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Tarnley
“Dammit! I’m not even close.”
I reach up and grip Rainey’s waist then help her back to the ground.
“Not that I could see if I was. It’s completely impossible to see anything.”
“Maybe I should have Willa install some lights down here. You know, for the next time we decide to hang out down here.”
Rainey snorts. “Sounds like a plan, though I’m leaning more toward dynamite straight down this shaft.” She plops down on the ground, so I press my back against the concrete and slide down, my legs unable to fully extend in front of me. We fall silent, and I listen to our collective breathing as I try to steady my own nerves.
“How you doing over there?” Rainey asks, her voice wavering.
I wish it were because we were both tired.
But the two of us know the truth: We’re running out of air. Hell, we’ll likely suffocate before the water has a chance to drown us.
“No one to wait on, no one to fight. Shit, this is a vacation.”
She barks out a laugh. “Prime spot, at the bottom of a well—or whatever the fuck this is called.”
“Well is a pretty apt name for it.”
She lets out a sigh. “You know. I always thought there’d be a lot more blood associated with my death. That I’d die like my parents did, and like Delaney did—in an alley.”
“An alley? Way to romanticize your death.”
She chuckles. “At least, I would have had a chance to fight.” Her voice chokes up at the end, so I reach over, searching for her hand in the dark. I find it and cover it with my own, tightening my grip as she does hers.
She scoots closer and leans her head against my shoulder.
“Death rarely comes when we expect it or in the manner of which we predict.”
“I guess you’re speaking of experience. Considering you technically died before becoming a vampire.”
“I am.”
“I’m guessing waking up as a vampire was quite a reality shock.”
“You can say that. Especially when there was a grown man violently sobbing ten feet away.”
“No. Seriously? Elijah was crying?”
“For at least three hours after I woke up. I kept trying to see what he needed, kept offering to help him find his way if he was lost.” I chuckle as the memory replays. It was lifetimes ago, but waking up in that sewer is still clear as day, even if a lot of my other memories have faded with time. Honestly, I remember very little from my time before Elijah showed up.
“And the whole time he’d offed you. You really are a nice guy, Tarnley. Like a vampire version of Kung Fu Panda.”
“Did you seriously just compare me to a cartoon animal?”
“I did, and I meant every word of it. You strive to see the best in people, and you’re fiercely protective over those you care for. Even if you did tell Elijah to let me die,” she adds, with a chuckle.
“I’m sorry. I’m still in shock over the cartoon reference. When the hell did you see that movie?”
“I love all kinds of movies,” she replies. “Action, adventure, cheesy romance, cartoons—if it’s on TV, I’ll give almost anything a try.” She sighs and shifts, moving closer. I wrap an arm around her shoulders. “You know, Shay really isn’t a bad name.”
“No? You’ve spent plenty of time screwing with me over it.”
“I was just pissed you never told me. I thought we were friends.”
