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Authors: Charity Santiago, Evan Hale
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what he was implying. “Eddie was a friend. Nothing more,” I said. “And since you’re so intent on prying into my personal life, I might as well tell you that Eddie left yesterday, because I wouldn’t sleep with him. Because I, unlike every man in the world, took my vows seriously when I got married, and I have no intention of having sex with anyone if there’s even the slightest possibility that my husband is still out there, trying to get back to me.”
I stopped to take a breath. I hadn’t intended to rant, or even to hint at my man-hating tendencies, but Reeve had hit a nerve. “I’m not going to be Lori Grimes, okay? She thought Rick was dead but she didn’t even know for sure, and all of a sudden she jumps in bed with Shane like she didn’t just lose the love of her life.”
Reeve rubbed his temple with one hand, probably thinking, This girl is nuts. But all he said was, “Who’s Lori Grimes?”
I blinked, and realized that I was acting a little crazy. “Lori?” I repeated, more gently. “She’s a character from The Walking Dead. She was kind of a slut. She thought her husband was dead, even though he wasn’t, and she immediately started hooking up with his best friend. When her husband finally found her again, it was all kinds of awkward.”
“Oh.” The vampire nodded, and I could only imagine what was going through his head.
“I just think it’s so pathetic how all men ever want is sex,” I continued. “There are so many more important things in relationships. Eddie’s my friend, and I care about him. We went through a lot together. It pisses me off to think that all I was to him was a piece of ass.”
“He probably doesn’t think of you that way,” Reeve said. “Maybe he just cares about you more than you care about him. Or maybe…he cares about you differently.”
I scowled, partly because I knew he was right. It was true, Eddie and I had been friends, but he’d wanted more than that. I’d been the one to say no repeatedly. What had he expected, though? He’d known right from the start that I was married- regardless of how much of a jerk my husband had been before he’d left.
“You’re pretty insightful,” I told Reeve. “For a man, I mean.”
He cocked one eyebrow. “…Thanks?”
I smiled. It was almost surreal, sitting in my neighbors’ living room, having a conversation with a vampire like nothing at all was out of the ordinary. For a moment, the idea of going back to my house and living life the way I had for the last eight months didn’t sound all that appealing. I knew that it wouldn’t take long for loneliness to set in, now that Eddie was gone.
I leaned my head back against the couch pillow and stared at the ceiling, listening to Kellie’s wailing outside. It was fainter here, and not nearly as loud as it was from my basement, but I could still make out some of her words.
“You know what bothers me most about her being there all the time?” I murmured.
“The name-calling?” Reeve replied immediately.
“Nope.”
“The way her voice sounds like a rat being tortured with hot poker?”
I bit back a grin. “No.”
“The way she airs your dirty laundry to everyone on the block?”
“Okay, you suck at the guessing game. Cut it out. No, none of those things. I miss the stars. Other vampires pretty much leave me alone now. If it wasn’t for Kellie, I might actually go outside once in a while and look up at the stars. But she’s there almost every night.”
I paused, remembering how I’d taken the stars for granted before the pandemic. There had been so many occasions when I’d been driving home from a long day at work, and I’d hardly stopped to look up at the night sky. “Now I couldn’t go outside, even if I wanted to. I feel like I’ve been separated from an old friend.”
There was a brief silence before Reeve said, “I feel that way, too. About the
I stopped to take a breath. I hadn’t intended to rant, or even to hint at my man-hating tendencies, but Reeve had hit a nerve. “I’m not going to be Lori Grimes, okay? She thought Rick was dead but she didn’t even know for sure, and all of a sudden she jumps in bed with Shane like she didn’t just lose the love of her life.”
Reeve rubbed his temple with one hand, probably thinking, This girl is nuts. But all he said was, “Who’s Lori Grimes?”
I blinked, and realized that I was acting a little crazy. “Lori?” I repeated, more gently. “She’s a character from The Walking Dead. She was kind of a slut. She thought her husband was dead, even though he wasn’t, and she immediately started hooking up with his best friend. When her husband finally found her again, it was all kinds of awkward.”
“Oh.” The vampire nodded, and I could only imagine what was going through his head.
“I just think it’s so pathetic how all men ever want is sex,” I continued. “There are so many more important things in relationships. Eddie’s my friend, and I care about him. We went through a lot together. It pisses me off to think that all I was to him was a piece of ass.”
“He probably doesn’t think of you that way,” Reeve said. “Maybe he just cares about you more than you care about him. Or maybe…he cares about you differently.”
I scowled, partly because I knew he was right. It was true, Eddie and I had been friends, but he’d wanted more than that. I’d been the one to say no repeatedly. What had he expected, though? He’d known right from the start that I was married- regardless of how much of a jerk my husband had been before he’d left.
“You’re pretty insightful,” I told Reeve. “For a man, I mean.”
He cocked one eyebrow. “…Thanks?”
I smiled. It was almost surreal, sitting in my neighbors’ living room, having a conversation with a vampire like nothing at all was out of the ordinary. For a moment, the idea of going back to my house and living life the way I had for the last eight months didn’t sound all that appealing. I knew that it wouldn’t take long for loneliness to set in, now that Eddie was gone.
I leaned my head back against the couch pillow and stared at the ceiling, listening to Kellie’s wailing outside. It was fainter here, and not nearly as loud as it was from my basement, but I could still make out some of her words.
“You know what bothers me most about her being there all the time?” I murmured.
“The name-calling?” Reeve replied immediately.
“Nope.”
“The way her voice sounds like a rat being tortured with hot poker?”
I bit back a grin. “No.”
“The way she airs your dirty laundry to everyone on the block?”
“Okay, you suck at the guessing game. Cut it out. No, none of those things. I miss the stars. Other vampires pretty much leave me alone now. If it wasn’t for Kellie, I might actually go outside once in a while and look up at the stars. But she’s there almost every night.”
I paused, remembering how I’d taken the stars for granted before the pandemic. There had been so many occasions when I’d been driving home from a long day at work, and I’d hardly stopped to look up at the night sky. “Now I couldn’t go outside, even if I wanted to. I feel like I’ve been separated from an old friend.”
There was a brief silence before Reeve said, “I feel that way, too. About the
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