Immediately, I feel like my heart has been stabbed with ice, the freezing cold bleeding through my chest. “The spell Gina cast?” I whisper.
He nods, swallowing heavily. “We can’t prove it, but days after he broke up with…” There’s a visible clench to his jaw and his knuckles grow white under the tightening grip. “He can’t drink bagged blood anymore. Throws it up anytime he tries.”
“So that’s why he needs to…” My voice trails off, a sickening rage slowly building inside of me.
Again, he nods. “Beforeher,he only fed on bagged blood. She was the one to convince him to feed from her.”
“Why? Why would she want that?” I implore.
He expels a weighty breath and runs his hands along his thighs. “Vampire bites feel… good.” His eyes widen, begging me to not ask for further explanation.Oh.
Delicately as possible, I ask, “Is that why he doesn’t feed from you guys?”
He fidgets, his fingers tapping out a pattern on his knees. “We offered, but it’s weird. Only does it if he has to.”
I think about the swarms of girls that cling to Nolan all the time and wonder if he’s fed from all of them, but if he has--- “How do people not know he’s a vampire then? Shouldn’t the bite marks be obvious? Wouldn’t they feel being bitten, pleasurable or not?”
Connor shakes his head, and Felix decides to chime in, “How they explained it to me, vampire saliva slightly numbs the area and also has minor healing properties. By the time he’s done, it looks like they made out with a vacuum cleaner, but no puncture marks. Mixed with the, uh, sexy venom and a little charm skill, the person only remembers the good time.”
A severe blush crosses my cheeks, while I ponder whether I should offer to help. With my healing abilities, any blood loss would be inconsequential and there’d be no evidence of the bite, not even a vacuum sized hickey. He wouldn’t need to use his charm abilities to make me forget, because I’d be a willing donor, but would it be just as awkward to feed from me as it is to feed from the guys? No. No, I’d make sure he didn’t feel bad about it, no matter how it makes me feel. Nolan deserves the right to choose whom he wants to be with, not be forced to so he can survive.
Trying to pull the pieces together and hopefully come up with a more long term solution, I ask, “You said you can’t prove it. Prove what? That there’s a curse or that Gina did it? Witches are supposed to be guardians or whatever, so regardless of who cast the spell, can’t they help?”
“Didn’t ask,” Connor grunts.
My gaze bounces back and forth between Felix and Connor. “I don’t understand. Why not?”
Felix runs his fingers through his hair and sighs. “Bitch’s mom is leader of the covenandmayor of Twin Cedar Pass. She’s got a lot of power, and assuming they could help, she’d want to know who did it. Bitch’s dad is human-- runs the local hospital and is the one that supplies bagged blood to Nolan’s family. Because of the human parent, bitch’s too weak to have cast a spell like the one on Nolan. We think she got her minions to help her, but again, can’t prove it. Nolan’s afraid that if he accusesheranyway, it could lead to a lot of problems for his parents, and he refuses to accuse an innocent person, so…” He shrugs in defeat.
White hot fury rages through my blood. Through gritted teeth, I hiss, “Why the fuck would she do this? Just to punish him?” There’s a loud crash inside the house, and a frenzy of confused shouting.
“Whoa now, pretty girl,” Felix cautions, hands up in a passive gesture, while his eyes dart back and forth from me and the house. “We’re all pissed, but uh, let’s not break something we’ll regret later.”
Connor gently tugs on my arms until I uncross them, then he laces his fingers with mine. I’m still angry, but his touch is enough to help me gain control. I don’t know how I broke whatever it was inside, just like the freak rainstorm and the exploded tree, and it scares me. This is all new, and I hope Kaleb gets answers soon.
I take a deep breath and release it slowly. Attempting to switch gears, I ask, “So what happens to the guy Nolan-- charmed, I’m guessing --earlier?”
Felix snorts with derision. “Let’s just say if he wasn’t into dudes before, he’s going be very sexually confused for a while. Serves the homophobic douche canoe right.”
I can’t deny there’s some poetic irony to the situation. “Why did the guy go after Nolan in the first place?”
He shrugs. “Beats me, but if I had to guess, either some girl he was interested in, or was dating, decided she liked Nolan more. Nolan doesn’t really date anyone, but that doesn’t stop girls from trying-- and pretty much makes every other guy invisible.”
Thankfully, Kaleb has escaped the clutches of the group on the front lawn and plops down in the open chair to my left, a much needed distraction. Both Connor and Felix look relieved to see him.
“Hey,” I greet with a soft smile.
He sighs and offers a tired, “Hey,” in return.
A surprise gust of cold air passes by, cutting right through my lacy shirt. I shiver and slip my hand from Connor’s, so I can zip my jacket all the way up to my neck and once again, tuck my hands between my knees.
I lean to the side so I can bump Kaleb’s shoulder with mine. “You okay?”
Kaleb meets my gaze with a reassuring smile. “Yeah, I’m fine.” Then he pauses, his shoulders drooping, and admits, “Actually, the group out there is nice but talking to them is exhausting.”
Connor chuckles and mutters, “One word for it.”
I bump him again. “Well, you’re welcome to hide out here with us.” With a wry smirk, I add, “You know, this is my first high school party, and I gotta admit, so far I’m not really all that impressed. Felix told me you guys normally hang out and play video games instead of going to these things. Let’s go with those plans next time.”
