Page 114 of The Last Vampire
I shake my head. “He must’ve gotten pulled onto a more urgent case,” I say.
“Right. You think he’ll be back to finish this investigation?”
“I don’t know,” I say.
“I don’t mean to overstep, but… you’ve seemed kind of down since he left. Did you have real feelings for him? I’m not judging you if you did—”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I say. There’s been too much William talk today, and my heart feels like a pincushion. “Can I askyousomething?”
“Sure,” he says with a shrug.
“What story did you write that everyone’s talking about?”
“It’s from the last issue we distributed before break. The piece I was working on about the founding of the school was on the front page. I wrote a short article to go with a photo series because I wanted the pictures to tell the story. The photos got picked up online, and I guess they’ve been reposted all over.”
“Oh—that’s so cool,” I say. “I’m sorry I didn’t know.”
“I imagine it’s pretty distracting being drafted into an undercover investigation,” he says, and as usual, I hear no judgment in his voice.
I try to give him a small smile, but it feels more like a grimace. The whole walk to the third tower, I can’t stop thinking of how much of my friends’ lives I’ve missed out on.
Have I been so distracted by William that I’ve ignored everyone around me?
LONG AFTERmy roommates have passed out, I remain wide awake.
It feels strange to be lying on the top bunk bed, and I stare out the window, willing the vampire to appear.
Even though that’s the last thing I should want. As long as he’s far from me, I’m safe, along with everyone I love. Besides, there’s only one reason he would return, and that’s to get rid of any evidence he left behind.
His possessions, my video,me.
When I can’t stand it anymore, I get dressed as quietly as I can, and I sneak out of the room. I keep to the shadows as I make my way to the cordoned-off passage, and as I step over the red rope, I feel like I’m getting closer to William.
I slip into the wardrobe, and eventually the narrow corridor spills into the LUB. My breath catches as I spot his tall silhouette between the stacks, head buried in a book.
As if sensing me, he raises his face to mine, and my heart skips like an old record.
“Hey,” says Trevor, stepping out from the shadowy stacks.
“Hey,” I say, my pulse slowing to its normal pace.
“Couldn’t sleep, either?”
I shake my head.
“I’m…sorryWilliam is gone.” It sounds like it took him some effort to say that word.
“You are?” I ask, arching my brow.
“No,” he says with a crooked smirk. “But I know it must suck for you.”
“I’ll survive.”
His expression grows more serious. “Look, I know I’m not your first choice for someone to talk to, and there’s probably no better friend than Salma, but…” He shrugs, and I can see that he’s ventured beyond his comfort zone.“If you’re ever in need of a less sensitive ear, or someone who will probably say the wrong thing, well, you’re looking at him.”
Now we’re both smiling, and it’s weird, but I do feel a little better. I notice the book in his hands has a green cover, but it’s not the one William took from him and his memory.
“Anything interesting in there?” I ask.
