Read Online The Vampire Next Door by Charity Santiago, Evan Hale - Free Book Online
Authors: Charity Santiago, Evan Hale
Ads: Link
ones?”
The corner of his mouth was curved upwards as he watched me chow down on the processed meat. “I didn’t see anything else, but I can go look again.”
“No, it’s okay- but thank you, thank you so much. I love these things. Eddie hated them, I mean, he even hated watching me eat them, but that was fine with me, because I don’t like sharing anyway.” I popped another sausage into my mouth and chewed blissfully.
“Eddie? Is that your husband?”
“No, that’s the guy who…” I stopped myself, suddenly unsure if I wanted to reveal the fact that Eddie was gone, and I was alone.
“…The guy who is living with you?” Reeve finished for me.
I nodded, trying to swallow around the sudden lump in my throat.
He unscrewed the cap on the Advil bottle and tapped two capsules into his hand. “Here,” he said, holding them out. “This should help with your knee.”
I took the pills, and also accepted the bottle of water from him. “I don’t suppose you’re a doctor with an x-ray machine in the other room so you can tell if anything’s broken.”
Reeve shook his head. “No such luck. You’re welcome to stay here as long as you need to, though.”
“Thanks, but I have to get home as soon as it’s light.” I didn’t want to say too much. I was finding it difficult to have a conversation without revealing the fact that I was all alone in the world, with the occasional exception of a scruffy mutt named Holloway.
“You want to get back to Eddie?” Reeve said dryly. “He must be worried about you.”
I nodded. “Yeah.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. Eddie probably was worried about me, wherever he was.
Reeve stood and moved across the room, his massive frame dwarfing the loveseat as he sank down into the cushions.
I picked up the second can of Vienna sausages and peeled off the lid. “So how long have you lived here, Reeve?”
“Here in this house?”
I nodded.
“I’m not sure,” Reeve admitted, leaning forward and bracing his elbows on his knees. He rubbed his chin with one hand. “I woke up here. I think maybe I lived in this house before I became a vampire.”
“No, you didn’t,” I said. “I’ve lived next door for two years. The couple who lived here before the pandemic were in their seventies.” I paused, only just realizing what he’d said. “Don’t you remember your life from before you were, um, turned?”
“Not much,” he said. “Bits and pieces have been coming back. I know I was a mechanic, or at least that I worked on cars and motorcycles a lot. I remember that I had a wife. But I don’t remember what she looked like.” He looked up at me. “The first time I saw you, through the window, I thought you might be her.”
I blushed under the intensity of his stare, and laughed weakly. “Sorry to disappoint, but my husband looks nothing like you.” Cole’s arresting green eyes flashed in my mind, unbidden.
“I figured.” Reeve shrugged. “I don’t remember much else.”
Still trying to push Cole from my thoughts, I pondered Reeve’s admission. It had never occurred to me that vampires might experience memory loss when they first came back from the dead. Kellie certainly hadn’t seemed to have any problem accessing her memories of me.
“How long ago did you wake up here, in this house?” I asked.
“It’s been almost a month.”
I nodded, chewing thoughtfully on my last Vienna sausage. “I guess that explains why we haven’t met before.”
“I don’t go out much,” Reeve said. His eyes darted up to my face, then back to the floor, and he cleared his throat. “Actually, Kennedy, I think I need to be honest with you.”
My heart skipped a beat when he said that. I hastily swallowed my food, and sat up a little straighter, bracing myself to grab the stake from my vest if he relayed some kind of horrible plan to fatten me up for ritual
The corner of his mouth was curved upwards as he watched me chow down on the processed meat. “I didn’t see anything else, but I can go look again.”
“No, it’s okay- but thank you, thank you so much. I love these things. Eddie hated them, I mean, he even hated watching me eat them, but that was fine with me, because I don’t like sharing anyway.” I popped another sausage into my mouth and chewed blissfully.
“Eddie? Is that your husband?”
“No, that’s the guy who…” I stopped myself, suddenly unsure if I wanted to reveal the fact that Eddie was gone, and I was alone.
“…The guy who is living with you?” Reeve finished for me.
I nodded, trying to swallow around the sudden lump in my throat.
He unscrewed the cap on the Advil bottle and tapped two capsules into his hand. “Here,” he said, holding them out. “This should help with your knee.”
I took the pills, and also accepted the bottle of water from him. “I don’t suppose you’re a doctor with an x-ray machine in the other room so you can tell if anything’s broken.”
Reeve shook his head. “No such luck. You’re welcome to stay here as long as you need to, though.”
“Thanks, but I have to get home as soon as it’s light.” I didn’t want to say too much. I was finding it difficult to have a conversation without revealing the fact that I was all alone in the world, with the occasional exception of a scruffy mutt named Holloway.
“You want to get back to Eddie?” Reeve said dryly. “He must be worried about you.”
I nodded. “Yeah.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. Eddie probably was worried about me, wherever he was.
Reeve stood and moved across the room, his massive frame dwarfing the loveseat as he sank down into the cushions.
I picked up the second can of Vienna sausages and peeled off the lid. “So how long have you lived here, Reeve?”
“Here in this house?”
I nodded.
“I’m not sure,” Reeve admitted, leaning forward and bracing his elbows on his knees. He rubbed his chin with one hand. “I woke up here. I think maybe I lived in this house before I became a vampire.”
“No, you didn’t,” I said. “I’ve lived next door for two years. The couple who lived here before the pandemic were in their seventies.” I paused, only just realizing what he’d said. “Don’t you remember your life from before you were, um, turned?”
“Not much,” he said. “Bits and pieces have been coming back. I know I was a mechanic, or at least that I worked on cars and motorcycles a lot. I remember that I had a wife. But I don’t remember what she looked like.” He looked up at me. “The first time I saw you, through the window, I thought you might be her.”
I blushed under the intensity of his stare, and laughed weakly. “Sorry to disappoint, but my husband looks nothing like you.” Cole’s arresting green eyes flashed in my mind, unbidden.
“I figured.” Reeve shrugged. “I don’t remember much else.”
Still trying to push Cole from my thoughts, I pondered Reeve’s admission. It had never occurred to me that vampires might experience memory loss when they first came back from the dead. Kellie certainly hadn’t seemed to have any problem accessing her memories of me.
“How long ago did you wake up here, in this house?” I asked.
“It’s been almost a month.”
I nodded, chewing thoughtfully on my last Vienna sausage. “I guess that explains why we haven’t met before.”
“I don’t go out much,” Reeve said. His eyes darted up to my face, then back to the floor, and he cleared his throat. “Actually, Kennedy, I think I need to be honest with you.”
My heart skipped a beat when he said that. I hastily swallowed my food, and sat up a little straighter, bracing myself to grab the stake from my vest if he relayed some kind of horrible plan to fatten me up for ritual
Similar Books
