by Yvette Ford
He struggled for his next breath. “Too hot, too light, too weak.”
I chewed on my lip and searched up and down the alley. “Do you want me to try to get you some water? I bet they have a corner store around here somewhere.”
Despite how bad off he was, he smirked. “Uh...that would be no!”
“What?”
He cracked a half smile that crumbled seconds after it formed on his face. “What I’m craving is not water.”
“Oh.” I wasn’t about to offer him a vein. “Why were you out here in the daylight? I thought you couldn’t survive.” Looking at him I modified that. “I know you can’t survive, so why did you risk it?”
“For the thrill.” He licked his lips and tried to grin again, but it wasn’t happening. “Come on, you can’t tell me you didn’t enjoy that ride across town, right? It was a rush.”
“Yeah, I’m not into rushes.” I stood up. “So what do you want to do, Blake?”
He looked like he was thinking it over with his eyes closed, but I think the light hurt his eyes. I considered giving him my sunglasses, but my head was still pounding. He got us into this mess, and I was not feeling like being that nice. My eyes no doubt weren’t as sensitive as his.
I sank down against the wall and hugged my ankles, considering what to do. I couldn’t leave him there, and I darn sure wasn’t waiting with him until the sun went down.
“Tanesha.”
“Yeah?”
“You saved my life. I think I should save yours.”
“Meaning?”
He took in a deep breath like he hesitated to let out his next words. “Don’t trust Ronnie.”
I burst out laughing. “What? Are you stupid? Ronnie is my best friend, and has been for most of our lives. Why would you even think I would listen to you?”
“Because I’ve never lied to you.”
This creepy feeling came over me, like the temperature had dropped and the sun went behind the clouds, but it didn’t. It was just as hot and bright out there. All the reaction was in me. I played dumb. “What are you talking about?”
“You can sense when someone is lying to you, can’t you? It might even be just a human thing. I don’t remember what that was like, whether I had regular everyday instincts. But you sense it. I feel it in you, distrust of Ronnie.”
“You mean you’re reading my mind.”
“Either way.”
I was so irritated, I stood up intending to leave him laying there so somebody would come by and kick his butt while he was down, but I just stood there frozen.
“He’s been lying to you.”
“You probe his mind too?”
“I’ve tried. I just know he’s lying about something. He’s keeping secrets just like we all are. Yeah, dude, you knew that too. I would tell you everything you wanted to know if I could.” He shrugged. “I like shocking people.”
“Evidenced by your style.”
“Whatever. Look, I said I was going to save your life, okay? I didn’t mean about Ronnie. If he was going to kill you, he’d have already done it, considering whether he could I guess. That move you did in the library was wicked! Anyway, the way I’ll save your life is to tell you to get out of here. They’re already on their way to pick me up.”
My stomach dropped. “They?”
“Members of my coven. They know I’m down. The collective, remember? Get out of here, Tanesha, before they find you and force you to go with them.”
All kinds of thoughts rushed through my head, like what did they want me for, and where was Lorcan? Was Adrianne his girlfriend? Was he in on the plot against me? I didn’t ask any of it. It seemed like every time I got close to getting some answers something or someone interrupted me. It was getting old fast.
“Are you sure? Are you going to be okay? I could—”
“Go! And don’t forget what I said...about Ronnie. Take a look around you, little girl. There’s a lot more that’s been going on than you know about, and has been for years.”
A tire wheel screeched somewhere in the distance. “They’re here,” Blake whispered in my head. I didn’t ask any more questions but spun around and took off at top speed down the alley. I willed with everything in me that I would move as fast as Blake did, but it didn’t happen. I could only pray that the vampires wouldn’t spot me, and that I wasn’t running in the direction that they were coming.
* * * *
The next morning was the first morning that I didn’t feel renewed and strong. I had to drag myself out of the bed with all my strength and shuffle into the bathroom. When I glanced into the mirror, I screamed.
My mother, who had been passing my door at the time, stuck her head in. “Tanesha, what’s your problem?” she demanded.
I swallowed. “Uh...uh...I found a pimple.”
I was glad she hadn’t crossed my room to peek into my bathroom, but I could imagine her rolling her eyes. “Ah, lord, teenagers! Girl, shut that noise up and get dressed so you can help me clean this house. Summer vacation doesn’t mean no chores. Got it?”
“Yes, Ma. I’ll be there.”
My door shut, and I focused on my face again. Where a couple days ago it had seemed like I had baby fresh skin and was vibrant with health, this morning along with no energy, I was pale. I mean sickly pale like my blood wasn’t circulating or something. I paced from the sink to the toilet and then had to sit down on the toilet because I had used up the little energy I had. “I can’t be dead. I can’t be dead. I can’t be dead.”
Putting my hands together, I looked up at the ceiling and pleaded. “Please, I beg you. Don’t let me be dead.”
Not knowing what else to do, I turned the faucet on and put my hands under the water. I was about to lift them to take a drink from my palms when my stomach turned in disgust. Blood. Oh no, I wanted blood. I craved it. Just seeing the color red on washcloth reflected in my mirror had me licking my lips.
A thought popped into my head, and I looked in the mirror, dragging my lips back from my teeth. No fangs, thank goodness. My teeth were just like they always were, a crooked one at the bottom which I hated, but right about now, I loved that little imperfect tooth. All the vampires I had met were physically perfect.
The longer I stood there, the greater the desire to drink blood was. Terrified, I turned on my shower and climbed into the tub still dressed in shorts and a T-shirt. I let the warm water run over me and felt the same horrible turn in my stomach.
“Just a little,” I muttered to myself. “Just a mouthful will do.” I was sounding like a druggy, and it flipped me out. I rocked, cried, and cursed Lorcan out for a good hour before I lost my fight against sleep. I don’t remember turning the water off, but I do recall slithering across the floor dripping wet to my bedroom, and hauling myself up to my bed. I prayed my mother wouldn’t come in to see what was taking me because I would need to sleep for half a century before I felt up to vacuuming the living room carpet and sweeping off the front porch.
* * * *
“Hey, Tanesha, wake up.”
I moaned and threw a pillow over my head. “Get lost.”
He yanked the pillow away and tossed it on the floor. I pried one eye open to glare at Lorcan. He wasn’t so cute, I tried to tell myself. “You lied. You didn’t come last night.”
“I had to take care of something. I’m here now.” He held out his arms so I could see he was wearing black jeans and a red T-shirt. What was up with the color black with them? Red I could see. As the fog lifted from my brain, I remembered what had happened earlier and was glad to note my body didn’t go psycho at the sight of Lorcan’s shirt. Had it been my imagination?
No. I was still weak. I had to fight to get up and sit on the side of the bed. “I hate you. Get out of my room.” Tears filled my eyes. “Look what you’ve done to me.”
He sank down beside me and tried to hold me, but I shoved him. He held onto my hands, and I couldn’t shake him off. “Don’t push me away. I’ll help you. Trust me.”
; “Trust you?” I stood up, but my head began to spin, and I fell back down. Lorcan pulled my feet up and laid me back against my pillows. “You did this. You’ve killed me.”
He leaned down over me, staring into my eyes and brushing at my nappy, wild hair like it was made of silk. I wished I could hide. “You’re not dead, Tanesha. You’re still human, still alive.”
With his forehead resting against mine, he closed his eyes, and I did too, breathing him in. I wanted to hate him, wished I had never met him, but I craved just talking to him, being with him, as much as I had the blood earlier.
“I guess I had what you would call chores to do last night, and I was glad to do them because it would help me put some distance between us. I thought I would realize that I could let you go.”
I licked my lips. “And?”
“And I can’t.”
He curled his fingers around mine and kissed my hands. I felt like a woman, and Lorcan was my man, but on the other hand, it was like playing house, and I was expecting my bubble to pop soon. “I’m so weak, Lorcan. I feel like my throat is closing, like I can’t breathe.”
You would have thought I told him he was fat and ugly the way his face fell. The depression in his eyes was clear. “Can’t turn back, Tanesha.”
His jagged teeth came down.
“No.” I shook my head. “No, Lorcan. I can’t do it.”
“You have to.”
He raised his wrist to his mouth and bit down. Thick red blood oozed around his lips. It should have been gross, but it wasn’t. In my head, I went over what I had read in that book at the library. I could make an excuse to him to let me go down to the kitchen. I could get a knife and...No, I couldn’t. Not him. Not Lorcan of all people.
Lorcan held out his wrist, and I took hold of it ready to slurp it up. A knock on the door, a twist of the knob, and I was holding air in front of my mouth. Lorcan was gone. I glanced from my mother now standing in my doorway to the window where the curtains were billowing.
“Are you okay, baby?” my mother asked. “I came in earlier, and you were knocked out. I couldn’t wake you for anything.”
“Sorry, Ma, I wasn’t feeling well. Something I ate I guess.” Or something I didn’t eat, I thought, remembering the sight of the blood on Lorcan’s wrist. Even as I sat there all calm as you please in front of my mother, I was greedy to find Lorcan. I actually wanted to jump out the window after him. The only thing about that is I wasn’t sure if it was the blood calling me or Lorcan himself. I was in so much trouble, and how could I tell my mother that? She would be making me an appointment to see a head doctor inside two seconds.
I grabbed my stomach and hunched forward, not meeting my mother’s eyes. “I’m still not feeling that well. I think I should just go back to sleep since it’s getting late, and try again tomorrow.”
She nodded. “Yeah, might as well. Your chores will wait.”
I sighed. “Thanks a lot, Ma.”
Her laugh irritated me as she strolled across to my bed and sat down a saucer I had noticed in her hand. “Here, eat this sandwich I made for you. It’s sliced turnkey and cheese on rye with mayo. The way you like it.” She pushed the plate toward me, and I resisted shrinking from it like it was filled with poison. “You need your strength because I can see you’re still shaking. If you’re not better tomorrow, I’m calling your doctor.”
To cover, I snatched the plate up like I was starving and lifted a half of the sandwich to my mouth. “Dang, Ma, don’t worry. I’ll be fine tomorrow.”
“Don’t dang me. Next thing I know you’ll be cussing me out. You’re not grown yet.”
I grumbled. “Sorry.”
She walked over to the door and shot a dark look at me over her shoulder. “Finish all of that food and go back to sleep. I’ll check on you in the morning.” It was almost like she expected me to try sneaking out of the house and she was locking me down. I made my face as innocent as possible and smiled back as I bit into the heavy bread. Nothing could have tasted more like sawdust.
Chapter Seven
When my mother shut the door, I spit the bite of sandwich out and ran over to the window. I searched the back yard, but Lorcan wasn’t there. By that time, I was seriously desperate. I tiptoed to my door, listened at it, and then opened it, but the sound of the TV in the living room let me know my mother was down there. Probably folding clothes and watching the news. I couldn’t get out the back door or the front because one of the steps creaked, and before I could get out, she’d see me.
Feeling defeated but still crazy enough to try anything, I ran back to my window, shoved it open wider, and threw a leg out. We didn’t even have a fire escape like some people did, and in other houses around the city, some people had second story porches on the back of the house. Ours was a straight drop down to a broken leg or a snapped neck.
I swallowed, took in a shaky breath and put a second leg over the sill. Maybe if I twisted around and let myself drop from my hands, there would be less chance of breaking my neck. I was about to go for it when something stopped me. I couldn’t see anything, but there was a force around me, keeping me from going beyond the window. I actually leaned way out, or tried to. Four or five inches from my house, an invisible shield kept me in place.
Was that why Lorcan hadn’t come back? That weird protection thing he had mentioned went up? Was it because I didn’t want him here? While I sat there, I tried to project my thoughts to him wherever he was. “Lorcan, you out there? Come in, good buddy.”
I laughed at the CB talk. This time, no one laughed with me. At least Blake wasn’t around. Come to think of it, I hoped he was okay. I was sure he was. The men in his coven, the older ones, probably patched him right up. I was another story.
“Lorcan!”
Still no answer. I climbed back inside and stumbled across the room to stand over the plate of food. All the energy I had left had been used climbing out the window. I was in worse condition. After sinking to my knees, I laid my head on my bed and reached for the sandwich. Downstairs, the doorbell rang. I let my gaze drift to the clock at my bedside. Who would be coming here at eleven thirty at night?
A deep voice I recognized rumbled on the stairs. “I’ll see if she’s still awake.”
“Dad!” My yell of excitement was weak, and I didn’t get up, but I was so glad to see him. It had been forever. And while I loved my mother a lot, as great as she was, she couldn’t compare to my dad. He was seriously—my hero.
My mother had to be whack to have left him. He had money, he was over six feet tall, and he was obviously good-looking because everywhere we went when I was younger, women were trying to talk to him. That pissed off my mother. I had thought it was funny at the time, but Lorcan would no doubt get the same reaction from girls at my school or the mall, and I would hate it. Not that he was my boyfriend or that I was hoping he would be, but still. I’m just saying.
My dad stepped inside the room and shut the door behind him. He rushed around the bed and pulled me up from the floor. His frown at the plate of food as he set it aside told me it was just as much a turn off to him as me, but then he had always been a picky eater. He lifted my chin and looked into my eyes. The dark expression on his face made me shiver.
“What’s been going on around here?”
I pulled out of his hold and glanced away. “Nothing. I don’t know what you mean. Same old, same old.”
I wasn’t going to tell him about the vampires after me or about Lorcan in particular. He’d flip. Well, he wouldn’t believe me, and I’d find my butt down at the nearest hospital in the psych ward. No thanks. I would keep my secrets to myself.
“Don’t give me that, Tanesha.” He was starting to sound like my mother. “You’re pale, you’re shaking, and your mother said you’ve been sleeping for almost twenty-four hours.”
I waved an arm that proved his words by the way it wibble-wobbled around, and I dropped it in my lap, hoping he didn’t notice. “Ever heard of a cold or the flu?”
�
��Tanesha!”
“Sorry, Dad.” You could get away with smarting off to your mother sometimes, but you didn’t try that crap with your dad unless you wanted to land on the floor blinking and wondering how you got down there. “You know how she is. She exaggerates. I have not been sleeping for twenty-four hours.” I pretended to cough. “Just a little bug. No big deal.”
I don’t know who I thought I was fooling, but it was not Evan Johnson, that’s for sure. “I feel like you’re not being taken care of, and if that’s the case, someone will have to answer to me.”
“Dad, Ma’s doing her best. For real, just let it go, please.”
He didn’t respond for a few minutes, and I started twitching. A weird feeling came over me, and I glanced out the window. I could have sworn a shadow flitted past, too big to be a bird. The gentle pressure came over me, the one I’d experienced before when a vampire was probing my mind. I shut my eyes tight and thought of fruit—watermelon, apples, oranges. That turned my upset stomach, so I thought of the color yellow and associated it with the sun. I pictured the sun in my mind, great, big, and hot. I remembered that our sun was so big you could get millions of Earths inside it. When I learned that, it blew me away. That must mean the sun was ridiculously far away from our planet. Yet we felt the heat from it.