Neither (4 page)

“You could never do that,” I say. I want to get up and hug her, so I pull my wet hair over my neck.

“You sure you're okay?” she says, studying my face.

“Yeah, just tired.”

“Did you stay up late reading again?”

“Uh huh.” God, I'm a bad liar. I can tell from her tone that she knows I'm lying, but doesn't know exactly what I've been up to.

“Don't feel like you have to rush back. Have fun with Tex. Tell her I miss seeing her.” Yeah, I miss having Tex over, too. Maybe it's time to pull the trigger and tell her about Mom.

I flop back on my pillow when she leaves.

“Peter, why does this have to suck so much?” My ironic use of the word suck is lost on me until a few seconds after I say it. He slips back through the window and comes to sit next to me on my bed.

“I am sorry you have so many burdens. I wish I could take them from you.” He starts rubbing my feet. Yup, he's perfect.

“Yeah, me too.” I sigh again. “What am I going to do about this?” I gesture to my neck.

“I am not sure. I wish I could heal it for you.”

“Yeah that would be nice. That should be part of the Claiming package. Instant healing, now for only three easy payments of nine dollars and ninety-nine cents.”

“I am sorry. I did not know another way to manage it.”

“I'm not mad at you, so stop being like that,” I say. My fingers find the wound, poking at it. It doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would. Maybe I'm getting desensitized. That would be kind of nice, being desensitized to pain.

“I guess it's time for the scarf again.” I really should buy another one. The one I have is cute, a dark blue paisley, but I need something else.

“I went back to the thrift store and found something for you,” he says, going to his drawer. I didn't know he did that. When had that happened? “I may have gone after hours, but I left money in the till.”

He pulls out a bag from the store and hands it to me. It's the first real present he's gotten for me. I take something out of the bag. It's a beautiful green scarf in a material so soft and shiny that I have to fight the urge to rub it against my face.

“You seem to really have a thing for green,” I say, wrapping it around my neck and trying to figure out the best way to tie it so it hides my bite without making me look like I'm hiding something. I twitch it into place.

“How does it look?”

“Perfect.”

I go to the mirror in my bathroom and look at it. The scarf is gorgeous, and it almost matches my eyes. That sneaky Peter.

“Thank you,” I say, walking toward him with the intent to kiss him. He moves away at the last minute.

“We should go,” he says. I've been denied twice in one day. My ego is bruised, but I'm not going to show him that.

I nod instead and go downstairs, saying good-bye to Mom as I grab my keys. Dad is MIA, which is good. I dash out before Mom can comment on the scarf. Actually, I have a good reason for wearing it if I tell her that Peter gave it to me. Brilliant.

He meets me at the end of the driveway and gets in the car without a word. Mom is still unaware that he spends the night in my bedroom. I'm not ready to broach that conversation, either. So many secrets.

The drive to Tex's house is mostly silent.

“Aren't you worried?” I finally say, because I can't stand it anymore.

“About what?”

“The bind that Viktor made to avenge Ivan. Aren't you worried?” Has he forgotten?

He blinks. “Not particularly. He is my brother. We will find a way out of this.”

“No offense, I'm glad you got us out of there, but undoing a promise with another promise seems kind of silly.” Actually, it sounds like the dumbest thing ever, but they're supposed to be the brilliant immortals.

“We did what we could at the time. We will work it out.”

“I wish I had your confidence,” I say. How can he be so sure? He was sure of Cal and look how that turned out.

“So do I.” Grr.

The only car in Tex's driveway is hers, so I feel comfortable going inside. Still, I have this vision of Viktor waiting for us with a chainsaw like we're in some horror movie. That's ridiculous because I'm pretty sure a chainsaw wouldn't stand a chance against Peter.

“You're alive!” A pair of arms throws themselves around me, and my face is pressed to Tex's chest as soon as I step in the door. Hello, boobs.

“Can't breathe,” I manage to get out.

She pulls back. Her eyes are wide and excited behind her purple glasses. Wait a second... There is something different about her. Something, more? It's like she got a haircut, only times a million.

“What happened to you? You look...” I can't put my finger on it.

“Uh, yeah, that's what we want to talk to you about,” she says, holding her hand out behind her, as if she's reaching for something. Or someone. Viktor emerges from the living room and takes it. Well, that's a development.

“So you guys are like, together?”

“More than that,” Tex says, looking back at him with a look I've never seen on her face. It isn't that flirty look or the sexy face she tries to make. It's pure and she looks happy. Really, really happy. What the... I look at her face and back at his.

“What did you do?”

Tex nods at Viktor, giving him permission. I think I know what's coming, but this can't be happening.

“I Claimed her,” he says.

“Shut the front door!” I stare at Peter. Everything had gone to hell in a handbasket while I’d been sleeping.

Peter

Ava is as shocked by Viktor Claiming Texas as I thought she would be. We all go to the living room where just the day before I told them my deep secret about how I killed Josie and how Cal saved me. Now we are sharing more secrets.

“What the hell were you thinking?!” Ava yells at both Texas and Viktor, nearly leaping off the couch. I have to hold her hand so she won't. Her face is red and pinched, and her anger flows into me like fire.

“Why are you yelling, you hypocrite! I guess it's fine for you, but not fine for anyone else? Why are you so damn special, Ava?” Texas yells back. They are both waving their arms and glaring at each other.

We all hear the footsteps at the top of the stairs. Texas' brother is here, trying to eavesdrop. Little does he know that all of us can hear him doing it.

Texas turns her head and yells up the stairs. “Coby, we are having adult time. Now get back in your room and put your headphones on before I break them and then cut your hair while you're sleeping.”

Coby mutters a curse at Texas under his breath, but goes back to his room and shuts the door. Seconds later, loud music blares out of his headphones and into his ears.

“I don't understand what the big deal is,” Texas says.

Ava is about to scream again, but suppresses it. I give her hand a squeeze. She is not alone. She takes a breath and thinks before she speaks again.

“You don't know what you're getting yourself into. It's like...” She struggles to find the words. “It's like letting someone else live inside of you. Get inside your head and share the most intimate parts of you. Sometimes Peter can read my mind. Sometimes I get sick when he doesn't have enough blood. We can't even be one room away for very long. You saw the pain that it caused last night and you still did it. What were you thinking?”

Texas hesitates for a moment, looking at Viktor.

“We thought that it was the best decision for the moment. She is involved in our world now and needs to be protected,” he says. Ava starts to say something else, but he cuts her off. “I will not hurt her, just as Peter has not hurt you. I did not take this lightly, but I knew that she would be a target after Cal and Di found out about her. I had to protect her.”

“Thank you,” Texas says, looking at her hands in her lap. They are sitting close, but not touching. The energy between them crackles like lightning. Viktor does not know what he is in for with her. Or perhaps he does and chooses it anyway.

Adele was like that. Fiery, passionate and impulsive. That is probably what attracted him in the first place. That fire in her eyes. They also look very alike.

Those eyes go back to his face. I look at Ava, and she gazes at me. She's still thinking angry thoughts, and I get snippets of them from her, mostly with curse words. A tiny part of her, probably a part she doesn't even know exists, is relieved that she has someone to share this with. She is not alone.

“It was so weird at first,” Texas says. “It was like I couldn't control what I was thinking. I just felt things I didn't think were my feelings. That doesn't make any sense.” She blushes, fiddling with her hands.

“No, it does. How's your vision and hearing?” Ava asks.

“Um, amazing? You didn't tell me about that part.” Texas smiles.

Ava relaxes a little, but her anger is still simmering, pushed aside for now so she can share her experiences with her friend. Their bond is strong. Much like my bond with Viktor.

Ava snaps her attention from Texas to Viktor. “What are you getting out of this, Viktor? Why did you do it?” Her tone is sharp again.

“Because it needed to be done.”

Ava nods, taking his words for their value.

“You're a good person, you know?” Viktor says.

“Thank you,” Ava says.

“So, what now?” Texas says, shifting so she's closer to Viktor.

“God, I don't know,” Ava says, rubbing her eyes. Even with all the sleep she got, she's still exhausted. I wish she didn't have to go to school the next day. I cannot keep her from her human life, as long as she is human. “We have got to find a way to break these binds. If we can do that, then we'll be set. Except we'll still have to get rid of Di. She's never going to stop trying to find a way to get me. And now we have to worry about Cal.” I want to brush the dark circles under her eyes away.

“It's too bad we couldn't just stake you guys like real vampires. That would have solved a lot of our problems,” Texas says.

“Right?” Ava says.

Texas snaps her fingers. “I would have been on that Di like white on rice. But then, I probably would have staked you that first night Ava brought you to that party, Peter. I'm sorry I was so weird, but you weren't exactly what I expected. You weren't, either.” She directs the last part at Viktor.

“I did not expect you, either,” he says. They share a private moment, and I wonder if that is what I look like with Ava or what I could look like, if not for the bind. Viktor is free to feel however he wants about her. I am not.

“I should be totally pissed at you right now. You Claimed my best friend and you promised to take my life,” Ava says.

“Hey, it's not his fault. He was just trying to help,” Texas snaps.

Ava holds up her hand to make her stop. “But I'm your friend, and you're my boyfriend's brother. So I'm going to let it go for now.” Ava's speech is met with silence. She glances at me and shrugs.

“Sooo, someone needs to give me the full story of what went down. I was a little out of it,” Ava says, laughing a little.

I put my arm around her back and she leans into me.

Texas glances at Viktor before she tells her version of the story, which is mostly accurate. I interject a few times to explain something further. Texas is still ignorant of the power of the binds.

“So if you promise something, you'll die if you don't do it? Why did you promise to avenge that guy's death in a year, you idiot?” Texas smacks him on the shoulder, but flinches back when her hand meets it. “Ouch. I can't even hit you,” she whines.

“It was the only way. The only thing she would accept at the time. We will find a way in less than a year. A year is a long time,” Viktor says. It isn't, but he tells a small lie to assuage her.

“How old are you?” Texas asks, turning to face him.

“I don't remember,” he says.

“Exactly,” she says, putting her finger in his face. “A year is like nothing for you. Don't you pull that crap with me, Viktor Belikov. I know my dates.” He told her his last name. That is not something he shares lightly. This relationship is more serious than I thought.

“Wow, you know his last name?” Ava says.

“I know a lot of things,” Texas says. “So, as I said, don't you pull that crap with me.” She pokes him in the chest.

“I will try not to.”

“Good,” she says, smiling at him.

Ava waves her hands. “Hello? We still need to come up with a plan, and waiting around isn't an option. Didn't you say you had some other noctali you knew who could help? Or who might know how to undo binds? That won't want to kill me?”

“A few,” Viktor says. “I have some friends overseas who might know things.”

“Really?” Texas claps her hands and bounces on the couch. “How would we get there?”

“They will come to us,” he says, watching her.

“That sounds like a bad idea,” Ava says, shaking her head.

“You can trust them,” Viktor says.

“I don't even know if I can trust you,” she says in a small voice. I sense she is feeling that way, but don't want to say anything.

“Viktor volunteered to make the bind when I first asked him for help. I didn't ask him to do it, but we agreed that when it was needed, he would do it for me. For us.”

“What?!” Ava yells, getting up. “So everyone just thinks it's okay to keep these things from me? That it's okay to make plans without me? Screw you. Screw all of you.” She storms out of the house and I let her go. Her car door slams.

Texas moves to go after her, but Viktor holds her back.

“Let her have a moment,” he says.

We all wait. I hear her screaming curses in her head.

“So, we're just going to sit here?” Texas says.

“No, I am giving her space. She needs some space,” I say.

I wait until she tugs at our connection. I'm not sure if she's aware that she does it, but that is all I need. I get up and walk at human speed to the car. I tap on the window. She wipes tears from her face before hitting the button to make the window go down. Viktor was able to put in a new mechanism after I tore it off not that long ago.

“I'm sorry,” she says, sniffing.

I put my face at her level. “Talk to me.”

“It's just a lot, you know? Just with everything that happened last night, and now Tex being Claimed and Viktor. I just feel like things keep getting worse instead of getting better. Like we're jinxed. Every time I think things are going to get better, they just get worse. Even if you change me, Viktor is still bound. Why won't you guys stop making binds?”