Vamplayers (27 page)

Zander yanks off his ski cap and scratches his long, curly hair. “She said I beat Tristan’s time by seven whole seconds.”

“Impossible,” Tristan says, but I detect the smallest trace of pride in his voice.

Zander rushes ahead to the cafeteria, calling out over his shoulder, “Come on. I’m starved!”

“I don’t know why he’s in such a hurry.” Tristan sighs. “The only thing on the menu is blood.”

Zander is already inside the cafeteria, the doors still swinging in his wake.

I grab Tristan’s arm, slowing him down in the hallway, and ask, “Why are you so hard on him? He’s only a kid. A human kid. Can’t you see he looks up to you?”

He grits his teeth. “What do
you
see in him, Lily? He’s just a … a mortal.”

“I like him no matter what he is. Why can’t you?”

“I should think you’d know.” He fiddles with his wide disco collar.

“I do know, Tristan, okay? I’m not blind. But what we had was one kiss. And I wasn’t the one who ruined it. Yes, I felt something for you, but—”

“Felt?” He reaches for my arm.

I let him. “Feel, felt, what’s the difference? I’m with Zander. It happened. I’m happy. Why can’t you let me be happy?”

“Is that what you really want?”

“Is that so hard to believe?”

He releases me.

I take two steps closer to the cafeteria.

“Things change.” He turns around and walks away. “I’ll be here when they do.”

“If they do,” I shout at his back, hoping I sound convincing.

He waves over his shoulder, a dismissive gesture.

I’m so mad I could toss a stake at one of his strutting butt cheeks this very minute.

I control myself and head toward the cafeteria. I hear cheers and hustle through the door to see what’s happening.

Two wheelchair-bound vampires blow party horns and toss confetti into the air with their bandaged hands. There is a small cake on one of the empty cafeteria tables with a single candle burning in its center in honor of Zander making it through Simulation House.

Zander bends to gently peck Alice’s and Cara’s cheeks.

He blows out the candle and offers cake to the vampires, who easily turn it down.

Cara smiles, though weakly. Her skin is coming along nicely, though bandages still cover her knees, ankles, elbows, and wrists, joints where the healing process takes the longest.

I bend to kiss her nearly bald head.

“Hey, you.” Her voice is scratchy. Her vocal cords are still threading together while the healing process comes to completion.

“What’s the verdict?” I sit on the edge of a cafeteria table.

Zander playfully tries to get Alice to eat a slice of cake.

She sees me, stops laughing for a moment. I nod at Alice and she turns back to Zander; I can’t tell if she’s satisfied or smug. I guess, with her, I’ll never know.

“Dr. Haskins says I should be good to go by the end of the month.”

I pat her bandaged knee. “Still Second Sister?”

She shoots a competitive look at Alice and nods. For now.

“And you?” I ask, wagging a finger at Alice.

She scratches the bandage over her healing scalp. “A few more weeks and I’ll be giving you and Cara a run for your money.”

I smile.

It feels weird, being First Sister, knowing Alice resents it and Cara maybe disagrees with it.

It is what it is, and this time there’s nothing Alice or Cara can do about it.

Despite their actions at Nightshade, I still love my Sisters. I’m thankful Dr. Haskins had the presence of mind to ship what was left of their bodies to the Healing Center. And I’m glad they returned here a few days ago.

Cara looks at the silent cafeteria door. The missing member of our group has yet to materialize.

“Tristan’s not coming?” she says quietly, not wanting to announce the fact to Zander.

I shrug. “He says he’s feeling threatened.”

“Uh-huh. What’d I tell you about bringing your work home with you? It never ends well.”

“Where was he supposed to go?” I ask.

“You know,” Cara adds, “since you’ve already got your hands full with Zander, why don’t you give me a shot at your sloppy seconds?”

Be my guest.

I look up to find Zander cluelessly helping himself to another slice of cake a few feet away.

Alice, sensing blood in the water, wheels herself over with bandaged hands, wincing slightly. “What am I missing?”

Cara sends me a
shut up
vibe, but I ignore her. This gossip is too spicy to resist. “Oh, nothing. Cara here was just putting in an order for one plate of Tristan to go.”

“Not if I get to him first,” Alice says, and I’m sure she’s serious.

Trouble is, so is Cara. “Come on, Alice. You’ve already dated half the guys here. Why don’t you give a Sister a break?”

“With a hunk like that,” Alice says, “the only thing he’s breaking is hearts.”

“Cheesy,” I say.

Cara nods. “So cheesy.”

“Hey, what can I say? He inspires the poet in me.”

Cara looks glum. “Yeah, well, right now the only one inspiring him is Lily, and she won’t have anything to do with him.”

“I didn’t say that,” I whisper. “I just … we have a history and not a good one. I’m not ready to put that behind me yet.”

“Girl,” Alice says, rolling her eyes, “I’d put that behind me any day of the week!”

“Gross.” Cara laughs.

“You know what I mean, Alice.”

Just like that, Zander is back, sucking his frosting-covered thumbs, a spot of blue icing on his thick, human lips.

”Who we talking about?” he says.

But I know he’s far from a fool.

“We have presents!” Alice hands him a small wrapped box, about the size of a CD.

Cara hands him one too. It’s longer and shaped like, well, shaped like what it is.

He opens Cara’s first, revealing his very own monogrammed stake.
Zander
is branded into the side.

“Now we each have one,” Cara says.

He makes an
ahhhh
face before ripping into Alice’s. It’s a bright pink beret. He looks at Alice and Cara, who, with some difficulty, are putting their own pink berets on their mostly bald heads.

They turn to me, and mine is already on. Hey, a First Sister always comes prepared!

“Whoa,” Zander says, reluctantly pulling his hat onto his head. “Tristan and I were discussing this, and there’s no reason we can’t rename the group.”

“To what?” Cara says.

“I dunno. We were thinking something along the lines of the Brotherhood of Badass Boyfriends or something. Waddya think? Alice? Cara? Work with me here.”

Alice and Cara wisely take the matter into consideration, conferring in their old talkative way.

Zander wanders, and I walk alongside him. His beret is cockeyed atop those delectable curls. Sometimes I miss the boy Zander was, even as I’m lusting for the man he has become.

He grins, hands behind his back. “You ready for a little competition?”

“You ready to be a Sister?” I tease.

“Only if it means spending more time with you.” He bats his eyelashes.

“That’s sweet,” I say, slugging his shoulder.

“Want something really sweet?” he says, bringing his finger around. It’s covered in frosting.

“Uhhm, I would love nothing more than to lick that finger clean, Zander, but not here.” I make a scrunchy face at Cara and Alice to prove my point.

“Come on.” He pushes the finger closer to my face. “No one’s watching.”

“You walked through that grimy Simulation House. You know how many germs are in there?”

“You’re a vampire, Lily. You can’t die.”

“Ah, but you can, and that’s
exactly
what will happen if you keep shoving that nasty finger in my face.”

He keeps pushing it, pushing it, until I bend his arm behind his back.

And that is where Cara catches us, snapping her digital camera, smiling, the Sisterhood complete and with a couple new Brothers to boot.