Page 193 of The Last Vampire
“Okay, then tell the others I’m sick and not coming back to school,” she says, and I’m glad to know that even though we’re no longer the same species, she’s still my Sal.
“Lore.” Her cold hand takes mine. “I’m sorry for saying you were letting me die.”
“I’m sorry for letting you die.”
We grin at the same time, but too quickly, she’s serious again. “And I’m sorry about you and Will.”
“You think the vampires will be back in my lifetime?” I ask.
“Time works differently for immortals. Could be another thousand years.”
Her prediction makes my heart sink. “What will you do alone all that time?”
“That’s a problem for next century,” she says, pulling me in for another hug, this time applying more pressure.
I know the reality of our parting hasn’t hit me yet because when it does, I’ll shatter.
“I love you,” she whispers, and when we pull apart, she’s gone.
THE NEXTmorning is sunny, so Tiffany and I meet Trevor and Zach on the school lawns. We’re all waiting for the airport shuttle, and even though the grass is freezing, the sunlight feels nice.
Trevor tosses his crutches to the ground. His whole left leg is messed up, and the nurse did what she could for him, but he needs to go to a hospital. Yet he refused and said he would get it seen in Los Angeles.
Minaro wanted to call his parents. She offered to drive until she got service, but Trevor refused again. It almost feels like he’s trying to prove something to himself, and I remember William saying Trevor is seeking redemption.
Maybe this is part of his process.
“The fact that we’re alive must mean your guy pulled it off,” Trevor says to me as we all drop onto the grass. “The vampires are sound asleep.”
“I’m not sure we should come back here after break,” says Zach, reaching for the camera that isn’t hanging from his neck. “It’s not safe for us.”
“The vampires are all gone,” I remind him, even though that’s not true.One remains.
“They could come back any moment,” says Zach. “We have no idea how any of this works.”
My heart inflates at just the suggestion that William could return soon, and it makes me feel like the ultimate traitor.
I wonder if that’s how William felt when he went against his kind to protect me and our friends.
“I think Zach’s right,” says Tiffany with a heavy exhale. “We can’t be sure we’re safe here.”
“Well, I’m coming,” says Trevor, ever defiant. “Ihopea vampire shows up. I’ll be ready. And then I’ll get proof.”
He doesn’t addfor the Legion,but I know that’s what he means.
“If we can get proof, we’ll actually have a story to report,” says Tiffany, sitting up.
“We could also get killed,” Zach points out.
“What about you?” Trevor asks me. “Will you and Salma come back?”
The fact that he assumes whatever we do, we’ll do as a team, makes my eyes sting. I look away from him and meet Tiffany’s gaze.
She looks as crushed as I feel.
“Salma’s not coming back,” I say, and the tears burn as they draw salty trails across my raw skin. “Sal’s mom… she had a very rare and deadly autoimmune disease. It’s hereditary, and Sal’s condition is… pretty advanced. She—she doesn’t have long.”
“To live?”asks a bewildered Trevor. He tries springing to his feet, like he might take off right now, on foot, to reach her. But he falls over on his bad leg and winces. “Fuck!”
