I process all of that. So, Evie's keeper is a demigoddess? I bet that came as a shock. He's always been so gods-fearing.
But if the Upheaval lasted for six months and was as bad as this guy is implying…
Please, please,pleasestill be alive, Sunshine.
"Glad you and your girlfriend made up. You should have a conversation with her about your cousin," I add. "Give me your phone, unlocked."
Horton obliges. His screensaver is of some famous athlete whose name I don’t remember. I swipe out of some mobile game he was playing, and?—
Oh my gods.How does someone function with this many unread messages showing on all their apps?Three thousand emails?One of my eyes is twitching already.
I look up, tsking at him. "Be more organized, Bob."
"Okay, Ian," he readily agrees.
Against my will, my attention latches onto his neck for a second. My fangs start to ache, throat siezing tightly as I imagine red pulsing, dripping, gushing…
Flooding my mouth.
Soothing my burning throat.
I brace myself on the cashier counter as I breathe. In. Out. In. Out.
"Hey, Horton. Ever done anything you feel guilty about? Something awful? Hurt someone, somehow?"
"Yeah."
Damn. On the one hand, I really don't want to justify killing him, but on the other, I'mso fucking thirsty.It's suddenly crushing my windpipe as my own pulse rockets through my ears, never mind the fact that my heart is motionless in my chest.
"Tell me about it," I whisper, pinching my nose hard as I fight the onslaught of bloodlust.
Horton hums thoughtfully. "A few years ago, I…I…"
"You hurt someone," I guess, my mouth watering as my fangsburn, ready for action.
"Uh-huh. I stole twenty bucks from my grandpa. He sent me to get groceries and handed me a bunch of cash, but I really needed new wired earphones, so I kept a twenty from the cash and?—"
I look up at him, determined not to notice his neck. Right now, Bob is just a floating head to me.
“Twenty bucks? That's it?"
"I should tell Gramps about it," Horton slurs. "But I mowed his lawn a few times for free, so I don't know. Maybe we're even?"
Exhaling slowly from my mouth, I pace away from the counter and back again, pulling fingers through my hair as I do my best to force back the feeding urge ripping through my neck and stomach. I'm fucking filthy, clothes and hands stained in the blood of five people. I don't remember the last time I bathed, just like I don't remember all the horrid things that vampyr made me do.
I need a long shower and a good night's rest, and then Ineedto see Heidi.
Not to mention, I'll have to get Everett's dogs back. Hopefully, they made it through the Upheaval, too. Considering the guy I left them with right before that fucking vampyr got to me, I'm pretty confident that those polar bears are just fine.
Finally, I stop by the counter again, focusing on the kid's phone. I sign out of one of his social media apps, sign into my fake account, and go straight to Heidi's profile.
Please have a recent update. Please show any sign of life.
"Don't sweat the twenty. You're a good kid, Bob," I mutter absentmindedly to him, swallowing hard when I see that Heidi's last update on here is the last one I saw her post before shit went down at the Divide.
In the picture, she's bathed in the sparkle of Starfall Eve lights, standing beside a decorated tree. A festive drink is in herhand as she winks with all her characteristic flirtatious charm at the camera. I don't have to scroll to know that the following few pictures include her best friend, Jessica Martinez, and that the caption reads "cheers to starting a new year."
I trace Heidi's face on the phone, my pulse thrumming despite my stilled heart.
