Page 104 of Blood Moon
“You’ll kill me,”he said, finishing my sentence. “I know.”
We rushed to his car, and when he offered to carry me, I declined, glaring at him. I didn’t look that feeble, did I?
“Sorry,” he said, hands flying up again. “Just wanted to help.”
When we got to his car, I opened the door with so much force, it bounced on its hinges. Seven gaped at me, mouth open. “Easy on the protein, Mira.Jeesh.”
“Sorry,” I mumbled, still unaware to this newfound strength. I closed the door as gently as I knew how, and when the engine came to life, I felt the pressure in my chest. Pressed his phone in my hands and directed him where to go before I asked if he had Stevie’s number.
He nodded.
I searched her name, created a message. I didn’t know how I’d explain all of this, but I felt awful for what I’d put my friends through unknowingly.
For now, I said:
Stevie, it’s Mira. I’m with Seven now, and he’s taking me to my dad.
I’m okay, and I’m so sorry for leaving you all behind.
It’s a long story, and I’ll explain what I can later.
I couldn’t make any promises. And really, there was no way to explain the last few hours when, to me, it felt as though it would never end.
Since Bobby still believed in landlines, I sent Stevie the number to his house, hoping she’d call. That way, if Sevendiddo anything out of the ordinary, she’d know he was the last person I’d been with.
When the message was sent, I called Bobby’s cell over and over again, panicking when he didn’t answer. I tried the house phone, but each time I dialed, I was met with an unpleasant sound that signified a busy line.
Seven sped down the highway as I continued to call, glancing at me too often, and with a sadness that was overflowing with guilt.
Stationed in the driveway was a car with Illinois tags. Seven noticed the way I fidgeted and asked if I wanted him to join me inside. “No,” I said, scurrying out the car and to the front door before I changed my mind. It was unlocked when I twisted the knob, and my steps stuttered. This door was never, ever left unbolted.
Fear throbbed in my neck as I gradually opened the door. The hinges creaked, and I stood in the doorway, anxious for what lay beyond.
As I crossed the threshold, I heard Bobby. It brought temporary relief, but the closer I came, the more urgent he sounded. Immediately following his voice was another.
One from my dreams. One that had rotted within me for years, and the moment I took another step, the talking ceased.
“Dad?” I called out, rounding the corner from the dining room into the living room.
The pressure eased when I saw him. The reprieve almost knocked me over. He was there, standing in the center of the room with his uniform on. He broke into a stride when he saw me, crushing me in his arms as he wept.Finally, finally, finally.I was home.
“We were so terrified,” he cried. “I thought something awful had happened to you.”
I was caught on the word“we,”and when I pulled away from my father, there, on the couch, was my mother, Rena.
She was exactly how I remembered her, except maybe younger. Her brown skin was paper smooth, not a single line in sight. Hair wind-blown and picturesque, the shade of ebony. Her lips were ruby red, as they always were. She was unimaginably beautiful, and I was unsure if she’d always been that glorious, or if it was the result of my new sight.
But the one thing I couldn’t bypass was the single fact that there was a red ring encompassing her irises. It was how Julian’s eyes looked after he drank my blood, how my eyes looked now.
“Mirabella,”she said, her voice velvety smooth and angelic.
It hit me then. Everything I learned about her was true, and it was unfathomable that I’d gone my entire life not realizing it, but my mother … Rena … shewasa vampire.
A single gasp was all I could muster before I collapsed to the floor and slid into a sudden, perpetual nightmare.
EPILOGUE
Her blood was a heavy coat of poison, and I loved it, I sincerely did.
