Page 51 of A Dream of Stars and Curses

But Bonnie shakes her head. ‘No.’ She rests her head on my shoulder. ‘No, she liked you.’ Bonnie huffs. ‘Though I thought she liked me more, to be honest. I thought she—’

One sob escapes her, so I hold her until she stops crying. When she pulls away from me, I reach for a tissue next to the sofa and hand it to her. Neither of us makes for pretty criers, so there’s snot on her lip and on my sleeve.

‘Maybe she just needs a moment to think,’ I say. ‘Maybe she had a bad day at work and let the pressure get the better of her. And if not, you’ll find someone better. You deserve someone better.’

Like someone who doesn’t get close to you to steal your heirloom necklace and then breaks up with you right after.

Bonnie blows her nose and nods. She glances at my sleeve. ‘Sorry about your shirt.’

I shrug. ‘It’ll wash out.’

She leans in again. I wait for her to speak.

‘Tonight was supposed to be about happy things,’ she says. ‘You have a date with Leverett?’ She cranes her neck to look into my eyes. ‘In his flat?’

I’m surprised that I don’t even blush. I was excited to talk about it, but it doesn’t feel right to discuss my joy right after her breakup.

‘We can do this some other time,’ I say. ‘Maybe after said date?’

But Bonnie shakes her head. ‘No, please. Let me live through you.’ She nudges me. It feels sharper than intended as her elbow stabs into my side while also lacking all energy because she’s been crying. ‘I’m happy for you.’

I nod. ‘Thank you.’

I’m not feeling it, at least not right now.

‘What do you think will happen during this date?’ Bonnie asks. ‘Tell me again what happened at that party, too. I think I missed a few details before. There was so much.’

‘We kissed.’ I swallow a rather heavy lump in my throat. ‘He said some things about wanting me to himself, about giving me his undivided attention if I still want him on Wednesday...’

This is beyond not the right time for this conversation. I feel guilty telling her about my success when Sunitha just dumped her over the phone. To make matters worse, just the memory of everything he said, how his eyes darkened, how he sounded... I feel like the worst friend ever, getting aroused right now.

‘So on Wednesday, you’ll...?’

I struggle for words. I believe his were, Once we give ourselves to each other, you won’t get rid of me. Consider if you’re ready to have an utterly devoted vampire partner.

But telling her that when she’s hurting isn’t fair. Fortunately, I don’t have to.

Bonnie sighs. ‘Never mind. Maybe I don’t want to know right now. Sorry.’

I hug her again. ‘It’s okay. Honestly, we don’t need to discuss details at all.’

‘We’ll see, but... Maybe on Thursday, or this weekend?’

I nod.

Bonnie sighs again. ‘Sorry, Esta. I think I’ll go to bed.’

‘No problem,’ I say. ‘Get some rest.’

That she doesn’t want to get drunk with cocktails and talk about how much better off she is without Sunitha tells me that she really liked her. I know they weren’t dating that long, but sometimes you just know. I really hope for my sister’s sake that Sunitha isn’t behind the missing necklace; it would break her heart all over again.

And as I sit alone, I think back to the card I pulled. If this curse isn’t actually gone...

Could it have spread to Bonnie?

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