“But they don’t,” I said simply.
“Right,” Theo said patiently. “But you’re going to lie and tell Adriel and Pierce that they do.”
“Lie?” I murmured. “But I can’t do that.”
A wave of devastation crashed into Theo’s expression. “Maxwell, you promised you’d help!”
“I want to help, but lying about my patients’ conditions?” I said. “That completely goes against the Hippocratic oath… Besides, do you two really want to go through with this?”
Benji and Caleb both nodded. They seemed almost as serious about this plan as Theodore, who was currently staring at me so hard he might have melted my hair.
Why did this matter so much to him?
“Please, Max,” Theo begged. “If not chicken pox, then something else.”
I scratched my arm. “Well, it’s not so much the chicken pox, just... lying to their fathers. Won’t they get mad if they find out it’s not true?”
“Neither of them are physicians.” Benji shrugged. “I’m sure they would take your word for it. After all, you’ve been looking after the girls since they were born.”
“And us, too!” Caleb added. “They trust you, Maxwell.”
Can I really betray Pierce and Adriel’s trust like this?I thought. They did so much for me, giving me a place to live and a new clinic… Was it worth throwing their faith away to prove Theo’s innocence?
I glanced over to him now. Fear and desperation shone in his eyes. He almost looked like he was about to cry.
He wants this so badly,I realized. If I said no, I’d be letting Theo down immensely. And if I didn’t agree to it, what would he do then? Continue to live under house arrest until Adriel somehow changed his mind about Theo’s stability?
It was a difficult situation all around. But as I searched Theo’s expression, I found myself becoming more and more willing to agree. There was a deep yearning in his soul that I couldn’t ignore. I wanted to meet him halfway.
“Okay, I’ll do it,” I said finally.
Theo probably would have let out a sigh of relief, if he was a breathing creature. Meanwhile, Caleb and Benji were ecstatic.
“There’s one problem, though,” I began. “The girls, uh, clearly don’thavechicken pox.”
Lark, the older of the two cousins, sat up on the floor, paying close attention to our conversation. Luna, the younger one, was crawling around and totally ignoring us.
“We could draw red spots on them,” Benji suggested.
“That’s stupid,” Caleb countered. “If you’re gonna put something on them, it has to be more believable, like special effects makeup.”
“I don’t think those will work,” I mumbled. “The illusion would be ruined if Pierce or Adriel touched the make-up.”
“Maybe we can use their ancestry to their advantage,” Theo suggested.
“How so?” I asked.
“Maybe their vampire heritage masks some of the symptoms a human might have. After all, we’re physically superior and have perfect skin. Uh, no offense.”
“Perfect skin,” I murmured. “You might be onto something, Theo.”
He grinned, happy to receive my praise. Then he kneeled down to Lark’s level. “Hey, Lark. Can you do something for your uncle Theo?”
She nodded enthusiastically.
“Can you act itchy for me?”
She blinked at him with big eyes. “Like this, uncle Teo?” She started lightly scratching her arms.
