bed. My bed was across the room—a small twin frame that Mrs. Harper was kind enough to dig out of the attic and set up for me. “What the hell is going on between you two?” I didn’t sit up, but I could see her shadowy silhouette in the moonlight spilling through the bedroom window, her eyes almost glowing. Though we had called it quits for the night, her bed was buried beneath papers. “Don’t think that you’re gonna ignore me, Ava. I’ll keep you up all night singing bad show tunes if I have to.” And she would. The cheesy musicals she made me watch once a week were bad enough, but her voice doing the singing? Torture.
“Fine with me. I don’t really need sleep anyway.” That wasn’t entirely true. Being half vampire meant I could go without sleep much longer than a full human, but it didn’t mean I liked it. And after the day I’d had—road trip to Boston, heated tension with Erik, cryptic threatening letter—I was exhausted.
“Okay.” She killed the flashlight she had been using to scour more files and flipped on the lamp beside her bed. “You want some West Side Story or Grease? Those are my favorites, but I’m open to other suggestions.” I wished then that I knew the most obscure, unheard-of musicals, just so I could get her to shut up. But the only ones I could recall were those she had forced me to endure. So it was either sit through her ear-piercing rendition of “You’re The One That I Want,” or spill the beans. Some choice.
“Fine.” I gave up the fight and sat up in my bed. “What do you want to know?”
“Like I haven’t been asking you the same question all night.”
“Okay, okay.” Deep breath. “I don’t know what to tell you. I don’t know what’s going on between Erik and me. Honest.”
“No clue, huh? All the touchy feely kissy kissy, and you have no idea?”
“Well, I know what’s happening, I just don’t know why.” And that was the truth. I had no clue how things between Erik and me got to the point of intimate touches and whispered words. A month ago, when we were fighting side-by-side against Sebastian and his coven, Erik and I had barely said five words to each other. Now, things were different. “Maybe it’s that whole ‘connected by a trauma’ thing?”
“Um, huh?”
“You know, they say that when people go through a traumatic event, they tend to gravitate toward each other or something like that.”
“So of all the things you’ve forgotten about your past, that’s what your brain remembers?”
“No,” I said, rolling my eyes at Kayla’s attempt at humor. “I saw it on some talk show.” I didn’t feel the need to tell her that I was sort of lying. I had seen it on a talk show; it just happened to be before the whole buried alive thing.
“Whatevs,” she said, using her hand to exaggerate her disdain. “Truth time.” She stared long and hard at me, so long that I almost asked if she had forgotten how to speak. No such luck on that one. “Do you like him?” Her knees were drawn up to her chin, her hands clasped around her bare legs.
Hello, obvious. “I don’t know,” I answered, my mind going over the past few weeks. “We’ve gotten close, I’m not gonna lie. And I like being around him. He’s funny and sweet and thoughtful.”
“Are we talking about the same Erik?”
“Yes, we’re talking about the same Erik.” I smiled at her and rolled my eyes. But then, I took a moment to really think about it. “Actually, no, we’re not. This Erik’s different. He’s changed. He’s more open now, more aware of his own feelings. I guess losing Lila did that.”
“Yeah, I can see it, too.” Kayla stretched out her legs and slid down beneath her blanket. Papers ebbed and moved like waves, some rolling off the bed onto the floor.
“You can?” I asked, mimicking her movements, getting comfortable again. I didn’t say that both Erik and I had noticed the same changes in her. I guess that night and all that happened
“Fine with me. I don’t really need sleep anyway.” That wasn’t entirely true. Being half vampire meant I could go without sleep much longer than a full human, but it didn’t mean I liked it. And after the day I’d had—road trip to Boston, heated tension with Erik, cryptic threatening letter—I was exhausted.
“Okay.” She killed the flashlight she had been using to scour more files and flipped on the lamp beside her bed. “You want some West Side Story or Grease? Those are my favorites, but I’m open to other suggestions.” I wished then that I knew the most obscure, unheard-of musicals, just so I could get her to shut up. But the only ones I could recall were those she had forced me to endure. So it was either sit through her ear-piercing rendition of “You’re The One That I Want,” or spill the beans. Some choice.
“Fine.” I gave up the fight and sat up in my bed. “What do you want to know?”
“Like I haven’t been asking you the same question all night.”
“Okay, okay.” Deep breath. “I don’t know what to tell you. I don’t know what’s going on between Erik and me. Honest.”
“No clue, huh? All the touchy feely kissy kissy, and you have no idea?”
“Well, I know what’s happening, I just don’t know why.” And that was the truth. I had no clue how things between Erik and me got to the point of intimate touches and whispered words. A month ago, when we were fighting side-by-side against Sebastian and his coven, Erik and I had barely said five words to each other. Now, things were different. “Maybe it’s that whole ‘connected by a trauma’ thing?”
“Um, huh?”
“You know, they say that when people go through a traumatic event, they tend to gravitate toward each other or something like that.”
“So of all the things you’ve forgotten about your past, that’s what your brain remembers?”
“No,” I said, rolling my eyes at Kayla’s attempt at humor. “I saw it on some talk show.” I didn’t feel the need to tell her that I was sort of lying. I had seen it on a talk show; it just happened to be before the whole buried alive thing.
“Whatevs,” she said, using her hand to exaggerate her disdain. “Truth time.” She stared long and hard at me, so long that I almost asked if she had forgotten how to speak. No such luck on that one. “Do you like him?” Her knees were drawn up to her chin, her hands clasped around her bare legs.
Hello, obvious. “I don’t know,” I answered, my mind going over the past few weeks. “We’ve gotten close, I’m not gonna lie. And I like being around him. He’s funny and sweet and thoughtful.”
“Are we talking about the same Erik?”
“Yes, we’re talking about the same Erik.” I smiled at her and rolled my eyes. But then, I took a moment to really think about it. “Actually, no, we’re not. This Erik’s different. He’s changed. He’s more open now, more aware of his own feelings. I guess losing Lila did that.”
“Yeah, I can see it, too.” Kayla stretched out her legs and slid down beneath her blanket. Papers ebbed and moved like waves, some rolling off the bed onto the floor.
“You can?” I asked, mimicking her movements, getting comfortable again. I didn’t say that both Erik and I had noticed the same changes in her. I guess that night and all that happened
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