Ivy gave a warm smile. “I know you’ve been busy all summer studying your major. And I’msoproud of you, being the strong, independent woman you are, working on your dreams.”
Ivy reached out and took my hands. “But I can’t help but feel you’ve been avoiding everyone not because you’re busy, but because you’re dying of a broken heart.”
My eyes watered, and I pushed Ivy’s hands away. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Precious, you can’t lie to me,” Ivy said, stroking my hair. “Charlie’s a right bastard, doing what he did to you. I mean, how could he not want a girl like you? A true dumbass, I’d say.”
I didn’t bother to mention the breakup had been mutual. Even thinking about it was too painful.
“It doesn’t matter. It’s been a long time.” I pushed the food away, and Ivy eyed me. I was surprised to notice I’d consumed almost the whole meal in a matter of moments. I’d barely realized I was eating it.
“You know what you need?” Ivy asked.
“Everything this prison doesn’t offer?” I asked. A trip to the mall would cheer me right up.
“Yes, but also, some fresh air. Come on.”
Ivy tossed the remainder of my food away, then hooked my arm in his. We walked outside to the prison yard, where people were taking a short walk after lunch.
As we passed, I noticed a guard was snatching magazines out of the hands of inmates and shoving them into a trash bag, looking surly. Girls whined in complaint, until the guard gave a sneer.
Chancey leaned against a wall, watching people as they passed. He always acted like someone was gonna jump him, though his cold expression immediately changed when he noticed Ivy approaching.
Ancestors. I missed when someone lit up when they realized I was nearby.
Vampires weren’t allowed to drink from other inmates, but Ivy and Chancey clearly hadn’t been following that rule, as Chancey’s neck was bruised from the base to his chin.
Chancey caught me staring and gave a wink. His New York accent drawled as he said, “Ives is a messy eater.”
“I am not!” Ivy said indignantly.
The girls’ squeals grew, and I looked around. A bunch of women had collected near the basketball court, gossiping loudly.
“What’s everyone talking about?” I asked.
The girls noticed me and ran over in a herd before I had a chance to react. They surrounded me on all sides, talking nonstop. None of them had ever spoken to me before, so I found it all very weird.
Velma was a vampire girl. I knew her because she was in some of my classes. She pressed herself to the front and gushed, “By the gods, Ava, your brother is such a cutie. He looksamazing, you know, since he bulked up and lost his baby weight.”
“Uh, sure?” I said. I mean, Iguessmy brother had gotten some muscle since he’d been working in the mines, but I hadn’t noticed.
“Can you introduce me?” Velma pleaded.
The rest of the girls pressed in, all shouting, “And me!”
So many girls were clambering in my space, I couldn’t focus. I pushed through the crowd and said, “Maybe later. I need a minute.”
Ivy and Chancey followed me back into the prison before I turned around and asked, “What’s going on?”
“Oh, you didn’t see?” Chancey asked slyly. He reached into his back pocket and handed me a rolled-up magazine. I unfurled it, and my jaw dropped. On the cover of the latest edition ofToaqua Todaywas my brother.
In his underwear.
It was a black-and-white picture of him sitting in a chair in nothing but his boxers. I’m sure to any other girl it’d look hot, but he was mybrother, for ancestors’ sake, and it creeped me out.
I gaped. Ivy and Chancey, shitheads they were, snickered at me.
“Somebody snuck a bunch of copies into the prison.” Ivy laughed. “The guards have been confiscating them all morning, but apparently it’s a hot commodity, especially with the ladies.”
