I roll my eyes. "Yes. He shared the ability with me. Maybe shared a little extra, too." I'm not actually sure what I'll be able to do now. Not everyone gets everything. But there's no question I can now summon slayer fire--dynamis--to every part of my body, rather than to just my hands. Just like that. As easily as breathing. And Cole seemed pretty confident I'll now be immune to zombie toxin, as if he controlled what he passed on. Maybe he did. It's a skill Ali learned through her mother, Helen.
When Camilla and I get to my apartment, I lock myself in the bedroom. I don't care what she does or where she sleeps. I just know I don't want to see her or think about her right now.
I fall into bed, where I sleep like the truly dead, only rising with the sun. I shower, arm up and emerge to see her awake and perched on the couch, watching TV. We don't say a word to each other.
I grab my keys and head to the truck. She follows me. Whatever. This is what Kat wants, so this is what Kat will get.
The silence continues the entire drive to Hash Town. The old-school building is made of redbrick and cracked mortar. Charming, in a way. Inside, the walls are painted pale blue and the floors are tiled in black and white.
Cole and Ali are situated at a table in back...with a brunette I don't recognize. A new recruit?
Camilla and I slide into the only two chairs available, on opposite sides of the stranger.
"Raina, this is Frosty," Ali says. She's exchanged her black leather fighting clothes for a pink dress, and she looks beautiful. Reminds me a bit of Taylor Swift, to be honest. Tall and blonde and slender, with a delicacy Cole claims brings out his inner animal. "Frosty, this is Raina. And no shop talk, okay? This is purely social."
I get the hint. The girl isn't a recruit.
The brunette offers a shy smile and wave. She's pretty in a "touch me and I'll break" sort of way, but I like her eyes. They're so dark they're almost black.
"Wow," she says to me. "I didn't know there was anyone else in the world as large as Cole."
I nod--what can I say, really?--and signal the waitress for coffee.
Ali slides a thick, rolled-up napkin in Camilla's direction. "What you asked for. You'll want a moment alone."
Raina looks at the napkin, then at Ali, then at the napkin again. "Um, what's going on?"
"I... She..." Ali looks to Cole for help, but in the end it's Camilla who comes to the rescue.
"Tampons. A lady must be discreet." Camilla winks, then stands and walks away.
"Excuse me." Curiosity propels me to my feet, and I follow her--straight into the ladies' bathroom.
"I should have known," she says on a sigh.
"You're not supposed to leave my side, remember?"
"Whatever." She unrolls the napkin. A piece of paper and a syringe fall out.
I catch them before they hit the ground and hand them over. She pales as she reads the note, then curses under her breath.
I snatch the paper from her to read it for myself.
Reeve was able to extract liquid from the darts. You were shot up w/some kind of slow-acting zombie toxin. She's never seen anything like it. While she studies the ins and outs, this concentrated antidote should help. It's a gift from Helen. Well, the recipe is. Reeve mixed everything together. In a perfect world, it will completely negate what's flowing through your veins. Also, Cole & I searched for tracks at the cemetery, but there were too many to pinpoint the girl. I'm sorry.
The news is bad, but it isn't the worst.
"This is going to hurt." I pull the top from the syringe and jab her in the arm.
She doesn't flinch, doesn't even frown. I do the latter. I've had broken bones and torn muscles, but I still howl like a baby when I'm stabbed, no matter how tiny the blade.
I cap the needle, roll it with paper towels and toss the wad into the trash. "Tell me if you start to feel sick. Even the smallest twinge." I'll put her out of her misery. Because I'm sweet like that.
"Sir, yes, sir." She gives me a jaunty salute.
We return to the table, where Ali is regaling Raina with a story about her grandmother. "--walked in when Cole and I were kissing. I just about had a heart attack. But Nana, she remains the picture of calm as she sits beside us on the couch and asks if we're the evening's entertainment or if we'd like to watch a movie with her."
"I wish my grandmother was so cool." Raina smiles and focuses on me. "Frosty. That's an interesting nickname. Who gave it to you?"
"Cole." Coffee is poured at last, and I drink it hot and black. The hotter and blacker the better. I'd drink motor oil if it wouldn't kill me. Camilla, I notice, pours four sugars and half a carton of cream into hers.
Raina continues to look at me, as if expecting more of an answer. Finally, she says, "When did he give it to you?"
"Elementary school."
Silence.
Ali kicks me under the table. I frown at her.
"There are a thousand rumors floating around about why." Ali leans her head against Cole's shoulder and pets his chest. "Most believe he got trapped outside after an ice storm and lost two of his toes to frostbite."
"That's my favorite." Kat had somehow convinced herself it was true, and that I'd had the two toes surgically reattached, despite the impossibility of reviving dead flesh.
"Unfortunately," I add, "the real story is far less exciting."
"Well...?" Ali insists.
"I'd just moved to a new school for the third time that year, and on my first day, I knew I had to prove my prowess or I'd end up being every bully's whipping boy. Again. I was small back then. I slinked through the halls, determined to take down the reigning badass, which just happened to be Cole. I provoked him into a fight, and he punched me. I fell, but quickly got back up. This happened again and again until finally he stopped and told me I must have ice in my veins, since I was practically begging for more hits rather than curling into a ball and crying."
"First time anyone ever got up," Cole says with a fond smile. "And he did it more than once..."
"Well, you hit like a baby." I give him a smile of my own. "It was either stay down and laugh, or get up and let you try again."
Cole snorts, and Ali laughs outright.
"Did you give him a nickname in return?" Raina asks me.
"Yes. Asshole."
This time Ali snorts, and Cole laughs. Camilla nods with approval.
Raina leans closer to me, a slow grin spreading. "What nickname would you give me?"
Right now? Inquisitor. For some chick I just met, she sure asks a lot of questions. "I don't know you well enough."
"Well, hopefully we can change that."
I shrug noncommittally and take another drink of coffee.
Cole clears his throat and I meet his gaze. His lips are twitching at the corners as he gives a sharp shake of his head.
"What?" I demand.
"He's amused by the fact that you haven't figured out this is a setup." Camilla opens a packet of strawberry jelly and eats the inside. "A meet-and-greet. An arranged blind date."
Shut the hell up. Raina is flirting with me?
"Ali." I do my best to keep the anger out of my tone. "A word."
"Oh. No, thanks. I'm good." She looks everywhere but at me.
"Now." I stand and "help" her to her feet, then drag her through the maze of tables and into the bathroom hallway. I whirl on her, saying, "What the hell, Ali?"
"Hey, don't blame me." She spreads her arms wide. "I'm simply obeying Kat's orders."
Kat told her to set me up with another girl? Damn it. I don't... I can't... The anger burns out of control, setting fire to my shock, and all I can do is choke on the fumes. I would never--never!--push Kat at another guy. I still love her. I still want her.
But she doesn't want me.
Is she up there, watching me? Will it hurt her to see me flirt with another girl?
I guess we'll find out.
"I'm sorry," Ali says. "I know this isn't--"
"Where'd you meet Raina?" I'm not interested in he
r pity. "What kind of girl am I dealing with?"
"Before I moved in with Nana and started going to Asher, I attended Carver Academy with her." She nibbles on her bottom lip. "She's a senior like you, a cheerleader with a sweet heart, and she knows nothing about Zs."
Kat was a cheerleader in junior high, before kidney disease rendered her too weak. "Let's get this over with."
Ali grabs my arm as I walk away, stopping me. "One thing. Be nice to her, or I'll be wearing your testicles as earrings tomorrow."
"Set me up on another date," I tell her, "and I'll be using your lady balls as a coin purse."
Snorting, she bumps my shoulder with her own. "You'd look good carrying a purse, but if you reach for my lady balls, Cole will cut off your hand."
"I'm willing to risk it."
"And it'll be your loss."
We head back to the table.
"--last boyfriend," Raina is saying to Camilla.
Camilla opens her mouth to reply, sees me and stays quiet.
The waitress arrives, and we place our orders.
Raina offers me a nervous smile. "Alice--I mean Ali--tells me you're a boxer like Cole."
The truth and yet...not. "I taught him everything he knows. He still needs some work, and he'll never be able to beat me, but I'll never give up on him."
Ali beams at me. Cole chokes on a drink of orange juice, and Camilla pours another packet of sugar into her cup.
"Would you like some coffee with your sugar?" I ask her.
"No, thanks. Did you see the sign? You have to pay for every refill," she whispers as if it's some terrible secret. "My first cup is my last."
Because she can't afford more? Something clenches in my chest. Before I can talk myself out of it, I lean over and give her half of my coffee. She blinks at me, baffled, and it irritates me, because I'm just as baffled.
"If you die of dehydration, you can't be my bodyguard," I growl.
"Bodyguard? Surely she's not... Are you two...?" Raina waves a finger from me to Camilla, Camilla to me.
"No," we answer quickly, both horrified by the prospect.
"Not even friends," I add.
Raina frowns in confusion. "Then why--?"
"Tell me about you," I interject in a rush.
She blushes, shifts nervously in her chair and stutters the word I as she tries to think of something to say. Wonderful. I've made her uncomfortable. I'm off my game. Clearly. I probably couldn't charm a rabbit out of a hat.
"I'll start," Camilla says. Taking pity on the girl? "I'm nineteen, and like the boys I'm a boxer. I recently had a falling-out with my brother, my only family. I'm afraid of spiders and I adore cherry Life Savers."
I can't imagine her being afraid of anything. "Don't forget your tire-slashing fetish."
Ali narrows her eyes and points her fork at Camilla. "Did you slash his tires? Wait. Never mind. Don't answer that. I'll have to hurt you."
Cole takes her fork and sets it on her plate. "No utensil fights. I'm still healing from the last one."
"Fine." She nudges him in the stomach, saying, "Your turn. Tell us all about you."
"Are you sure you want that? We're in a public place and you tend to rip off my clothes when I--"
"Oh, my gosh. Shut up." Ali pinches his lips together.
Raina watches their interaction, transfixed.
Cole leans back, freeing his lips while draping his arm behind Ali's chair. "I'm an adrenaline junkie and Ali-gator is my favorite high. I also like cherry Life Savers."
"How am I keeping my hands to myself?" Ali says drily.
"I don't know. Did I mention you taste better than those cherry Life Savers?"
Ali fans herself.
"Well." Raina clears her throat. "I'm a big fan of the University of Alabama. Roll Tide! I'll be starting in the fall. Though I haven't decided on a major, I'm leaning toward nursing."
I keep her talking the rest of the "date," asking questions about her past, her likes and her dislikes. She tries to question me in return, but I shut her down every time. My business is my business, and I've only ever shared with the three people closest to me. Cole, Bronx and, once upon a time, Kat.
Kat, who can't wait to get rid of me.
My coffee cup shatters, my grip suddenly too tight. Hot liquid spills over my hand and the floor as sharp porcelain cuts into my skin. The pain is nothing. I barely notice, but Raina gasps and almost faints at the sight of blood.
Camilla pats the girl on the shoulder. "Uh, don't take this the wrong way but I don't think nursing is the career for you." She rushes off to gather a cool, wet cloth. "Before you ask," she says to me, "it's clean."
I snatch the rag before she can attempt to wash the wounds. If I had two broken legs and couldn't reach a bag of Oreos--probably a fate worse than death--I still wouldn't allow her to help me. I don't even want her acting as my shield, and if it wasn't for Kat, I'd just take my chances.
Live right, or die trying.
*
"You're an awesome slayer, but you're a horrible date," Camilla says as we climb into my truck.
Needless to say, I won't be seeing Raina again. Nice girl, but totally not my type. "I'm sure you've been on worse."
"Uh. Hmm." Camilla says no more and stares out the window.
"Don't tell me they've all been winners. I'll know you're lying."
"I'm not telling you anything. I'm enjoying a little peace and quiet. Well, trying to."
Something about her snotty tone... "You have been on a date, haven't you? Answer, and you'll get your peace and quiet."
Her nails dig into her knees, her knuckles quickly turning white. "I'm not a virgin, if that's what you're getting at."
Do I detect...remorse? "You don't have to go on a date to get screwed." I know this firsthand, considering my behavior the past four months.
"Oh, just shut up," she says.
A deflection, which is an answer all on its own. "You haven't been on a date." I'm completely floored. Like Raina, she's not my type, but I have eyes and even I have to admit she's an insanely beautiful specimen.
"Boys were too afraid of my brother to be seen with me in public," she says, hurt practically dripping from her tone. "That's what I told myself, at least. They never stuck around long enough to explain their reasons."
So, the boys hung around her secretly, almost as if they were ashamed of her, and then took off after they'd gotten what they wanted.
Did my hit-and-runs hurt like this?
Damn. Guilt winds around me and squeezes the air from my lungs.
I'm curious about Camilla's experiences, but I don't like that I'm curious. I stop asking questions, and she offers no more details. The silence continues as I go about my day, running my errands.
First up--Shady Elms. I plan to do my own tracking. Unlike Cole and Ali, Camilla knows where Dart Girl started and ended. We track her to a corner street, where a car must have been waiting for her. There are no lamps nearby, no buildings, which means no security footage.
Camilla is ticked, which is why my next stop is the gun range. She can work off some steam.
Located in the middle of nowhere, the large metal building is painted camo-style to blend into the mountain behind it. As we sign in, the guy behind the counter stares at Camilla as if she's wearing a sign that says, Eye-Rape Me. Please. I'm surprised she pretends not to notice rather than blinding his eyes with a one-two punch.
"Hey," I snap, and he jolts. I don't have to say a word. The displeasure I'm projecting speaks for me.
He ducks his head and starts to wipe the counter clean. "Uh...right. You two are in stalls thirteen and fourteen."
We cover our ears and make our way to our assigned spots. There are six other guys here, and each does a double take when he catches a glimpse of Camilla. Again, she pretends not to notice. Or, hell, maybe she doesn't notice. Kat would have--
I lock up the wayward thought, before it leads me to do something stupid.
Motions jerky, I load my .44 and aim
. Boom. Boom, boom, boom. I keep my shots to the torso. After I unload two rounds, I compare my hits to Camilla's. Well, well. She prefers to hit the head and groin. Should have known. Fighting dirty is her MO.
I'm impressed.
"Working through a few issues?" I ask her as we leave, our headphones off and gear stored in the truck.
"A few?" She laughs without humor. "You have no idea."
No, I don't, because I don't know her.
And I don't to want to know her.
We head to the post office, where I mail paperwork for one of my classes. Then, it's to the gym for a very necessary workout. I begrudgingly obtain a guest pass for Camilla. Does she say thank-you? No. She doesn't say anything at all, just skips off to use the elliptical, run the treadmill and even lift a few of the lighter weights. I pay no attention to her. Nope. Not even a little. I punish the boxing bag for everything I've been dealing with, every punch exorcising emotion. By the time I call it quits, my knuckles are black and blue.
After Camilla and I shower in our respective locker rooms, we practically have to crawl to the truck. But we aren't done for the day.
Next stop--the grocery store.
"Pick whatever you want," I grumble, grabbing a cart. A few moms are there with their kids, the little boys and girls staring at me with wide eyes, as if I'm a superhero--or a monster. I just wink.
As I mosey down the first aisle, Camilla remains a few paces behind me. I grab a box of cupcakes, Twinkies, cinnamon rolls and powdered donuts. Slayers work out hard, and eat harder. Except, she grabs nothing. "Don't tell me your sweet tooth has been satisfied. The way you savaged those sugar packets, I'm pretty sure you're an addict."
A pink flush colors her cheeks. "I don't have any money with me."
"So? I'm paying."
"No." She gives a violent shake of her head. "You're not paying for my food. I owe you, not the other way around."
"If you owe me, you have to do what I say. And I say pick some food. Now. Hungry girls are bitchy girls."
She glares at me. "Chauvinist boys are dogs."
"Camilla--"
"Just drop it, Frosty. Okay?"
Anger sparks. "No, I won't drop it. You'll pick some food or you'll move out. If you're weak from hunger, you can't protect yourself and you certainly can't protect me."
"This from the boy who stole my granola bar."
I'm the one who flushes now. "Pick a fucking dessert."
"Fine." She throws in a bag of cherry-frosted brownies. "Happy now?"
Not really. But before I can respond, Kat appears before me, jumping up and down with excitement, even clapping her hands. "I tried waiting for you to return to the apartment, but I can't stand it anymore. How was the date?"
A Mad Zombie Party Page 8