“No, it’s raining, I will get them,” Josh threw over his shoulder as he disappeared into the kitchen. When he reappeared, his next comment was to Mary. “Do you need me to go back to the market for anything else?”
“No, I think I have enough. If not, we will make do.”
I looked up, but Karson was gone. I followed Mary into the kitchen. “What dinner is Karson having?”
She pulled out a jar of chutney and sauces from one of the bags. “He’s having Rodney and his crew over.”
“Oh.” Did that mean I had to spend the night in my room? He wouldn’t want me around them.
“I could think of other words I’d prefer to say thanoh.”
I chuckled as I reached into a bag and took out four home-baked apple pies and placed them in the fridge. “Not a fan.”
Mary’s forehead wrinkled. “I’ve met nicer snakes in my lifetime.” She took a leg of lamb out of a bag, the flesh pink and streaked with a thin layer of fat. My stomach churned.
“Eat,” he ordered, a cold, sly grin on his stubbled, thin, filthy face.
Tears slithered down my cheeks. The lamb I bottle-fed, the lamb who followed me everywhere, the lamb I loved. Her blood pooled across my plate.
My fingers shook around the fork as my mind screamed,Run! Run and never come back.My eyes fell to the snow pounding against the windowpane. It was miles to the nearest house, through the woods, through the darkness. With no jacket to keep me warm, I’d freeze to death.
A fist slammed on the table. “I said fucking eat!” he roared.
“Amy … are you alright?”
I blinked back to the room, my heart racing in my chest. I felt sick, hot. That particular foster family had been especially cruel, sadistic in the worst kind of ways. I stomped the memory down deep, buried it in a coffin, where the vilest corpses lurked. Sometimes I could hear them scratching against the walls of my brain, trying to break free. I didn’t want to exhume them, didn’t want to stare into their dead, cold eyes. I knew instinctively that if I unsealed the lid they would rush to the surface and destroy my life.
“Oh goodness, I’m sorry.” Mary quickly placed the meat in the fridge. “I know you’re a vegetarian, but I didn’t realize it would upset you.”
I swallowed and my mouth tasted of decayed bones, ash, and rot. I swallowed again and forced a smile. “Oh no, it’s alright, I’ve seen meat plenty of times.” And blood. Lots of blood.
Josh opened a jar of boiled sweets. “You’re a vegetarian? Me too.” He held the jar out to me. I took one. “Well, I was. I guess I still am. I don’t eat meat.” He tossed a sweet into his mouth, then offered the jar to Mary; she declined.
“Can you be classified as vegetarian if you drink blood?” Mint and chocolate fizzed across my tongue.
“Yes. I don’t drink an animal’s blood, that would be mean.” He grinned wryly, sitting the jar on the bench. “Only human blood.”
My chest loosened as I laughed. “So humans are fair game?”
“Have you met humans? Most of them are assholes.” His smile dropped as he admitted almost sheepishly, “I mostly drink synthetic blood when I can’t get it, and I only ever drink from blood bags. I figured if it’s donated it’s fair enough. And besides, if I don’t drink, I die.”
Mary switched on the kettle and spoke over her shoulder. “Most humans are good. It’s just that the bad ones who do the damage in society are the ones who get noticed.” She grabbed three teacups out of the cupboard. “Then humans create stories they call ‘the news’ and broadcast all the negative events, and then we wonder why everyone is so damned depressed.”
“Ain’t that the truth.” Josh popped another sweet into his mouth and sprang up so his ass was rested on the bench.
Mary handed us cups of tea with milk and sugar, and slipped a plate of caramel slices between us, before she sat down at the table with hers.
“Thank you.” Josh picked up a piece of caramel slice and twirled it around, admiring the way the caramel was thick and gooey and dark chocolate was melted over the sides. “These are my favorites.”
“I know,” Mary said. “That’s why I bought them.”
“How long have you been a vampire, Josh?” I asked, taking a seat.
“Four years, six months and three days and …” He glanced at his wristwatch. “Five hours.”
I almost choked on a mouthful of tea. Josh wasn’t a fighter. He was kind, funny, had a big heart. He reminded me a lot of BJ, and I suppose he did for Georgie too and that was why we all got along so well. I couldn’t wait for him to meet BJ and the others.He didn’t strike me as the sort of guy Karson would normally turn. “Four years! What happened?”
“Funny story,” he said in a way that told me the story wasn’t funny at all. “I used to work at the market Mary went to.” I glanced across to Mary; she gave him a sympathetic smile. That explained why he’d looked sad earlier when she’d mentioned it. “Have you ever been?”
