AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I highly doubt that. You’re never good.”
I stared at him, not willing to give an inch. I wantedoutof that house. Away from him, from the stupid moment I’d thought about having sex with him, especially because I knew I was easy enough that he could talk me into forgiving him.
He let out a slow, defeated breath and nodded. “I will call the hospital to tell them of your arrival and message you the address. Go straight there, Ava. I will know if you do not.”
“Is that it?”
He narrowed his eyes, and I suddenly missed the times he’d been in the shop when he had hardly seemed to notice me. Maybe because so far, none of times he looked at me had been good. He never looked at my longingly, never smiled. All I ever got were glares.
And disgust. I knew disgust now.
I shoved past him and collected real clothes from the laundry room. Once I was presentable, I walked outside, the warm sun oddly comforting.
My gaze drifted to Troy’s house, but fuck that.
I wasnotthat girl who needed some man every time things went slightly wrong.
Nope.
I was the sort of woman who apparently needed to be poked and prodded to figure out why my blood was so defective even a vampire wouldn’t touch it.
Not much better.
* * * *
Two hours of that poking and prodding later, and I finally was able to leave the hospital. Of course, I hadn’t gone there right away.
It turned out Kase was right. Iwasn’ta good girl. I’d picked up breakfast, walked around a few shops and downed enough caffeine that I could pretend I wasn’t exhausted from being up all night.
The hospital had gotten me in quickly—too fast, really. There was an edge of fear to the doctor, and he treated me withfarmore understanding than any doctor had ever. Whatever Kase had told him must have stuck, because he apologized profusely when he had to draw my blood, as though poking me with a needle was the largest insult one could give.
It was times like that I remembered how scary Kase was to other people.
And to me, some of the time, if I had to be honest.
I didn’t get the results. Apparently, I was a child, because they forwarded it all to Kase and told me I’d need to discuss it with him. I could have tried quoting HIPPA, but I was pretty sure vampire over-rode HIPPA.
Privacy laws didn’t have fangs.
Besides, what I really wanted was some sleep, but since I had a vampire in my bed, that didn’t seem likely.
Eventually I gave up pretending to be busy and sat on a bench at a local park. People passed by, kids played on the equipment and over-achievers jogged.
Sleep happened without me even meaning it. I guess when someone stayed awake too long, it stopped being voluntary. I’d only intended to close my eyes for a moment, to ignore the questions and uncertainty and change.
Everyone wanted something from me, and I had no idea if I was capable of any of it. All I’d ever really wanted was a normal life. I’d workedsohard for it and yet I seemed dragged farther into somewhere I didn’t belong.
Each time I thought I’d found my own normal, it was snatched away, and I was reminded I didn’t fit.
Right down to Kase rejecting my blood.
So letting that go, sliding into blissful sleep? That happened without any real thought.
The playground slipped away, the playing children, the faint hum of so many different types of music blending together.
Instead, I found myself in darkness—blissful, quiet, not asking me to do anything darkness. Not the dream I was used to, though. The mist wasn’t there, choking me, drawing me into it.
At least, itwasblissful before an all-too-familiar tingle ran up my spine.
