Page 38 of This Blood That Binds Us

Aaron guided me to the door, and I followed closely behind. The house was bustling with other frat guys. Button-up shirts and khaki shorts everywhere. I’d almost forgotten there was an event on campus that Saturday. A lot of the fraternities and sororities were having their last get-togethers before summer.

He walked me to the edge of the stairs. “Are you sure you don’t want me to walk you home or drive you?”

“No, I’m fine. I can handle it. I’m gonna go talk to my RA. Have her help me get some things figured out.”

“Well, I put my flip-flops in there for you. That way, you don’t have to wear your wet shoes back.” He smiled, but it quickly faded as his attention shifted to the street.

“Thank you . . . thanks for everything.”

I didn’t have words for how I felt. Not only had I stayed the night in his room, I felt safe doing so. I’m not sure who was more surprised. Even more than that, I enjoyed our time together. It was confusing, to say the least.

Aaron’s brown eyes glowed in the afternoon sun.

“Yeah, anything you need. I’m here for you.”

I grabbed the too-big flip-flops from the bag and slipped them on. “So, what are we going to do? If there’s another vampire out there, we need to know who they are and what they want. Do you think your brothers would be open to looking for the guy that mugged me? Maybe they can find him quicker than we can. We wouldn’t have to say anything.”

“Oh, no. I don’t want them anywhere near this. If they think for a second that there’s another vampire here, they’re going to bolt.”

“Like leave Blackheart?”

“Yeah, they’re on edge.” The little crease returned to Aaron’s forehead.

A wave of anxiety washed over me. That was the last thing I needed. To be there, alone, with a vampire problem and no way to defend myself.

“Don’t worry. That’s not going to happen,” Aaron said confidently, rendering it almost believable. “We’ll just have to deal with it ourselves.”

“If it was someone from The Family, why did they bite me and not drink my blood? Why would they want my stuff? I don’t feel like it makes sense. It doesn’t fit the profile of some dangerous vampire super mob.”

Aaron sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “You’re right. That’s weird. I mean, I guess there could be a vampire using their abilities to steal stuff from people.”

“How are we supposed to know if someone is a vampire? Is there a way you can tell? With a heartbeat, maybe?”

He shook his head. “No. We have heartbeats, too. Maybe I can pick one of the twins’ brains about it and see if they’ll tell me anything useful. I doubt it, but I’ll try.”

“That’s a great place to start. I’m going to cancel my debit cards today, and I’ll be able to see if my attacker actually used them or not. That might help us figure out a motive.”

I sounded like a crime detective. One look at Aaron in his scruffy bed hair and pajamas told me there was no doubt we were amateurs. But we were amateurs with combined brain power and similar goal. So, that had to count for something, even if the only thing Aaron contributed so far was an overly optimistic disposition.

“I’m gonna go get my stuff. And when I pick up my car, do you want to hang out...maybe?”

The sun was higher in the sky than I would have liked it to be. I had overslept. I had a lot to do, including getting the locks to my room changed and picking up the spare car key in my dorm room.

Aaron beamed with a raised eyebrow, his disheveled morning hair almost covering it. “You’re asking me? You want to hang out with me?”

“Yeah, I do. Unknown vampire on the loose. Probably best to stick together. Plus...I kinda want to see what video games you have.”

“So, this means you and I are officially friends, then, Burns?”

“Yeah, it does . . . Coleman,” I teased.

A wicked grin spread across Aaron’s face, and he held out his hand. I took it, and he leaned in closer to me. “Calem. That’s my real last name. Aaron Calem at your service. Let’s add that to our secrets list.”

“Earth to Aaron. Hellooooo.” Presley waved a hand in my face. “You keep doing that.”

“Doing what?”

I sat up in my chair. I was in the frat house’s dining room with my books and assignments scattered around me. It was the middle of the week, which meant many people weren’t around.