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Sure enough, the loud ring of Stefan’s phone sounded. Stefan smiled proudly and picked up the phone from the bedside table.
“Nigel. Are you on a secure line?”
Chapter 4
Do Over
Stefan had left the apartment early. After his phone call with Nigel the night before, they’d made arrangements to meet at an undisclosed location. Their conversation had been brief, talking in a strange code that only the two of them seemed to understand. I couldn’t help but wonder where my decoder ring was when I needed it. I suppose centuries of strategy and secrets justified creating this strange manner of talking. Apparently Nigel had found information that he felt warranted Stefan's attention and was anxious to meet with him.
Stefan had been quiet after their call. He seemed reflective, preoccupied. He'd protected his mind from me, giving me limited access to his thoughts, but he couldn't hide his emotions from me. He could mask them; yet I knew deep down I wasn't going to like the news Nigel had for us.
Unable to sleep, I was up early as well. Relishing the silence of the apartment, I unrolled my yoga mat happily. I'd missed my routine. I'd missed the serenity, the ability to relax my mind as I moved through the poses.
I noticed that the normal strain I'd normally be feeling at the end of my workout wasn't there anymore. I was able to glide effortlessly from movement to movement without breaking a sweat or feeling tired.
Lost in thought, I gave a final stretch and walked to the wall of windows. Peering down from eight floors in the sky, I could easily read the license plate of a taxi idling on the street. I backed away from the window until my legs banged into the chair. Falling into the seat, I stared blindly at the window.
I couldn't deny my changes anymore. I was becoming more vampiric with each passing day. There wasn't any way to stop it or slow the process. Would I die for two days like Anna? Would I have to learn to tolerate the smell of human blood, be a risk to every human until I could control myself?
I was still asking myself questions I had no answer for when Anna burst into the apartment. She was clutching her phone, her brown curls bouncing as she sped towards me.
“It's Georgia. She's been calling me non-stop. I haven't answered the phone. I don't know what to say to her." Anna plopped down on the couch. "What should I do? Can you see what she's going to do?"
Sadly, I shook my head. "Nope.” I popped the ‘p’. I can't see a human's future anymore, Anna."
"Say again?" Anna asked, her mouth agape at my revelation.
"I can't see a human’s future. Likewise, I can't see vampires either. I think it's because I'm neither one, at least not fully anyway," I explained. I twisted my hair into a messy bun and shrugged. "When did she last call you?"
Anna flipped through the call log on her phone. "30 minutes ago."
"Let me call her. I’ll ask her how you are and see what she says. Worse case, I’ll make something up." I rushed into the kitchen and unplugged my phone from the charger. Paging through my contacts, I dialed Georgia's number. I leaned against the counter, idly tracing the patterns in the shiny, dark granite.
"Josie?" Georgia answered. Her voice sounded thick, almost as if she'd been sleeping.
"Georgia? Were you asleep?" I asked. There was a crackle and a long pause. "Georgia?"
"No. I'm here. What's going on?"
"I was just calling to say hi. I haven't talked to you since we left Bali so I thought I'd check in. How are you?"
Her answer was short and sweet. “Good.”
My brow furrowed at her one word answer. Georgia always had an opinion, a story or something to offer advice about. “How’s Anna?”
There was another long pause. "It's funny you mention Anna. She's gone and I can't get her on the phone. I stopped by her office but they said she'd headed back to the US."
Anna stood silently on the other side of the island. Our eyes locked and I held up my finger. Hating to lie, I crossed my other fingers as I recited my off the cuff fib. "That's strange. Maybe something's going on with her family. I'll try to catch up with her."
"Alright, Josie." Her voice was quiet, slurring and sounding distant. "I gotta go. I miss you but I'm not alone."
"Georgia? Are you ok? What do you mean you're not alone?" I was growing concerned. She sounded odd, even less like her normal spunky self than when we'd left Bali. Had Stefan's will changed her irrevocably?
"I'm fine, hun. Take care of yourself."
The line went dead. I held the phone in my hand, simply staring at it. My eyes swiveled to Anna who was mirroring my look of utter confusion.
“What the hell was that?"
