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8

“Hi,Piper, this is Rhianna at Middleton Family Physicians. We have the results from your bloodwork. Dr. Granger would like you to come in this afternoon. Will you be free?”

I plop my butt down in the middle of a zinnia bed, holding my phone with my shoulder and pulling off my other gardening glove. The sun beats down on me, too hot for June. It feels like late July. Or maybe I’m about to die of heatstroke because I’m working in long sleeves and a giant hat.

“What time?” I ask.

“Three-fifteen.”

I pull my phone back to look at the screen. That’s in less than an hour.

Glancing down at my filthy jeans, I say, “Yeah, I can come in.”

“Great, we’ll see you then.”

I hang up with a sigh and push myself to my feet, brushing the topsoil off my clothes.

Thirty minutes later, wearing new jeans and a clean T-shirt, I hurry to my car. I arrive at the doctor’s office three minutes late. After losing the fight with an old woman in a boat-sized sedanfor a nearby spot and having to park out in the south forty, I jog the entire way inside.

“Hi,” I say breathlessly when I reach the receptionist. “I have an appointment with Dr. Granger at three-fifteen.”

“You must be Piper,” the woman says kindly. “Have a seat. We’ll be with you in a moment.”

Before I can sit down, the door opens, and a nurse calls my name. Nervously, I follow her to the scale in the hallway.

“Oh good,” she says. “You’ve gained back a few pounds.”

I guess that’s good. To be honest, losing a little extra was the only perk to this whole ordeal.

The nurse takes my temperature and blood pressure, makes a note of them in the computer, and then tells me the doctor will be with me shortly.

I stare at the wall, growing more anxious with each passing minute.

Dr. Granger knocks twice and then walks into the room. “Hi, Piper. How are you?”

“Fine.” I force a smile. “Nervous.”

“Well, I have good news and bad news for you today.”

Seriously? We’re going to start like that?

“What’s the good news?” I ask hesitantly.

“What you have is easily managed. The bad news is that it’s something you’ll be dealing with for the rest of your life.”

“What is it?”

Dr. Granger wheels over her stool and sits beside me, settling in for a chat—which doesn’t seem like a good sign.

“Piper, you’ve been infected with Vampiria B. It’s a virus that alters a few of your body processes. You’ll have to go on a special diet.”

“I’m sorry—Vampiria B?”

The doctor nods. “It’s as it sounds. You were bitten by someone in the final stage of the vampire disease, and that’s how you contracted the illness.”

I blink at her, a giddy laugh rising in my chest. She patiently waits for me to come to terms with what she said.

“You can’t be serious,” I finally blurt out.