"Of course! I've had a blast."
She smiled sweetly.
"And I know my brother has had a great time, too," I confirmed. "You should have friends your own age."
"And Billy, he looks at me oddly sometimes. Like he's trying to figure me out."
"He's probably looking at you because he thinks you are pretty."
"He does? He said that?"
"Yes."
She sat up, excited. "What did he say?"
"That someone as pretty as you shouldn't be afraid of mirrors."
Her soft brown eyes widened. "That's the sweetest thing I ever heard!" She beamed. "I want to see Billy and Henry. I want to have friends that are mortals." She looked at me desperately.
Really?
"You will," I said. "I'll make sure of that."
"Really?" she said.
"Yes, I'll talk with Alexander."
She leaned in and wrapped her arms around my waist. She squeezed me so hard I could barely breathe. Then she laid her head on my lap. "I felt differently about you when I first met you. I didn't think I'd like you. I was mad that you weren't Luna. And I was mad that Alexander stayed here and didn't return home to our family. I blamed you."
"I know," I said, stroking her hair.
"Are you angry at me for that?"
"You'd have to do a lot more for me to be angry with you. Besides, I'd be mad if someone kept me away from Alexander, too."
"You really like him, don't you?"
I nodded my head.
Even though there were a few more hours to sunrise, her eyelids were fighting to stay open. The pain of the evening wore on her.
"I want you to be a vampire, like me," she said.
"I want you to be a vampire, like me," she said.
"I do, too," I said to her, but she had already drifted off to sleep.
I found Alexander in the TV room watching Dark Shadows.
"We can't keep Stormy away from Billy and Henry," I said to him.
"I think it's for the best. What else can I do? Send her home?"
"No, let her have fun. Let her spread her bat wings," I said lightly. "She really is starved for friends as much as she is for blood. You said that yourself."
"I know. But tonight, when I thought she'd eaten garlic... I'm still shaking."
I gave him a hug. "I know it's hard for you. You want to protect her from the mortal world. You want to protect me from the Underworld. And in the end, it will only make all of us unhappy."