Chapter 47
I did. I knew he could do a lot of things, even if he wasn’t a vampire. He’s a big dude. But I also knew that he wouldn’t. Because he liked me. I didn’t know why, but I knew that he did. And I liked him, too. For some reason, I felt like I’d known him a lot longer than a few days. He seemed familiar in the way the sun or the moon feel like old friends, like he’d always been there in the background, part of my life I’d never noticed before.
Part of me wanted to respect his wishes and not tell my friends anything, but I knew they deserved to know as much as I did. I called Lucy and Emma on three-way and waited for them both to answer before I began to recite what I’d learned from Cadence. I hadn’t really spoken to them since I’d left Lucy’s the day before, when my mom picked me up to tell me about Jack, though we’d sent a few texts about how we couldn’t believe it, and I let them know I was okay—or would be—eventually.
I told them I really felt like my sister and her friend were carrying on a mental conversation. I expected Lucy to believe me, which she did, but what really surprised me was that Emma did, too. She said she had gone ahead and started doing some research on vampires herself and that most popular legends state that they have the ability to use telepathy as a means of communication. When I mentioned Jack’s missing body, Lucy about lost it herself, exclaiming that it would only make sense if Jack had left the hospital on his own and they’d had to hunt him down and destroy him. We were back to the good vampire/bad vampire scenario, and as much as I hated to believe it, it was beginning to make sense. Maybe my sister was a vampire, but if she was, I could at least hope that she was one that was supposed to help protect people from evil vampires.
I hung up and laid back on my bed, wondering if my sister had actually bitten someone and sucked their blood. I didn’t think my sister could kill Jack, and I believed Elliott when he told me that she hadn’t killed Drew. Was it possible that whichever evil vampire had killed Drew had infected Jack? It seemed like he had started getting sick almost right away, back when I went to visit him. I know other people thought he was acting weird because he was upset about Drew, and that would make sense, but part of me thought there was a good chance that he was turning even back then.
Lucy must’ve been thinking the same thing. She sent a text that said, “Maybe Jack was infected the night Drew died, and this was just an incubation period?”
“I was just thinking the same thing,” I replied. We sent a few more texts with theories and timelines, and Lucy said she’d update the Wiki. I’d set my phone down and was staring at the ceiling, thinking about how devastated I’d been the night before and feeling thankful for Hannah’s superpowers when a knock on my door had me sitting up.
“Yeah?”
Cadence opened the door slowly. “Hey. How are you doing?”
I shrugged. “I’m okay. I feel better today than I did yesterday.” I considered feeling her out about Hannah, but I let it go. Whatever was happening, it had to be taking its toll on my sister. She looked even more exhausted now than she had when she’d had her head on my shoulder, although I couldn’t get over how much more vibrant her skin looked.
“Mom said dinner will be ready in a few minutes.” She sat down next to me on the bed. “How’s school been?”
“Fine.”
“How’s that boy you never want to talk about?”
I blushed. “He’s good. He came over to study for algebra with me last week.” It seemed like a million years ago.
My sister gave me a mischievous grin. “Are you sure you don’t have a boyfriend, Cass?” she asked, a twinkle in her eyes.
“No!” I exclaimed, sitting up. “He’s definitely not my boyfriend.” Like I could even get my hopes up that he might be someday.
“I don’t know…” my sister said in a sing-song voice.
“What about you?” I asked, remembering her holding hands with Elliott. “Anything you wanna tell me?”
Cadence raised both eyebrows and stared at me hard for a long moment. “Uh, I think I hear Mom calling,” she said, darting off of the bed almost too fast to be believed.
“Uh huh!” I called after her, jumping up and running to catch her. “I think you’re a fine one to talk, teasing me about boys.”
Hearing my sister’s laughter momentarily made me forget that everyone around us seemed to be dying or changing into creatures of the night. She reached the foyer and turned back to look at me. “No boyfriend here,” she replied. “I can’t help it everyone wants a piece of this, though.” She winked at me and made a really weird gesture with both arms, like she was displaying what she meant by “this,” and I cracked up. Having my sister back, even if it was just for a little while, and even if she wasn’t really herself, was comforting. So was walking into a dining room with just my family and digging into mom’s pot roast without thinking of vampires or funerals. It might not last, but I was determined to hold on to it for now.
