Page 73 of Life and Death
“Oh. Um . . . I’ll do better next time?”
“By all means, please work on your expressions of horror.”
“Horror isn’t exactly how I’d describe last night.”
She exhaled through her nose, irritated. I didn’t know what to say. Nothing could make me see her as something to run away from.
“So, um, where’s the rest of your family?”
I didn’t actually want to think about her family. I didn’t want to deal with the idea ofmorevampires—vampires who weren’t Edythe. Vampires who might inspire real horror.
But the fact was that usually her car was full, and today it wasn’t. Of course, I was grateful. It was hard to imagine something that would keep me out of a car when Edythe invited me in, but a bunch of furious vampires in the backseat might complicate things.
She was just pulling into the school parking lot. Already.
“They took Royal’s car.” She gestured to a glossy red convertible with the top up as she swerved into the spot next to it. “Ostentatious, isn’t it?”
“If he’s gotthat, why does he ride with you?”
“Like I said, it’s ostentatious. Wetryto blend in.”
I laughed as I opened the car door. “No offense, but you’re totally failing there.”
She rolled her eyes.
I wasn’t late anymore. Her lunatic driving had gotten us to school with time to spare. “Why did Royal drive today if it’s more conspicuous?”
“My fault—as usual, Royal would say. Haven’t you noticed, Beau? I’m breakingallthe rules now.”
She met me at the front of the car, staying very close to my side as we walked onto campus. I wanted to close that little distance, to reach out and touch her hand again, to put my arm around her shoulders, but I was afraid that wouldn’t becarefulenough for her.
“Why do you even have cars like that?” I wondered aloud. “If you’re looking for privacy, there are plenty of used Hondas available.”
“It’s an indulgence,” she admitted with a little half-smile. “We all like to drive fast.”
“Of course,” I muttered.
Under the shelter of the cafeteria roof’s overhang, Jeremy was waiting with his eyes popping out again. Over his arm was my jacket.
“Hey, Jer,” I called when we were a few feet away. “Thanks for bringing that.”
He handed me the jacket without speaking.
“Good morning, Jeremy,” Edythe said politely. I could tell she wasn’ttryingto overwhelm him, but even her smallest smile was hard to take in stride.
“Er . . . hi.” Jeremy shifted his wide eyes to me, trying to reorder his scrambled brains. “Guess I’ll see you in Trig.”
“Yeah, see you then.”
He walked away, pausing to glance back at us twice.
“What are you going to tell him?” she murmured.
“Huh?” I looked at her, then at Jeremy’s back. “Oh. What’s he thinking?”
Her mouth pulled to one side. “I don’t know if it’s entirely ethical for me to tell you that. . . .”
“What’s notethicalis for you to hoard your unfair advantages for yourself.”
