We walked in silence for a while before I asked, “Can you turn into mist?”
“No.”
“What about a shadow?”
“Nope.”
“Can you hypnotize people and make them go to sleep?”
“I would’ve put you to sleep by now if I could. You talk too much.”
“What about mirrors?” I continued, ignoring his audacity.“Can you see your reflection? I don’t even know what vampire stories are real anymore. My entire life has been a lie.”
“That’s what you get for believing that romance shit.” He moved unnervingly fast to kick a rock I’d been aiming for. It flew several blocks ahead.“And no, I can’t see my reflection.”
“That must be so weird. What’s your religion? Just in case I need to burn a hole in your skin one day.”
“I don’t have one.” He thought for a moment before saying,“Actually, I did. But I don’t follow it anymore and I’m not telling you what it was.”
“I bet I can guess.”
“Go ahead. I doubt you’ll get it.”
“Buddhist? Christian? Catholic? Mormon? Muslim? Jewish? Scientology?”
“No, no, no, no, no, no. And no.” He laughed as I frowned in defeat.
“I can’t think of anymore.” I slowed down as we reached my front porch. My eyes roamed his dark clothes, which were soaked and clinging to his body. The padlock chain around his neck was glistening, as were the chains around his wrist.
“You didn’t try Hinduism.”
“Oh, yeah. Are you Hindu?” I jumped as his hand slipped in my back pocket, but he was only grabbing my keys.
“No.” He unlocked the door and stepped aside to let me in.“I have some stuff to take care of. I’ll see you later. Don’t kill yourself while I’m gone.”
“Wait.”
He stopped halfway to shutting the door. “What?”
“Will youpleasetell me?” I gave him my puppy eyes. “Pretty please?”
“No.” He laughed eerily and tossed me the keys. I tried to catch them but they landed at my feet. “Bye, Vixen.”
The door barely missed my foot as it closed. I yanked it open, but he was already gone.
Scream
My stiletto boots clicked against pavement as we approached the bar. I’d spent all of yesterday at home watching cartoons and moping again while Ari went to school. There had been no sign of Dennis, which was refreshing. Now I was back to normal and ready to drink.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Ari asked for the millionth time.
“Why not? We only got kicked out once. It’s not like we’re banned for life.” I smoothed down my crop top and straightened my skirt.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. It should be fine.”
“Itwillbe fine.” I grinned as we linked arms.“Plus, it’s already been three days. They might not even remember us by now. And look, no one’s carding.” I pointed to the door. The entrance and parking lot were both oddly empty tonight.
“That’s good,‘cause I’m pretty sure I forgot the fake ID at home.”
