“Baby, where was the last place you saw it?” she asked Amy. I peeked up and watched them both.
“I think…Oh! I know.” Amy dug into the crack between her mattress and the wall and pulled out the missing cord. The crisis was handled, but I was still caught up in their interaction. At some point in the night, they’d moved on to pet names.
They’d probably swapped numbers too.
“Ginger? You ready?” Amy asked me. I blinked and looked away after I realized I was staring at Danni’s hands on Amy’s hips.
“Yeah. Let’s go.” I waited for them to walk out and locked the door behind us. The whole way to the cafeteria, they blissfully ignored me, completely wrapped up in each other and more pet names. Danni even chased Amy across the quad, threatening to tickle her. I was glad Amy was happy, but I just wasn’t in the mood to be their third wheel. Amy noticed. Once we grabbed our food she cornered me by the juice dispenser.
“Hey, what’s going on with you?”
“Nothing.” I looked around to make sure we were alone. Danni was across the cafeteria, digging into her own lunch.
“You’re all quiet. Is everything okay with…C?” I snickered as her eyes darted around. I wasn’t planning on mentioning Camila’s name in public either. I cleared my throat and glanced around.
• 116 •
Better Off red
“I mean there’s nothing to be ‘okay’ about. We had a good time last night. I’ll see her again when I see her.”
“Is that what you want?”
“Amy, what are you talking about?”
“I just mean, maybe you…It’s obvious you like her,” she blurted out the last part.
“Is it? Because you’ve seen us together when?”
“Ginger, you’re so serious about everything. Well, just school.
I’m not saying you’re uptight, but it seems like she’s the only thing that distracts you.”
“I’m glad I’m not too uptight.” I scoffed. “Listen. I do like spending time with C, but it’s nothing beyond spending time. Let’s just consider what and who she is, all that stuff Benny told us, and then maybe you’ll see that even if I did like her, it wouldn’t matter. Right?”
“No. You’re right,” Amy reluctantly agreed. Then that perky grin spread across her face. “But Danni did say you’re the only girl who has spent time alone with her, you know, since initiation.”
Yeah, because of my blood. “We were just talking. It’s nothing.”
“Whatever. I still think you like her.”
“Great. You keep thinking that. I’m going to eat.” Amy drove me insane, but she did care about me and my feelings. It was hard to stay annoyed with her.
We grabbed our trays and Amy followed me to a secluded table where the girls had saved us seats.
“Danni asked me to be her girlfriend,” she said as we walked.
“I figured as much. What did you tell her?”
“Nothing. After we got ready for bed, she just asked me.”
“That’s good. I’m very happy for you.”
“Liar.”
I winked at her and plopped next to Laura. She’d put on about eight pounds of Goth makeup and a tutu, but traded in her fishnet sleeves I’d seen her wear around campus for an ABO shirt. It worked for her.
“I thought we weren’t allowed to talk about this stuff,” she said to Cleo. Apparently, we’d missed the beginning of a juicy conversation.
• 117 •
reBekah WeatherspOOn
“Not with people outside of Alpha Beta Omega or OBA,” Cleo said.“So we can talk to the boys about stuff?” Anna-Jade muttered.
“Yes, A.J. We can.” Anna-Jade blushed at Cleo’s teasing reply.
“So what exactly happens when they change you?” Mel urged Cleo to go on. Cleo looked over at Benny, our source on the inside thanks to her step-dad. Benny coughed like she was about to lower her voice. It was almost comical the way we all leaned in closer to hear. “I’ve only seen it done once, but basically they drain you and then you drink from at least four others. The most powerful is your primary. They’re the demon you have to answer to. Or if you break the law, they will be the one who has to answer for you.”
“Does it hurt?” Amy asked.
“Of course it hurts. You die.” I’d been trying to ignore the fact that Samantha had joined us for lunch, but her bitchiness made it impossible. So what if she did have a point.
“I’ve heard it’s different for everyone. If you fight the change, it is painful,” Benny went on.
“The pain doesn’t bother me. It’s the shit afterward you have to deal with,” Cleo said.
“What shit?” I asked.
“It’s a complicated process. Most demons live in small groups with a specific feeder, but the house has to be sealed from sunlight,”
Benny said.
“I think you’re forgetting something.” I didn’t feel good about the scowl on Cleo’s face. Benny didn’t either, but she let Cleo go on.
“They have to wipe you off the human grid. Fake your death, all this shit. No way I’m letting my mama think I’m dead. Immortality is not worth giving Cynthia Jones a heart attack.” There were a lot of nervous laughs around the table, but Cleo brought up a very serious issue. Becoming a vampire meant giving up your entire human life, and that just wasn’t something I was willing to do. There was no way I could let my family believe I was dead.
“Hey, Benny, how about you don’t bring your bad news to breakfast anymore?” Laura said playfully.
• 118 •
Better Off red
“I’m sorry,” Benny said back. “I’m just being honest. I’ll sugarcoat from now on.”
“No, B. You keep it real. It’s the only way they’ll learn,” Cleo said with a firm nod.
“Is your mom still…like us?” Mel asked Benny.
“Yes. She’s waiting until I graduate.”
“Why then?” Amy asked exactly what I’d been thinking.
“My step-dad can’t go out in the daytime. She didn’t like the idea of me facing the day alone. So if I decide to, with my step-dad’s permission, we’ll both go through with the switch after graduation.”
“Nope.” Cleo laughed. “Even with your step-dad’s permission.
Not doing it.”
I looked up as Amy whispered to Danni. “Do you want to?”
Danni kissed her on the cheek with a dismissive smile. “I don’t know, babe. I haven’t decided yet.”
“So what are the perks?” Sam asked.
Benny paused, probably contemplating what someone like Samantha would see as a plus. “You’ve seen what their blood can do. There’s the issue of immortality, and when it comes to money or possessions, you want for nothing.”
There was more that Benny wasn’t saying, like how vampires could change form, but I didn’t want to be the know-it-all to bring that piece of information up. All that would do was bring more attention to me and the time I was spending with Camila so I kept my mouth shut.
The conversation slowly shifted then. We went on talking about the sister-queens and gathering other useful bits of info. Camila and the others needed to feed three times a week. When school wasn’t in session, they had various feeders scattered around the city, and from the way Benny explained it, around the country. They didn’t mind if they had to travel to feed. I decided it would be better if I didn’t think about who would be lucky enough to experience Camila’s many oral talents at any given time. The sex wasn’t necessary, and Camila wasn’t mine. Other than Benny, I knew none of the other girls would turn her down if a simple drawing of blood turned into something more. She had to feed to live and I just had to deal with it.
• 119 •
reBekah WeatherspOOn
After we took a few minutes to give Anna-Jade a hard time about Micah, Cleo and Danni gave us the rundown for the coming week. We had our first chapter meeting on Tuesday night. Friday night was movie night at the ABO house. Saturday morning, all the fraternities were hosting a pancake breakfast for the sororities. The brothers of OBA would issue our formal invites sometime during the week. Saturday night, the Chi Nus were throwing an honest-to-God toga party, but it wasn’t mandatory. Sunday night would be spent in the ABO kitchen getting ready for our first bake sale to benefit Types of Hope.
Of course, Camila was on my mind. I couldn’t wait to see her again, but the weekend ahead sounded pretty good without the prospect of spending the night in her arms. You couldn’t go wrong with all-you-can-eat pancakes and hanging out with the girls.
❖
The moment we left the cafeteria on Sunday, things in my life went from pretty darn interesting to utter crap. Micah and an agitated Greg were waiting for Anna-Jade and me at the library. I had an idea of what was pissing him off. If we’d been alone, I would have asked Greg if he wanted to talk, but he was being such a moody jerk that staying with the group seemed like the better move.
Halfway through the afternoon, Samantha showed up. She’d finished her work over at the paper early and decided to come study with Greg. And by study, I mean rub his leg under the table as we finished our lab report. She appeared to lighten his mood, but I still didn’t like her.
I left them right before dinner, grabbed a sandwich from the cafeteria, and ate in my room. Amy sent me a text at eight thirty telling me she was spending the night with Danni. She texted me again to remind me to check in with Cleo at nine. I thanked her because I had completely forgotten. I worked on my paper until midnight when I finally climbed into bed. At one, I stopped waiting to hear from Camila. If she could sense me, she could at least get my phone number from Cleo.
• 120 •
Better Off red
Monday morning, things got worse. The late hours I’d spent with Camila finally caught up with me. I hit the snooze button four times and was almost late for class. That night Amy invited me to join her over at the house, but I passed. I was determined to get some sleep. Instead, I tossed and turned until two a.m., hoping to hear from Camila. She didn’t call.
Tuesday was more of the same, except Greg was even more pissy in lab. I was starting to think I should carry Samantha around in my backpack just to get him to chill out. He did apologize after class, explaining in hushed, coded tones, that Rodrick liked to feed more than three times a week and even after receiving a thorough apology from his father, Greg hadn’t come up with a plan about getting out of OBA. I was too tired to care.
That night we had a real chapter meeting that was outrageously dull. Omi was the only sister-queen to show up, and she didn’t say anything. The entire time, all I could think about was Camila. She didn’t poke her head in after the meeting or call me later that night, but Rodrick did. He wanted a sample of blood.
Wednesday after class I met him and Natasha at the ABO
house, down in Natasha’s quarters. Camila wasn’t joking. Her whole apartment was decorated in neons. It looked like she was set up for the ultimate 80s themed party, but I was distracted from the décor by the two vampires who greeted me. I realized how comfortable I’d become with Camila. Vampires are pretty intimidating when they weren’t the object of your own obsessive lust. Rodrick towered over me as he led me to the couch.
“We are lucky to have found you,” Natasha said. She sat on the arm of a nearby chair, watching with casual interest while Rodrick had me roll up my sleeve.
“What makes you say that?” I winced as Rodrick slid the needle into my arm.
“We prefer to take care of our own,” Rodrick answered with a wink. I looked at the blood filling the vial and wondered how much of that notion was true. From latchkey kid to orphan to Carmichael to vampire foster undergrad? I wondered what exactly had happened with my mother and if the events leading up to my birth could have
• 121 •
reBekah WeatherspOOn
saved her from herself. The blood of these demons had somehow kept me alive, not to mention the bang up job its magic had worked on Benny’s acne. Having no clue when I’d hear from Camila again, I took a chance.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.” Rodrick handed my sample off to Natasha then swabbed my arm. She stuck the sample in a satchel on the chair.
Then they both moved to the couch beside me. I don’t know what I expected from them, but it was sweet to see Natasha settle comfortably in Rodrick’s arms, almost like they were a normal couple and not part of some vampire underworld.
“Do you really live forever?” I asked, looking up as Natasha rubbed Rodrick’s forearm.
She looked back at Rodrick, but he kept his eyes on me. “We can be killed, but I think you’re asking if we die of old age,” he said.
Now that he brought up the distinction I realized I wanted to know the answer to both questions.
“We don’t know. In our master’s time there have been recalls of his children, twice.”
“What do you mean by a recall?”
“There are rules we must follow to stay in our God’s good graces. Our identities must be kept a secret from humans from whom we do not feed, and we are not to act in any way that will alter the lives of humans on a large scale. Twice those rules were broken and twice the earth was swept clear of all demons like us,”
Natasha said.
“But not your master?” I asked.
“Losing all of their vampire children was punishment for not keeping them in order,” Natasha said. “It was many years ago and we were both born into this life centuries later.”
“What did they do? The violators?” I wanted to know if we were talking about jaywalking with your fangs out or staging a major coup.
“There was a major uprising in Egypt one thousand years ago, but it was not recorded in your history. Many humans were sacrificed to a vampire who had become a slave to his own power.”
• 122 •
Better Off red
“And the other time?”
“I think your school books would call it the Black Death,”
Rodrick said.
I gasped, unable to hide my shock. Natasha touched my elbow gently. “We didn’t cause the sickness, but vampires flocked to the region and fed freely without permission then tossed their kill among the plague victims. They didn’t bother to hide what they were.”
My stomach started to churn. “Could something like that happen again?”
“You must know, Ginger. We were born human, but our master and his lot were born in hell and what we have become is rooted in genuine evil. Only a pure heart can overcome that part of our reborn nature. Now, our master is very careful to select humans who can handle the burden to join our flock,” Rodrick said.