Neither (The Noctalis Chronicles 3)

“You think you hate your mother and her boyfriend. Your favorite color is sea-foam green. You hate Mondays and flossing and eggs. You love moonlight and silver jewelry and sunrises. Remember?”

I heard his words, and they triggered little flashes in my mind. Little pieces that I tried to pick up.

Yes, I was Brooke. I'd gone to hang out with my friends at the railroad tracks and met Ivan. He'd taken me into the woods and I thought he was going to kill me, but we talked instead. He kissed me. And now I was here.

“What time is it?” I asked.

“It's 6:34 a.m.”

“What day is it?”

“It's Sunday.”

“Sunday?” I had to reach, but I remembered the night I'd gone out had been Friday. Two days.

“Where are we?”

I traced my hands on the walls, trying to feel our location. It was cool in this room, around 52 degrees. I didn't know how I could tell the temperature. I just could. Like how I could smell that no living person had been down here in at least fifty years. This was a secret place. Only rats and other creatures had been here. I could smell them, hear them scurrying around. They didn't bother me. I used to be afraid of rats, I thought.

“We're in New Hampshire still. I would have carried you farther, but the sun was coming up and I had to get you out of it.”

“Why?”

“The sun will hurt you now. Soon you will revel in it, but for now it will hurt you. You're safe here,” he said.

“Why?”

“You like that word, don't you? I am not sure I can answer that. I am not normally impulsive. My plan was to kill you. To drain your blood. That is what our kind do. That is what you will do. We need blood to function. But something about you, maybe it was your eyes, or maybe it was something else... I don't know. Something about you reminded me of her. Of my Josie. She has been gone for so long, but I always search for her. I've been searching for her since the moment I lost her.”

“What happened to her?”

“She died, a long time ago.” He looked away from my face.

“You love her.” Anyone could have seen that.

“Yes, I love her. I will always love her. Even if I could love someone else,” he said, taking a step away from me.

“Do you love me?” I asked.

“Not yet. But I could. There is another girl who — never mind. She is in love with my brother.”

“Ouch. So you're stuck in the friend zone.” I didn't know where the words had come from. My mouth said them without thinking.

He stared at me for a moment. “You are still somewhat human. I hope that doesn't change too much.”

He touched my face and I moved away. I didn't want him touching me. I remembered the kiss. What was wrong with me? I knew nothing about him, he'd done something to me and I'd kissed him.

“How long do I have to stay here?”

“Until something happens.”

“Until what happens?”

“You'll know,” he said, brushing my hair back.

“Stop touching me.”

He smiled, stepping back. “Will you promise me one thing, love?”

“Maybe. Depends on what it is.”

“Will you promise me that you will spend one entire day with me?”

“A whole day? I don't even know you.”

“Will you do that for me?”

Did I have a choice? Maybe he would let me go. “Yes.”

“You have to say that you promise.”

“I promise.”

The air in the room changed, crackling with something that I could taste on my tongue. Something settled over me like a heavy blanket. I looked at him and he smiled at me.

“Welcome to eternity, Brooke.”

Five

Ava

Telling Tex about my mom is not nearly as horrible as I thought it would be. Isn't that always the way? You make things up in your head to be way bigger than they are, and afterward you wonder what you were so worried about.

It's in that moment that I know there's a reason I've stayed friends with her. She drives me nuts most of the time, and her energy is sometimes too much, but she is always there for me. She's my soft place to fall. Peter is the one who catches me. I need both of them in my life.

She gives me another hug before we leave and promises to call me later to talk. Viktor stands next to her, and I know I'm going to get used to seeing a large, blond Russian standing next to my best friend. She is completely smitten with him, and he seems pretty far gone as well. That damn Claiming does it every time. It's almost like a weird sort of marriage. I promise to love, honor and give you all my blood for as long as I shall live, and you shall exist.

Peter leaves me at the end of my driveway and runs into the woods. I guess he's going to do laps around my house. The image of that is a little comical. Poor guy.

Mom is elbow-deep in a huge bowl of something when I walk in, and the smell of blackberry jam cake fills the air. Next to blood, it's my favorite smell. Not that I like the smell of blood, because what normal person does? Not me, that's who.

“How was your time with Tex?”

She's mixing whatever it is by hand, turning it over and over in the bowl. I adjust my scarf to make sure it's in the right spot. I looked up some scarf tying techniques online, but I haven't tried many of them out yet.

“Well, it started out good.”

“What does that mean?” she says, raising her eyebrows at me. She's put on her everyday wig, and one of her old summer dresses. It looks good on her, but she needs more to fill it out. They're definitely going to notice that.

I take a breath. “I told her about you.” Macaroni salad. That's what's in the bowl.

“You did? And how did that feel?”

“Really good, actually.”

She smiles. Moms know everything. “That's what I thought. The truth will set you free. That's why I wanted to do this. I can't keep this secret anymore. I don't want it to be a surprise.”

I glance around the kitchen, finding several half-completed dishes. “Do you need any help?”

“Could you chop up that basil for me? That would be wonderful. That scarf is pretty. Where did that come from?”

“Peter,” I say.

She slides one end through her fingers. “Matches your eyes.”

“Yeah.” I pull the cutting board and knife closer, rolling the fragrant leaves so they make ribbons when I slice them. “Where's Dad?”

“Off doing something secretive again,” she says, smiling and shaking her head. I can only imagine. “Aj called. She's coming up next weekend.”