“Thanks a lot, Dro,” I managed to croak out.
“Hmph. Skylar, please inform your cousin that I will not now, or ever, be responding to Lys or Dro. My name is Lysandro.”
“Okkayyy,” Sky said, obviously confused. Then, because he was now and had always been the best cousin a guy could have, he added, “But I really like Lys.”
I could picture Lysandro throwing his arms in the air as he asked, “What in the world is a Lys?”
“Your name if you’d quit being so stubborn,” I mumbled, finally sitting all the way up and peering at the other two occupants of the room.
Sky looked a curious mix between concerned and confused, but Lysandro’s face showed furious frustration. “Surely, you aren’t accusing me of being stubborn.”
I guessed he was the wrong one to say that to, but the feeding hadn’t really helped. Now that my bloodlust was satiated, I still felt…off. “Sorry, I’m just…” My voice trailed off as that familiar thump, thump, thump echoed throughout my body. “Scotty,” I whispered, scrambling off the floor and gliding to the window.
“I don’t think so. I told him he didn’t have to worry about checking on you now that I know.” Sky came up next to me, and we watched Chance’s truck—which Scotty borrowed to get around—pull into view. “Huh. I wonder why he’s here.”
I didn’t care why. I only cared that he was here. He hadn’t thrown me to the side now that Sky knew my predicament. He hadn’t abandoned me. Maybe he’d stay late so that we could talk about what happened two nights ago.
I was pretty sure he didn’t plan on a repeat, but I wanted one. I wanted him. His time. His presence. His attention. I wanted it all. Now I just had to figure out how to make that happen.
Chapter 16
Scotty
I hadno idea why I was here. Ego didn’t need me; he had Sky now. Sky had told me I was off Ego duty forevermore. That he’d deal with his ridiculous—his word, not mine—cousin. Yet, here I was.
It wasn’t like I didn’t have my own things to do. After dropping the vampire revelation at the manor yesterday, Stevie had been as fixated on that as everyone else, so we never got a chance to chat. I wasn’t sure if he still felt neglected after finding out where I’d been, but I really needed to reassure him.
I’d gone out to the pond this afternoon to speak with him before I had to check in guests, but one of the older ghosts had been in the middle of a tale about the Wild, Wild West—which he’d apparently been alive for.
Stevie had sat riveted, and I didn’t want to interrupt. Honestly, once I’d joined them, I’d been pretty into his story, too, and I’d missed check-in. Luckily, our teenager, Archie, had come in, and he’d handled the whole process on his own just fine.
Feeling stir-crazy and knowing I needed to get back on track studying for the GED, I headed to the library. When Sky had been at the manor for yoga, he’d assured me he’d be taking careof Ego tonight, so I’d expected to see my favorite librarian when I got there. Instead, I’d found Benji, who’d told me that Lysandro planned on spending some time training Ego tonight.
I’d tried to study for the English portion of my test, I really had, but I’d felt an irresistible pull toward the mini-castle. I tried to ignore it, going so far as popping headphones in and blaring music, but my attention was shot, and I couldn’t get past the feeling of needing to be here.
Unsure how to even justify it, I’d stopped back by the manor and ran up to my room to grab a gift I’d ordered for Ego online. It was just a silly little thing that he probably wouldn’t even care about, but it was better than showing up empty-handed like anyone was supposed to care I was here.
Reaching the front door, I hesitated. Did I ring the doorbell or put in the code? No one expected me, so it seemed a little presumptuous to just walk in, but would it be weirder for me to act like I didn’t know the code when I’d been using it for weeks?
Ugh. Why was adulting so hard? I didn’t have one clue what to do, but my problem was solved for me when the door was yanked open, with a smiling Ego standing on the other side. “You’re here,” he said brightly.
“Uh, yeah. I hope that’s okay.”
“It’s wonderful,” he said, a huge smile plastered on his face
“I’m not going to lie, but you’re kinda freaking me out,” I told him. “I haven’t seen you this happy since…”
He threw his head back, laughing with what sounded like pure joy, and uh, yeah. Something was not right here. “Are you okay?” I asked, reaching for his forehead. I didn’t know what I expected to find besides his normal cold-to-the-touch skin, but I couldn’t think of what else to do.
“Come in.” He grabbed my hand off his forehead and tugged me into the other room so fast that I’m pretty sure I went airborne.
“Ego, I’m not a kite,” I yelled.
He stopped abruptly by his spot on the couch, dropped down, and pulled me into his lap, wrapping his arms around my middle.
“Ego,” I hissed, trying to push his arms off of me.
The baby vamp only clutched me tighter. “Sorry, I just missed you, and I didn’t think you were coming over, and I didn’t know what to do.” He rested his forehead against my shoulder blades. “Look, Lysandro. Scotty came. Isn’t this the greatest night ever?”
