He stepped back, rubbing the back of his neck. ‘Whatever,’ he mumbled.
Holly tapped her camera. ‘You guys better leave or I’ll take a few more pictures of you harassing an innocent girl. How would you like that?’
Garrick’s eyes widened, and he held up his hands in surrender. ‘OK, OK. We’re going!’
Olivia knew that Garrick wouldn’t want the authorities looking at those pictures. That might lead to people snooping around, and if the vampire community wanted to maintain their secrecy, they couldn’t afford any prying. The Beasts were dumb, but they weren’t that dumb.
She could feel her whole body trembling as they backed away, and she loosened the silk scarf at her throat. Thank goodness Holly turned up when she did. Olivia hated to admit it, but she hadn’t been sure how she was going to hold it together just then.
Garrick grabbed his basketball and motioned for the other Beasts to follow, throwing a final filthy look in Olivia’s direction. They wandered off, grumbling and playfully shoving each other.
‘That’s it,’ called Holly after them. ‘Go home . . . and take a shower!’ She turned to Olivia, cupping Olivia’s elbow. ‘Are you OK?’
‘Yeah.’ She smoothed her skirt. ‘It’s not the first time I’ve had a run-in with those boys.’ But the mention of Jackson had shaken her in a way that none of the other close calls had. Olivia hugged her arms to her chest. The Beasts had actually been right about one thing: she didn’t have Jackson and she didn’t have Ivy. For the first time ever, Olivia Abbott was lonely.
Holly stared after Garrick and Co. as they walked away. ‘Does this sort of thing happen a lot in Franklin Grove?’ She dismounted her bike.
‘It’s almost like an occupational hazard,’ said Olivia, remembering again her first day at school, when Ivy had saved her from being picked on by the Beasts.
‘Come here and take a breather,’ Holly told Olivia, leading her to a bus-stop bench. They sat down together and Holly positioned her camera on her lap. She clicked the ‘ON’ button and the viewfinder lit up. ‘Want to see some of my photos?’ she asked.
‘Sure.’ Olivia nodded. Her voice sounded smaller than usual.
Holly began scrolling through the pictures stored on her camera. The first one was of a brightly painted sign that read, ‘Franklin Grove Animal Rescue.’
‘Hey, those aren’t the Beasts!’ Olivia pointed at the pictures of tail-wagging dogs. Holly giggled at a pug with drool hanging out of both sides of his mouth and a goofy, lop-sided dog grin.
‘Are you sure?’ Holly asked. ‘Because I think this one could definitely be mistaken for Garrick!’
Olivia doubled over laughing until she got a stitch and had to clutch her sides. ‘Thank goodness you were around to put those boys in their place,’ she said, wiping her eyes. Olivia had thought she was headed for a meltdown, but Holly had managed to cheer her up in no time. Maybe she wasn’t as totally alone as she’d thought . . .
Holly frowned. ‘Well, don’t worry. I’ll always back you up.’
Olivia gave Holly a hug. After feeling so lonely and abandoned today, it was nice that someone was around to support her. I think I’m going to be seeing a lot more of this girl in future, thought Olivia happily.
‘So, how about we make good on that rain check?’ said Holly. Olivia cocked her head, confused. ‘I mean, do you want to come over to my house?’
‘Oh, yeah!’ Olivia jumped up. ‘Definitely.’
‘Far out!’ Holly exclaimed. Her unique style, Olivia figured, was going to take a little getting used to.
They walked together, Holly alongside her bicycle, holding on to the handlebars.
‘Do you want to give your sister a call so that she can come along too?’ asked Holly. ‘I’d really like to meet her.’ Olivia was about to remind her that Ivy was out of the country when Holly continued. ‘It’s not like I have any music that she’d like to listen to, but we can still hang out. I mean, The Pall Bearers take some getting used to, right?’
That was when Olivia understood – the pictures of her at the concert! Holly thought that had been Ivy, back from Transylvania.
‘Holly, those are just –’ Olivia started to explain, when Holly’s phone pinged. She held up one finger, checking the incoming text.
‘So sorry, Olivia, but I’ve really got to run.’ She waved her phone. ‘But we’ll talk later, OK? I can’t wait to meet Ivy and ask her all about Transylvania. Maybe get some cool pictures of her too.’ Holly was talking fast. ‘If I could get the low-down on Europe from her, I know it would really help me break through as a journalist. There’s a travel-writing competition with a deadline at the end of the week – entrants need to interview someone who’s explored the world. And Ivy would be so cool in photos too, if she’s just like you say she is!’
‘Um, yeah,’ Olivia muttered. ‘She’s totally cool. And thanks for everything – I really appreciate what you did back there.’ But Holly wasn’t listening. She’d already hopped back on her bike and was pedalling furiously in the opposite direction.
How could Olivia thank Holly properly? She couldn’t bear the thought of telling her Ivy wasn’t around to have a photo taken of her. But if she doesn’t get her interview, her dreams of breaking into journalism will be over before she’s written a word. I’d feel terrible! At that moment, an idea started to form. A dangerously clever idea . . .