Tormented Mistress ( Book One )

Chapter 54

Amber's face lit up since she was actually kidding about the money thing. "What? Really?!" Amber asked hopefully as Hailey made her way towards her.

Amber did not move when Hailey stood right in front of her and reached a hand around her to place on the light switch. "Yup. And I've thought about it."

She furrowed her brow in confusion but did not get to speak as Hailey spoke once more. "Nope!" She exclaimed just as she flicked off the lights.

"What?! Ms. Deprey..." She jokingly whined as she stepped out of the classroom, feeling embarrassed she had thought Hailey was also being serious with the suggestion.

Hailey laughed after closing and locking the door to the room. "If you want money, go get an actual job."

Amber puffed her lip out, but Hailey only once more laughed at her.

The two of them headed outside and Hailey led her to a dark green car. Amber tilted her head before climbing in. "Is this a rental?"

"Yeah, until they decide what to do about me destroying my old one," Hailey informed her.

The car ride was not too long as the coffee shop was only several blocks away from the school. During the ride, Hailey joked about her getting in another wreck, but this only made Amber paranoid she had jinxed an accident.

On the outside, the shop was a light brown with multiple tables waiting for guests. The two entered the shop, and Amber's nostrils were filled with that rich coffee scent. She glanced around and found many people to be inside, and the walls were a creamy brown. Soft music played in the background, which was heard over hushed conversation.

Amber was still busy observing the shop when she realized Hailey was no longer standing by her side. She gasped lightly and glanced around to find her leaning against the counter. Once they made eye contact, Hailey waved her over.

She rushed towards the woman and just then realized what she was dressed in. She was still clad in her uniform. She had no other clothes, but besides the fact it was a bit awkward for her to wear the uniform in public, she worried about people catching that Hailey was her teacher. She soon shook the feeling away, forcing herself to not be concerned about that factor.

"What would you like?" Hailey asked once Amber reached her.

"Oh, I have no money," Amber told her.

Hailey gave her a look. "I'll buy you whatever," she told her with a soft smile.

"Oh, no." Amber loved coffee, but always felt guilty when others bought her things. She was completely broke since she had been kidnapped.

"Amber! Pick something," Hailey insisted, causing Amber to give in.

"Okay, okay," she said with a chuckle as she scanned over the menu. "Um...I'll have a Cafe Mocha."

Hailey smiled, clearly satisfied now. She turned to the worker waited behind the counter. "Make that one Cafe Mocha and one Latte."

Their drinks soon appeared and the two of them searched for an empty table. They settled down at a circular one in the corner.

"I'm paying you back for this, you know," Amber informed Hailey as they sat down.

"No, Amber! It's cool."

Amber only shook her head as she knew it was mainly useless in trying to argue over this. She did want to pay her back, but she also wished to get to what they had came here for.

"So...we've got like an hour and forty-five minutes," Amber told Hailey with a glance at the clock.

Hailey's eyes widened. "Why so much time?!"

Amber burst into giggles as her reaction was so similar to Luna's. "I mean, I don't know. I wasn't sure how much you had to tell me."

"I have things to tell you, but not two hours worth," Hailey chuckled. "Sorry to disappoint."

Amber gave her a half shrug. "So, what's the first thing?"

Hailey cleared her throat and folded her hands on the table. "Your father is in this state, Amber."

Amber practically choked on her coffee. "What?! Wait...what state are we even in?"

Hailey stared at her for several moments as if she were dumb. It was an embarrassing question, but Amber literally had no idea.

"We're in the same state where your old home was located," Hailey told her. She gave her a much needed moment to take this in before continuing. "We're just in a different city, and your dad is in another. He's not that far, Amber. Maybe an hour away."

Amber could not explain the reason for the water which filled her eyes, but she had to force them not to fall. This was only the beginning of Hailey's secrets, she could not break down just yet. But her father...he was not that far! And Amber technically was still home.

"Are you okay?" Hailey slowly questioned, interrupting Amber's thoughts.

Amber gently nodded. "How do you know this?"

"I tracked him down," Hailey said as she leaned back in her seat. "But I can't save him. I'm not strong enough, and you aren't a good enough reason for the people who took him."

Amber narrowed her eyes in confusion. "Come again? Who are the people that even took him? They with Luna?"

Hailey nodded. "Bingo. And I fought, saying that you were his daughter, and that you need him. You all need to have a normal life, you didn't ask for any of this."

Amber took a breath to hold back her tears before asking another question of Hailey. "Why do they have us? What do they want? What did we do?!"

"Your family caused a major issue in the vampire kingdom. You all-"

Amber cut her off as something popped into mind about an earlier time. "Wait. Luna said something about...when I asked her what we did to her, she said something about us creating a feud."

"Oh? Did she explain to you what happened?"

Amber recalled back to the moment and shook her head. "No, it was the second day I was captured, though."

Hailey smoothed over her chin with an index finger before saying anything. "Alright. Anyways, your mother was a human as your father was a vampire. And you know...that's not exactly allowed. They were the first couple to have a kid who was a half-vampire."

Amber's heart stopped for an instant. "Huh? So it's that bad for a vampire to fall in love with a non-vampire?"

"Sadly, yes. And your parents were the first to do so. Not only that, but Amber...you're royalty."