Wisdom: Updated Edition, page 15
“Jack, come on. She’s the same person she always has been. She never wants to see anybody hurt.” I walked closer to him, petting Matilda when she ran up to me.
“Neither do I. But that doesn’t mean I can lie and do whatever I want.” He looked at me, his eyes grave. “I always thought she’d put everyone before herself, but she’s been so selfish about major things. Not just lying to me, but what she’s done to Daisy, and Ezra.” He shook his head. “What she’s done to Daisy is unforgivable.”
“You really think that?” I asked quietly.
“Yeah. But luckily for Mae, I’m not the one that has to forgive her this time,” Jack said. Matilda jumped up on him, and he scratched her head. “As soon as Daisy’s old enough to realize what Mae did to her…” He whistled and shook his head.
“Where is Mae?” I asked.
“I think she’s still in Ezra’s room. Why? Are you gonna go talk to her?”
“Yeah, I wanna see where her head is at with all of this and what she thinks they’re going to do, since nobody else has any idea.”
“All right.” He nodded once, but I couldn’t get a read on how he felt. Lately, his emotions seemed murky, like he was trying to bury them too deep for me to feel. “I’ll be out with Matilda.” He stepped outside, and the dog followed at his heels, even though she’d just come in.
I walked down to Ezra’s room, feeling like I was creeping up on a stranger. I’d just seen Mae a few weeks ago, but my visit with her hadn’t been that amicable. It had been months since she actually lived here, and it sounded strange hearing her voice as she sang softly to herself.
The bedroom door was slightly ajar, but I pushed it open a little farther, peering inside. Mae had made the bed and moved onto fluffing the pillows and tidying up. Ezra wasn’t a messy person, but he’d let things fall to the wayside since she’d been gone. Whenever she cleaned, she always had a song on her lips, and she settled for something low and bluesy by Etta James.
“I see you lurking outside the doorway, you know,” Mae said without looking at me. She folded a pair of Ezra’s pants that had been crumpled on a chair and set them on the bed.
“Sorry,” I mumbled and pushed the door the rest of the way open.
“You all don’t need to hide from me. I’m not going to bite.” She picked up a few other stray articles of clothing off the floor and began folding them neatly. “I had no idea Ezra would be such a slob after I moved out. And I noticed that none of you have been doing the dishes.”
“Bobby’s the only one that eats. The dishes are his responsibility,” I said, referring to the pile of dishes growing in the kitchen sink.
“You are all capable of picking up a mess, no matter who made it.” She’d folded his clothes and moved on to picking up the books and newspapers Ezra had strewn about the room. “You’re all adults here, and you should act like it.”
“Milo’s not an adult yet,” I corrected her and leaned back against the wall.
“How is your brother?” Mae stacked the books neatly, making sure all the edges matched up, and she paused for a moment. “He didn’t talk to me much in Australia or when I got here. I felt like he didn’t want me to be here, like he might be mad at me.”
“He’s good,” I said. “But… let’s be honest, Mae, we’re all kinda mad at you.”
“Hmm.” She stopped straightening the books and touched at a strand of her hair before flitting about the room to pick something else up. “I didn’t expect any of you to understand, but I hoped that you’d support me.”
“We all understand where you’re coming from. I get it completely.” I stepped away from the wall, moving towards her, but she had her back to me as she folded a blanket on the chair.
“No, you don’t. None of you. You only think you do.”
“Fine. Whatever. I don’t. Nobody understands your pain, Mae. Because it is so unique! Nobody’s ever loved something so much they would do anything to save it, except for you, Mae. You cornered that market!”
“Don’t patronize me!” Mae whirled on me, looking at me for the first time. “I didn’t do anything to deserve your contempt! I’ve made a choice that doesn’t even affect you!”
“How does it not affect me? You and ‘your choice’ are hiding out in my house, putting my family and friends in danger!”
“We’ll be out of here first thing—”
“That’s part of the problem too, Mae!” I cut her off. “We never wanted you out of our lives, but you left us. You know she can’t live here, not with us. So that means we can’t live with you either.”
“You know I didn’t want to leave you.” Tears welled in her eyes. “I love you all so much, and I did want to spend the rest of my life with you. But I had to save her.”
“But at what cost, Mae?”
“I know.” She wiped at her eyes. “I know what I’ve done. I know what she is.” She swallowed hard and held my gaze. “I will never leave her. I can’t.”
“Nobody’s asking you to,” I said finally.
“Thank you.” She nodded and picked up Ezra’s clothes to put them in the hamper. “How has Ezra been?”
“He’s been doing better.” I sat down on the bed, relieved to be talking about something lighter. “He’s helping me with school now.”
“Oh? I didn’t realize you were going to school.” Mae sounded surprised but happy.
“I’m not. At least not yet, but Ezra doesn’t want me getting stupid. Or stupider, anyway.” I shrugged. “I think I might go to high school next year. It’s gotta be easier than what Ezra’s having me do.”
“Well, good. I’m glad to see you applying yourself.” She smiled at me and sat down beside me. “I do worry about you, love. You and Milo and Jack. I care about you all a great deal.”
“I know. Nobody’s ever doubted that,” I said.
She smiled at me. “I’m happy to hear it.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“You can ask me anything.” Mae dropped her hands to her lap and sat up straighter.
“Before you turned Daisy, you had a big argument with Ezra.” I looked down at my jeans and picked absently at them. “You said something.” I squirmed, thinking of how I wanted to phrase it. “You implied that… I don’t know. That Ezra might… treat me special, or something.”
“Oh, that.” She sighed and looked straight ahead. “Ezra does treat you special, both you and Milo actually. But so do I. So does everybody. Peter should’ve killed you, and I’m glad that he didn’t, but… other vampires would’ve. Or maybe they wouldn’t. I don’t know with you.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“There’s something… different about you.” Mae furrowed her brow. “I’ve never known what it was, but I’ve always felt it. The boys had a harder time recognizing it because they already had a connection with you. Your blood bond makes it harder for them to see that it’s different, even though it should be obvious.”
“I don’t understand,” I said.
“Vampires in general seem drawn to you.” She looked over at me. “And you’re stronger. You adapted faster to being a vampire than anyone should.”
“Milo adapted faster than I did,” I said.
“Which only proves my point. There’s something very different about you both.” Mae eyed me, almost as if she was looking at me for the first time.
“I didn’t adapt that fast,” I shook my head. “And I had to fight to keep my bloodlust in check.”
“Not as much as us. Ezra’s told you the stories of when he first turned, of how other vampires had to be chained to keep from killing each other?” Mae asked, and I nodded. “We’re all like that in the beginning. You know how Daisy… gets out of hand?”
“Yeah,” I said.
“The only difference between Daisy and any other new vampire is that she gets hungry more often. That’s what a new vampire is supposed to be like,” Mae said. “And that’s not what you were like or Milo. But Jack…” She shook her head. “Ezra had to hold him down once to keep him from killing the mailman.”
“Seriously?” I asked.
“Seriously. Your time as a fledgling vampire has been remarkably smooth.”
“But why? Why are we different?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Mae admitted, and she put her hand to my cheek. “You’re special, love. That’s something good, not something to fear.”
“Thank you. I think.”
Mae dropped her hand and stood up. “What is Daisy doing?”
“She’s lying down with Peter.”
“Good. She needed a nap after that flight.” Mae went over to her luggage and flipped it open. “And I need a shower. That flight from Australia was unbearable.”
“Oh, right.” I stood up. “I’ll let you… get to it.”
“Sorry.” She smiled sheepishly at me. “I should just shower while Daisy is calm and asleep.”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” I agreed.
“It was nice visiting with you, though.
“Yeah,” I said again and backed towards the door. “Do you guys know when you’re leaving?”
“Not yet, but soon. Probably in a day or two.” She looked sadly at me. “But you’ll always be welcome, anywhere we end up.”
“Thanks.” I smiled and slid out of her room.
I missed Mae, but I didn’t like having her here now. It made everything feel tense and precarious, like at any minute it could all fall apart.
Chapter Fifteen
I started up the steps to my own room, thinking about how a shower would feel good myself, but I stopped when I heard something strange coming from my and Jack’s bedroom: Peter and Jack were hanging out.
“I’m just saying Apocalypse Now isn’t the best war movie,” Peter said.
“You can’t say All Quiet on the Western Front. That movie is so boring!” Jack groaned.
“Just because something is in black and white doesn’t make it boring,” Peter countered.
“Well, it doesn’t matter. I don’t own it so you can’t borrow it. Apocalypse Now is the best war movie I own.”
I climbed up the stairs and stopped outside the doorway, spying on them before they noticed me. Jack had opened the pocket door that hid his thousands of movies, and he stood in front of it, inspecting his collection. Peter sat at the end of Jack’s bed while Daisy lay curled up in the middle, sound asleep next to Matilda.
“Don’t you have Saving Private Ryan?” Peter asked.
“No. I’m not obsessed with war movies like you.” Jack reached up and pulled one off the shelf. “I have lots of ninja movies, though. Or movies with robots. Those are good.”
“I should be happy you’re not pulling out something with ninja robots,” Peter muttered.
“What are you guys doing?” I asked, tentatively stepping into the room.
“Just trying to find something for Peter to watch, but he’s picky as all hell,” Jack said.
“I’m not picky. I just don’t love something just because it has explosions,” Peter said.
Jack scoffed. “What’s not to love about explosions? And besides that, I love lots of movies without explosions. Here.” He grabbed a DVD from a shelf and held it out to him. “Edward Scissorhands. Nothing blows up the whole movie.”
“But you have a crush on Johnny Depp, so that doesn’t count,” Peter said.
“No, I have a crush on Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder,” Jack corrected him. “But whatever. Do you want a movie or not? You only have like a day to watch this thing. Do you want to spend all the time arguing about my taste in films?”
“Hey, don’t rush me.” Peter got up and went over to the rows of DVD’s, brushing past Jack without comment from either of them. “I need to enjoy technology while I have the chance. Who knows where we’re gonna end up after this.”
“Where are you going?” Jack asked, taking a couple steps back so Peter could peruse his DVD’s more easily.
“I honestly don’t know. I’m hoping Ezra can figure something out.” Peter grabbed a movie and flipped it over, reading the back. “I don’t really want to think about it. My plan is to relax and sleep, because I’m not sure how much rest I’ll get once we go.”
“I see.” Jack crossed his arms over his chest, and his face hardened. He was worried about Peter and rightfully concerned about where the three of them might end up, but he didn’t want to show it.
“Anyway, I think this one will do.” Peter held up Blade Runner.
“That’s what you picked?” Jack raised an eyebrow. “You were just mocking me about my robot movies. And I thought you wanted something about war.”
“I like this movie.” Peter shrugged. “I’m going to go downstairs and watch it, since that’s where I’ll be crashing tonight because my room is dismantled.”
“I have some extra blankets if you want to crash in your old room,” Jack suggested.
“No, I’m good.” Peter walked past me, giving me a small smile, and paused at the doorway. “Is Daisy okay in here?”
“Yeah, she’s fine for now,” Jack nodded.
“Thanks.” Peter waved at him with the DVD and headed downstairs.
I waited until I heard his footsteps disappear into the living room before I went over to Jack. “What was that about?”
“What?” Jack put back his movies on the shelf and glanced back at me. “I just lent Peter a movie. Most of his stuff is still in Australia.”
“Yeah, but you were being… nice.”
“I’m a nice vampire.” Jack laughed and pushed a button so the closet door slid shut, hiding all his movies. “And I don’t hate Peter.”
“That’s not what you’ve been saying for like the past year.”
“Do you want me to hate Peter?” he asked skeptically.
“No, of course not. I’m happy to see you two getting along. I’m just surprised is all.”
“I know.” He sighed and looked down at the floor. “I hate the way Peter feels about you, and I really hate the way you feel about him—”
“I don’t feel anything for him,” I interjected quickly. By the look Jack gave me, I knew I protested a bit too much.
“Yeah, I know. But you spent two weeks alone with him in Australia, and that turned out fine. I think I can trust you to be around each other for a few days.” He ran a hand through his sandy hair. “And even if I can’t, he’s my brother, and he’s in trouble. I don’t want the last things I say to him to be in anger.”
“That’s really sweet, Jack. And it’s really mature.”
He sighed. “No, it’s not mature. I just can’t hold a grudge. I’m a sucker.”
“You’re sweet, and I love you.” I wrapped my arms around him and smiled up at him.
He leaned down and kissed me, his lips pressing warmly against mine. It started out gentle, but quickly worked its way into something more. His arms wrapped around me, pressing me hard against him. His skin burned hot against mine, and his emotions flooded me with their fervor.
“Jack,” I breathed, putting my hand on his chest.
“Oh, right.” His eyes went over to the bed, where Daisy lay buried amongst his navy comforter. He grinned when he looked back, but I felt how disappointed he really was. “If only there wasn’t a small child on the bed, I would totally ravish you.”
“I’m sure you would.”
“Too bad.” He gave me a kiss on the forehead and pulled away from me. “I guess I’ll have to settle for a cold shower then.” He walked backwards toward the bathroom. “Unless you wanted to join me.”
“That would defeat the purpose of a cold shower, wouldn’t it?” I asked.
“Maybe.” He shrugged and pulled off his shirt, revealing the perfect hard contours of his chest and stomach.
He disappeared into the bathroom. I heard the water turn on a moment later, and I looked over at the bed. I didn’t want to hang out in here with Daisy, even when she was just sleeping. Jack was close enough that he could hear her, but I didn’t trust her alone with the dog. When I left the room, I called Matilda, and I shut the door behind us.
Peter was in the living room, sitting on the couch with his feet propped up on an ottoman. Blade Runner played on the TV, but he didn’t seem to be paying attention to it. His fingers were laced behind his head, and he stared off at nothing.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
Peter looked over at me, just noticing that I was there. “Uh, yeah. I’m great.” He lowered his arms, crossing them over his chest, and sat up straighter so his feet were on the floor.
“You seem kind of spacey.”
“I have a lot on my mind.”
Matilda jumped on the couch next to him, and he scratched her head. I sat down at the opposite end, leaving a lot of room between us.
“I thought you were going to relax,” I said.
“I am trying, but I haven’t been very successful, I’m afraid.” He gave Matilda one final pat than dropped his hand. He let his emerald eyes linger on me just long enough that I had to look away. “How have you been?”
“Good, I guess.”
“How are you coping with what happened with your friend? Jane, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, Jane. I’m doing about as well as anyone can be when their friend was murdered.”
“I am sorry for your loss,” he said sincerely. I still hadn’t gotten used to him sounding so kind. It added something to his already velvet voice that never failed to startle me.
“Me too.”
After that, we watched the movie in silence. I sat stiffly, afraid to move or do anything. I’m not exactly sure what I was afraid would happen, but I knew I didn’t want to risk it. I’d already hurt both Peter and Jack enough.
Jack bounded downstairs a little while later. His hair was still damp from the shower, and he ran his hand through it, sending little droplets sprinkling all over the room.
“How’s the movie?” Jack asked, glancing back at the TV.
“Fine,” Peter and I both answered simultaneously.
“Great.” Jack gently pushed Matilda off the couch and sat down between us, but he turned to Peter. “I was thinking. Why are you going with them?”
