Page 126 of Bite Marks

Juniper had come down for dinner, but I couldn’t help but notice she wasn’t wearing my T-shirt anymore, going for her usual black dress with stockings instead. She pretended as long as she could that she was interested in the replay of the game Ren had found for us to watch before disappearing back upstairs to her room.

Elsie sat on the floor, using the coffee table to colour while she listened to an audiobook, happy to just be close to us while Ren, Dana, and I talked over the commentators.

Dana had arrived home a couple of hours earlier and gave us a hasty overview of the damage to Kaylee’s apartment between bites of pizza. Apparently, it would be weeks, if not months, before the place was livable again. First, they’d need to dry it out, and then they’d need to rip out the floor and walls to double-check that there wasn’t any lingering moisture to create mold before they could think about replacing everything. Her insurance company would need to cut her a check for her damaged belongings, and it would be up to her to source new furniture—not to mention new clothes.

I’d texted her, but she didn’t reply, which was fair enough. If I had to guess, she and Danny were about fifteen rounds deep into Hoarse right now, trying to forget the whole thing happened in the first place.

A call could wait until morning.

Ren toyed with my bracelet absently as she watched the screen. “She could move in too, you know,” she said, as though vampire powers had somehow begun to include mind reading.

“Kaylee?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

“Itisclose to work… But I think she’s kind of excited to stay with Danny for a bit. Their place is close to the garage, so it gives her an excuse to go in and tinker.”

If I knew my best friend, the moment she sobered up, she’d either be elbow-deep in an engine or have her hands wrapped around the wheel. Kaylee’s friends—especially me—got bored to tears listening to her talk about her car. The only one who held any real interest in the topic was Danny, which made this the silver lining in the whole situation.

My phone buzzed on the table, and I leaned forward to get it, groaning as I saw the bank’s contact flashing on the screen yet again.

In my opinion, this was the worst part of the Lower City. Anywhere else in the world, telemarketers had rules against making calls after a certain time, but here? Most essential services were 24/7 to accommodate both vampire and human sleep patterns. Telemarketers and bill collectors could try to reach you anytime.

The sleep mode on my phone got a serious workout.

I knew I still didn’t have the money for all of it, but, at the very least, with the money I’d been earning at O, I could make a payment plan. It was time to deal with my mess.

I peeled myself away from Ren, sighing.

“I’m going to get this.”

“Want me to pause?” Dana asked, sliding her feet off my lap.

“So I can watch us get wrecked some more? Pass; it’s almost a good thing we missed it.”

Ren laughed. “You can say that again.”

I headed upstairs, answering the call on the way up. “Hello?”

“Hello. This is Dianna Webb from Dominion Bank. Am I speaking with Vivienne Knox?”

“Yeah, listen, I know?—”

The woman on the other end of the phone sighed in relief. “Oh, good. I’m so sorry to bother you, but you are the beneficiary of a safety deposit box, and the payments have lapsed. We’re hoping you could come in to empty it out.” She laughed a little as I entered Ren’s room, closing the door behind me to sit heavily on the bed. “We’ve actually stopped offering it as a service a few months ago, and they’ve moved most of the accounts to the central branch.”

“Oh! Um… I’m sorry, which bank is this? Which location?”

“Dominion, Miss Knox. On 114th and 102nd.”

Fucking typical, just a few blocks from my dad’s former office.

I doubted he even realised that he’d let the stupid thing lapse. The notices were probably sitting at home on the counter in his pile of unopened mail.

Jackass.

“Sure, yeah. I can come in tomorrow,” I offered. “I don’t have the key, though.”

A soft buzz met my ears, so quiet I nearly missed it. But the sound that came after, unmistakably the beginnings of a trembling moan, fully caught my attention.

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