Read Online Because the Night (The Night Songs Collection) by Kristen Strassel - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Kristen Strassel
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me, defeated. “You can always count on me, Callie. But this is just a bad decision. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a plane to catch. And a beheading waiting for me.”
“Just trust me. I have to try this. I can always come home.” I got up to hug Keisha. She wouldn’t let go of me. I stiffened as I felt her sobbing against me.
“You’ve got time to make it to the airport. Please rethink this.” She kissed me on the cheek when she finally let go. I felt bad, she actually looked sick.
I flopped back down on the bed after she left. I had a little bit of time to relax before Janelle came to pick me up. Emotion bounced through my body.
Sure, I was terrified. But I’d never been so excited about anything in my entire life.
Chapter Eleven
“Have you lost your damn mind?” My mother reacted just like I expected she would.
“No. I really want to stay for a little while. I like it here.”
“What are you going to do, Calliope?” My mother only used my full name to let me know her next move was giving me up for adoption. That wasn’t an option anymore. “Swing from a pole?”
“No. That’s not the only thing that goes on here. I’ll get a job. And go to school. I can have a future here.” I chose my words to jab at her.
“Well, you better figure it out. If you’re not at that airport when I pick Keisha up, you can stay there for good.” The dial tone rang in my ear before I had a chance to say another word.
I fought tears as I held the phone against my chest. My mother regularly went for the jugular, but I hadn’t expected to get disowned. It would never stick once my dad got wind of this. I was Daddy’s girl. He’d always let me come home.
I hoped.
“Your mother might be kind of evil, but at least she taught you how to cook.” Janelle savored every bite of the meal I’d made her. All she ever ate was fast food. She was going to die of a heart attack before she turned twenty five. Now I was available to cook for Janelle for the long haul.
“I love to cook. It’s kind of nice to have free reign in your kitchen.” In general, I just liked to make things. Food, clothes, what have you. We’d just picked up the basics for me: an air mattress, bedding, a lamp and plastic storage bins. I planned on making curtains, a bedspread, and throw pillows later. I didn’t want everything to be the same as what everyone else had. I needed a job before all the free time made me crazy.
“You get to keep me after all.” I told Blade when he picked up the phone. “I hope you meant what you said.”
“That is the best news I’ve heard all day. In fact, that’s the best news I’ve heard ever.” My heart healed a little bit after the scathing reaction my mom had to the same announcement.
“So, know anyone who’s hiring? I need to fund this little adventure.”
“Actually, I do.” This was the best news
I‘d
heard all day. “My friend Jack needs help. It’s some hoity toity vampire bar, but the public isn’t allowed so it’s not that bad.”
“How many vampires are there?” What was going on in this city? There so many that they needed their own social club?
“God, you have no idea. I’ll pick you up in half an hour and we can swing by.”
Embrace was located several blocks west of the Strip, between a strip mall and an apartment complex. Like any other building in the city, its flat black exterior looked dusty and worn in the sunlight. I expected to walk into a gothic, blood red interior, shadowy and mysterious. Instead, a clean, light gray décor greeted me, with a white bar, white shiny stools, and white tables. A silver pattern textured the wallpaper. Provocative art hung proudly on the walls, and modern abstract lighting hung from the ceiling.
Only one man stood in the room as we entered, entering totals from paperwork into his laptop from behind the bar. He belonged in the sunshine, the streaks in his blonde shaggy hair and the lines on his face showed in the harsh overhead
“Just trust me. I have to try this. I can always come home.” I got up to hug Keisha. She wouldn’t let go of me. I stiffened as I felt her sobbing against me.
“You’ve got time to make it to the airport. Please rethink this.” She kissed me on the cheek when she finally let go. I felt bad, she actually looked sick.
I flopped back down on the bed after she left. I had a little bit of time to relax before Janelle came to pick me up. Emotion bounced through my body.
Sure, I was terrified. But I’d never been so excited about anything in my entire life.
Chapter Eleven
“Have you lost your damn mind?” My mother reacted just like I expected she would.
“No. I really want to stay for a little while. I like it here.”
“What are you going to do, Calliope?” My mother only used my full name to let me know her next move was giving me up for adoption. That wasn’t an option anymore. “Swing from a pole?”
“No. That’s not the only thing that goes on here. I’ll get a job. And go to school. I can have a future here.” I chose my words to jab at her.
“Well, you better figure it out. If you’re not at that airport when I pick Keisha up, you can stay there for good.” The dial tone rang in my ear before I had a chance to say another word.
I fought tears as I held the phone against my chest. My mother regularly went for the jugular, but I hadn’t expected to get disowned. It would never stick once my dad got wind of this. I was Daddy’s girl. He’d always let me come home.
I hoped.
“Your mother might be kind of evil, but at least she taught you how to cook.” Janelle savored every bite of the meal I’d made her. All she ever ate was fast food. She was going to die of a heart attack before she turned twenty five. Now I was available to cook for Janelle for the long haul.
“I love to cook. It’s kind of nice to have free reign in your kitchen.” In general, I just liked to make things. Food, clothes, what have you. We’d just picked up the basics for me: an air mattress, bedding, a lamp and plastic storage bins. I planned on making curtains, a bedspread, and throw pillows later. I didn’t want everything to be the same as what everyone else had. I needed a job before all the free time made me crazy.
“You get to keep me after all.” I told Blade when he picked up the phone. “I hope you meant what you said.”
“That is the best news I’ve heard all day. In fact, that’s the best news I’ve heard ever.” My heart healed a little bit after the scathing reaction my mom had to the same announcement.
“So, know anyone who’s hiring? I need to fund this little adventure.”
“Actually, I do.” This was the best news
I‘d
heard all day. “My friend Jack needs help. It’s some hoity toity vampire bar, but the public isn’t allowed so it’s not that bad.”
“How many vampires are there?” What was going on in this city? There so many that they needed their own social club?
“God, you have no idea. I’ll pick you up in half an hour and we can swing by.”
Embrace was located several blocks west of the Strip, between a strip mall and an apartment complex. Like any other building in the city, its flat black exterior looked dusty and worn in the sunlight. I expected to walk into a gothic, blood red interior, shadowy and mysterious. Instead, a clean, light gray décor greeted me, with a white bar, white shiny stools, and white tables. A silver pattern textured the wallpaper. Provocative art hung proudly on the walls, and modern abstract lighting hung from the ceiling.
Only one man stood in the room as we entered, entering totals from paperwork into his laptop from behind the bar. He belonged in the sunshine, the streaks in his blonde shaggy hair and the lines on his face showed in the harsh overhead
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