“Thank you so much, Mr. Anderson. I don’t know what I would have done had you not shown up.”
He clapped a hand on my shoulder. “No problem. I’m glad I could help. I enjoy working on this kind of stuff.” He placed the toolbox in his back seat before turning around to give me a serious look. “Be careful going home. Try not to stop anywhere that would make you feel unsafe if you had to get out of the car to restart it.”
I nodded, wondering why it sounded like he was warning me about something more than car safety.
His face cleared and he gave me a wink. I watched as he crammed himself behind the wheel, and after giving me one last wave, drove away. Ready to get home, I slid into the driver’s seat right when my phone buzzed. The caller ID lit up with Cam’s name. Looking at my watch again, I realized it’d been nearly an hour since I texted him. He was probably worried.
“Hello?”
“Sadie? Are you okay? Did he get your car fixed?”
“He didn’t fix it, exactly. But it’s working.”
“What does that mean?”
“He thinks the starter is bad, but he rigged it so it will still start. After I jump through some hoops, first.”
“Okaaaay. Are you headed home now?”
“Yes, I was about to leave when you called.” I reversed out of the parking spot as I talked. “So, do you think you’ll be at school tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I should be. I slept some more after we texted. I started feeling better a little while ago.” He paused a second and when he spoke again, his voice sounded huskier. “I miss my girl.”
Goose bumps popped up all over my arms and I grinned stupidly. “Well, I kinda miss you, too.”
“Mmm. Do you have time to meet somewhere?”
“Really? You feel up to it?”
“Yes. How about the park in ten minutes?”
“I’ll be there.”
We hung up and my mood lifted. I hummed as I made my way to our usual spot. When I got there, he’d already parked his motorcycle at the end of the small lot. My heart stuttered a little as I looked at him leaning casually against it. Clad in black jeans, black T-shirt, and black leather jacket, he blended a little in the darkening light. But I could still see him clearly. He grinned when our eyes met, melting me in a pool of liquidy feelings. I parked and hopped out. A few quick steps and I was in his arms, my head pressed against his chest. His heartbeat quickened and I smiled to myself. I had the same effect on him.
At last, he pulled away and tipped my chin up to look him in the face. “Hey, you.”
“Hey,” I breathed.
“Wanna go sit under our tree? I have something I wanna share with you.”
My curiosity piqued, I nodded. He took my hand and led me across the open grass toward the tree we’d sat under during our first trip here together. He unfolded a blanket I hadn’t noticed he was carrying and laid it down on the cold ground. We sat, me snuggled up to his side, our backs pressed against the huge tree trunk.
“So, what are you showing me?”
“I’m not showing you anything. I want you to listen to something.” He pulled his phone out and I watched as he scrolled through his music. “My dad is kind of a freak about listening to nineties music. Most of it is sorta repetitive to me, but last night he played a band I hadn’t heard him listen to before. I immediately thought about you. You ready?”
“Yeah.”
He hit play and we listened to a high-energy mix of guitar and drums. I was immediately obsessed. Listening to the lyrics, I started laughing. “Oh my God, I love it! Who is this?”
He chuckled. “Green Day. This song is called ‘Basket Case.’”
I punched him lightly on the arm. “Are you trying to tell me I’m a basket case?”
He feigned shock. “Nooo, not at all.”
I pretended to glare at him, but couldn’t keep up the pretense. He was too sexy to even pretend to be mad at.
“I want more,” I said.
“Oh, honey, I’ve got a lot more.”
Tingles shot down my spine. I glanced into his eyes and recognized the rawness looking back at me. There was no pausing. One minute we were staring at each other. The next, our lips were pressed together in a delicious embrace. I don’t know how long we were lip-locked. I didn’t care. We were lost in our own world. A world that didn’t include vampires or humans. There was no worry or fear or embarrassment here. It was cozy. Warm. Exciting.
I moaned when he pulled away. “I don’t want you to be too late getting home.”
I still had my eyes closed, leaning into him. “I don’t care. I don’t care about anything but kissing you.”
He ran his thumb across my lips and I sucked it into my mouth. My teeth grazed across the smooth skin, feeling every tiny line and crease. He pulled in a breath and his body tensed slightly. I smelled his spicy soap and a hint of the rust of his blood underneath it. It was everything I could do not to nip him and drink. Desire for everything that was him coursed through me. I took a tiny nibble to feel the skin between my teeth. It tasted so good. I made a humming noise at the back of my throat as I pressed harder, getting lost in a hazy cloud of thirst and need.
“Hey, there. That hurts.”
I heard the tiny chord of panic in the words and instantly let go, blinking the fog away. Oh my God. What did I just do? “I’m sorry! I guess I got carried away there for a second.”
His voice was husky. “It’s okay. Just wanted to make sure you weren’t going to eat me or anything.” He was joking, but I couldn’t laugh. There was still some fear hidden deep inside me that he wasn’t okay with my vampirism.
“Too soon?” he asked.
I forced a small laugh and changed the subject. “You got any more songs you can play?”
He studied my face for a moment before answering. “Sure.” For the next half hour, we listened to Green Day while I did what I could to cool off and quiet the new sensation of wanting to love and eat someone at the same time. I was jittery. Panicky. This new craving for human blood wasn’t what I thought it would be. I hadn’t imagined wanting to kill anyone before. But twice today, I’d gotten lost in a sea of greed. How was I supposed to handle this?
“It’s nearly dark. I should get home. My parents have been stricter since Homecoming and what happened yesterday.” Ever since my heart-to-heart with my parents, they were super vigilant about my curfew. Especially my mom. Another fifteen minutes and she’d be on the hunt.
“Yeah, I don’t blame them. I shouldn’t have lost track of time like this. I don’t like the idea of you driving home in the dark with your car on the fritz.”
“It’ll be fine. Mr. Anderson patched it for now.”
He grunted in response and stood, holding his hand out to help me to my feet. Once we’d folded the blanket and it was safely tucked under his arm, we dashed to my car. Lingering a few seconds, I stood on my tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss. His scent wafted in the air, teasing my senses. Afraid I’d lose myself again, I hopped inside and turned the key. He watched as I then popped the hood, ran around to touch the wires to the battery, banged it shut, and slid back into the seat.
“Wow. That’s quite a process.”
He wasn’t kidding. “Yeah, but it works, so I can’t complain. At least not tonight.”
“Agreed.” He reached inside and planted a kiss on my cheek. “Be careful and let me know when you get home.”
“Yessir.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The next few weeks were so quiet, it almost seemed like all the drama was a dream. Only Maddie’s absence and Carmen’s presence indicated the explosion and my assassination attempt actually happened. Most people had eventually stopped looking at me like I was a demon for harming their queen and reverted to being friendly. Carmen herself hadn’t said anything about it, either. She hadn’t been friendly, but she wasn’t shunning me. Actually, I’d gotten a reputation among some students for being a badass because of the volleyball stunt. There weren’t a lot of them
, but they treated me like a rock star when I passed them in the hall. Yeah, most of them were what you’d call nerds, or whatever, but hey, I was a superhero to someone and I was kinda proud of it. Even Cam had stopped watching my every move as if I was about to drop dead on the spot. Things were… normal.
It was a Friday night and Molly and I were hanging out at Harper’s place. Molly was skipping University for a rare night with all three of us. We’d decided to do a movie marathon in her bedroom. She was the best one for hangouts like this for several reasons. First, she had the biggest TV out of all of us in her room and it was pretty decked out with a small fridge holding water and cans of soda. Plus, she had big fluffy blankets and pillows that made perfect lounging areas. I sprawled across Harper’s bed with one leg dangling off the edge and my hands splayed out beside me. Harper and Molly were arguing about which movie to watch first. I was only half listening, more focused on examining the gray pinstripes of Harper’s duvet beneath me.
“Would y’all hurry up?” I groaned into the mattress. “Just pick one.”
Molly clucked her tongue. “Shut up. This is an important decision.”
“No, it’s not. It’s a movie.” I swiped at the back of my head before burying myself into the bedding again.
“But it is important. It sets the mood for the weekend.” As if to emphasize her point, Molly tossed a cream-and-silver tasseled pillow at me.
Part of me wanted to continue arguing with her, but I was already getting sleepy in my cozy spot. I grumbled under my breath as they went back to debating which was better: romantic comedy or romantic drama.
Harper cracked open a can of Sprite and opened her mouth to speak again. But Molly interrupted her. “Okay, I give! The Notebook. Again.”
I giggled as Harper gave a gracious nod and did a happy wiggle in her spot on the floor.
“But we’ll watch something cheesy and silly for the next one,” she promised Molly, who was sulking slightly, tearing into a bag of chips with much more force than necessary. As if to seal the deal, she held her can out and Molly tapped it with a chip. They grinned at each other and I gave one more sigh of happiness that they got along so well.
“Hey, Harp, have you heard anything about Maddie getting sprung? I miss her.”
Harper swallowed and clicked the power on the remote control. “I think her parents are being super cautious now. Like, she’s healed and stuff, but they’re scared she’ll collapse on the ground any minute. She’s getting annoyed.”
I recalled my last phone conversation with Maddie and had to agree. “Yeah, when I talked to her, she was constantly answering her mom in the background. She sounded pretty put out.”
Molly grimaced slightly. “I’d get tired of it, too… I mean, if it were my parents. Maddie’s parents seemed really great at the hospital.” She munched on a chip and grabbed the remote from Harper’s hand to start the movie.
“You mean the night it all happened? When they were crying and upset? That was ‘really great’?”
She threw a chip at me. “You know what I mean. Sometimes you can get a vibe from people. I got ‘great parents’ off of them.”
Harper reached up to stroke my hair when I pulled in a breath to argue. “Shh, watch the movie,” she said.
I got shivers at the sensation of her fingers playing with my hair. It was growing out pretty nicely from the pixie cut I had before. I could actually put in a few cute barrettes now. The shivers turned to an itch above my ear, and I scratched, causing another area to start itching. I scratched again.
Harper paused the movie and stood. “I need a quick break.” She got to her door and looked at me. “Do you have any blood pills with you? I was gonna grab some fresh blood from my stash in the freezer downstairs. You want some? I already know Molly does.”
“Nah, I’m good. I took some before I got here.” I scratched absentmindedly again.
Harper looked at me weirdly, but I didn’t get to ask her why because Molly was talking.
“Yeah, what’s the thing, Sadie? I thought you were drinking the good stuff now?”
I sat up and moved my legs into a cross-legged position. Stretching my shoulders, I answered. “I mean, I am. But not all the time yet. I’m still trying to figure out what my limit is in one sitting.”
Molly nodded and smiled proudly. “I’m so dang happy you’re drinkin’ it at all. My girl! Gotta admit, I never thought we’d see you at this point. You were gonna be a pill girl forever. Now you’re all grown up!”
I rolled my eyes. “Pill girl? That’s what you were calling me?”
She grinned. “Well, not to your face, of course.”
I groaned and threw Harper’s stuffed tiger at her. We started laughing and I fell back on the covers, giggling and scratching my hair.
“Okay, that’s it!” Harper raised her voice and we both stopped laughing. “What is going on with your hair? Why do you keep scratching?”
I looked at her with wide eyes. “I dunno. My head itched. So, I scratched. What’s the big deal?”
“The big deal, darling Sadie, is that you’ve been scratching it nonstop since you got here.”
Molly whispered a quiet “Oh no” and even though we were already about six feet apart from each other, she moved a couple more inches away from me.
“Um, Sade?”
“Yeah?”
“How long has it been itching?”
I stopped and thought for a second. “I don’t know. Maybe a few days.” Concern crept into my voice. “W-Why?”
Harper and Molly were both quiet, neither one wanting to voice what was obviously a negative thought in their heads. They glanced at each other as if playing rock paper scissors on who had to say it. I started to lose patience, even as I gave my head another vehement scratch.
“Lice.” The word bounced around the room with the same effect as if someone had said “bomb.”
“You mean I have bugs in my hair!” I shrieked. And as if the lice understood and took offense to my language, my head began to really itch. I thrashed around on the bed, wanting to scratch but also never wanting to touch my hair again. My shrieking continued as I writhed around at the thought of little, tiny, swarms of bugs feasting on my head. “Get them out! Get them out!”
“Stop throwing yourself around on my bed! You’ll contaminate it!” Harper was almost at the same decimal I was as we both collectively lost our calm. Only Molly sat in silence, still not moving, a slightly bemused on her face.
“Sadie! Sadie! Freeze!” Harper screeched.
The alarm in her voice cut through the fuss I was making and I stopped. “What?” I asked fearfully, a still-bottled-up scream hovering in my throat. “C-Can you see them?”
She pulled in a deep breath. “No. But I need you to stop throwing a fit.”
“What do I do?” I was whispering now.
Harper didn’t budge from the door. I looked to her for answers because she was normally the one who knew what to do about everything. But she didn’t look like Know What To Do Harper. She looked like Frozen Scared Get Me Out of Here Harper. I hadn’t seen this Harper.
When it became clear she wasn’t moving, Molly sighed loudly and stood, turning to look at me. “Are you going to freak out again?”
I shook my head, even though I swore I could feel the tiny little legs of tiny little bugs moving around on my scalp.
She walked over to the bed with her phone in hand. She turned on the flashlight and gave me a questioning look. “You’re sure?” I nodded silently and held my breath as she combed carefully through my hair. It was quiet for a while before she finally spoke. “Okay, you have a few that I can see.” I whimpered softly. “But,” she continued, “I don’t think it’s too bad.”
I stared at Harper, who still hadn’t moved, looking as if she was in shock. “Harper?” I asked. “Are you okay?”
“I’m just… a little scared… of lice.” She swallowed hard. “I know it sounds weird, but I had them once when I was little, and the memorie
s scarred me for life.”
I clenched against the overwhelming urge to scratch. “I don’t blame you. This is disgusting! I mean… there are bugs… on my head!” My stomach flipped and for a second, I thought I’d throw up. Wouldn’t that have been nice. Why was it always me?
I could tell Harper was trying to be brave when she walked over to the bed and leaned in to examine my head with her hands behind her back. She moaned softly. “I know this sounds selfish…” She stopped, and I nodded to urge her on.
“Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s not gonna make you look selfish.” Molly nodded in agreement with her head bent over her phone.
The sides of Harper’s lips tugged downward and I itched to reach out and wrap my arms around her in a comforting hug. Not the best idea at the moment, but it was second nature between us now. Instead, I held my hands in my lap and twisted my fingers together to keep them still.
“I just.” She sighed and then rushed on. “I’ll have to wash my bedding and everything your head touched.” She bit her lip. “I feel terrible. Here I am complaining about my sheets when you’re the one with lice. It’s not a big deal, it’s not. It’s just the memories I have of this…” She trailed off and I didn’t push her.
“It’s okay.”
Just then, Molly looked up from her phone with a determined expression. “We have to get some special stuff to put on your head and then we wash it and comb everything out with a special little comb that comes with the stuff.” She didn’t look thrilled at the idea, but I knew Molly, and Molly would do her best to handle it for me. Harper started tearing up with “thank-yous” streaming out of her mouth.
In an uncharacteristic cooing noise, she shushed Harper. “Shh, it’ll be fine. We’ll get through this easy-peasy.” She started to pat Harper’s hair when she suddenly pulled back. “I need to wash my hands. Be right back.”
As disgusting as I felt, I tried to lighten the mood with a joke. “Well, at least now you don’t have to worry about Molly’s choice of movie!” I smiled, willing it to reach my eyes and soothe her. She smiled back and rummaged around on the floor. “Here, you can wear this hat while we’re out. Not that I’m trying to say you need to hide,” she said hastily. “Just… in case… you want to.” She was clearly struggling with wanting to help and wanting to run away.
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