Page 19

CHAPTER

NINETEEN

Milly Hart stared at Mr. Fletcher’s body—ear bitten and bloody, gore dripping down his chin, slumped against Kade’s wall between his drawers and his trashcan—for so long that Kade started sweating again.

Finally, Milly said, “You know, my friends and I had a middle-aged woman helping us with our homicidal hometown troubles. I never thought I’d turn into her.”

“Homicidal hometown what ?” Felicity echoed. “Who are you?”

“She’s cool,” Kade assured her. He’d been surprised when Theo suggested they call Milly. For a second he had thought it was just something Theo said to make Kade stop hyperventilating. Then Theo went semi-catatonic while they waited for her, and Kade realized they all wanted an adult here to take over the situation. Theo had had a rollercoaster of a day—his dad’s funeral, pulling Kade out of a car wreck, saving Kade from being murdered, interrogating his best friend’s dad, and then watching the guy choke to death on his own organs.

Theo was a determined guy, but he was also sixteen and grieving. Sometimes you needed an adult to come in and tell you everything was going to be okay.

Milly cocked her head. She looked…intrigued. A little confused.

She hummed and leaned back. “He said your dad knew the Fletchers were hunters? How did he find out, if they can’t tell anyone without dying?”

Theo didn’t answer. He was still aiming a thousand-yard stare at Mr. Fletcher’s corpse.

Kade nudged him. “Mate.”

Theo blinked hard, some of the zombie-ness leaving him. “I don’t know. He found something. Or saw something. Maybe he saw me eat a squirrel.”

“Great theory,” Kade said, muffled around his thumbnail. “Can we please get the dead body out of my room before my aunt gets back? Milly, how’d you get rid of dead bodies in your hometown?”

“Oh,” Milly said. “Um. Our friend ate them.”

Everyone stared at her.

“Like,” Kade said. “Their…blood?”

“No, their flesh. They fed the remains to dogs and put the bones in the trash.”

Felicity widened her eyes at Kade. What the hell , she mouthed.

Kade nodded back. One day he was going to sit Milly down and have her explain the whole story, start to finish.

Scratching noises drifted from the hallway. Sparky whined to be let in.

Theo gave Milly a hard glare. “She’s not eating him.”

“No,” said Milly. “Of course. You’re sure we shouldn’t tell the hunters?”

“I’m not sure about anything,” Theo said. “Except there’s a dead body in this house, and it needs to not be here by the time Sundance gets home with a new car.”

“Of course,” Milly repeated. “Let’s keep it simple. Kade, where would I find a bedsheet?”

They wrapped Mr. Fletcher in an old bedsheet Kade had been planning to cut up for scrap fabric. It had been on his to-do list for months. He’d never been happier to be awful at to-do lists.

They went into the woods. Not very far, just twenty minutes, with Theo keeping eyes and ears out for witnesses. Sparky stuck to his side, ears plastered to her head, staring up at Theo like he’d just scolded her. Kade waited for him to give her a reassuring pat, but Theo didn’t even look at her as they walked deeper into the woods.

The Renfield house only had one shovel. Kade offered to be the one to wield it, but Theo gave him the tiredest glare imaginable and reminded Kade he was still recovering from blood loss .

Yeah, and you’re still recovering from Dead Dad, Kade thought as he watched Theo dig, eyes aimed straight at the ground, mouth tight. Theo had spent days bouncing from task to task, but it seemed like everything was finally catching up to him. His fire was gone, replaced by a weary determination.

Felicity sat down next to Kade. She curled her long arms around her legs and rested her chin on her knees.

Sparky growled from her spot next to Kade.

“Cut it out,” said Theo and Kade in unison.

Kade placed a hand on Sparky’s flank. Sparky’s growls faded, her orange eyes trained on Felicity’s pale face.

Felicity poked her tongue out at Sparky and then leaned back to watch Theo shovel.

“Soooo,” she said. “This is, like…a Band-Aid. Right? While we sort out sire shit? Because they all saw you ran off to chase him.”

“And you’re going to tell them you found me at Kade’s, no harm done,” Theo said. He paused to push his sleeves up further, the first time Kade had seen him pause since the shovel first bit into the ground. “And they’ll think he went chasing another lead.”

Felicity nodded. She still looked shocked, but it was a resigned shock. Like something she’d been dreading had finally come to pass. Kade thought back to her scrapbook, all those scribbles circling the dark photos she’d pasted onto the paper. The strangeness and mystery of growing up in a family full of whispers and knife training and bedtime stories that gave you nightmares.

“Hey,” Kade said. “Uh. How did your dad die? And when?”

Felicity snorted, like she was impressed Kade had the balls to ask.

“I was six,” she said, gaze fixed on the sheet-wrapped body lying next to the hole. “Brain aneurysm. Nothing anyone could do to stop it. That’s what Mom said, anyway. Now I’m thinking…”

She stopped, staring at Mr. Fletcher’s body.

“I don’t know,” she whispered. “I don’t know what I think.”

Milly turned to them. She had been looking up at the trees since Theo started digging. Not because she was disturbed by the body, but because she liked watching the changing leaves. A few weeks before, she and Theo had talked for half an hour about the deciduous trees native to Lock.

“So the hunters have a spell that stops them from discussing it with outsiders,” Milly said.

“Looks like it,” Felicity said shakily. She blew a strand of blond hair out of her face. “How are we doing, Theo?”

“Done,” Theo said. He climbed out of the hole, funeral suit covered in dirt. He didn’t even bother brushing himself down. He just dropped the shovel and picked up the body, sliding it carefully into the hole. It landed with a dull thud .

Felicity stood. Kade stood with her, remembering the funeral director asking if Theo and his mom wanted to say anything over Mr. Fairgood’s grave.

No one spoke. Birds sang in the distance. Milly hummed quietly, echoing the tune.

“Well,” Theo said. Then he picked up the shovel again.

Kade sighed. “Theo?—”

“I can do it,” Theo said. Then he started shoveling dirt onto the body. No panting, no sweat, nothing behind his eyes.

Felicity nudged a leaf into the grave with her shoe. “Happy birthday to Aaron, I guess.”

Kade swore. He’d forgotten about Aaron’s birthday party the following night.

Gaze still on his shovel, Theo said, “Are you going to be able to act normal around him tomorrow?”

“What?” Felicity laughed. “We’re not going .”

Theo eyed her and threw a shovelful of dirt over his shoulder.

Felicity gawked at him. “Theo, holy shit. Your dad’s funeral was this morning , just say we’re at your house watching movies! Ooooh, let’s actually do that! Let’s watch movies instead of going to my ex-boyfriend’s house the day after I helped bury his dad’s corpse in the woods!”

“You don’t look like you’re helping.” Kade gestured at the two of them sitting on the ground next to the grave while Theo shoveled .

Felicity smacked him in the shoulder. “There’s one shovel, jackass! What do you want me to do, use my hands? I have enough calluses as it is!”

Theo dragged the last shovelful of dirt onto the grave. He patted it down. Everyone stood next to him and admired his work.

Kade spoke up first. “This is obviously a grave.”

Milly hummed in agreement.

“Like,” Kade continued, “the first person who walks by this is gonna call the cops.”

Felicity kicked leaves over it.

Theo sighed. “Liss.”

“No,” said Milly. “That’s not a bad idea.”

Two minutes later, everybody’s hands were dirty (plus Sparky’s muzzle), and the grave was covered in leaves.

Kade winced. His nail beds stung, pricked with dirt instead of just his own stupid chewing.

Felicity nudged another leaf over the dirt.

“Still grave-y,” she decided.

“I don’t care,” Theo said, exhaustion visible in every line of his face. “I’m leaving.”

He strode toward Kade’s house, Sparky cowering at his side.

Kade jogged to catch up, wiping his dirty hands on his jeans. Blood tracked down the right leg from his wounded arm. He’d have to do his washing when he got home. Pick up the glass from the smashed widow, clean blood out of his carpet, then do his washing. Make up something to say to Sundance if she walked in on him while the bloodstains were still visible.

“God—” Felicity’s words cut off as she tried to walk next to Theo only to be met with another growl from Sparky.

“Quit it,” said Theo and Kade in one.

Felicity fell into step next to Kade, the three of them walking in a line, plus Sparky. Milly lagged behind, watching leaves drift down to the forest floor.

“God,” Felicity repeated. “I can’t believe the funeral was this morning . You’re having a big day.”

Theo didn’t answer. Kade wasn’t entirely sure he heard her, even with the vampire hearing. He was doing the thousand-yard stare again.

“And it’s not even dinnertime,” Kade said once into the awkward silence. “If one more thing happens, I’m gonna freak out.”

Felicity flicked her hair, smacking Kade in the face. He picked hair away from his mouth, wondering if she would mention how he had hyperventilated after Mr. Fletcher died, fat tears rolling down his face.

But she just put her hands in her sundress pockets, uncaring about the grime she was smearing into the gauzy fabric. “Can someone give me a ride home? I scootered over.”

“I forgot you used to scooter,” Theo said distantly.

“I can drive you,” Milly called from behind them, chin still tipped up toward the branches. She watched a rust-colored leaf float down, her mouth twitching in a smile like an afterthought.

“Um,” Felicity said. “Thanks. Who are you again?”

She fell back to hear Milly’s answer. Sparky let out a tiny growl as she walked off.

“Cut it out,” Kade said.

Theo plodded along silently beside him. With his filthy suit, dirty hands, and hair smudged with blood and twigs, he looked a little like he’d been in the grave they just left.

Kade nudged him. “Hey. Blood boy. You awake?”

“Always,” Theo said defeatedly. Then he said, “I like it better when you call me sunshine.”

Kade’s cheeks heated. He ducked his head. “I’ll try to remember that.”

A leaf drifted right in front of Theo’s face and stuck to his suit. Kade watched it cling to the dirty fabric and thought back to that deciduous conversation Theo had been on the couch with Milly. Kade hadn’t been able to stop smiling as he watched Theo gesture excitedly at his phone, Milly pulling out her own to compare their favorites. It felt like a million years ago.

Kade pulled the leaf off Theo’s shirt. “Want to stay over again?”

“Yes,” Theo said immediately. He blinked hard. “I don’t want to intrude.”

Kade scoffed. “You’re not. We—Sundance loves having you around.”

“Sundance,” Theo repeated in an exhausted tone that implied he would rib Kade for it properly if he wasn’t half out of his head with grief and shock right now.

Kade bit his lip, remembering Theo’s bared teeth as he slammed Mr. Fletcher against the wall. None of you touch him. He’s mine. Theo staring at him wide-eyed and amazed, like he’d expected to find Kade already dead. Theo dropping his head on Kade’s shoulder, the first rest he’d allowed himself since his dad died.

“Maybe I do too,” Kade admitted. “Sunshine.”

Theo smiled. Just a little. The small, tired smile of a boy walking through the woods with blood on his hands and too much on his shoulders.

Then the smile was gone.

“I should go home,” he said dully. “See my mom. She’ll be wondering where I am.”

“Right,” said Kade, heart sinking. “Yeah. Of course.”

He picked at Theo’s dirty collar. “Maybe borrow some clothes first.”

Theo nodded. His gaze was distant again.

Kade’s head throbbed. One hard lance of pain, short and sharp, before it dulled into a strange, quiet itch.

He winced. Aspirin, he decided. Pick up glass, clean blood, do washing—then aspirin.