He leaned his head on the wheel, trying to get air to his lungs. He felt like he might be sick.
What he should do, was drive to a police station. He could report what had happened, get help.
But he felt like he was on the edge of a breakdown, and he didn’t want to do that in a cold police precinct, alone. He needed–he needed help.
He needed Karim and Julien, and needed to tell them that there was a Purist group that had been watching them. Stalking them?
Because what if they went after the vampires next? A Purist group in San Jose had killed three vampires just last year before they’d been stopped.
Oh god,and it would be all Luis’s fault.
He put the car back into drive and sped out of the neighborhood.
Chapter Twenty
Julien and Karim’s neighborhood was as quiet as ever. As he creeped closer in his car, he could see lights on inside their house. Nothing looked amiss, there were no foreign cars in the driveway, no obvious signs of anything having gone wrong.
Still, Luis parked down the street and got out to walk up to the house, nerves buzzing. There were regular streetlights to see by, but they only amplified the shadows beyond.
The back of his neck prickled and he hurried up the drive.
He knocked loudly on the front door, and then couldn’t stop knocking. The sound was loud, and he felt eyes on him. Luis turned his head to peer at the dark behind him, expecting at any moment Eric or one of the others to appear.
They were going to get him and tie him in the basement again and this time he wouldn’t escape. This time they’d ship him off to that camp and–
The door was whipped open and Luis jumped. Karim was there, looking pissed.
Then he realized it was Luis, covered in blood and grass stains and concrete dust.
Luis pushed his way into the house in thoughtless panic.
“Luis, what the fuck?” Karim said as Luis slammed the door shut behind them, fumbling with his bloody hand on the lock.
“Luis?” Karim’s voice had gone stiff, worried. “What’s going on?”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t know where else to go, and I had to tell you they might be coming, they might–” He stopped to suck in a needed breath, the words all tumbling together.
His whole body was shaking. Karim placed a careful hand on his shoulder. “Hey, hey, slow down. What’s wrong?”
A sob tore its way out of Luis’s chest, and then it was like a toppling house of cards. The tears came and he couldn’t stop them, his shoulders caving in.
Karim enveloped him in his arms. “Hey, hey, I’ve got you. It’s okay, you’re safe.”
But Luis didn’t feel safe, not even here. Still, he took the offered comfort, pushing into Karim’s chest. A gentle hand soothed over the back of Luis’s hair and down his neck.
“S-sorry,” Luis said when he could speak. His eyes were swollen and his aches were beginning to really hurt.
“Don’t apologize. But what happened? Who do I need to kill?” Karim asked. The last part came jokingly, but Luis’s forced chuckle was wet.
He sniffed, extricating a hand to wipe at his eyes. “I–I don’t know, I–” He swallowed and his throat was dry. Fuck, he was thirsty.
“Okay,” Karim said steadily, as if Luis had managed a real answer. “Let’s… let’s go get Julien and some water, and we can talk about it.”
Karim went to pull back from their embrace, but Luis clung to him.
“Hey, c’mon, I’m not letting you go. We just have to walk a little, let’s go to the living room. Can you do that?” Karim was being so careful with him, and it made more tears drip down Luis’s cheeks.
He nodded and Karim pulled back but kept hold of his hand. When he tugged forward, Luis couldn’t help glancing back at the door.
