Kindle Notes & Highlights
“Wow. You’ve really made an enemy, and you haven’t even tried.” And then, at the look on her face, he leaned over, contrite. “Hey, I’m sorry. Believe me, it doesn’t take anything for Liz to hate you. She doesn’t have any friends.”
“He was here,” Darcy said, dismayed. “He was! Just like he was there the last time you didn’t see him!”
Kyle thought a minute … ran one hand through his hair. “But, hey, wouldn’t you love to prove me wrong? Liz delights in it.”
Elliott’s mouth lifted tentatively at the corners, and he put his sunglasses back on. “I know your future, too. But you won’t like it.”
She felt him shrug, but he didn’t answer, so she buried her head against his back. Through his T-shirt she could feel the hard flow of his muscles as he guided the motorcycle through town, and suddenly she didn’t care where they were going—she didn’t want to care about anything—she just nestled tighter against him as the misty night flowed over her, lulling her into a safe, easy calm.
“Just because I hit him!” she said furiously. “Well, he deserved it! I told him I wanted flowers, so we had a fight, and he insulted me—”
“How should I know! Who cares? He had it coming!” “I doubt that.” Kyle sighed. “You’re lucky he didn’t decide to drop you ten miles from here.”
“I want you to!” Liz yelled back at him. “I want you to leave me here so you’ll feel guilty about it all night!”
“No kidding. I’m probably deformed.” “You’ll live.” Kyle took the bottle and helped himself to a sip. “Here’s to women … and their charms.”
“And what are you going to do?” Kyle shrugged. “Well, I know Liz won’t let me give her a ride, so I guess I’ll just follow her.”
She knew Brandon hadn’t believed her. And now she began to suspect that the flowers hadn’t meant anything at all, that maybe he’d only been patronizing her.… Brandon is obviously a huge flirt, and Liz is obviously very used to having her own way, and you are so stupid for presuming anything or even wishing for it.
“Do you think the Vampire’s back there somewhere?” he had joked, thinking it so clever and oh-so-funny.… “Picking out his next terrified victim?”
And how horrible, Darcy thought, pressing her face tight into her pillow, trying to choke back the awful fear—how horrible to be the next victim … And never know your life was running out so fast.…
She heard someone speaking—Who? Jake? Who else is in there?—but only caught the end of what was being said.
The night crawled on and on, and she lay awake, eyes fixed on the ceiling. My God, Jake, what’s going on? For a long time there wasn’t another sound from downstairs, then finally a door opened and closed as an invisible someone left the apartment. She thought she might have drifted off to sleep at last when suddenly the phone rang, jarring her awake, and Jake’s voice drifted up, strangely calm.
So you and Liz fixed things. Good for you, bad for me. “Well, I hope everything’s okay now.”
“Me, too.” Well, I might as well be honest, it’ll probably be the last walk we ever take.
Please don’t say things you don’t mean. And you still owe Liz some flowers.… “Well … good night.”
Oh, God, it’s another rat.… Bolting upright, her eyes probed the darkness, her ears straining for the scurry of feet across the floor.
Darcy pulled the sheets to her chin, afraid to move, afraid to stay where she was. What if it’s crawling up the wall … What if it’s hiding under the bed— What if it’s in my bed— Choking back a scream, she kicked her legs under the covers, then flapped the sheets around her.
The black thing flew straight at her, and as she dived into her pillow, she heard it coming back again, above her bed, its shrill little cry, Trapped, trapped just like me— She grabbed at the lamp, and there were more squeaks—more wings—and the hot, still air churning above her head, frantic shadows darting and swooping, trying to find a way out—As her fingers found the light at last, she stared at the ceiling in disbelief. Bats. Fluttering, falling, fighting for dark places, furry heads and piggy eyes, webbed wings, and Bats! My God there must be a dozen of them—
Darcy nodded at the receiver and sat a moment just holding it, as if somehow Brandon’s strong voice was still there on the line. She’d closed the door leading up to the attic, but now her eyes fastened on it again, waiting for the soft thud of little bodies on the other side. When nothing happened, she hung up the phone and covered her face with her hands. Where was Jake? A vision of his bloody clothes … his bloody hand … floated into her mind, and she forced it away. Oh, Brandon, please hurry.… When she looked up to see him standing in the doorway, she nearly jumped out of her skin.
“You are still asleep,” Darcy scolded, hugging an old bathrobe around her that she’d grabbed from a chair in Jake’s room. As Brandon’s eyes traveled appreciatively over her body, she flushed and sat down on the couch.
“I’ll see what I can do.” He started up the stairs, paused, and looked back over his shoulder. “You know, if I really was Dracula, all I’d have to do is say the word, and they’d obey me and all fly away.”
“Great. Now what are we going to do?” “I can’t figure out how they got in.” He frowned. “But maybe—if we can get the screen off—they’ll go back outside. I don’t suppose you could stir them up a little, could you?”
“Come on, where’s your spirit of adventure? Now, let’s see … we need some big towels—something to put distance between us and them.” His voice faded as he disappeared into the bathroom, and she heard him slamming cabinet doors. “Where’s Jake keep his towels?”
Puzzled, Darcy worked the hangers apart and ran her hands over the wall. It felt solid enough, but when she gave it a timid knock, the sound was hollow. That door on the fire escape? She’d guessed it might open into Jake’s room, and now it looked like she was right—
Darcy jumped back guiltily. “Uh … I think so.” As she shoved the clothes back in place on the rack, she heard something fall with a loud click onto the floor. Oh, great, something must have fallen from a pocket.…
“Oh, there you are—hey, I found these in the kitchen.” Brandon started for the stairs and motioned her to follow. “You know, I’ve been thinking, maybe it’s not such a good idea, you going up there again. Once I get that window open, I can probably handle it myself.” He threw her a sly glance. “So what if I get bitten? So what if I die of rabies?”
“Call Kyle in the morning and have him help me.” “That is a sensible thing.” Darcy nodded. “Are you hungry?”
She felt him tensing beneath his calm exterior. “You think someone … did that? On purpose?” “Well, they’re not things that just happen to people, are they?” Darcy sounded defensive. “Not just your usual run-of-the-mill coincidences?”
“I’m upset about a lot of things.” Her chin lifted stubbornly. “Like Jake, for starters. He calls those monsters downstairs his family, for God’s sake. And tonight he said he was going to bed, and he’s not even here.”
“Unusual?” Darcy gaped at him. “Unusual?” Now … I’ll tell him now—
“You have. I swear you have.” His hands went up in a gesture of defeat. “Liz is the center of her own universe, and she expects to be the center of everyone else’s. See, even at home it’s always been Liz is the smartest and Liz has all the potential and Liz has all the promise and the sun rises and sets on Liz. I mean, poor Kyle … he’s the rebellious one ’cause he rides a motorcycle and wants to be a musician. He never gives them any trouble, but he’s the disappointment and Liz is the star. Liz gets anything she wants. Liz deserves the best. So how could she be any different than the way she
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“But I,” Brandon began, then looked away, his voice uncomfortable. “I mean … I … thought you were pretty great when I first saw your picture.”
“Yeah, Jake’s all right,” Brandon mumbled. He gazed at the TV screen where a vampire was unfolding himself from a long, black cape. “And … you know … I care about you, Darcy. And Liz knows it.”
“It’s true!” Darcy blurted out. “Bats—everywhere!” To her horror she saw Kyle’s head appear over Liz’s shoulder and a slow grin spread over his face.
“How do you know what I’m thinking?” Kyle’s grin vanished instantly as Liz whirled on him. It made Darcy think he’d had a lot of practice at it.
“Isn’t that just like her? Most girls try to punish you by depriving you of their company.”
“Not to change the subject”—Brandon rolled over and flung one arm across his eyes—“but there are bats in Darcy’s room. We’ve got to get them out of there.”
Brandon caught that last remark and spun around. “Wait—that looks like a very sweet lady over there—oh, no! It’s Liz in disguise!”
“Oh, sure, Brandon,” Jake came back at him. “I breed them. It’s one of my side jobs.”
“Well, what if they didn’t come from the crawl space?” Darcy blurted out. “What if they came from somewhere else?” Three pairs of eyes fastened on her, and she lowered her voice. “What I mean is … where else could they have come from?”
“Then I give up. You tell me where they came from.” Jake’s nervous glance went over their surroundings and he walked on ahead of them.
Brandon shrugged. “Well, I’m not going to ask him.”
“Well, why don’t you go, then?” Darcy frowned as Jake walked away and Kyle rejoined her. “What’s wrong with him any—” As her gaze followed Jake’s retreat, she suddenly grabbed Kyle’s arm. “There’s Elliott.”
“Darcy!” Kyle stood helplessly, watching her go in one direction, Brandon in another. “Hey! What are you—wait! Wait a minute!” Dropping his things, he started after her, but with her head start, he quickly lost sight of her in the crowd.
“Elliott!” Darcy knew she hadn’t imagined it this time, his thin pale face staring out at her from the throngs of busy shoppers—and as she tried to maneuver through the crowd, her fear turned to anger. “Stop, Elliott! Stop!” She saw several curious heads turn and began to shout louder. “Stop that guy! He stole my purse!” To her annoyance, no one joined in the chase, and she gritted her teeth and ran harder.
“Damn!” She plopped down on one of the dilapidated counters, trying to catch her breath. She felt sick from the heat and not eating. And as she drew deep gulps of air into her lungs, she had the sudden feeling that she wasn’t alone.
Again she scanned the deserted lot, her uneasiness growing. Why did I run off like that? No one even knows where I am.…
