And then I waited.
Before I was a vampire, I was a mother. I had children. This moment of quiet stillness brought it all back. I can barely take care of myself now, but things were different back then. Women married and had multiple kids before their midtwenties. I had three and lost one. My mom and sisters spent as much time with them as I did. “It takes a village” wasn’t just something Hillary Clinton said—it was the truth and I lived it.
The last time I saw my littlest one, she’d just awoken thirsty for Momma’s milk, all dimpled knees and sweet damp curls. While she nursed, she had twirled my hair in one chubby fist.
I became a vampire the next day, and because of that, I am forever twenty-nine and she is dust. My heart, or whatever remains of it, squeezed at the memory.
I startled awake at the sound of Heaven’s phone pinging. I picked it up and read the message preview.
Gemma:heeeeyyyy sorry baby. i love you.
Shit. Gemma.
Gemma:i know i said some harsh things, but i was just trying to be radically honest with you.
Gemma:it’s not my fault you got offended. i just want to make up. can i come over?
No wonder Heaven had been in tears. I glanced over at the paisley slipcover covering her.
Gemma:hello? are you srsly giving me the silent treatment? i’m coming over.
This would not do.
My phone rang just as I was starting to panic again—Vlad.
“How’s it going?” he asked. For once I was glad to hear his voice.
“Uhhh…” I looked at Heaven.Weekend at Bernie’scame to mind.
“When she wakes up, she’s going to be—”
“—bloodthirsty and reckless, I know.” Heaven would be a disasterfor a while. Turning her wasn’t going to be walk in the park. “Vlad, her girlfriend is looking for her. And I think she has a lot of friends.” Or maybe not. She talked into her phone a lot, but for all I knew, that was all livestreaming.
“Get out of town. If you don’t, she’ll probably end up killing someone.”
Heaven murdering people in her Care Bear shirt didn’t sit right.
Vlad continued, “Either that, or someone will think you killed her, which you technically did.”
Ugh. I sagged into the couch, crushed by the weight of my guilt.
“Do you have anywhere to go?” he asked. “Somewhere remote?”
My gaze went straight to the envelope from Aunt Mildred. Vermont was far, far away from anyone who might come looking for Heaven and meet the sharp end of her newly acquired fangs. Sure, the house was a teardown, but it was somewhere to stay.
Energized, I sat up straight. This could work. This could actually, really work. We were going to Vermont.
“I have somewhere,” I said, my mind racing with the possibilities.
“Where are you going?”
“Let’s just say we’re going on a road trip.” I wasn’t going to just tell anyone from the Parliament of the Undead my new address, even if it was Vlad. Mostly because I didn’t know it yet.
You’ll need a travel coffin,” Vlad said. I peered through a gap in the blinds at Heaven’s car, an adorable VW bug in lime green. A statue of a naked woman with hips that would put the Kardashians to shame, plus the generous belly and thighs to match, was Sticky Tacked to the dashboard. She had told me that her car ran on “goddess power.”
“At the very least, you need a panel van, something dark where you can keep her contained.”
“A kidnapper van. Just what I always wanted.”
