The Night House (8 page)

“I know your face. I don’t know anything about you.” She crosses her arms, trying to protect herself. “Do
you
know
me
?”

“No. Not really. I know you were in trouble. And you…kissed me,” I add quietly.

Her face enflames. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t myself.”

“You don’t have to apologize.” I laugh a little. “I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m fine,” she answers. “Thank you. I need to go.”

“Oh I, um…” What do I say to make her talk to me? I feel ridiculous. There are people walking by us and cars driving by. It’s hard to think about normal people just living around us. My hand is extended toward her, hanging in the air. I can feel her waiting for me, to see what I’ll do.

“Please take care of yourself,” I say.

She stares at me, a little relieved, a little disappointed. Yeah, me too.

“Goodbye,” she says and turns away.

I blew it.

As she gets farther away, so does her mind. I don’t even realize what’s happening at first. Slowly, my mind closes up and I feel lighter. By the time I realize that the connection has been broken, the girl is long gone. Suddenly the only scars I feel are my own.

Bianca

I wasn’t supposed to live past age thirteen.

It wasn’t a disease or a condition or anything like that. It was my parents.

To the outside world, my parents were teachers at Bucks County Community College. I knew what they really did, but we didn’t often speak about it. I imagined it was the same for kids whose parents were involved with the military or the CIA. I couldn’t tell anyone about it, or it would put my parents in danger. It’s not like anyone knew about vampires. They wouldn’t believe me anyway.

I didn’t realize, back then, what vampires could do. They didn’t feel real to me.

My parents were always bringing me to stupid dinner parties, because they took me everywhere. They didn’t trust babysitters and couldn’t stand the thought of leaving me alone. They knew what was out there.

It started while I was changing. The dress my mother had picked out was just a hair too small, and it took ten minutes of groaning and yanking to get the stupid thing over my head. My mom gave me a crooked smile when it was finally on.

“Can you breathe?”

I frowned. “Barely.”

She ran her fingers through my hair. “Well, if you just stopped growing up like I asked you, this wouldn’t be a problem.”

I swatted her hand away. “How creepy would it be if I never grew up? Do you really want a thirteen-year-old forever?”

That’s when the window broke upstairs. Everything froze. Then it was like my mom left her loving mother act behind and slipped into someone else’s body: the body of a hunter. She crept over to the stairs, not making a sound, and peered up.

“Mom?” I asked.

She held up her hand and shushed me.

Fear crept through me like ice water. We’d had false alarms before. My parents never wrote anything off; they had to investigate. I never took them seriously. I mean, the idea of vampires actually breaking into the house seemed insane. This time, it was different. I could see the awareness in her body, like a sixth sense kicking in. This time was real.

She came back to me and put her hands on either side of my face. Her voice was barely audible. “You know what to do. Don’t make a sound. I’m going to lock your door. If you don’t hear from us in five minutes, go through the cellar, go to the neighbors and call the police.”

“Is it really them?” I breathed.

She held my gaze for an instant. “Maybe.”

Tears trickled down my face. She kissed the top of my head.

“Hush. You’ll be fine,” she said. “I love you so much.”

I wanted to say it back, but she told me not to make a sound. So I cried silently as she went into the cellar and returned with an old hunting knife. My hand was so sweaty, I almost cut myself on the blade. It stained my hand orange with rust. They always said iron worked best, but this blade was old and withered. Then my mother vanished up the stairs. I heard the click of the lock.

“I love you too,” I whispered to the empty room.

In the silence, I listened hard, but I also tried to block it all out. This was our worst nightmare come true. They had never come to our house before. Vampires weren’t a real concern in the suburbs of Bucks County. It was like being afraid of terrorists: it didn’t really affect us. And yet, here they were.

It started off slow. Shuffling and scuffling that turned into bumps and crashes, which escalated to yelling and screaming. My heart was pounding so hard, I thought it would break my ribs. The damn dress was so tight, and it constricted my chest with every heaving breath I took. Everything inside of me was screaming,
Get out of the house!
But I couldn’t. My parents were up there fighting for me. How could I leave them?

Then I heard a door bust open from somewhere above, then the sound of someone descending the stairs in double time. I sank to the floor, the knife in my lap, crying violently. This was it. All those idle threats, crazy safety procedures, for nothing.

Mom would get her wish after all. I wasn’t going to have the chance to grow up.

“Oh, no.” This was the voice of my killer. He sounded ashamed, but more than that, he sounded scared. I covered my ears and buried my face in my knees. I couldn’t bear to look at him.

A long, painfully still moment went by. I raised my head, expecting to see the bogeyman himself. Instead, I saw a sickly vampire with ashen skin, watery blue eyes, and long disheveled blond hair. He took a step closer and I gripped the knife.

Then he raised his hands in surrender. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

He knelt and I tried to breathe through my terror.

“I have to get you out of here. Before they find you.”

I just shook my head. He reached, slowly at first, then so fast I barely saw it. The knife was out of my hands, and then I was in his arms. I tried to scream, but he covered my mouth.

“If they hear you, they’ll kill you.” He almost sounded as scared as I felt.

I swallowed my scream.

“Close your eyes.” He had a soft voice. I did as he said.

Something large and warm wrapped around me and I was in the air, flying so fast that my eyes stung. He carried me as he ran through the cellar, out of the house, into the yard. He passed at least three of my neighbors’ houses until he finally stopped and placed me onto their back porch.

I was dizzy from the journey and the fear. When I looked up at him, his face swam in my vision. Something acid-hot burned my arm, and I realized he’d cut me. He rubbed both of his hands against the wound. He had to stop and take a ragged breath as he did this. His hands shook a little.

“You said you wouldn’t hurt me,” I squeaked out.

He snapped out of his stupor. “S-sorry. I haven’t eaten in a while. ”

“Please don’t bite me!” I shrieked, my eyes shut tight. I expected teeth in my neck at any moment—but it didn’t happen.

“It’s okay, I’m only pretending to kill you,” he said. “To throw them off your track.”

I risked another glance at him. “Who are you?”

There was a long pause before he said, “I’m Micah.” His big blue eyes found mine. “I’m sorry I couldn’t stop them.”

“We have to go back,” I pulled on his arm. “I have to help my parents! Please!”

He took my shoulders. “They’re already gone. I’m sorry.”

“Wh…what?” My breath hitched.

“They were hunters…But they didn’t tell me you were so young…they didn’t…tell me…”

His gaze met mine once more. I saw the regret in him. And then he was gone.

James

Shiloh’s sharp voice wakes me up. He says, “We can’t take him to a hospital, Al. What are we going to say? Our friend passed out because he
telepathically
found this girl on the streets?”

The two of them are on the brink of panic attacks.

“I’m not actually telepathic,” I force the words out of my dry throat. I can’t quite open my eyes.

A wave of relief crashes over them both, and someone’s arms squeeze me too tightly.

“Jesus Christmas, James, don’t ever do that again!” Ally’s voice is muffled against my coat.

“I will if you don’t let go of me,” I mumble.

She jumps away. I see I’m back on the sidewalk. Shiloh kneels next to me and slips an arm behind my back.

“Let’s get you home. Ally, call a cab.”

He helps me up, and I feel their concern pulsing around me, like heartbeats, but they are the only ones I feel.

“What happened?” Shiloh asks.

“I lost her.”

“No shit.” Shiloh tentatively takes his arm back, to see if I can stand on my own. I lean against the building, but I don’t fall.

“I mean, I can’t feel her anymore.”

“Oh.” He can’t decide if he’s happy or disappointed. His eyes are wide, but his lips are thin. “That’s probably best.”

I nod, but I don’t know if I agree. I feel like I let her down. Ally turns to face us as a streak of yellow comes to a halt in front of her.

“Is he cool to walk?”

I answer her by getting into the cab on shaky legs. There’s an emptiness gathering inside me now that I’ve been separated from the girl. I just want to be in bed. Soon enough we’re speeding down the street, and I’m starting to feel sick.

This has never happened to me. Once I make a connection, it stays with me. I feel so uncomfortable. There’s a part of me that’s gone. I know it. I’ll never get it back.

“It’s okay,” Ally says and I wonder why she said it, when I see my hand is clutching her arm.

I release her, but I don’t feel any better.

She touches my hand with hers and smiles encouragingly, but for some reason, she feels like she lost something too.

The drive is short and, before I realize what’s happening, they’re helping me out of the cab.

“What are we going to tell the ’rents?”

“Tell them we grabbed some food and I ate something bad,” I say.

That’s what I’m starting to feel like. I know I won’t get sick, but I feel it strongly. It’s as if the girl is still haunting me, like a phantom limb.

When we enter my house, the lights are too bright. While Ally leaves some lies for our parents to chew on, Shiloh leads me to my bed where I willingly collapse.

Shiloh sits on the edge of my bed. “I say we move on and try to pretend this never happened.”

“I don’t know if I can.”

He pats my shoulder. “How about I spend the night? Ally’s getting that look she gets right before she does something stupid.”

I always forget that Shiloh knows Ally as well as I do, and he doesn’t even have my ability. His laughter is gruff. “I’m starting to think she just wants to meet this girl so she can have another crazy sibling.”

“Remind me why you like her.” Shiloh’s face turns red like the sunset.

“Shut the hell up, Jay, she’s coming.”

Ally walks into the room, and the whole atmosphere changes like there’s a gas leak. Our parents are close behind.

“Are you okay?” Mom rushes to my side. “Ally said you got food poisoning.”

“I’m fine. I just ate something that didn’t like me.”

She pats my head and frowns. “We can take you to the hospital.”

“Oh no, that’s too much. I just kind of want to go to bed.”

“Feel better. We’re really proud of you,” Mom says, and I feel it too. “But you don’t have to rush things.”

“I didn’t get a panic attack.” I smile for her. “Really. I’ll be okay.”

She smiles so brightly. Her hope almost erases some of the emptiness inside me. At least they believe in me. “Some luck you got,” she says and brushes my hair back.

They leave and Ally lets out a long, overly dramatic sigh.

“I think I’ve had enough excitement,” she says. “I’m going to bed.”

When she leaves, the room deflates.

“Definitely going to do something stupid,” Shiloh says.

“Not yet. It’ll take her time to come up with the stupid plan. She likes to think about these things for a while before she does them.”

We both stare at the door for a moment in silence, wondering what she’s going to do this time. For once, I think I understand Ally’s restlessness. This emptiness inside me is almost as bad as the connection to the girl was. It’s grating on my nerves.

“I let her down.”

“Ally?” Shiloh asks.

“No, the girl. I disappointed her. She wanted me to be different, I guess. I chickened out, man.”

“What could you have done differently?”

I take a breath, putting my hands behind my head. “I could have been honest.”

“So, there’s still hope.” Shiloh, ever the optimist. “She could still be like you. Maybe she knows about what you are. God, maybe she knows your parents…”

Hope. Maybe I’m not alone after all. Maybe someone can understand me. I quickly try to stamp out the excitement. I can’t get too attached. I could be wrong.

Despite myself, I feel something like nervousness blooming in my chest. I’ve never talked to anyone who knew what this was like. I’ve done the whole internet search thing with Ally. We tried to find others like me, but it turns out, if anyone is out there, they want to stay hidden. I don’t blame them, but…

Maybe Ally’s not the only one about to do something stupid.

Bianca

It’s unnaturally hot, even for June, or at least that’s what I’m telling myself. I’m sweating bullets, but I’m shivering like it’s the middle of winter. I hate this. I need warmth. I need something to fill me up. Something to stop this emptiness.

It’s not just the withdrawal, it’s that boy. He haunts me. What if he knew me from my suburban days? What if he knew what my parents did? Maybe that’s what he meant when he asked if I knew him. Maybe he’s a hunter too. Or a vampire—but that seems unlikely. He’s much too human.

Maybe he’s some kind of freak who can see the future, and something terrible is going to happen to me. I’m already sleeping on a bench though. I can’t imagine it getting much worse.

I can’t stop scanning the crowds for him. Maybe he’ll show up and just carry me out of this city. No, that’s stupid. That doesn’t happen. Besides, do I really want to leave? I have Micah and Alex. It just feels like something should have happened when he found me again, and nothing did. I guess I’m a little disappointed.