Dark Kiss

She grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “It’s going to be okay. Seriously. Would I lie to you?”

“Thanks for being so cool about all of this.”

“We’ll get through this together like we always do.”

“Of course we will.” I shook my head, remembering my strange and confusing conversation with Natalie. Also that odd sense of familiarity I’d had with her. “It’s so weird. That girl—Natalie—she reminds me of somebody, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.”

“Yeah, she reminds me of somebody, too.”

I frowned at her. “Who?”

She adjusted her mirror so she could put on a little fresh lip gloss then gave me a sideways glance. “Really? You can’t see it?”

My breath sped up. “No, I can’t.”

“The hair, the eyes? I thought it was kind of obvious. A bit freaky, actually.”

“What?” I grabbed her arm. “What’s so freaky? Who does she look like?”

She turned to face me, her brows drawn together. “Well, she looks like you, of course. You two could totally be related.”

I blinked.

She was right. Natalie did look like me. Same hair color, same eye color. Even the shape of our faces was similar.

“Brown hair and brown eyes,” I said out loud, rationalizing it all. “Just like fifty percent of the population. I don’t have the most unique look, you know.”

She shrugged. “I mean, I’m not saying you are related, but it would kind of make sense that she was so interested in meeting you, right?”

Right. But it was just a coincidence. It had to be.

I reached for the door handle. “I—I’ll see you tomorrow. Thanks for the drive.”

“Do me a favor, Sam?”

I looked over my shoulder at her as I got out of the car. “What?”

“Stop worrying so much. It’s all going to be okay.”

I didn’t wait for her to pull out of the driveway before I made my way to the front door and let myself in. It was a little after nine-thirty and my mother was actually home, which was a surprise. She was watching one of her favorite TV shows, so I didn’t bother her. I went directly to the kitchen and started eating straight out of the fridge, hoping something might satisfy my current hunger.

Nothing did. Then again, I wasn’t really expecting it to.

* * *

Wednesday passed without incident.

I know; I could barely believe it myself.

Again, I considered staying home and hiding, but ended up forcing myself to go to school and try to act normal. Carly was there, too, and she was doing a much better job of it than I ever could.

I wasn’t sure if it had to do with her lacking a soul or not, but her confidence had blossomed even more. Her extra twenty pounds became a nonissue and she had started dressing better. Sexier. She practically glowed.

I was able to observe how a gray is regarded by other people—especially guys. They checked her out behind her back, murmuring to each other about how hot Carly Kessler had recently become.

For the most part, they seemed to feel the same way about me. I saw it now, the appreciative looks I was getting, even though I wasn’t wearing a tight skirt and heels to school like Carly was. Even in my jeans I still received way more attention than I ever had before.

But there was a big difference between the two of us. I wasn’t filled with the confidence Carly now had. I felt exactly the same as ever before, apart from the hunger and constant chills, which didn’t seem to be going anywhere. Carly appeared to handle those problems way better than I did. Lucky her.

What Natalie told me about souls being fuel had definitely stayed with me. That seemed monumentally important. As if, if it was true, I’d just been told the secret of the universe.

It wasn’t a secret I wanted to know.

Colin tried to corner me again, but I managed to slip away before I let him get close enough that I’d become too drawn to his scent. Making the mistake of kissing him and finding out what happened if I actually gave in to my hunger wasn’t something I wanted to explore. Ever, if I could help it.

And I could. I had control over this.

No sign of Bishop or the others. No sign of Natalie or Stephen. I was either being ignored or I was being given time to process everything I’d been told.

Probably both.

So, really, in the grand scheme of things, Wednesday was kind of awesome. I could almost pretend that all was well with the world.

But then came Thursday.

It all started with a note left in my locker.

We’re squatting in an abandoned church on Wellesley. You can’t miss it. Looks like a place nobody sane would ever want to enter. Speaking of nobody sane, your boyfriend needs your very special touch. You might want to drop by for a visit before he totally loses it.

Bishop. My heart twisted at the news that he wasn’t doing well. There had been that edge of madness in his eyes Tuesday night, and two days had passed since then. He could only have gotten worse.

The note wasn’t signed, but I knew who it was from. Somehow Kraven had managed to find my locker and left me a handwritten note. I guess the demon didn’t know how to text. Not that my phone seemed to be working lately.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with my stupid phone,” I said to Carly before class, staring at the blank screen with annoyance. I’d charged the battery again, but it wouldn’t stay on for more than thirty seconds. It was practically a new phone, only three months old.