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How could I forget? She’d shown up one day carrying a plain black book with only a pair of hands holding an apple on the cover. It stood out from the covers her books usually bore; scantily clad males tearing the petticoats off their lovers.
She’d obviously caught me sneaking glances because she held it out to me as soon as she turned the last page. Struck stupid, I’d accepted, reading it cover to cover in a single night. Even at seventeen, the premise had seemed ridiculous. A teenage girl dating a hundred-year-old vampire addicted to the scent of her blood? But something about it had clearly enraptured April because the following day, she’d shown up with the sequel. Then the third and fourth.
I read the entire series that summer, hoping to learn her secrets. Then school started up and things returned to normal. By the time the next summer rolled around, April was a year older, adventurous and restless. Hanging out with her friends rather than the distillery. And the rest was history. Until now.
“I’m a great friend,” she urged as though she were trying to convince me.
“I’m not.”
“I think Heather would disagree.”
I cringed.“Does a sibling even count?”
“I wouldn’t know.” She smiled sweetly.“But I’d say yes, sharing blood doesn’t guarantee a person’s presence in your life. If she’s there, it’s because she wants to be.”
Bloody hell. The sentiment was like a vice grip around my heart. What the hell was she doing to me? Throwing out these emotional bombs I was in no way prepared to dodge. Tears sprung suddenly in my eyes and I blinked them away, propelling to my feet before I could start weeping. Only then did I remember the DVD I’d shoved into my pocket. It felt completely lame now but I’d brought it as an olive branch of sorts.
Pulling it from my jacket, I set it on the arm of the chair.“For you to borrow,” I rushed out, already turning on my heel.“Goodnight. Let’s go, Boy.” There was no chance she missed the wet emotion in my throat. I didn’t even stop to see if Boy followed, just opened the kitchen door and bounded down the steps. My feet slowed when I reached the hedge row, a boundary line of sorts, and my breath rushed back into me. Boy’s wet nose pressed into my hand and I looked down at him. Only his eyes were visible in the moonlight, but I felt the steady beat of his tail on my thigh. Always so happy to see me.
“How much did I embarrass myself back there?” I asked him.
His silence said it all.
I’d just slid beneath the bed covers, a pained groanfallingfrom my lips, and reached to turn my phone off like I did every night, when it buzzed in my hand.
Unknown number: So he was dead the entire time?
Mal: Who is this?
Unknown number: Bruce Willis, obviously. Try to keep up.
An olive branch. I’d extended one and she offered one right back.
Mal: How did you get this number?
Unknown number: Is that really what you’re focusing on right now?
Unknown number: I feel like my entire life has been a lie.
Unknown number: How have I got this far in life without seeing a single spoiler?
Mal: You seriously haven’t seen The Sixth Sense before?
Mal:‘I see dead people.’It’s one of the most well-known movie quotes ever.
Unknown number: Alright, Critics’Choice, I’ve been kind of busy.
I paused, fingers hovering over the screen. I should leave it there. This way pain lies, a sensible voice whispered.
Mal: So… did you enjoy it?
The moment I sent the text, I closed the conversation, locking the screen. A few exchanged texts didn’t make us friends.
I put the phone back on the side table, but I didn’t turn it off.
13
MAL
