AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Yas shook his head. “Like you’re such a pro. Dude, I could kick your ass any day of the week. ”
“You bloody well can’t. ” Josh flexed. “I’d love to see you give it a go. ”
“Jeez. Boys will be boys, vampires or no. ” I strode ahead, my dorm in sight, but both of them caught up to me effortlessly.
“And girls are more sensible?”
I looked at Josh to answer him, and caught his gaze sweeping up from where he’d been assessing my girl parts. Oh no, he didn’t. I scowled, but he only laughed, his eyes glittering.
“Hey,” Yasuo said, clueless to the minidrama going on beside him, “I still don’t totally get why we need girl protectors, anyway. If we’re going to be vampires and all. ” He hissed, holding pretend claws up dramatically.
He was goofing around, but still, it made me think. What fragility did vampires have that they needed girls who could do things like jump-start cars and do pull-ups and swim?
Those last two hit me like a bucket of cold pool water on my head, and were reminders I didn’t need at the moment. Thoughtful, I drifted to the outer edge of the walkway, balancing on the rocks that lined it.
“Don’t forget . . . do not stray from the path,” Yasuo said, his voice reverberating theatrically. He gave me a teasing nudge.
I caught myself before I stumbled onto the grass. I shot him a look, suddenly not in the mood. “Don’t joke around. A girl died today. In the pool. ”
“Harsh. She dive headfirst into the shallow end?”
It was a bad joke, and apparently Josh agreed. He had a serious look in his eye, his usual ease replaced by some darker concern. “Unacceptable, mate. ”
His reaction made me think he might be a little less knuckleheaded than I’d originally assumed.
“Yeah,” I said, reluctantly agreeing. “This is serious, Yas. ”
“I get it, Drew. Serious as a heart attack. But if you can’t have a sense of humor about it, well, you might as well give up right now. ”
I went on, ignoring Yasuo’s trite wisdom. “A girl fell from ropes last week, too. Broke her neck, and I know she didn’t survive that. ” I pinned Josh with a look. “Isn’t that right, Mr. Harvard Premed? And then she was taken away, but to where?”
I caught Yasuo and Josh exchanging a quick look that I knew I wasn’t meant to see. Did they know something I didn’t? Were they holding something back?
I took a calming breath. “Girls have been dying. Not a lot, not yet, but a few have, and yet nobody talks about it. I haven’t even seen any coffins. ”
“I don’t imagine you would,” Yas said carefully.
I leapt on that. “Because the bodies are used for something else?”
Josh put his arm around me and leaned down to my level. “Don’t ask questions we can’t answer. ” His tone was light, but I sensed something steely underneath.
A shiver crawled up my spine. We’d reached my dorm, and not a moment too soon. I spun to leave them. “Fine,” I said coolly. “No more questions. Bye for now. ”
Yas called to me, “Aww, D, don’t do us like that. ” He began to improvise words to the tune of “Don’t Do Me Like That. ”
I stopped and turned around. The two of them seemed so bereft, for a moment looking simply like two bumbling, teenage boys, and I smiled despite myself. “Seriously, it’s okay. I just got upset. But I really do need to go. ”
“I’d walk you in if I could,” Yasuo said in playful earnest.
“Wouldn’t we both?” Josh broke into a grin. “The mysteries of the girls’ dorm. Do you all walk around in little towels, doing each other’s makeup and things?”
I rolled my eyes. “Naturally. We sit around in silk nighties, having one big mani-pedi-gossip-makeover fest. ”
Josh put his hands to heart. “Oh, mate, she made a joke for me. ”
I didn’t have time to analyze that crack when the heart-faced girl walked by. Her auburn hair caught the sun, looking like molten copper. Yas stared, and the faraway longing in his eyes startled me.
Josh elbowed him. “Earth to Yasuo. ”
