Jesse hated it when Peter made sense. Hated having to agree with him.
He reached for Ian’s hand, cheering inside when he let him take it. Jesse gave his fingers a squeeze that he hoped conveyed that Ian wasn’t on his own in this.
And never would be again if it was up to Jesse.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Them and us.
Peter’s words went round and round in his head, but Ian didn’t want to accept what he was saying.
Would Cate and Blake see him differently now?
Of course they will; you’re a fucking vampire!
But he was still their best friend, right?
Ian sat there as the others debated ways to get out of the mess they were in without one of them landing in vampire prison. He was all for Peter taking the blame for everything, but apart from Ian’s word, there was no evidence to support it, and if Jesse was right, then the VLCD might not listen to him anyway. Blake would though. Vampire or not, they’d been best friends for over fifteen years. They wouldn’t let a little thing likedeathcome between them. Would they?
Ian pictured Cate the last time he’d walked her to her car, eyes darting all over the place as though expecting to see a vampire any moment. Would she look at him with that same fear?
The thought left a heavy feeling in his chest.
But he had to try. He couldn’t bear the thought of them worrying about him, not knowing what had happened to him, even for a few days.
He yawned again and this time he couldn’t even be bothered to cover his mouth. The others stopped talking and turned to look at him.
“You can sleep if you want,” Jesse said softly, hand tightening around Ian’s.
Ian looked down at their twined fingers and couldn’t remember when that had happened. He liked it though; Jesse’s touch was comforting. Whether that was messed up or not, Ian couldn’t be bothered to work out. He was knackered, his whole body aching like he’d run a marathon, and Jesse’s hand in his felt right, safe. “What if I tell Blake that I asked for it?” Ian struggled to get the words out, eyes already drifting closed.
“To be a vampire?” Jesse asked, quickly followed by Peter’s scoff.
“Obviously. What else would he be talking about?”
Ian imagined Peter rolling his eyes. “Yes, that,” he mumbled. “Would that help?”
“You’d do that?” Jesse sounded wholly unconvinced, but Ian was fading fast, couldn’t find the words to explain that however it had happened, he was stuck like this for... forever.
He didn’t fancy his chances out there on his own, and these were the only vampires he knew. Seemed common sense to try and keep them from being taken away. Not Peter though. He didn’t give a fuck if he got arrested. “Yeah,” he said eventually, drifting off.
Jesse’s voice lulled him to sleep and Ian gave in to the pull. The rest of them could sort it out between themselves. He was so done.
IAN WOKE WITH a start.
Though the room was dark, he could see just fine, and it took him a good few seconds to remember why that was.
Fucking hell.
Vampire.
He lay there, trying not to freak out at the weird sensation of feeling panicked, but his heart remained still instead of hammering against his ribs.
“You’re awake.” Jesse’s voice was soft in the quiet of the room, and Ian glanced over, following the sound. He sat in an armchair by the heavily curtained windows.
“Have I slept all day?” Ian sat up, feeling disoriented. “And where are Lys and Peter?” Not that he expected them to sit around while he slept, but their absence made him wary. What had happened while he’d been out of it?
Jesse stood and came to sit on the side of the bed. “No, you’ve not slept all day. It’s just after eleven in the morning. The windows are treated, I don’t need the curtains closed, but I didn’t want to scare you by having the sun blasting in here when you woke up.”
