Page 56 of The Neighborhood Vampire

Time stood still as she held her breath, the world around her frozen in fear. Hugo didn’t move. She ran her fingers through his coifed hair to the back of his head. She held him steady and fixated on his closed eyes.

“Hugo, honey, can you hear me?” Alice pleaded. “Please wake up. I need you. Please.” A tear trickled off her face.

Max whimpered. Alice waited. Hugo wasn’t moving.

Alice set his head back down and picked up the wine bottle. She bit down on the cork and yanked it from the bottle. There was no time for magical theatrics. The cork bounced as she spit it onto the hardwood floor. She poured the purplish-red liquid into the awaiting glass. When nearly full, she swapped holding the bottle for the glass. She poured the entire glass into Hugo’s mouth. Alice backed away and waited.

He didn’t move.

“Hugo, can you hear me?”

He didn’t respond.

Alice tensed up, and her body shook. She cupped her hands around her mouth and nose in disbelief.

“Oh, no. Please no.”

She glanced over to the hourglass. She twisted the ring of the hourglass to speed up time, but only a little.

Hugo’s hand twitched, and he made a gurgling noise. She normalized the ring.

“Hugo,” Alice said. “Hugo, can you hear me?”

Air rushed into his lungs as his chest rose and fell. He lifted his right hand and rubbed where he was bitten. Alice let out a joyous giggle. Hugo was alive.

He moaned as he continued to rub his neck. He shifted around in his seat, opened his eyes, and locked his icy blue eyes with Alice’s emerald greens.

“Hey,” Hugo mustered. “Please forgive me.”

Alice collapsed on top of him, burying her head into his shoulder. “Of course, you doofus,” Alice’s muffled voice said. “Just don’t let me think you died again.”

“I’ll try not to. Consider us even.” He wrapped his free arm around her back. Hugo ran his fingers through her purple hair, massaging the back of her head.

Alice and Hugo held each other. Sobbed together. Breathed as one. They didn’t want to let go.

Max barked, jumped on the couch, and broke their embrace. She nudged her nose in between Hugo and Alice, trying to join in the group hug. Her tail furiously wagged at the sight of Hugo moving around.

“Were you concerned about me too?” Hugo asked.

Max jumped up and landed on Hugo’s stomach.

He winced in pain. “Not there. That hurts. Get down.”

He pushed Max back with his arm. She jumped back down.

“Thank you,” Alice’s reflection yelled down.

Alice pulled back. She slid down to her knees, now positioned between Hugo’s legs. She grabbed the outside of Hugo’s legs and lost herself in Hugo’s eyes.

“I was so scared I was going to lose you,” Alice said. “I don’t know what I’d do if I did. I couldn’t breathe at the thought of being without you. I love you.”

“I love you too. I’m . . .” his words trailed off. “I’m sorry. I thought I was doing what was right. What I needed to do. This was all my fault. I needed to fix it.”

“Hugo, look at me.” Alice placed a hand on his chest. “None of this was your fault.”

“Yes, it was,” Hugo replied, sitting up. “If I didn’t lose my temper that day, they would have never found you. I put you . . .usin danger.The Raskins. This town. It was all my fault. Because I couldn’t find a stupid ring.”

Alice lowered her head and moved her hand back to his thigh. “It wasn’t your fault, Hugo. It was mine.” Her eyes lifted to meet his. “I should have taken care of this when it was first a problem. This is my mistake. I should have dealt with it sooner.”

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