Read Online Hollowed by Kelley York - Free Book Online

Ha.
    Algonquin trails behind me, occasionally batting at my shoelaces. It isn't until I'm standing outside of Cole's room that I realize he almost seems to be trying to stop me. He puts himself between me and the door, paws on my foot.
    "What's wrong? Did grouchy Oliver scare you yesterday?" I lean to scoop him up, and barely make out the voices on the other side of the door.
    "... Until we find out what it is that boy and the others want, you can't be letting her run off on her own. That was foolish."
    I straighten slowly . They're talking about me? I guess that's a duh ; who else would it be?
    "I got it, I got it. I thought she would do better on her own, that's all. And I can't watch her twenty-four hours a day, she'll start asking why." Oliver's voice fades in and out. He's pacing, I'll bet. Toward the door, away from it. "She's already asking questions I don't know how to answer. If we could just tell her the truth–"
    "Not yet. I don't want her overreacting ."
    My skin prickles . The truth about what? What aren't they telling me? Or more importantly, what are they telling me that isn't true?
    The logical thing would be to leave. Get out of here before they notice me. If I confront them and they don ' t react well... then what? I can't imagine them hurting me, but I also hadn't thought they would lie to me, either.
    One untruth after another. N oah's betrayal. The truth about Ruby . Now this.
    I swipe the card key and shove open the door, nearly slamming it into Oliver in the process. He whirls, staggers back. Like a deer caught in the headlights. That's right, Bambi. You are so busted.
    They stare at me, tense. Both silent and waiting to see how much I heard. Arms crossed, I lean against the doorframe.
    "Truth about what?" When neither of them say anything: " You have ten seconds to start talking before I walk out. "
    They exchange looks. Cole stands slowly.
    "Briar. It's very important that you tell us the truth about what happened last night. It's the only way we can help keep you safe." In such a smooth, comforting voice. Like that ' s going to calm me down.
    " Me tell you the truth ? " It hurts so much because I'd planned on it. I came over here for that exact reason. "Yeah. You first."
    Oliver's eyes narrow. Not at me, no, but at Cole. "Briar..."
    Cole shoots a hand out to grab his shoulder, mouth drawing into a tight line and w illing him to silence. Surprisingly, Oliver ignores him. He looks right at me and shakes Cole's hand off.
    "You weren't turned by accident."
    Not what I expected to hear. Kind of takes the wind out of my sails, actually. How do I respond to that with anything other than , " Sorry ?"
    Oliver drifts closer. He braces himself on the doorframe, leaning in so he can speak like he has a secret to tell.
    "In the old days, a vampire would feed their blood to someone in order to infect them. These days, it's usually done through a direct injection of blood from the vampire to the human."
    "What about the biting?" My voice comes out shakier than I mean for it to. Even as I'm saying it, I remember the look on Oliver's face when I asked him about it last night. How trapped he seemed. Like he didn't have an answer. "You lied to me."
    "I didn't lie," he says. "I don't lie. There are a few documented cases in recent history of a bite being enough to turn a human, yes, but the chances of it are literally one in a million."
    No, no. This can ' t be right.
    "You lied by omission of information. Who was it?" I'm three seconds from crying. My gaze shoots to Cole. "Was it you? I thought it seemed pretty fucking convenient for you guys to find me."
    Cole steps up behind Oliver. I'm glad he gives me a little bit of breathing room, because I'm feeling really claustrophobic right about now. "It wasn't either of us. And we don't know; we were trying to figure that out. It's rare for a vampire to turn someone and simply abandon them."
    Abandoned. Ditched. Like Noah ditched me, like Ruby apparently did, too. "This