Page 49 of Blood Currents
Mom blinked.“Is that… a mouse skeleton?And is he wearing a bow tie?”
“This is Scout,” I said as he climbed fully onto my shoulder.“He’s my… pet.”
“Your pet skeleton mouse.”Mom’s voice was carefully neutral in the way that meant she was trying very hard not to overreact.“Of course he is.Well.At least he’s… dapper?”Then she studied me closer.“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine, Mom,” I said, though her assessment wasn’t wrong.The past few weeks had taken their toll.
“You’re different,” she said, and it wasn’t a question.
I didn’t answer because what could I say?That I’d learned to fight vampires?That I’d fallen for three different boys while uncovering a conspiracy that could destroy everything?
We moved to the kitchen table, soup steaming between us in mismatched bowls.Scout perched on my shoulder, occasionally clicking softly as he observed our conversation.
“Does he… eat anything?”Mom asked, glancing at Scout with fascination and mild concern.
“Not exactly,” I said.“He’s more of a… companion.”
“Right.A companion skeleton mouse.”She shook her head with a small smile.“Well, I suppose I’ve seen stranger things.Mrs.Franklin’s cat has been dead for three years, but she still sets out food for it.”
“I sent you money for your back surgery,” I said after we’d eaten in comfortable silence.
Mom’s spoon clinked against her bowl.“I put it in savings.”
My stomach twisted.“Mom—why?”
“Because it’s too much money to spend on myself.”She looked down at her hands, worn rough from cleaning other people’s houses.“You need it more.For college.For your new life.”
“That’s not your decision!”The words came out sharper than I intended.“You need that surgery.You’re in pain every day, and I—”
“And I’m your mother,” she snapped back with more fire than I’d seen from her in years.“I survived before you had money, Mari.I’ll survive now.But if something happens to you…” Her voice cracked.“If this school, this world, takes you from me like it took your father…”
The guilt that had been building since I’d walked through the door crashed over me like a wave.“It won’t.”
She gave me a look I couldn’t meet.“You call less.You visit less.You keep secrets.It already has.”
I wanted to tell her everything.About Keane and the corruption, about the council’s experiments, about the truth we were risking our lives to find.But knowing would only put her in more danger.
Later, as we curled up on the couch with hot chocolate and Christmas cookies, Mom asked the question I’d been dreading.
“So tell me about school.Are you making friends?Anyone special?”
Keane’s face flashed through my mind followed by Cyrus’s intense gaze and Elio’s careful smile.The impossible tangle of feelings I couldn’t begin to explain.
“It’s complicated,” I said, which was perhaps the understatement of the century.
“The best ones usually are,” Mom said with a knowing smile.“Just remember what I always told you—”
“Trust my instincts and don’t let anyone make me feel small,” I finished.“I remember.”
We watched our old Christmas movie—the one with the singing mice that we’d seen every holiday for years.But this time, I couldn’t focus on the familiar plot.All I could think about was the conversation I still needed to have.
Finally, as the credits rolled, I forced myself to speak.
“Mom, I have to tell you something.”
She muted the TV, turning to face me with immediate concern.“What is it, sweetheart?”
“I have to leave tomorrow.There’s a research project—extra credit—and I need to travel for it.I’ll probably be gone for several days.”
