Page 61 of My Road Trip with a Vampire: Season One
I don’t think I’ve ever experienced such a warm night in October, and I’m loving being out here in a tank top.
“This place doesn’t feel haunted at all,” I say, tying my hoodie around my waist. We’ve already crept around the library and wandered around the lawn. Crowds of people with their faces painted like zombies pass by, not noticing how out of place we are here.
“We need to check the dormitory where Martha supposedly died,” he says, stuffing his leather jacket into the duffel. I’m not sure if he’s doing it because he’s actually hot, or if he realizes no one else is dressed in cold-weather clothes. Either way, his arms are on full display in his black tank top. Several girls in identical crop tops stare and whisper as they walk by.
Jealousy rises up in me. I shove it down, remembering what Dennis said about the blood bond. There’s a glint in his brown eyes when I look at him.
“The dormitory, Beatrice,” he says, pulling me back on track. “Do you remember the name?”
“Pratt Hall,” I say, ignoring the urge to loop my arm through his as we start walking again. I don’t need to show everyone we’re together like that because we’re not.
“Here it is,” he says, and I take a few steps back to look at the building in its entirety. It looks like it came straight from the pages of a gothic romance with its symmetrical red brick and the marble overlay around the entrance. A steeple pierces the night sky above the rounded doors and alcove window.
“It looks haunted, but I don’t feel anything.”
“Only one way to find out,” Dennis says. “Try to get in, and if you can get a resident to invite me in, that would be great,” he says.
“Almost forgot about that little detail,” I say to myself as I climb the steps and pull the handle. It’s locked. People are walking all around campus, so I’m sure someone will come out at any minute and let me in. I peek in the window, but everything is dark.
“Hey, what are you doing over there?”
A woman who looks about my age comes down the path. She’s got her thumbs hooked under the straps of her tiny backpack. She has dark paint around her eyes and a fake gash across her cheek. I think the makeup is supposed to make her look ghoulish, but freckles dust her tawny brown skin, and she looks too cute to be undead.
I grin as she climbs the steps.
“Trying to get into the dorms. I was invited to a Halloween thing, but my friend ditched me. Now I’m just hanging around campus, looking for a party. Is that where you’re headed?”
She looks around, confused. Her smile grows wide, and she laughs.
“Ah. You’re into spooky shit. Let me guess, you’re looking for Martha?”
I move away from the door.
“You caught me.”
“Good luck finding her in there. That’s a faculty building now. The dorm buildings are back that way.”
She points her thumb over her shoulder, and I take one more look at Pratt Hall, a chill running up my spine.
“Oops. I read about the red lady and—”
“You wanted to check it out while you were visiting.” She shifts her weight to one foot. “Happens all the time. But if you’re looking for something to do, you’re in luck. Come with me to the red lady run.”
I hurry down the steps. I don’t want to ask too many questions after I just got caught trying to break into an academic building.
“Awesome. I’m Beatrice.” I hold a hand out to her and she lifts a brow before shaking it.
“Courtney.”
Something hot rises in my throat, and I have to push back against Dennis’ sudden rush of hunger.
“I have a friend with me who might want to tag along,” I say, and her smile falters. I glance over my shoulder, and Dennis is gone from the place where he was standing. My phone buzzes in my pocket.
Dennis: Getting the car now. Have fun with your new friend. If you stay out too late I’ll meet you tomorrow at sundown.
“Thanks for giving me a heads-up before dipping,” I whisper to the night, wondering if he’s still in earshot.
“Is that the friend who ditched you?” she asks.
