Supernaturally (Paranormalcy 2)

"In Sweden. "

Some of the concern dropped off his face and he sat back on his heels. "Oh. And what were you doing in Sweden that made you fall down on a step?"

"Fighting with a vampire?"

His face went stony. "So you're totally safe working for IPCA again. Great. Are you going to come back with broken bones next time? See, this is exactly what I was talking about! IPCA gets you in its clutches again; and you're lying to me, hiding things, and you've already been trapped in the Center and hurt! Why were you fighting with a vampire?"

I shook my head. "It wasn't supposed to be about a vampire, I was just supposed to-"

"No! It's never what it's supposed to be. I can't believe Raquel sucked you back into doing their dirty work for them. "

And suddenly I went from desperate to explain to full-on pissed. "You have no idea what you're talking about. You think because the vampires around here play nice that they do everywhere else? What good does David's little experiment do to protect people from the paranormals that don't want to discover their own better nature? Some of them are monsters, Lend. You know that! Yeah, IPCA sucks sometimes, but at least they're doing something! I'd love nothing more than to sit around this town serving pancakes, but guess what? You aren't the only one who wants to help paranormals! I might not do it the same way you do, but don't you dare accuse me of doing IPCA's dirty work. Your precious vampire? He was stalking and murdering troll kids! And if it weren't for me, who knows how many more he would have killed?"

"Troll kids?"

I scowled. "Yeah, I went to Sweden to track down a troll colony. "

"You found them?"

"Of course I found them. Because that's what I do, and I'm good at it. The trolls asked for my help, and because they weren't bothering anyone, I protected them from the thing hurting them. And, before you ask, no, I didn't turn the trolls over to IPCA, but, yes, I did turn over the psychotic vampire. So maybe they are using me, but I'm using them, too, and I'd appreciate you not acting like I'm an idiot who does whatever anyone tells me to. "

He was quiet for a minute, and I braced myself for his next argument. "I'm sorry. "

"I- Wait, what?"

"I'm sorry. You're right. I don't get why you feel like IPCA's the best way to go, but I've never been able to be impartial about them. I don't like it, and I'm not going to like it; there are too many ways you can get hurt. But if you feel like it's important, then I can deal with it. You're not an idiot-I know that-you're the brightest, best person I've ever known. "

"So . . . we're okay?" Hope fluttered in my chest, releasing some of the anxiety that had been tearing me apart this whole week.

"Just promise me you're done lying. I hate that IPCA is still a part of your life, but I can accept it if you stop hiding things from me. That bothers me more than anything else, that you feel like you can't be honest with me. You see me like no one else does-the real me-all the time. I want the same thing with you. "

I nodded, tears in my eyes. He was right. He couldn't hide from me. It wasn't fair for me to hide things from him.

"So no more lies?"

I swallowed hard. You're immortal, Lend. "No more lies," I lied.

He sighed, relieved, and sat next to me, cautiously putting his arm around me and resting his head against the back of the couch. "So, umm, what do you want to do now?"

I wished I knew.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Lies, Lips, and Lunatics

I can't do it," I whispered, sick to my stomach.

Lend put his hand over mine, wrapping his other arm around my waist. I leaned my head back against him, grateful for this. For us. Things weren't back to normal, but they were getting there.

"Sure you can. " He pushed my finger down on the Enter key, and, just like that, I'd applied to the one and only school I wanted to get into.

"I'm going to throw up. "

"Well, in that case, please use the bathroom, because I have to sleep in here tonight. " He laughed, lightly kissing my neck.

I flopped back onto his bed, rumpling the familiar blue comforter. Being together in his dad's house felt like old times, when we first broke out of the Center and I was living here. "I should have read over my essays one more time. And what about my SATs? My math score could have been better. It should have been better. And my stupid English grade. " I covered my face with my hands. "I can't breathe. Could you breathe when you applied? Is this normal?"

Lend sat down next to me, his weight sinking the bed enough that I rolled into his side. "It's normal. I felt the exact same way. But if it helps, you look much cuter freaking out than I ever did. "