Chapter 9
T here it was again. The laughter.
It rose in my chest and poured out of me, echoing loudly through the park. In front of me, my sister sat stoically on the bench, watching as I fell to my knees and laughed… and laughed… and laughed. I laughed until I couldn't breathe. I laughed until I choked and Addie handed me my water bottle.
This had to be a joke. Something to take my mind off my dead baby and career suicide. It was mean, but maybe I was too sensitive right now.
When I looked up at my sister again, though, nothing had changed. There were weird black veins on her face and fangs in her mouth. Her face was contorted into a monstrous grimace and her hand reached for me.
My laughter ceased.
"This isn't funny, Addie," I whispered, shaking my head.
"I know. I'm sorry," she replied. "But I thought I owed you an explanation for why I won't come home very often, why I'll eventually stop responding to calls and texts, and why someday, I'll disappear from your life forever."
I jolted. "Wait, what?"
She genuinely sounded like she believed this whole vampire thing, as if this was some mid-2010s young adult novel where the vampire fell in love with a seventeen-year-old girl.
"That's the way it has to be, Indy. I'm going to live forever. I'll look like this forever." Addie motioned to herself. The black veins around her eyes faded, and she no longer spoke with fangs. She looked like my sister again.
I shook my head. I was jet-lagged and hallucinating; that's what this was. My sister was playing a sick joke on me and my tired brain was playing along.
I pushed myself to my feet. "Look, I'm not in a good mental state for jokes, Adalyn."
"I'm not joking."
I scoffed. "Unbelievable. I'm going back to my hotel. Call me when you come back to your senses."
"Indy!"
I snatched my purse and sweater, storming away from her. I barely made it ten feet before she appeared in front of me. I leaped backward, turning in a circle. She'd been sitting on the bench; it wasn't possible that she stood before me, blocking my escape. I rubbed my eyes. I had to have dissociated for a moment or two and didn't hear her run up behind me.
"Indy, please," Addie begged.
"Fuck off," I yelled, stepping around her.
This time, when I stalked off, she didn't follow me.
When I made it back to my hotel over an hour later because I could barely navigate the metro, I was deep in panic mode. I couldn't wrap my head around Addie's joke or why she would have thought that was funny. Addie had never been a prankster before; what had changed? I'd never been one to believe in anything other than what science could prove. There was no afterlife. There were no ghosts, goblins, or monsters. Most importantly, vampires did not exist.
And yet Addie had seemed so… convinced. She was sure of herself, like she genuinely believed she was telling me the truth. The hurt on her face when I walked away was real.
I paced in my hotel room, trying to think of a rational explanation for her behavior. Something. Anything. I thought maybe she joined a cult or a new religion. Holland brainwashed her into a new way of life. She was hyper-fixated on a TV show or a book and wanted to be like the main character. None of the explanations I conjured seemed right.
My sister thought she was a vampire. She was genuinely convinced she would have to give up her human life and move on without me one day.
I shook my head and buried my face in my hands. Twice, I picked up my phone and thought about texting her, but I couldn't form a coherent thought, so I let the phone drop.
It was nearly ten when I realized I was starving. I was supposed to eat dinner with Addie and Holland. Now, I was alone in my hotel room. Grumbling to myself, I gathered my purse and trudged out of the hotel, determined to find something to eat. Thankfully, the sun was mostly out and restaurants in Paris were open late.
The café seemed good enough. I sank into an empty table in the far corner beneath the blue awning and ordered the French onion soup and an artichoke by pointing at the menu. I added a pi?a colada to the order at the last moment. I'd never had one before and figured France was as good a place as any to try something new.
"Twice in one day. You must like this place."
I looked up, startled to see the French artist from this morning sitting at the table next to me. He flashed a smile, but it only reminded me of my sister's mouth with fangs—which I was convinced had to be mechanical. I turned away from him, resting my face in my hands and groaning.
If I were him, I would have taken my reaction as a hint to leave me alone. Instead, he had the audacity to stand from his table and move his things over to mine. I gaped at him, bristling.
"I'm Simon. It's a pleasure to see you again," he said.
I narrowed my eyes. "I didn't say you could sit with me."
He ignored my hostility. "It's Indy, isn't it?"
"How do you know that?"
"Your companion called your name this morning." He sat back in his new chair like he owned the place, dragging his tongue over his bottom lip.
I wrinkled my nose. "Are you stalking me or something?"
Simon shook his head. "I eat here most days. I live around the corner."
I rolled my eyes. "Then, go home and leave me be."
Surprising me again, Simon only chuckled and pulled out his tablet to drag his pen across the screen. I trembled, caught between the urge to throw his tablet into the street and risk getting kicked out or dealing with the annoyance so I could get some food.
"Look, I've had a bad day. Can you please leave so I can eat in peace?" I huffed.
Simon raised an eyebrow. "A bad day? Have anything to do with your vampire companions?"
The world tilted on its axis. I swore I lost consciousness for the briefest of moments as my head swam.
This couldn't be happening.
"Excuse me?"