on my phone.

"Rin," my mom called outside my door on the third day since the charity ball. "Are you awake?"

"No!"

A few seconds later, my mom walked in. She put her hands on her hip when she saw me in bed, still in my pajamas.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

I glanced around. "Resting," I told her.

"Resting," she echoed. "Don't you have work?"

"I caught up," I said.

"That's not what I meant. Alexander is worried about you. You're not talking to him, and it's not helping the situation."

"It's his mom that made this mess," I grumbled.

"Rin!" she scolded.

I put my phone down. "What?" I whined.

"Am I hearing this?"

I rubbed my face. "What do you want me to do? Why do I have to defend my feelings for Alexander to anyone? Why do my feelings have to be used for political reasons?"

Mom sat down on the edge of the bed and patted my leg.

"You had to know something like this was going to happen," she began.

"Yeah," I said, "but it should have been on my terms. Maybe after graduating high school. But no. Now, I can't even have the luxury."

"So you plan to pout on the day before Christmas eve?

"That's the plan."

My mom sighed. "How about gifts? Have you wrapped your gifts yet?"

"No one is getting anything," I grumbled. "I'm a broke high school student."

"Not even a Christmas card?" Mom asked. "That makes me feel sad."

I rolled on my back. I had done Christmas shopping online. All the gifts had arrived over the last few days and were hidden in my walk-in closet. While I wasn't motivated to get out of bed, I knew Mom wouldn't leave me alone until I did.

"Fine," I said, sitting up. "I'll write stuff on cards. I don't have any."

"You're in luck. I picked them up the other day."

My mother helped me write Christmas cards for the next hour. She even had Diana bring snacks and hot chocolate for us. As I wrote at the desk, Mom sat beside me, nibbling on snacks and watching me write. When I was finished, she picked them.

"I'll make sure these get where they need to," she said. "We'll see you at dinner?"

I sat back on the chair. "Yeah, I'll be there."

As she left, I called Diana back in. When she walked in, she had an armful of wrapping paper, scissors, and a bag of tape.

"Did you read my mind?" I asked.

She chuckled. "No, your mother asked me to bring them."

I sighed. Of course, Mom would know I was hiding gifts. "Alright, let's get this over with."