“No.”I went to leave again but she grabbed my arm.“Don’t touch me.”I shoved her off with more force than necessary—she slammed against thebuilding.
She glared at me but held her ground.“So you’re really not even gonna say hi.”
“Bitch I tried to run over, I don’t remember your name, why are you here?”I asked blandly. I honestly didn’t remember her name. Either that, or I’d purposely blocked it out.
“I see you’re still violent, as always.”She looked at her arms, examining the marks my shove had caused. “Since you’re being nosy, I’m here for my man’s weird vampire shit job offer.”
“What’re you talking about?”I demanded. She was clearly human, so what did that even mean?
“What’re you doing here?”She dropped her arm to look me dead on. No emotion.
“Don’t try to change the subject. I moved here last month. Now answer my question.”
“What’re the fucking chances, am I right? Guess we’ll be in the same area again. Anyway, no, I’m not answering. This isn’t high school. You don’t get to order people around anymore.”She stepped back when I stepped toward her.“Are you gonna threaten me?”
“No.”
“Good. Because it wouldn’thave worked—”she gasped as I snatched her neck and shoved it against the wall.
“You can either tell me what the fuck you’re talking about, or we can let your neck change colors like your arms.” I squeezed tighter, holding her up. She, of all people, knew I was serious. She scratched at my hand but I only held tighter, smiling as her face changed color.“I can’t really see your neck sinceI’m choking you, but your face is halfway there. I’m thinking you have a few more seconds…”I trailed off as she spluttered something that sounded like giving up. I dropped my hand and she sucked in a desperate breath.“Tell me.”
“Vampires. I was talking about vampires,”she said hurriedly,“something, I don’t know, it’s like controversial—confidential, I mean, my boyfriend told me he has a job working with vampire-human something that needs him here—”
“Wait, you know about vampires?”I interrupted. Her eyes were on my fangs now. A second passed before she looked up.
“You think you’re one of them.”She stared at me in shock. Then the shock became repulsion, and the repulsion turned to malice.“Great. The freak bitch is hereandthinks she’s a vampire now. I can’t believe you’re this delusional. I’ve been patient with my boyfriend because he’s having some stupid psychotic break about his friend going missing, but what’s your excuse?” She eyed me in disgust. “Even in bumfuck nowhere, I can never get away from you.”
I closed my eyes as a years-old promise flashed back to me. Not to kill anyone. I’d promised Ari I would never try to kill anyone again. Especially this girl, since I’d already tried with her once.
“Well you can now,‘cause I’m leaving.”I was determined to keep my promise. I started to walk away, but her strident laughter cut through the night.
“Yeah, slut. Keep walking.”She called after me. Footsteps echoed as she followed.“Run off and cry like all the other times I broke you down. Some things never change, do they? You’ll always be the same Emotional-Wreck Emy”—I froze at the name I hadn’t heard in so long—“you’ll always be damaged goods. Oh, now you’re waiting for me to catch up?”
“I’m not.”
But I didn’t move. I couldn’t.
“I missed you,”she said as she caught up to me.
“You missed me?”My stomach lurched at the way she was smiling. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t live with her here. I already knew it would be the same thing all over again. The same fucking thing, and she wouldneverstop.
“I missed you,”she repeated.“I missed seeing you cry. I missedmakingyou cry. I missed all your meltdowns and watching you break things in class. I missed this expression. I missed all your screaming, and the rumors I spread, and the tantrums you threw, and your probation officer, and getting to torment you every damn day you showed up for class—”
I stopped listening. I couldn’t deal with this again.
“I asked you something, slut.”She snapped a finger and everything came back.“How much of this town have you slept with? Like a fourth? Maybe a third?”
“Only one person, and he actually means something to me,” I sniped.“Not that it’s any of your fucking business.”
“I see you’re still a compulsive liar. Not surprising. You probably slept with all the girls already. You always liked those more.”
“No. I don’t have a preference. I’m not a picky bitch like you.”
“Yeah, we noticed.”She laughed and blocked my path when I tried to leave again, feeding off my scathing glare.“You can never make up your mind or stay off your back, can you?”
“I don’t know,”I started sweetly,“why don’t you ask the guy who dumped you so I could turn him down?”
“See, this is why no one ever liked you! You’re an ugly, worthless, home-wrecking bipolar freak who’s never gonna get anywhere in life. I’m surprised you even graduated with how stupid you are—”
