by W.J. May
Chapter Nineteen
“Okay, I’m not leaving you alone anymore,” said Nathan as he paced back and forth in the kitchen. We were both too shook up to sleep.
“Fine,” I said, taking a sip of coffee.
He wagged his finger. “We should talk to mom and see if she’s willing to move back home, too.”
My jaw dropped. “But what about Duncan and our new jobs?”
“What about… there’s a vampire after you, Nikki? Or should we call you ‘Miranda’?”
I sighed. “What if he follows us anyway? He said he’s been looking for me and now that he’s found me, we are supposed to be together.”
“How romantic,” snickered Nathan. “If you ask me, I think he just wants to get into your pants.”
“He almost did,” I mumbled.
“Good thing I heard those groans and whimpers coming from your room, which was gnarly, by the way. Do you know how disturbing it is to hear your sister getting it on with a vampire?” He shuddered. “It’s sick.”
I smiled. “Thank you for being a nosy brother, Nathan. You probably saved my life. At least, my virginity.”
“Thank my stomach. If it wasn’t for mom’s leftover pasta salad calling to me in the fridge, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
“Probably not.”
He sat down by the counter. “I just don’t know what else to do. You know, I wonder if we should see if Abigail is still in town. She might have some ideas. She’s the only other person who’d believe us.”
“We should probably go and pay her a visit in the morning,” I said.
He looked at his watch. “The sun will be up soon. I’m going to grab my sleeping bag and camp out in your room for the next few nights. Hopefully, that horny vampire gives up and decides to go after someone else.”
“Oh, my God,” I whispered in horror. “What if he killed all of those girls in the paper? You said they were all similar looking. Maybe he was looking for me?”
He snorted. “Or worse yet, you are not the real Miranda and he decides to kill you when he figures it out.”
I glared at him. “Oh, thanks, Nathan. Just when I think it can’t get any worse.”
“Hey, I’m just trying to keep everything in perspective. I mean, we shouldn’t rule anything out,” he said with a yawn.
His yawn triggered one from me. “True, but I hope you’re wrong,” I said as we headed out of the kitchen and back upstairs.
Ten minutes later, Nathan was snoring on the floor but I was still awake. I stared at the door to my balcony, which was now closed and locked. Part of me still longed for Ethan and I wondered if I’d have the strength to say no if given the chance to surrender to him again.