A hint of colored tinged Cassidy’s cheeks.“No, not annoyed, just…”
“Upset? Angry? Disappointed?” Aida suggestedwhen Cassidy’s voice trailed off.
Seeming to decide it was better to evadeAida’s question, Cassidy changed the subject. “What happenedbetween you two? I thought you were friends.”
“So did I,” Aida said as she ran her fingersthrough her hair and paced away from Cassidy. “I don’t know whatchanged.”
“Nothing happened between you two?”
She detected the skepticism in Cassidy’svoice and had no idea how to handle it. She’d kept their kiss asecret for so long, she couldn’t imagine revealing it now. Unableto meet Cassidy’s eyes, she stalked past the gray sofa where Kyleslept. The couch was one of the few new things in their apartmentas Kyle refused to sleep on anything secondhand, and Aida didn’tblame him.
The small, two-bedroom apartment was all theycould afford; almost everything in it was used, and they were alittle cramped, but Aida loved the place. The old wood floorsglistened in the sun shining through the windows; the cream-coloredwalls held some of her photographs, a couple of paintings, and onepicture of dogs playing poker that Kyle found hilarious.
Aida and Cassidy were adamant the picturewasn’t coming home with them when he pulled it from a stack ofother photos he discovered at a flea market. However, Kyle wasalready getting shafted by having a couch instead of a bed or aroom, and after reminding them of this and telling them howuncomfortable the couch was with big, pleading eyes, theycapitulated to him. Aida would never tell him the thing had grownon her over the years, and it amused her now.
The apartment was small, but they’d turned itinto something cozy and theirs. And though the bathroom looked likesomething straight out of the seventies, the appliances in thegalley kitchen were all brand new. The apartment underwent arenovation shortly before they moved in. Apparently, the bathroomhadn’t factored into the budget, but she’d grown used to theavocado tiling and pink sink.
The twins could have asked their parents forhelp or used their abilities to get a nicer place, but they wereenjoying the struggle of making it on their own as much asAida.
“Did something happen between you two?”Cassidy asked again.
Aida stopped before the window to stare downat the sleepy city street. With the bars shut down, there were afew stragglers on the road, but most were already home. Thestreetlights illuminated patches of the sidewalks, and the rumbleof cars had dwindled.
“He kissed me right before he left,” Aidaadmitted.
“Juliankissed you?”
The disbelief in Cassidy’s voice caused Aidato scowl at her over her shoulder. “I’m not some hideous swampmonster.”
Cassidy chuckled. “Far from. It’s just that…well, it is or wasJulian. Back then, I wasn’t sure he knewwhat a girl was; he barely picked his head up from his computer.But I don’t think I ever knew my brother as well as I thought. Idefinitely never expected him to take off the way he did.”
Aida wasn’t the only one Julian abandonedwhen he left. However, shewasthe only one he hadn’tcontacted since he left, and he hadnotbeen happy to seeher.
“So he kissed you,” Cassidy murmured. “That’san interesting development.”
“There’s no development,” Aida said as sheturned away from the window. “He kissed me and left. It was a realconfidence booster.”
“It’s still strange,” Cassidy said as shemade her way into the kitchen.
Aida plopped onto the sofa and stared at theblank screen of the flat-screen TV hanging on the wall across fromher. The refrigerator door opened and plastic crumpled as sheremoved one of the blood bags from inside.
“In case you haven’t noticed,” Aida said,“your family dynamic is a little weird, or at least it is to everyhuman on the planet.”
Cassidy laughed, and when she stepped awayfrom the fridge, the TV screen reflected her as she moved about thekitchen. “I suppose that’s true, but Julian was always so into hiscomputers that I figured he’d be the brother who hung out aroundthe house for the rest of his life. I never saw him traveling theworld, and I definitely never saw him with a girl.”
“My kiss drove him to leave and visitdifferent continents.”
Aida kept her tone teasing as she said this,but nausea twisted in her stomach. She felt strange and vulnerableafter finally voicing her secret and the fear her kiss drove himaway.
The moment had changed her forever while itmade it so Julian couldn’t stand to be around her. She’d never lethim beat down her self-confidence, but she couldn’t deny her egowas a little bruised over it.
The door to the microwave popped open, andthe buttons beeped as Cassidy hit them. “What were you guys talkingabout before he kissed you?”
Aida had replayed her last time with Julianso much she could vividly recall every detail of it. “Going away tocollege and returning my life to some semblance of normalcy.”
“Hmm,” Cassidy said as the microwave hummed.“Yet here you are living with two vampires.”
Aida draped her arm over the sofa as sheturned to smile at Cassidy. “Call me a glutton for punishment.”
