Chapter 13
THIRTEEN
As I threw my suitcase onto the bed, the taste of the bar owner’s blood still lingered in my mouth.
Frustration roared through me like a relentless storm, overwhelming me with visions of his body lying on the shower floor.
I pushed those images away, focusing instead on the urgent need to pack and leave town before Vail discovered I was gone.
I couldn’t bear to stay here any longer; the thought of remaining in this place made my skin crawl. What I needed was to hit the road again and drive. The open road had a way of clearing my mind.
Yanking open the bedroom door, my suitcase in my other hand, I was met with Vail leaning casually against the wall, eyeing me with curiosity. “Going somewhere?” Her questions hung in the air, but I pressed forward. Stopping meant she would convince me to stay.
“Don’t do this, Vail. I don’t belong here.”
“What are you talking about, Rosie? What happened? Was it the Slayers? Is that why you’re making a run for it? You’re so selfish, you promised you’d help me!” Vail’s concern was evident in her voice.
I continued down the hall. “No, it’s not about them.”
“Then what is it?” she called from behind me.
I turned around to face her. “I hurt people, Vail. That’s just what I do,” I confessed, the weight of my actions heavy on my shoulders.
“Oh, Rosie.” She reached out to me, and I recoiled, pushing her hand away more forcefully than intended, causing her to stumble back. Her hurt expression cut through me.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to—” I mumbled.
“I’m okay,” she said, taking a deep breath. “Can you at least stay until I know George is all right?”
“He isn’t back yet? I’m sure he’ll be home soon.”
“The sun is almost up. I’m worried, and I don’t want to be alone,” she said. Her voice trembled, and tears welled up in her eyes as she sank to the floor.
Damn it, Vail.
I paused, dropped my suitcase, and joined her on the floor.
“I couldn’t sleep. I kept thinking about how stupid and clueless we were tonight, and I’ve been waiting for George to come home,” she said as tears streamed down her cheeks.
“He’s probably with that human, Ryley. Sam said they left together,” I told her, trying to offer some semblance of comfort.
“Rosie, a Vampire Slayer told us that. I don’t believe him. I think George is hurt. I just have a feeling.”
I took a deep breath. For as long as I’ve known Vail, she’s been a bleeding heart, always putting others before herself.
And now, sitting here on the floor with her, comforting her, it felt as if no time had passed since we last saw each other.
The familiarity of her presence, the ease of being near her, made me feel as though I could finally tell her the truth about that night.
I trusted her.
“Vail, I didn’t tell you this before, but the other night at the lake … I fainted,” I admitted.
Vail met my gaze through mascara-streaked lashes, her blue eyes, bright as the sea, welling with fresh tears. “What happened?”
I swallowed. “I drank from three people, and then … everything went black. I woke up later with the worst headache of my life.”
I took a shaky breath and told her everything—everything except the part about Connor helping me after.
“And tonight?” Vail asked, her voice quiet but steady. “What happened tonight?”
I swallowed hard, forcing the words out. “I killed a human. Drained him. Left his body in his apartment.” Saying it aloud made the weight of it settle even heavier on my chest.
Vail exhaled sharply but didn’t pull away.
Instead, she rested her head on my shoulder, her warmth grounding me.
“You’re lucky to be alive right now,” she murmured.
Then, without hesitation, she reached for my hand, threading her fingers through mine.
“You have no idea how many reckless Vampires I’ve met these past few months who’ve died doing exactly what you just did. ”
“I know,” I admitted. “If it helps, I could feel your judgment the entire time.” I tried to joke, but the humour fell flat.
She let out a shaky breath, sniffling between her fading sobs. “I want to go back to the bar. I can try a tracking spell—see if it’ll lead us to George.”
“Okay,” I said immediately, standing and pulling her up with me. “Let’s go now.”
She wiped at her smudged mascara with the back of her hand, leaving dark streaks across her nose.
“You should freshen up first,” I told her. “I’ll meet you outside.”
She nodded, disappearing down the hall. I stayed where I was, staring after her.
I would make sure George was all right—for Vail’s sake.
And then I’d leave town.
I couldn’t stand to see Vail in pieces on the floor again.
Vail stepped outside into the gloomy rainy morning. The sun was shaded by large dark storm clouds. She wore a long coat and held a black umbrella above her head.
“You’ll be all right?” I asked her, raising my eyebrows.
“Yes. The sun has barely risen, and it’s raining. So, I can be in the car for a while—unless the clouds part.” Her voice held a determined edge, but I could sense the worry beneath it.
“Well, let’s hope that doesn’t happen.” We slid into her car, its windows blacked out with a UV shield.
I couldn’t figure out if it was window tinting or her magic that made it work.
Knowing Vail, I figured she’d tried every spell under the moon to make it possible for her to drive during the day as a Vampire.
My fingers wandered up to my neck, playing with my mom’s necklace as she drove through the rain-soaked streets.
I glanced over at Vail and noticed the weight of worry etched across her face. Her eyebrows knit together, and her full lips formed a thin line as she drove.
It wasn’t easy to admit, but the truth lingered beneath the surface.
I still cared about her, perhaps even more than I cared about myself at times.
Her presence evoked a sense of responsibility and connection that went beyond the ordinary.
There had been a time when that connection was everything, when it consumed us both.
Vail, with her grace and strength, was better than me in every possible way.
Despite the considerable time that had passed since we last met, she was still who I considered my closest friend, and the concern for her well-being pulled at my heartstrings.
In a playful attempt to lighten the heaviness in the air, I reached over and poked her forehead. “Don’t scrunch your face. You’ll get wrinkles.”
A smirk crossed her lips. “I’m a Vampire. I don’t get wrinkles.”
I chuckled, countering, “You’re only one hundred and thirty-eight years old. Trust me, I’ve seen Vampires with wrinkles.”
“Well, it’s a good thing that I’m also a witch, isn’t it? We can be wrinkle-free until we hit five hundred,” she replied, her smile momentarily pushing aside the shadows of her worries.
“Then what happens when we’re five hundred?” I asked.
“We die in a fiery Vampire orgy, of course.” She teased with a glint in her eyes.
“Ah, yes, of course,” I laughed as she parked in front of the bar.
We got out and walked along the side to the back alley. I reached out and tried to open the back door. It was locked.
“Hold out your hands,” Vail instructed, and I held my hands out in front of me.
“No, like this,” she corrected me, gently opening my hands flat, palms up toward the sky.
“Are you going to cut me?” I asked, skeptical. She gave me a look before placing her purse on my open palms, using them as an impromptu table.
“Vail, you could have asked me to hold your purse,” I remarked.
“You’re being annoying,” she retorted, rummaging through her purse. Amidst various items, she took out a crystal and approached the locked door. Tracing a line around the door frame with the crystal, she muttered incantations under her breath.
Putting the crystal in her pocket, she pushed the door. It opened, and she almost skipped inside, the pride evident on her face. I had witnessed Vail perform magic countless times throughout our lives, yet each time left me impressed.
We flicked on the bar’s lights, flooding the space with a harsh, unnatural brightness, and closed the door behind us.
The once-familiar atmosphere now felt alien and sterile with the absence of people.
Unease swept over me as I hesitated to look where the residue of spilled drinks and dirt lingered.
Vail took her purse back from me and produced an old napkin, placing it on the table as she initiated her tracking spell.
“You’re gross,” I remarked, eyeing the napkin. “I hope you don’t have any of my napkins in there.”
“No, I have your hair,” she replied matter-of-factly, resuming her incantations. I cringed, not wanting to know when she had taken a strand of my hair.
When Vail finished her spell, a vibrant purple butterfly emerged from her purse, fluttering around the bar. It left behind a swirling trail of purple, marking its path as it flew around from the booth where we were sitting, to the bathroom, and then back out toward the alleyway door.
“See, just like Sam said. George left through the back door of the alley,” I told Vail.
However, her expression was dissatisfied with the results as she followed the butterfly out back. We opened the back door, and before we could fully step outside, the screeching of tires reached our ears, and we saw Connor’s white van turning the corner into the alley.
I instinctively pulled Vail back into the bar and closed the door. “Fuck, we have visitors,” I muttered and looked around.
The door was on a brick wall with no windows for us to look through. Vail quickly went over to a brick, placing her hand on it and muttered a spell under her breath. She removed her hand, and where her fingers were sprawled, the brick became translucent. A portal for us to view the outside.
“Impressive,” I marveled.
“I know,” Vail responded, and we stood huddled together looking out.
Donovan and Sam got out of the van and stood there for a moment talking to each other. I strained my hearing, focusing on what they were saying.
“Go in,” Sam told Donovan.
“No way, man. This was your idea. You go in.” Donovan crossed his arms.
I looked at Vail, raising my eyebrows, but her attention was still focused through the bricks.
“Okay, let’s do rock, paper, scissors,” Sam suggested.
Donovon lost and huffed under his breath before jumping into the dumpster. After a moment, Donovan emerged carrying a body slumped over his shoulder. I stood, paralyzed by shock, and I turned to Vail, whose wide-eyed expression mirrored my own.
Vail’s hands covered her mouth, and I could hear her desperate whispers. “Please don’t let that be George, please don’t let that be George …”
But the dread settled in me as I recognized the familiar long hair and denim jacket. It was no doubt, George.
Donovan placed George’s body in the back of the van, and they drove away. “No,” I whispered, shaking my head and looking at Vail.
She was biting her bottom lip to keep it from trembling. “Let’s go,” she said and whipped open the door with such strength I thought she was going to rip it off its hinges.
“Where?” I asked as I followed her out of the alley. Vail, fueled by a resolute purpose, walked ahead of me.
“We have to follow them,” she declared, running out of the bar before I could even protest.