She cried a lot, and I’d never really seen her cry before. She apologized for always running away from us, and said she was a coward. Milo and I reminded her too much of Leif, and she’d been trying to out run the pain from that, but she never could.
When Milo and I left, Leif was still there. By the way they were interacting, I doubted he’d leave any time soon. They had a lot of years to catch up on.
That reunion made me feel a tad bit better about everything else going on. Jack still hadn’t talked to me much since he’d been on his business trip. He responded to a couple text messages, but never initiated them.
Although, in that defense, he said the trip was really busy since he was doing it all by himself, and Ezra was supposed to be the one to handle it. But Ezra was busy taking care of Mae, and Peter was mourning in his own Peter way.
I tried not to think about anything and went about putting the house in order. I wasn’t sure how long it would take to sell, or where we would go once it was sold, but I wanted to be prepared.
As I was going through my clothes, sorting them out to pack and to get rid of, I opened my underwear drawer in the closet. I decided I had way too many, and I picked up a handful to throw away. I lifted them up, and something caught on the drawer.
A diamond encrusted heart-shaped locket, Peter’s gift to me for my eighteenth birthday. I detangled it from the panties and my drawer, and I held it up, watching as it spun and light shone off the diamonds.
It was very beautiful, and I loved it, even though I had no idea where I’d ever wear something that extravagant. I clasped it behind my neck and went over to the mirror to admire how the necklace looked on me. I’d never tried it on before, and it did look stunning, resting right above my cleavage.
But I would never wear it. No matter how lovely it might be, it wasn’t for me. I unhooked the locket, and I set it with the stuff to get rid of.
Peter hadn’t been taking Daisy’s death much better than Mae. He’d spent the whole time locked inside Ezra’s den with the lights off, listening to classical music.
Bobby had a big art show opening at the college, and I made Peter go with me to get out of the house for a while. Bobby had done some really amazing charcoal sketches, and even Peter commented on his talent.
But it wasn’t long before the crowd started getting to him. Not the blood, but all the chatter. Too many people talking too much. We stayed long enough to see Bobby’s work and tell him it was fantastic, then we left to let him and Milo deal with the crowds all night long.
“It’s good to get out of the house sometimes,” I told Peter as we walked out of the college.
“I guess,” he shrugged. “I prefer sitting in the den listen to Joseph Hadyn.”
“You and Ezra are so much alike sometimes, it’s not even funny,” I rolled my eyes.
“Well, we have lived together for nearly two-hundred years,” Peter pointed out. “We ought to have some things in common.”
“Yeah,” I said and pressed my hand to my stomach. The strangest wave of nausea hit me, and I stopped, waiting a moment until it passed.
“Are you okay?” Peter asked, pausing to wait for me.
We stood in the middle of the sidewalk as art students and their friends and family brushed past us. Peter put a hand on my arm and ushered me off to the side so we weren’t blocking traffic so much.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I nodded.
“You’re sure?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” I insisted, and the queasiness had passed, so I thought I really might be.
Twice more on the short drive home, I felt that same weird nausea pinching my stomach. I rolled down the windows, hoping the cold night air would help, and it did help, a little bit. Peter asked me about it, but I didn’t want to talk, so I turned up Julian Plenti on the stereo so I wouldn’t have to.
As soon as he pulled into the garage, Peer jumped out of the car and ran around to help me out. I tried to brush him off, but I doubled over when I stood up. The nausea was so intense, I almost threw up all over his shoes.
“What’s wrong?” Peter wrapped his arm around me and helped me hobble to the house.
“I don’t know.” I shook my head. “It just… hit me. Maybe I have the flu.”
“Vampires can’t get the flu,” he said and pulled open the door to the house. “Oh fuck.”
“What?” I lifted my head, but when I saw the kitchen, I understood.
The house had been ransacked. Broken appliances and a dining room chair were splintered all over. Blood stained the tiles, splattering red on everything.
I ran into the house, pushing past Peter, and I found the source of the blood lying in the corner of the kitchen. Matilda’s fur had been soaked red, and she whimpered up at me, thumping her tail on the floor. I wanted to crouch down next to her and tell her everything would be alright, but I couldn’t.
“Ezra!” I shouted, holding my stomach to fight the pain growing inside me. “Mae!”
“I’m looking!” Peter ran ahead, and I went after him.
He went upstairs, and I searched the downstairs. Every room I went through looked like it had been demolished. But I never found anybody.
“Nobody’s here,” Peter said, running down the stairs to me.
“Maybe they weren’t here.” I ran a hand through my hair and tears stung my eyes.
“I think their cars were gone in the garage,” Peter said, rushing back to the garage.
He pushed open the door to check, but he paused there.
“What?” I asked.
“The Lexus is gone.” He looked back at me. “But the Delorean is here.”
“Jack was supposed to come back tonight,” I remembered, and the pain in my stomach intensified. I put a hand over my mouth to keep the sob back. “Oh my god, Peter, what if he was here?”
“Call him,” Peter commanded pulling out his own phone. “I’m calling Ezra. Maybe they went somewhere together.”
I pulled my phone out of my pocket, and Matilda whined. Kneeling down next to her, I listened to the phone ringing in my ear over and over again. While I listened to Jack not answering his phone, I stroked her wet fur, trying to comfort her.
Peter called Ezra, and I heard him talk excitedly when Ezra answered. But Jack never answered. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew he wouldn’t.
“Ezra and Mae are safe. They went to the headstone of her other child.” Peter hung up his phone, and then he saw my face. “Jack didn’t answer?”
“No.” I swallowed hard and stood up. “Where is he?”
The nausea hit me again, much harder this time, and it sent a shooting pain all over my body. I bent forward and collapsed on the ground on my knees. The pain had gotten too intense for me to stand.
“Alice!” Peter crouched down next to me and put his hand on my back.
“Oh, hell.” I gritted my teeth to keep from crying out.
“When was the last time you bit Jack?” Peter asked me, and I shook my head.