Page 62 of Ghoul Kisses

Eric places his fingers on my temples. Images flash through my mind. Pictures of Eric getting a call from Mac saying I’m dead, him punching Pete and choking Vanessa, and her confessing to Eric how she betrayed me. Eric removes his fingers.

“Vanessa is a vampire, and Pete was her boyfriend,” Eric says.

“What?” Tears well in my eyes.

“Yeah, she played you,” he says. I can’t believe it. Words can’t describe how I feel.

A short doctor with gray hair comes in with a chart in her hand.

“Hey, Miss Clemons, I’m Dr. Banks. It’s good to see you awake and alert.” She scans the chart.

“You were shot in the frontal lobe. Do you have any dizziness?”

“No, just a really bad headache.”

Shock flickers on her face.

“I’ll have the nurse give you morphine. I’m surprised you are speaking well. The survival rate of a person getting shot in the head is 5 percent; you’re blessed.” Well, I knew that.

“We’ll run some more tests to see if everything checks out, then you can be discharged.” She leaves the room.

“Odessa healed you,” Eric says.

I pat the side of the bed for him to sit. The mattress dips as he slings his arms around my waist. Eric’s lips crash to mine, taking my breath away. He’s never kissed me with such love and tenderness.

“You knew didn’t you?” I ask. His right eyebrow shoots up.

“Knew what?”

“That Vanessa was a vampire. That’s why you wanted me to stay away from her.”

He exhales before answering my question.

“Yeah,” he says. Pete was under our nose and we didn’t know.

“And you didn’t tell me?” I hear the hurt in my tone. Eric should have told me.

“If I told you, would you have believed me?” He tilts my chin and his red eyes narrow.

I think about his question before answering.

“No, I wouldn’t have,” I answer truthfully. I exhale as a nurse comes in and adjusts my IV. She smiles warmly at me and Eric and leaves.

Vanessa knocks on the door. My heart hammers as anger pings my chest. I never thought that she would betray me. Slowly, Vanessa walks into the room. I study her features; her skin is pale and her brown hair is dull. She doesn’t look like my best friend. This isn’t the woman that helped me through college, helped me through medical school, and kept all of my secrets. This person is a soulless monster. Vanessa stands next to the bed. I don’t trust her so I move as far away from her as I possibly can. Eric’s face displays anger, and I hear him grinding his teeth.

“Can we have a minute?” I ask Eric. He brushes his lips to mine and he glares at Vanessa.

“I’ll be by the door,” he says, exiting the room.

“Pete was Adam, huh?” I ask her. She doesn’t answer, but guilt washes over her face.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I whisper.

Tears stream down her cheeks. She can cry all she wants, but I’m not showing her any sympathy.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, Sarah,” she says sadly. I want to accept her apology but I’m too hurt from what she did to me.

“What were those red pills?”

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