I reached the front of the crowd, and just as Scout was going to reach us, they turned. My mouth fell open.
No!
I scurried around the humans, trying to keep up with the fast-moving parade. However, by the time I got in front of them again, the parade was done. They were heading out of town.
I slumped but then decided to follow them as far as I could.
Fuck it.
As soon as they were out of the lantern light, the clump of vampires relaxed and spread out. Most had started a sprinttowardthe safety of their spell-protected village, but others walked at a slower pace, one of them being Scout.
I was surprised to see that no one was hovering over her. She was still at the edge of the village, her back turnedtowardthe forest. Within minutes, she was the only one left. Did they trust her to return back to them?
I gulped and stepped out of the shadows, only a few feet away from her. She jumped and let out a sharp inhale.
“Hey, Nerd,” I said with a light chuckle. My eyes flicked to her neck, and disappointment flooded me as I saw that the necklace was gone. Scout shook her head and furrowed her brows.
“No se inglés.”
I blinked.
“You fucking liar.”
The face she made told me that despite her not recognizing my face, she did still know English.
“What?”
“I said, you’re a fucking liar.”
“How dare you. Do you know who I am?” She glared at me, dropping the façade. Her eyes grew large.
I laughed.“Do you?”
“Do I what?” Her upper lip twitched in a snarl. Her fangs peeked out with her anger, sitting just under the surface.
“Know who you are? Do you know who I am?” I pressed my lips together, trying to suppress my grin. I couldn’t. My smile spread over my lips, seeing her small frame so pissed off. I slid my hand into my pocket. Her eyes dipped down, watching me with caution.
I pulled out a deck of cards that I’d banded with a red rubber band. I slid it off and onto my wrist and spread the cards out in my hand. I extended my arms out to show them to her.
She looked down at them and furrowed her brows.
“What am I supposed to be looking at? Are you some kind of street magician?”
I gulped. My mouth opened and closed for a moment. “These were— are—” I corrected myself. “Your cards.”
She shook her head. “I’m sorry.” She took a step back and put her hands up. “I think you’re mistaking me for someone else.”
My eyes began to well up against my will. In her eyes, I had realized true hell. Knowing our history when she had no clue was a sucker punch to my heart. I could barely breathe as she stared down at the weather-worn cards.
“I found every single one of them,” I choked up as she stared at me in shock and confusion. “We had a fight, and you left them in the woods.” Suddenly, my hurt was replaced by anger. How could she not remember? “By the time I found them, they’d been rained on, stepped on, wrinkled, and torn. But you know what?” I gathered them tightly in my hand and pulled back. “It was worth it. I dug through that God damn woods for two nights to make sure I got each and every card back, and you still have no clue who I am!” A single tear finally got through, sliding down my cheek.
I wiped the blood away with the back of my hand and sniffled. I closed my eyes and steadied my breathing.
“I’m sorry.” Her voice was gentle, and she reached for the cards. I looked up from the ground in surprise as she took them from my hands. “I’m sorry you’re hurt.”
I laughed then. I dropped my now empty hand and then put both behind my head. I stepped back, and another laugh came out. This was literal hell.
“Thanks. I gave up everything for you. Fucking everything!” I shouted. She blanched and took another steptowardthe dark trees. “You see this?” I stormed over to her and bent down, shoving my face into hers. I pointed at my eyes. “That’s my permanent reminder of what I gave up to have you. I shed literal blood for you. Over and over. I went to the ends of the world for you, and you don’t even fucking remember that you’re my fucking soulmate, Scout.”
