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Meredith held the tire gauge firainst the valve of her left back tire while she checked it The pressure was fine

The pressure on al four tires was fine The antifreeze, oil, and transmission fluids were al topped off, the car battery was new, and the jack and spare tire were in perfect shape She should have known Her parents weren’t the kind to stay hoe They knew she didn’t need coddling, but they’d show their love bysure al the preparations werethat ht happen Of course, they wouldn’t tell her that they had checked everything, either; they’d want her to continue protecting herself

There wasn’t anything she had to do now except leave

Which was the one thing she didn’t want to do

"Co the faint quaver she heard in her own voice "Just for a couple of weeks"

"You know I can’t," Alaric said as he brushed his hand lightly over her back "I wouldn’t want to leave if I caet to enjoy the first weeks of col ege like al the other new students, without anyone holding you back Then I’l come up and visit soon" Meredith turned to face hi back at her His , and she could see that parting again, after only a feeeks together, was just as hard for him as it was for her

She leaned in and kissed hione to Harvard," she murmured

"Much closer"

As the summer had ended, she and Matt had realized they couldn’t leave their friends and head off to out-of-state col eges as they’d planned They’d al been through so ether, to protect one another, o anywhere else

Their home had been nearly destroyed more than once, and only Elena’s blackmail of the Celestial Court had restored it and saved their families They couldn’t leave

Not while they were the only ones standing against the darkness out there, the darkness that would be drawn forever to the Power of the ical ley lines that crossed the area around Fel ’s Church Dalcrest was close enough that they’d be able to coain

They needed to protect their hoone down to the administrative offices at Dalcrest and used his vampire mojo Suddenly Matt had the footbal scholarship to Dalcrest he’d turned down in favor of Kent State back in the spring, and Meredith was not only expected as an inco freshman but was housed in a triple in the best dorm on campus with Bonnie and Elena The supernatural had worked for theive up a couple of dreaet here Harvard Alaric by her side

Meredith shook her head Those dreams were incompatible, anyway Alaric couldn’t have co here in Fel ’s Church to research the origins of al the supernatural things that had happened over the town’s history Luckily, Duke was letting him count this toward his dissertation on the paranormal

And he’d be able to er at the same time They’d have to be apart for now, no o, but at least Dalcrest was a eable drive away

Alaric’s skin had a soft tan, and a scattering of golden freckles crossed his cheekbones Their faces were so close she could feel the war?" His voice was a low orgeous" Then she took a breath and pul ed away "I love you," Meredith said, and then rushed on before a wave of longing could overwhelo" She picked up one of the suitcases sitting by the car and swung it into the trunk

"I love you, too," Alaric said, and caught her hand and held it tightly for a o and put the last suitcase into the trunk and slammed the lid

Meredith kissed him, quick and hard, and hurried herself into the driver’s seat Once she was safely seated, belted in, the engine running, she let herself look at hih the open"I’l cal you tonight Every night"

Alaric nodded His eyes were sad, but he smiled and held up a hand in fareWell

Meredith backed out of the driveway careful y Her hands were at ten and two, and she kept her eyes on the road and her breathing steady Without even looking, she knew Alaric was standing in the driveatching her car drive out of sight She pressed her lips together firmly She was a Sulez She was a vampire hunter, a star student, and completely levelheaded in al situations

She didn’t need to cry; after al , she would see Alaric again Soon In the

Dalcrest was beautiful, Elena thought She’d been here before, of course She, Bonnie, and Meredith had driven al the way up for a frat party junior year, when Meredith had been dating a col ege boy And she di her for an alumni family event, back when she was little

But now that she was part of the school, now that it would be her ho looked different

"Pretty swanky," Daates at the school’s entrance and drove on past buildings of faux Georgian brick and neoclassical marble "For Arow up in Italian palaces," Elena answered absently, very conscious of the light pressure of his thigh alongside hers She was sitting in the front of the truck between Stefan and Da both of the

Damon rol ed his eyes and drawled to Stefan, "Well, if you have to play huain, little brother, at least you didn’t choose too hideous a spot And, of course, the coal antly with a glance at Elena