Brennan
He tries to kill himself???? That’s the climax??? And it’s supposed to be??? Romantic????
Cole
I’m sensing you finished New Moon?
Brennan
What a train wreck!
Give me the next one!
It was too easy to fall into the routine of researching vampirism as if it were for a class, as if the pamphlets were a frustrating textbook and reorganizing them his tedious assignment. He could look at it with a clinical distance that way, as a subject for research rather than something that actually affected his life.
Dr. Morris would say he was doing the same thing he did with his mental health. But what was so wrong about that? If Brennan could process his emotions without actually having to feel them, he’d count that as a win, thanks very much!
And then there was Cole.
“‘Would I ever learn the outcome of that other fight?’” Brennan read.
Cole, who had Brennan dramatically readingEclipseby Stephenie Meyer on the walk to Brennan’s place forBacheloretteNight. It was one of the rare days Brennan had come to the library in the daytime instead of in the middle of the night, Cole having picked up a day shift from a coworker. Cole was still nursing the coffee Brennan had brought him, listening along and steering Brennan away from obstacles while his eyes were trained on the words. They would be early by more than an hour, and Brennan was experiencing a threatening mixture of anxiety and excitement at the idea of being alone with Cole in his apartment.
“‘The odds of that didn’t look so great. Black eyes, wild with their fierce craving for my death’—okay, wow, dramatic—‘watched for the moment when my protector’s attention would be diverted. The moment when I would surely die.’”
Cole tugged Brennan’s arm to keep him from walking into a trash can. Another thing Brennan was learning was that Cole was a touchy friend. A hand on the shoulder, the arm, the back, all these casual touches that made Brennan melt into goo.
“‘Somewhere, far, far away in the cold forest, a wolf howled.’”
Brennan paused and stared at the words. “That’s the end of the prologue. What was the point?”
“It’sominous.It sets the scene, Brennan.”
Beyond the pages of the book, campus was bustling in full autumn swing. All the trees had their New England fall colors on, but the weather was still nice enough for students to be hanging out in the quads with their blankets, hammocks, and Frisbees.
“It’s pointless. And melodramatic, considering readers have no context for what’s going on—”
Cole halted and shot Brennan a glare laced with amusement. “If you don’t respect theTwilight Saga, you don’t deserve it.” He reached to grab the book from Brennan, who held it up and away from Cole, who wasjusttoo short to steal it from him.
“Ha! I knew these extra three inches would come in handy.”
Cole stopped reaching for the book and crossed his arms. He gave Brennan a once-over. “Only three inches, huh?”
Brennan deliberately didnotpass out. During his half second of floundering, Cole hopped to grab the book out of his hands.
Except—
His hand slipped against the pages and Cole hissed and the sweet smell that lingered under Cole’s skin exploded into the air and that familiar tug pulled at Brennan, mixed with panic because he was in a quad full of people and—
Brennan inhaled. The smell was sweeter than homemade cookies baking in the oven, warmer than freshly brewed coffee. But it wasn’t all-consuming like it had been before.
Brennan exhaled. And he was neither lunging toward Cole nor away from him. Senses piqued, adrenaline rushing—but he’d drunk today.
“The Modern Vampire’s Guide to Drinking Blood Safely and Politely” recommended half a pint per day, or a pint every two days. When Brennan had been rationing, he’d been lightly starving himself. Oops.
He glanced around. A girl sitting on a blanket with her laptop and a stack of books, a couple passing by holding hands, a group of guys kicking a soccer ball. He could hear each of their pulses if he focused hard enough, but none of them spared him a glance.
He wasn’t freaking out. He was in control. Finally.
