“He’s eating.” He looked at me and shrugged. “He’s going to be out in the world with people for the first time. It’s better if he’s not hungry.”
“Do you need to eat?”
“No. I’m good. Thanks for asking, though.” His eyes inspected me, looking for revulsion or fear, but when he didn’t find any, he eventually looked away.
“Is he gonna eat my mom?” I had a serious risk of vomiting every time I thought about Milo drinking blood, but apparently, I did a good job masking it.
“That’s why he’s eating,” Jack said. “We’re hoping to avoid that entire situation.”
“Excellent,” I sighed.
“I’ll be there to bodyguard.” He flexed his muscles to prove that he was up for the job and grinned at me. “It’s gonna be fine.”
“I know,” I said grimly. “Everything’s always going to be fine. Great. Good. Okay.”
“He’s just about ready!” Mae declared, interrupting the worried look Jack gave me. When she saw me, her face fell. “Oh, Alice, love, you just look so pitiful.”
“Sorry.” I tried to force a smile as she placed her hands on my arms.
“You will be back, you know?” Her eyes glistened with wet tears, and it made me feel a little better she was sad to see me go. At least someone would miss me. “We’re not banishing you.”
“I know,” I nodded, smiling a bit more genuinely.
“You’re part of the family now.” She tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “This is just how things have to be. For now.”
“I know,” I repeated. And I did know. It didn’t change the fact that this still hurt.
Mae threw her arms around me and pulled me close to her, hugging me so tight I could hardly breathe. She whispered in my hair, “Oh, love, you have no idea how marvelous everything will be when it’s all said and done.”
“Mae, honey, I think you’re smothering her.” Jack tapped her on the shoulder.
“Oh, sorry!” Mae let go of me and took a step back, and I tried not to gasp for breath. “I keep forgetting how fragile you still are.”
Down the hall, I heard Milo’s clumsy footsteps, and Ezra reassured Milo that everything would be alright. When they walked into the entryway, Ezra had his arm on Milo’s back, and Milo looked pale.
“We can follow behind you if you want,” Ezra said. Jack was going with us, but Ezra and Mae had planned to stay at the house.
“No, I’ll be fine.” Milo sounded better than he looked, and I wondered if I should take them up on the offer.
“Are you sure?” Mae reached out and stroked his face, a gesture that I couldn’t do anymore. If I did, he’d be too tempted to rip open an artery.
“Come on. Everybody’s great. Let’s get this show on the road.” Jack sensed my discomfort, and he wanted to get this over with.
Reluctantly, Mae let us leave. I didn’t like how nervous she was about this, but there wasn’t very much about any of it that I did like.
When we went into the garage, I walked ahead of Milo and reached the Jetta first. I grabbed for the passenger side door, planning to sit shotgun as I always did, and Milo growled at me.
“Did you just growl at me?” I asked dubiously.
“I might have,” Milo admitted with anger in his eyes.
“Why would you growl at me?”
“Alice,” Jack said sharply. He stood on the other side of the car beside the driver’s side door, and he looked at me from over the top of it. “Get in the backseat.”
“Why?”
“Just do it,” Jack said firmly