by ID Johnson
And they’d been doing all of it for me, not for themselves. They’d done it because I asked them to. Knowing that, however, made me feel very selfish. I had dragged them into this mess, and they could’ve been in danger. They could still be in danger. I had no idea what we were dealing with here, but I knew that it involved vampires. I’d seen it with my own eyes. I knew what I needed to do.
I answered him quickly with just one letter. “K,” and followed Lucy to her room. I wished I could get a copy of that video, the one on Emma’s phone, though. It would be good to have. An idea popped into my head as Emma picked up her laptop. “Hey, give me your phone, and I’ll delete those texts,” I said to her. “I did mine on the stairs.”
“Sure!” she agreed, her voice still chipper from Hannah’s brainwashing. As soon as I had it in hand, I found the video and sent it to my own phone. Then, I set about deleting every scrap of information Emma had on her phone even remotely associated with vampires.
When I was done, I fumbled around on my own laptop for a few minutes before joyfully proclaiming that everything was gone. I pulled some random pages out of my notebook and ripped them up before stuffing what was left of it into my backpack. Satisfied that we were all done destroying our hard work, we all sank back onto Lucy’s furniture and grabbed cold slices of pizza.
“Want to watch a movie?” Lucy asked, flipping the TV on.
“Sure. What’s on?” I asked, scooting back onto the sofa beside her.
“Ooh, here’s one Emma’s never seen. Let’s watch this,” Lucy said, sinking her teeth into her slice of cheese pizza
“What is it about?” Emma asked, settling in on my other side.
“It’s called Twilight,” Lucy replied. “It’s about sparkly vampires.”
“Cool,” Emma said, a sappy smile still on her face. “I guess we know it’s not a documentary. Everyone knows vampires aren’t real.”
They both burst out laughing, and I forced myself to laugh right along with them, even though I could feel tears stinging the backs of my eyes. My best friends were completely convinced that none of this had ever happened; their minds had been altered, and it was my fault. What was worst of all was, I was still 99.9 percent sure that my sister, Cadence Findley, is a vampire.
Chapter 24
Jack Cook’s memorial was held in the cafetorium at our school—that is, the cafeteria/auditorium/gymnasium, and even with the folding doors open encompassing the entire space, the place was jam-packed with people so that there were people standing in the back behind the rows and rows of folding chairs. Despite the chilly December air, the doors were propped open because there were even people on the walkway outside.
My family had ridden together, though Cadence was sitting in the front with Jack’s family and her friends. My mom, dad, and I sat a few rows behind them. I had been crying most of the morning. The thought of saying goodbye to Jack for good was just too much for me, and the burden of knowing something was going on with my sister and I had no one to talk to about it was almost more than I could bear. I was glad Elliott was still around, but for the most part, all I’d gotten from him was sympathetic smiles. Now that Lucy and Emma had forgotten everything, I felt like an island in a tumultuous ocean being pounded by the waves and enduring it in solitude.
Just before the pastor of our church, Rev. Don Jones, walked up to the podium on the stage, I glanced around to see if I could find Elliott anywhere. I didn’t see him, but I did spy Hannah sitting toward the back. There were a couple of men next to her I didn’t know and a woman with short brown hair. After squinting, I realized one of the men was Jamie. I hoped he didn’t notice me looking at all, especially when my eyes widened. I wondered if the man with dark blond hair next to him was just a random guy or another of my sister’s associates, but I had a feeling I knew who he was. I turned back around and tried to tune into the reverend’s message. I needed to focus on Jack right now.
The service was lovely. They showed a slideshow with all kinds of pictures of Jack with his friends, playing baseball, hanging out with his parents. There was even one of him and me when I was younger and he and Cadence had gone trick-or-treating with me. That one had the tears rolling down my cheeks again. Ironically, he had been dressed like a vampire.
Cadence gave a speech, and it was beautiful. She also had me crying. I hoped that Hannah was able to use her good vibes to make my sister feel calm while she was up there since I know how much she hates talking in front of large groups. I prayed she’d never have to give a remembrance at another funeral again for the rest of her life.
When she was almost done, a strange look flickered across her face. It was only there for a moment, and I doubted anyone else even noticed it, but I could tell something was wrong. She regained her composure and continued on. I wanted to look over my shoulder to see what was happening in the back of the room where she’d been staring when her countenance had changed but didn’t risk it.
The service ended with a song and a prayer, and then the reverend invited us all to join him out on the baseball field where Jack’s family would be sprinkling some of his ashes on the pitcher’s mound. It seemed like a touching memorial for the pitcher who held all of our high school’s records.
My sister was walking along with her old friends as lots of people came up to greet her. She came over and spoke to us momentarily and then headed toward the back. Every time she tried to walk forward, someone would stop to hug her, so we ended up making it outside ahead of her.
The cold December air was welcoming as it dried the tears on my cheeks. We were a few steps outside the door when we saw Aaron coming toward us, and I imagined he was headed for my sister. He greeted my parents and hugged my mom briefly, smiling down at me, and I sort of pretended like I didn’t know him. I really didn’t, after all, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to. I was an afterthought to him, I imagined, anyway. He seemed like something was bothering him, and I was under the impression he needed to get to Cadence.
We walked on, my parents stopping occasionally to say a word or two to others who were making their way to the baseball field. The ground was a little slick as there was a fresh layer of snow over frozen ice, and my dad had both Mom and me by the arm so we wouldn’t slip in our dress shoes.
Hannah’s warm smile greeted us as we approached. Part of me wanted to hate her for what she’d done to my friends, but I also understood that it was her job, that she’d likely been ordered to do it.
A wave of self-consciousness washed over me as I realized we were walking over to them. There were people in this group I knew way too much about for having never met them. I dropped my eyes and squeezed my dad’s arm, hopeful that I wouldn’t have to say much. Hannah went through introducing us to all of them, and it seemed like my parents either knew some of them or had at least heard of them. I smiled but didn’t offer my hand to anyone, even though part of me wanted to know if they would be cold to the touch like Jack or warm like Elliott, who wasn’t with them.
Jamie looked slightly different than his pictures, but it was definitely the same man. He smiled warmly at me, and I felt like I would like him, if I could get over the fact that he was over a century old. Eliza looked perturbed, like she didn’t really want to be there. She nodded at me and offered a small smile. Meagan—whose name is pronounced like Me-gan—seemed nice enough. She had shoulder-length brown hair and looked a little frightened herself, like she was new to all of this or something. Christian’s eyes made me uneasy. He was also attractive, though not to the level of Aaron or Eliza, but something about the way he looked at me made me want to step behind my dad. I didn’t trust him.
Luckily, we only stood there for a few minutes before my parents moved away. My mom saw Sidney’s parents, and we went to talk to them. I wanted to pull my phone out and see where Elliott was but thought that would be rude. I glanced behind us, back toward the school, and saw my sister finally walking over. She was with her old friends and Aaron, and I wondered what the others would think of her
new boss. From here, it seemed like Sidney and Taylor were having trouble keeping their eyes off of him, and I guess I couldn’t blame them.
As I was gazing at my sister, I noticed some movement on top of the school roof in my peripheral vision and looked up to see Elliott for just a split second before he disappeared behind one of the air conditioning units. I was sure it was him, and in fact, I thought perhaps he wanted me to see him. I instantly felt relief, though I wasn’t sure why. It was like a safety net had been cast over us. Despite not knowing what it was that had me frightened, I was glad he was up there.
My toes were frozen by the time Alice and Steve finally made it to the baseball diamond. I wasn’t complaining, though. I couldn’t blame them for needing a few moments. They tossed some ashes, there was another prayer, and then we all slowly started to head to our vehicles.
There would be a gathering at Jack’s uncle Mike’s house in a little while. My parents wanted to drop me off at Lucy’s house—her parents had decided she didn’t need to come to Jack’s funeral, and Emma was with her—but I insisted that I wanted to go. I knew that Milo and Wes would be there, and I thought I was just as old and mature as they were, so my parents gave in.
We were about halfway across the field when my mom got a text. “Cadence is riding with Aaron,” my mom said, looking a little worried as she glanced over my head at my dad.
“Okay,” he said. I got the impression whatever it was my mom was concerned about, my dad didn’t get it.
I could see Cadence getting into the Lamborghini in front of us and silently wondered what it would be like to ride in that car. I wondered if I’d ever know….
We went home for a bit because we wanted to give Mike’s family some time and not be the first ones there. I sat on the couch, thinking about everything I knew that I wasn’t supposed to know. I didn’t keep notes anymore. I hadn’t written anything down since the other night at Lucy’s when I’d watched her and Emma destroy everything. I had watched the video I sent myself from Emma’s phone a few times, but I didn’t know anything more now than I did the first time I saw it.
Nor had I been able to find anything else out online. CHenry77 was pretty good at taking things down off of the entire Internet that seemed to provide any sort of realistic proof that vampires existed, other than the fact that I was pretty certain my sister was one.
There were several cars at Mike’s house when we pulled to a stop on the street out front, but none of them were Lamborghinis. I was relieved to see Milo was already there when I walked in, and Wes came in a few minutes after us. We didn’t say much, but standing there with two people I felt like I knew, felt like I could trust, calmed my nerves slightly.
Despite the overwhelming sadness in the air, people were chatting, and occasionally the sound of laughter would ring through the house. I think Jack would’ve liked that. He would want people to be happy, to go on with their lives and remember all of the good times we’d had with him.
“I’m going to go grab some cheese and crackers,” Wes said, always thinking of his stomach. “Want anything?”
“No thank you,” I replied.
“I’ll wait until you get back,” Milo said, and I smiled at him, thankful he wasn’t going to leave me alone.
Wes had only taken a few steps when I swore I heard an odd noise coming from outside. It sounded like gunshots. I looked at Milo, and his forehead crinkled, but he didn’t say anything. I turned to find my parents, who were seated across the room. My mom looked alarmed, and she said something to my dad, but he only shrugged, and I realized the noise likely wasn’t loud enough for him to hear.
Turning back to Milo, I cautiously asked, “Is it hunting season?”
He seemed to relax a little bit. “Oh, yeah. It is,” he nodded. He had to have heard the gunshots, too, and wondered, like I did, if we were in any danger. Regardless of the fact that neither of the two teenagers who had died recently had been shot, we were all a little bit on edge.
It couldn’t have been ten minutes later when I spied my sister on the front porch. She was definitely upset, and before she came in, she turned and buried her face in Elliott’s chest. Without being able to hear what he was saying, I could tell by his expression he was joking around with her, and in a few moments, they both came in the door.
I was slightly jealous that my sister was with Elliott, even though I knew it was dumb. They both smiled and waved at me, but my sister was intercepted lots of times before she even made it to our parents or her friends. Somehow, Elliott managed to get away from her, and I let go a deep breath when he came to stand beside me.
“How you doin’ lil girl?” he asked. The weight of his hand on my shoulder was like a warm blanket, and I felt my shoulders release pent up tension.
“All right,” I said, feeling like I could say more if we were alone. “Milo, Wes, this is my sister’s coworker, Elliott.”
“How you doin’ kids?” He offered his hand and they shook it, though they both looked intimidated by his size. Both of them mumbled something in response about being fine, and thank you, and even called him sir, which almost made me laugh. “You need a drink or somethin’, Cass?”
“I’m okay, thank you.” I glanced around the room and saw my sister standing with her arms crossed, an irritated expression on her face. “What’s the matter with Cadence?”
Elliott let out a sigh. “Can’t say. She’ll be all right.”
I raised an eyebrow and wondered if he’d tell me if my friends weren’t standing right there. But it didn’t matter because they were. I could tell that Milo and Wes weren’t sure what to do or say with Elliott nearby, and I think he sensed it, too. A few minutes later, he excused himself, but instead of heading back to my sister, he walked over to Jack’s parents. I should’ve found that odd, but nothing surprised me anymore.
Milo and Wes and I had started a conversation about Christmas, and I was
beginning to feel a little calmer when my sister came over and said, “Hey, Sis. I'm going to head back to the homestead. How you doing?"
I was more than a little ready to get out of there myself. I was so over all of this death
and loss. “Not so good. I hate funerals.” It didn’t matter that this was my first one. I had a feeling they were all the same.
“Me, too. Hopefully, we won't have any more for a while." Elliott was over with her friends now, talking, and they looked like they were having a nice conversation. I saw a flicker of what looked like jealousy cross my sister’s face. I felt it, too. She shrugged it off. "Mom said you guys were leaving pretty soon, too.”
“That’s good. I wish I could just ride back with you." I was ready to leave.
Cadence frowned. "I'm sorry, Cass. But Elliott drove Aaron's Lamborghini, and it's just
a two-seater."
Before I could say anything, Milo chimed in, "Lamborghini? That's so cool."
I couldn’t help but feel disappointed—and trapped. “Okay,” I said, staring at the toes of my shoes.
My sister exhaled loudly. "Wait a second.” She touched me lightly on the arm and then went over to talk to Elliott. He shrugged, and then she approached my parents. A few seconds later, my sister was back. "Okay," she said, "Elliott's going to drive Mom's car, and Dad's gonna drive the Lamborghini. So, you can ride with us."
I couldn’t help but laugh at the idea of my dad driving Aaron’s car. And then there was
Elliott in my mom’s van. "Seriously? That's hilarious."
"I know, right?" Cadence agreed. "I didn't tell Elliott he'd be driving a Honda Odyssey,
but I'm sure he will look cool driving anything."
There was something about the way that she said it that made me think she was back, the sister I was used to. I couldn’t help but wrap my arms around her. “I miss you, Cade,” I said quietly into her hair.
“I miss you, too, Sis,” she replied. She let me go, and I turned back to my friends as she headed off to meet Elliott by the door, Mom’s keys in her hand.<
br />
“I’ll see you guys soon,” I said. I felt like maybe I should hug them, but that seemed a little weird, so I didn’t.
“See you, Cass,” Milo said.
“Take care.” Wes offered me a small smile. I wondered if I’d ever be able to bring these two into the loop. The thought had crossed my mind back in the beginning, a few weeks ago, forever ago. I felt like it was a possibility then, but now, I realized not even Lucy and Emma were with me. Once again, I felt all alone.
Elliott was doing his best to cheer me up. We went through the drive through at McDonald’s and got ice cream cones, despite the cold weather. And he blasted a Lionel Richie song on the radio, singing off-key at the top of his lungs. By the time we got home, I was laughing and felt much better.
Seeing my dad pull up in the Lamborghini was also pretty comical. But that also meant Elliott would have to leave. Watching him pull away made me feel all alone again, even though my family was right there with me, and if it hadn’t been for a text from him I got a few moments later letting me know he’d be back soon enough, I probably would’ve broken down and cried.
Something was bothering my sister. I could tell by the irritated expression on her face. She slogged back over to the couch as I slipped my phone in my back pocket and agreed with Mom that Elliott was a great guy. I couldn’t help but ask Cadence the question that popped out of my mouth, the one that had her choking on her water. “Are you dating him, Cadence?”
Once she was able to breathe again, she said, “No! Why would you think that?” She had water all down her shirt and was brushing it away.
“I don’t know,” I admitted, sitting down near her. "I just thought you got along so well,