Chapter 232
Saturday, everyone left to go back to headquarters. Telling them goodbye wasn’t as difficult as I thought it might be since I knew I’d be seeing them again soon, but part of me didn’t want to let Elliott out of my sight in case he’d turn back into a pumpkin. And I didn’t want Brandon to leave either for obvious reasons.
I went to Lucy’s house almost immediately as soon as they were all off to the airport. Emma met me at the Burk Mansion. I’d already talked to them about Elliott and my grandma, but I had to tell them my personal news, and I didn’t want to let it go any longer than I had to. That was something that needed to be relayed in person.
It seemed like a million years since we’d sat here speculating about what my sister was and whether or not she was responsible for Drew’s and/or Jack’s deaths. Now, I was sitting in the same spot on Lucy’s couch telling them I was dropping out of high school to move to Kansas City to be a Vampire Hunter. The words came out all at once, and they both stared at me, trying to process, for long enough that I was concerned they’d forgotten how to blink.
“Are you serious?” Lucy asked once she could speak. “When are you going?”
“I’m not sure. A couple of weeks,” I replied. “But I’m hoping to go back to Philly with them in the meantime, if they go.”
“Wow,” Emma said. “I don’t know what to say. I can’t imagine SHS without you.”
“I know,” Lucy agreed. “It’ll be… so weird.”
I had no response except, “I’m sorry. I’d stay if I could. But… I just can’t do it anymore.”
“No, don’t be sorry,” Lucy insisted. “I mean, you can’t help but feel the way you feel. It’s understandable. You’ve been so miserable lately, I don’t blame you for getting out if you can.”
“We’ll just miss you, that’s all.” It was odd to hear Emma speak about her emotions so candidly.
“I’ll miss you guys, too. So much. But it really only will be a few years before you can join us, if you want to.” I knew Lucy was leaning toward coming to HQ as soon as she was finished with high school while Emma was considering going to college first and then coming to work with Christian. I don’t think she wanted to do any of the actual hunting, though I knew she might feel differently once she had a taste of it for herself.
“Yeah, it’ll be fine,” Lucy nodded, though her blue eyes said differently. They were glistening.
“We can chat every evening,” Emma said, “now that you won’t be all tied up calling Brandon.” She winked at me, and I giggled. Emma joking around was so rare.
I hadn’t told them anything about him kissing me the day before and had decided not to. “Yeah, we’ll talk all the time,” I agreed.
“And it’s nice that your parents will be moving soon, too,” Lucy added. “You still need your mom. I mean, no offense, so do I, but—you do.”
“I know I do.” The idea of moving away from her and my dad already would’ve almost been enough to keep me at home if I didn’t feel so lost here now. “Anyway, we shouldn’t let this dampen the evening,” I said, forcing a smile on my face. “We’ve got movies to watch.”
“Right,” Lucy agreed. “Since someone hasn’t left her house in ages, we have a lot to get caught up on!” She pulled Netflix up on her TV and started scrolling through some of the newer movies. It didn’t take her long to pick one we’d all agree to, and I settled back, glad to have telling them out of the way. I couldn’t help but feel like a part of my journey in life had come to an end—earlier than initially expected. This might be the last time I ever hung out at Lucy Burk’s house, which was impossible to imagine. I tried not to dwell on that and lost myself in the romantic comedy we were watching instead, and when the hero leaned down to kiss the leading lady, I wondered if she felt electric tingles in her stomach the same way I had when my Casanova had met my lips for the first time. If the smile on her face was any indication, the answer was a definite yes.
The longer the movie went on, however, the more unsettled I became. My sister had told me that they were intending to meet with the entire team that afternoon when they got back to LIGHTS and tell the rest of the staff the rumors were true about Elliott coming back without revealing information about the portal itself. I wished I was there with them, despite trying my best to enjoy the fact that I was with my friends for possibly the last time.
After the romantic comedy was over, Emma picked some space movie, and I tried not to groan. We always took turns, and I knew she usually didn’t like my choices any more than I liked hers. I wished we were downstairs in the Burks’ movie room so I could more easily zone out, but then I realized neither Lucy nor Emma were really paying any attention to me anyway.
So I closed my eyes.
And I felt into the darkness.
