Nightside

by Holly Hook

  I go to get up before my mind can finish processing the words.

  Riley rises, blocking the way out of the booth before I can escape. He faces me with his wide, copper-ringed eyes. We lock gazes.

  “Move,” I order. What kind of joke does he think this is? "This isn't funny. You could work harder if you wanted to play a joke."

  “No. You'll leave before I can explain the rest,” Riley says.

  I think of Lily for a second. Yeah, I'm drawing a parallel between her and Riley. “How can I even take you seriously now? I mean, I knew your family was weird, but this takes the cake.”

  Riley frowns at me as if I've hurt his feelings, but he nods and waves at me to sit. “I'm shocked you're not freaked out instead. Most people would be more concerned about being in the presence of a monster than about a joke after what they saw me do. Leave it to you to face me down without any fear.”

  “If you're trying to apologize, just apologize,” I say. Something makes me sit back down.

  Riley, instead of blocking my way, also sits right across from me. “Can I explain? Suppose vampires are real and I'm one of them. Wouldn't you want to know more about that?”

  “I would, if it was real,” I say.

  “Come on. You've got to be wondering about my family. I can see it all over your face. Just ask.”

  “Okay. What's up with your family?” If Riley's playing a game, I don't hate it. And he did look like he had fangs back in by the lake, for just a few seconds...

  “The Beaumonts aren't a family in the way you'd think. You've seen me with them. None of us are related by blood.”

  “Okay. That I can believe.”

  “We're a coven, actually.” Riley leans over the table at me, putting his chin on his palms like he's waiting for me to continue the conversation. When I don't, he keeps talking. “A vampire coven. There are two kinds of vampires with Truebloods being the traditional type. That's us. Everyone in our coven is turned at thirteen. I was turned five years ago.”

  Okay. This is officially going beyond weird. “You? Turned? From where? At thirteen? Talk about having a rough puberty. I mean, no offense--”

  Riley grins. “Glad you've still got your sense of humor. This might be less painful than I thought. There's another type of vampire, too. They're called Nightsides, and they start out human just like Truebloods do, but they have a mutation in their DNA that causes them to turn when they come into contact with a Trueblood.” Riley's grin falls off his face more with each word he speaks. “These people are rare. The Beaumont coven doesn't want me having contact with humans for this reason. They don't want to accidentally turn someone.”

  “But...but how do you, like, feed?” I blurt. So far, Riley was acting serious. Maybe, just maybe, he wasn't lying. “Don't you have to sink fangs into people to do that?”

  Riley snorts and grins evilly. “You're awesome, Olivia. And that's a good question. The local blood bank helps us with that. And most people wouldn't survive our bites. Get too many dead bodies in one town, and everyone's going to be asking questions. We get that enough. Also, I'm not one of the hunters.”

  Another question forms behind my lips, but I can't spit it out. Have you and your family ever killed anyone? Do you want to? I could see that with the growling guy and the girl with the purple-striped hair, but not Riley. He's too gentle. Too kind. If he wanted to kill me, he's had a million chances by now. “Okay. So, why do you try to avoid making Nightsides, then?”

  “We don't like to accidentally turn people because Nightsides are dangerous. They still have beating hearts and can come out in the day, and they don't necessarily have to drink blood to keep their vampiric strength and power. Truebloods can't sense them among regular humans. A Nightside poses a real danger to our kind.”

  A giant hole opens in Riley's story. I snort. “But it's daytime now. And you're out. What gives? I've seen you and your coven at school.” Am I starting to believe him?

  Yes.

  “If I drink every day, I can tolerate some daylight,” Riley says. “Not much, but some. Otherwise, it would be fatal. If I don't drink for a full day, I get weak. And if I don't drink for a week, I die. I can't resist my urge to drink.” A flash of pain fills Riley's eyes for a moment. He gulps. “But if you could resist all your life, you'd be fine.”

  Silence stretches out. At another booth, a waitress asks a couple what they'd like to start their meal off with—breadsticks or coleslaw.

  “Um, what?”

  Riley shifts. This is the first time I've seen him so uncomfortable. “I think you're a Nightside and I did this to you when I grabbed your hand. What you described to me, the fever, the itch, it all just sounds like...Olivia, I never should have touched you.”

  “Um, is this another joke?” My pulse rises into my throat and then my head, racing in my ears.

  “I wish it was.” He locks me in his gaze, begging me to stay, but he doesn't go to get up and block my way again. He's physically leaving me a way out, and the way he drops his shoulders reveals his guilt. “I thought you were a normal human, that the chances said I was safe holding your hand, but now some sheep in the farmer's field have gone missing. Maybe you've been going out at night and feeding and you just don't remember it?”

  My nightshirt. All the blood--

  I rise, and Riley makes no motion to stop me.

  Instead he sighs and drops his head, letting his hair hang in his face. “I screwed up, Olivia. I'm so sorry.”

  I release the tension in my muscles. “Riley, you didn't do this on purpose. And how do we know this is even real?” My thoughts spin and my words sound like they're a million miles away.

  Riley lifts his face from his hands and frowns at me. I don't like that. “There's a simple test.” He opens his coat, revealing his tight shirt and those perfect muscles. But there's no time to enjoy the view. Inside, several pockets bulge with corked vials. He pulls one out and, after checking to make sure no waitress is looking, slowly lifts it in front of him. “See if you want to drink this.”

  Yeah. It's a vial of blood, thick and dark red. Riley has several stashed in his coat. If he's pretending, he's going all the way. Oh my god. “Is that your emergency stash?”

  “Well, yes. I'll be fine if you take one.”

  “I don't want it.” I turn away as my stomach rumbles and my skin explodes with itching again. No. Way.

  Riley waits and says nothing. I stare at the wall, legs itching, telling myself it's the urge to run. My gut goes from rumbling to pain, and I whirl, snatching the vial from Riley's grasp. He leaves his hand open above the table, waiting as my hands uncork the vial. What am I doing? I can't be--

  I am.

  At least I have the sense to close my eyes and face the inner wall of the booth. The vial's liquid pours onto my tongue, both sweet and spicy, and goes down without a single gag. Though it drops the pain in my gut down to a rumble, the hunger and the itch remain. If Riley handed me a second vial, I would take it.

  I stand there for what feels like an eternity, opening my eyes and looking at the wallpaper trail of ships and open water. To the side, Riley slowly rises.

  “This is bad,” he says. “This is really, really bad, Olivia.”

  “No shit?” I say, handing him the empty vial. My voice sounds much higher than normal.

  It's true. All of it. I can't deny a single thing Riley's said anymore. All the strength leaves my legs and I flop back down into the booth. “What now, Riley? Why were those guys trying to kill me?”

  “They must have seen me grab your hand,” he says, doing the same. “They must have some idea, though I'm not sure how. Those guys were Truebloods from another coven. Sometimes other covens go to other towns to hunt. I was thinking they just thought you'd be an easy meal, but now I'm not sure.” Riley shakes his head. “Trueblood covens aren't supposed to attack each other unless they're associating with Nightsides. Now I broke the rules.”

  “I thought you just weren't supposed to talk to humans?” I have
to ask something, anything, and keep talking before I lose my sanity.

  “Truebloods and Nightsides are at war. Us talking to Nightsides is considered treason. It will give other covens a reason to attack us. Olivia, the three who attacked us are dead, and we have to keep this a secret more than ever. You'll stay safe that way.” Riley reaches over the table and takes my hand. Though his grasp is cold, I take comfort in it. My heart slows for a second, and then I realize what he's saying.

  I need Riley, but us being together could destroy us both.

  His life—and my life—are in mortal danger.

  Chapter Six

  Riley drives me back to the Derp House, which sounds very risky after everything he's told me. But at least now I can feel some relief over the deaths of those creepy guys instead of terror. If Riley wanted to kill me, he would have done so by now, hands down.

  We don't speak much on the car ride back to my place. Mom's still gone when I get home, and Riley parks all the way up in our driveway, probably using the tree cover to hide his vehicle.

  “Olivia, we have to lay low for a while. I'm going to make a plan,” Riley says, facing the closed garage door.

  I eye it, too. I can't believe any of this. “Make a plan? Are there more of those guys out there?”

  “There could be.”

  Panic tightened the muscles in my arms and I gripped the seat. “What if more of them come here?”

  “We killed the three who seem to have suspected your secret. You should be fine. But stay in the house, just in case.”

  Riley waits. He held my hand in the restaurant, but now he won't even look at me. Guilt is powerful.

  Heavy and dejected, I get out of the car. Riley stays there, watching as I unlock the front door and wander into the house. He doesn't leave until I've locked the door behind me.

  I'm all alone. Just the humming of the old yellow fridge provides me company. I pace around the house, trying to turn my thoughts to anything but reality. Heading to my room, I flop down on my bed, only to get up again. I can't believe what Riley told me, and what I did and enjoyed...

  “Shit!” I throw my pillow at the wall, which hits and slides to the floor. The rain beats down harder, turning to a soft roar. A crack of thunder follows. Very well placed, I think.

  I run to the bathroom and dry heave. Then I check my reflection (I still have one of those, at least) and peel back my lips. Nothing looks out of the ordinary, but Riley's teeth look normal most of the time, too. I brush mine as the memory of the restaurant comes back with another crack of thunder. I don't want Mom to smell anything funny on my breath.

  Stuck in the house, and I can't even do any research thanks to having no Internet. Awesome.

  Mom gets home a bit later, and she's smiling as she comes through the front door. I rush over to carry her groceries for her. That's something to take my mind off everything. I also can't help but look over her shoulder, checking the driveway for any would-be killers. When I find none, I carry a bulging bag of food into the kitchen and unload produce into the produce drawer. Mom watches.

  “Are you nervous about something?” she asks me. “You're acting strange.”

  I can't tell her the truth. Yeah, it turns out I'm some sort of mutant vampire with memory lapses and the guy I'm crushing on can't be with me because there's a war. How would Mom even take that? At best, she'd rush me to the psychiatric hospital and I can't blame her. “Being at a new school is stressing me out."

  “I'm sorry, honey. I really am,” Mom says, flipping on the coffee machine. “I know this is tough and I hope we both adjust pretty soon. Moon's Peak high school can be interesting once you adjust to it.”

  “How would you know?” I close the refrigerator and face her.

  Mom leans against the counter. “It seems like a very interesting town to me.”

  No kidding. I gulp as my skin tingles with nerves. That itch is still there, but it's not as severe as it was when I cooked the steak. I try not to look at the red package of meat sitting on the counter. Burger meat, to be exact. So to distract myself, I ask, out of nowhere, “What exactly happened with Dad? Why did he just take off without a goodbye?”

  Mom shifts. She looks at the coffee maker once more and swallows. “I never wanted to talk about it."

  “I know you didn't,” I say, trying not to let my rage at Dad overtake me. “I'm sorry I asked. But not knowing what even happened is starting to get to me and I'd really like some answers. I think that's part of what's stressing me out.”

  “Olivia, I don't understand why he just up and left on us. I do know your father used to say he was involved with the wrong crowd when he was younger. He never gave me many details, but my guess is that he was worried about something in his past catching up with him.”

  Mom lets the words hang. I take a breath. “The wrong crowd? Was he like, involved in a gang?” That was plausible back in Chicago. A bad taste rises in my mouth.

  Mom paces around the kitchen, arms folded as if she's trying to block out something. “Your father cut the crap right after we met. He cleaned up.” She forces a smile. “I like to think I helped to get him out of that life. But then he just takes off one night and doesn't return. I don't understand why he had to leave us now.”

  I back away, stomach turning at this news. Did Dad ever commit any crimes or get into drugs? I've heard loads of stories about gangs. How they killed those who told on them. How they had wars with other gangs and brutally murdered each other. And of course, how they paid off some politicians. “Did someone from Dad's past come after him? Did they like, find him after all these years?”

  A few nights before Dad vanished, he was checking the alarm system in the apartment every night.

  He was parking his car close to the apartment steps down in the parking garage.

  And he was pacing the living room, looking down at the street below every so often. Why hadn't I noticed?

  “I wish I had the answers for you,” Mom says, facing me. “Let's finish taking care of these groceries and then we'll figure out what to do for dinner tonight.”

  I force out the breath I'm holding, trying once again not to look at the bloody meat. My life's turned into a nightmare on more than one level. Whatever happened to Dad, it couldn't have been good.

  Chapter Seven

  When I wake the next morning, I'm not covered in blood and my silky blue nightshirt doesn't show any signs I've moved from this spot. I breathe a sigh of relief and sit up, only to find a note sliding down my pillow, folded perfectly and written on yellow paper. When I unfold it, I find elegant yet blocky text and I realize it's a note from Riley.

  Baby, I've got a plan.

  You should be safe to go to school today. Just be safe, okay?

  Gotta wait to discuss with you. Sorry.

  I fold the note and stuff it in my jeans once I'm dressed. How did Riley get here while I was sleeping? Of course, he's a Trueblood and all graceful, and he's hot, but what he just did sounds like something that would earn a restraining order. I eye my window, but it's shut and locked. I'm not sure how to feel about this.

  I'll have to talk to him about that. If I can even get to him. Of course, he probably had no other good way to get a note to me, especially since I have no Internet and no phone access in the house.

  I walk to school, being careful to stay close to another group of kids as they walk down the curvy road. Once at school, I immediately start walking through the halls, searching for any sign of Riley's leather coat and his dark, lush hair. But he's not anywhere, and even peeking down the Forbidden Hallway doesn't reveal him. Instead, the girl with the purple streaks in her hair talks to the growling dude and a couple other Beaumonts, a very tall guy with blond hair and mean eyes and another, petite girl with a scarlet skirt and a leather jacket that partly covers a matching blouse. The four all gaze at me and whisper among themselves.

  I scram after that.

  How much do they know?

  And Riley's still nowhere to be found.r />
  I sit through my first class, and the growling guy keeps staring at the back of my head. His stare sends prickles up the back of my neck and down my spine. Doing my best to ignore him, I listen to the lessons and count down the minutes to the end of class.

  I stay the hell out of the Forbidden Hallway today, just like everyone else, and I don't see the Beaumonts again until lunch. Riley's not at his usual table today, nor is he waiting outside the cafeteria to talk to me. After a quick check that I hope isn't obvious, I sit across from Lily, who's busy poring through her Conspiracy Theory notebook.

  “Hey,” she says, looking up at me with a frown. Great sign. “Did you know the Beaumonts are talking about you?”

  I hadn't thought Lily would pay attention to such a thing. “I saw them staring at me earlier, but that's it.” This is it. They know my secret and I'm going to die by the end of the day. The pressure of everything makes my heart race and I pick at my food. I'm still hungry for regular food, but the itch is still there and if I don't tell someone what's happening, I'm going to go insane.

  If Lily knows, at least maybe she'll walk home with me. With luck, the Beaumonts won't want to kill someone with witnesses around. And she's the most likely person to not think I'm crazy.

  “Lily, can we eat somewhere else?” I ask in low tone.

  “Sure.” She snaps her notebook shut and gets up from the table. Maintaining that serious look, she waves me out into the hall.

  At least Moon's Peak High has senior benches, and they're far from the main office, near the entrance to the gym. We settle there and Lily sets her tray down on the bench. “Something weird's happening, isn't it? Shoot.”

  She's so open. Well, if she believes in crop circles, it's worth a shot. I shut down inside as the words pour from my mouth. Lily listens in total silence, not interrupting or laughing when I tell her about those creepy guys, Riley killing them, and about everything he told me. I even confess the blood on my nightshirt and what I did at the restaurant, though I struggle to force out the words. As I speak, Lily's mouth falls open and she remains completely silent.