Chapter 11
Chapter
Eleven
ECHO
Ididn’t know what to do with myself after I was dropped off in front of my apartment by a driverless car that flirted with me the entire ride. Love was a total sweetheart and spoke so much during the trip that she gave me plenty to work with conversation-wise.
I wasn’t certain if she was sentient or just a very well-programmed AI, but whatever the case, I’d grown attached immediately.
If Vale didn’t kill me, hopefully, he’d let me visit her occasionally.
He would probably kill me, though. I was at least fifty percent certain of it. Even if he wasn’t a vampire, it was obvious he enjoyed drinking my blood, and I could work with that.
Since I didn’t know what to do with myself, I decided to go with the schedule I’d told Vale about and began immediately over-analyzing every moment of our interactions.
I got lost for quite a while as I ran through the best parts. The way my heart sped up when he got that ghost smile I was beginning to lust over, the way Vale had worshiped my body with his hands, and the way my body had molded to his cock so perfectly…
Oh yeah, that was some good stuff right there, folks.
I found it difficult to remember the cringy moments because they were flooded with countless exhilarating ones. There were fun ones and scary ones, too. I’d done more living in the past day and a half than I’d done in years.
I didn’t manage to fall asleep again, so I got an early start on my day. I pulled on a clean outfit but couldn’t bring myself to leave Vale’s sweater behind, so I threw it on over my button-up.
I went to get in my car and realized it was still parked on a residential street near the church.
Goddamnit.
I swore and grumbled as I ordered an Uber to come pick me up. I could have walked to get it since it was still early, but it was two miles away, freezing, and it was beginning to snow.
Normally, I’d be happy to do it in the hopes of contracting an incurable illness, but I wasn’t feeling it at the moment. Instead, I went back inside, grabbed a coat to throw on over my Vale sweater, and went back outside to wait for my ride.
The snow sparkled in the early morning sun as it fell.
It drifted slowly to the ground, covering it evenly.
Instead of pulling out my phone to distract myself from the monotony of existence, I found myself drawn to the peace of the morning and the graceful dance of snowflakes as they made their way to their final destination.
How had I forgotten how nice it was to watch it snow?
The simple peace of watching the world slowly transform into a wonderland was magical, especially when the snow was covering twinkling Christmas lights.
When was the last time I’d done that?
Oh.
Right.
The last time I’d seen such a thing had been while sitting with Evan and Rob on the floor next to the destroyed remains of our Christmas tree.
Their bodies were cold where they lay amidst the mutilated boxes and brightly colored wrapping paper scattered about the floor.
I’d barely noticed the cold as I sat by the broken window watching the snow blow through.
I kicked at the newly fallen snow, no longer feeling peaceful. Instead, I wanted a flamethrower to destroy it all so I never had to see it again.
When my Uber arrived, I didn’t acknowledge the driver with anything more than a nod, and when we reached my car, I got out without so much as a wave.
I left a nice tip, though, so the driver wouldn’t think they’d done something wrong.
Just because I was in a shitty mood didn’t mean everyone around me had to suffer.
I drove my car to the university, parked, and then my day blurred like it always did. Lectures, pointless, one-sided conversations with colleagues, and students making last-ditch attempts to pull up their grades before finals next week.
Often, the circus before finals amused me, but I didn’t even notice it. The day might as well have not happened for all the attention I paid it.
Things might have continued that way if I hadn’t been interrupted by a cheerful voice I would have given my life savings to never hear again.
“Echo! How wonderful. I was hoping I’d run into you today,” Apple said, giving me a delighted smile. He clung to the tall man next to him, who, according to the local gossip, had become a taciturn, permanent fixture in Apple’s life.
I felt drawn to Apple immediately, and like magic, I went from barely existing to living and breathing only for Apple. “I was hoping I’d run into you today,” I parroted, even though a distant part of me was shouting Hell, the fuck no, I wasn’t at the top of my lungs.
Apple smiled merrily and said, “Vix told me about what happened last night, and I wanted to let you know that you didn’t miss anything. The bad guys had already vacated the area, so our guys didn’t get a chance to have any fun. Pity.”
“Pity,” I agreed.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll get a chance to go next time if you want to. I’ve decided that I’d be a lot happier if Gareth didn’t make you sick to look at, so you won’t have to worry about it anymore.”
Since Apple said it, it must be true, so I knew without a doubt that I didn’t have to worry about barfing all over Gareth anymore. What a relief.
And did I want to go on a dangerous mission to kill a bunch of crazy people, and get to watch Vale in action? Duh, obviously, so I said eagerly, “I want to.”
Apple clapped his hands together. “Perfect! However, I did hear that Vale isn’t keen on the idea anymore, and he’s impervious to my charm, so there isn’t much I can do on that front. I do have some advice for you, though. What are your thoughts on camping?”
I raised an eyebrow. “Camping?”
“Yes, it’s a time-honored tactic to get what you want from a member of the collective.”
“Used once,” Adam interrupted.
“To great effect,” Apple insisted.
“I didn’t even know you were there.”
“Whatever. Trust me, Echo. It’s going to work perfectly for you. You just need some camping gear… Ah, yes, thank you, Penelope, this is exactly what I needed.” Apple took a backpack and a tent from a bewildered young woman and handed them to me.
The young woman was star-struck and moved to a respectful distance away to watch us.
“Let me just look through it real quick to make sure it has everything you’ll need.
Being around Adam tends to dull the Apple experience,” Apple said as he began rummaging around in the backpack.
“Ok, the food is basic, but you can supplement that as needed. The sleeping bag is rated for forty below—which is overkill, but better safe than sorry—though there’s no sleeping mat, sorry about that. ”
I watched, equally as starstruck as Penelope, while Apple went through her gear, listing off the pros and cons as he went.
When he finally declared that I had everything I needed, he told me exactly where to set up the tent on their property and when the perfect time to park myself there would be.
Then he and Adam left as suddenly as they came, with well-wishes from Apple and a stoic nod from Adam.
Penelope and I stared after them as they went, reeling in the wake of the Apple experience.
I was about to offer Penelope her stuff back when she said, “I’m so glad I had my old camping gear with me! How lucky was that? I can’t wait to tell everyone that I got to help Apple.”
With that, Penelope skipped away, heedless of the icy sidewalk.
I… I guess I was going camping? If Apple said so, it had to be a good idea, right?
Apple was a filthy, dirty, no-good, asshole, jerk of a person, and I was going to brutally murder him at my earliest convenience.
I sat hunched in a half-erected tent because I couldn’t figure out how to get it up the rest of the way.
Yeah, shut up. I know how it sounded, and trust me, what I was doing was as unsexy as it got.
Apple’s influence wore off halfway through setting up camp, and I found myself wondering what in the ever-loving fuck I was doing. How did he keep rolling my mind like that? Was that what he did to everyone? How was anyone willing to come near him after being caught in his orbit?
I mean, sure, it was absolutely brilliant while I was in the crosshairs of Apple’s attention, but when it wore off, I felt completely gutted. It was horrible in every sense of the word.
I allowed myself to fall over and lie on my side, content to stay there until I froze to death, because what was the point of anything anymore? My family wasn’t getting less dead, and I wasn’t getting less alone. Everything was stupid, and boring, and—
“What on earth are you doing?” Vale’s voice came from outside the tent.
I scrambled to my feet, hit my head on the only tent pole I’d managed to successfully erect, and fell on my ass with much cursing.
Like, all of the cursing.
“Fuck you, Apple,” I spat, as I struggled in vain to get out of the tent. “Fuck your charm, fuck your family, fuck your stupid collective, and fuck you, too, Vale. Fuck every last bit of you.”
There was a tearing sound, and I could see daylight again. Vale’s hand grabbed me by the upper arm and dragged me to freedom.
“You’re welcome to try the last part,” Vale said dryly, “but Adam already has permanent dibs on Apple, and most of the collective is already spoken for.”
As Vale helped me to my feet, I asked, “What about Apple’s family?” because I was trying to be an asshole, and not because I wanted to hear more of Vale’s silky, seductive voice. Definitely not.
“I never bothered to ask because I don’t care.” Vale pulled me far closer to him than I was comfortable with, considering how outraged I was at his entire family of murder hobos.
“Did you have fun doing crime without me?” I snapped and pulled myself free.
Well, I tried to pull myself free, but Vale only tightened his grip on me, holding me firmly in place.