"You saw what I just saw in the alley mirror," Billy said. "Or rather, what I didn't see. You can't explain that away."
"I don't know what you saw," I said. "You need glasses."
"I have twenty-twenty vision," he asserted.
Billy was fiddling with the phone, and I was ready to pounce.
"What reason could there be for not seeing Stormy in a mirror?" he asked.
"You are just plain crazy!" I shouted.
"Like a fox," he said. "I should have known."
"Don't you like Stormy?" I asked. "You think you are harassing me, but don't you see it is her who you are really hurting?" For a moment Billy softened, until he saw the picture on his phone. Then his expression changed.
"It can't be...." he said, his voice trailing off.
"See, I told you that you were a fool."
"This means she's not the only one," he deduced.
"What?"
"You don't have many pictures of Alexander, either."
I didn't want to admit anything to my brother - but I didn't know what to do. I was running out of excuses.
"Why don't you have any pictures of Alexander - that aren't painted - or one that isn't computer generated?" Billy was fixated on me. "Why is Stormy afraid of mirrors?" he went on. "How come she didn't show up in the mirror outside Shirley's? I've never seen Stormy or Alexander in the daylight. And why are they all allergic to garlic?" he asked. "Even their parents were when they came over for dinner." He showed me his phone. There was just a picture of him - and an empty space where Stormy should have been.
"It doesn't mean anything!" I said. "Alexander moved, Stormy moved. Blah blah blah," I defended. "It happens all the time."
"No one moved," Billy argued. "I have another one like it taken on the night of the dance printed out upstairs. That is why Alexander made me a portrait of me and Stormy. Because he knew I'd never have a photo of her."
"So your phone is messed up," I charged. "That explains it all."
Then Billy looked at me right down in my soul. He was gearing up to take me down with his words.
He took the phone and shoved it in front of me. "This is Henry's phone!" he proclaimed.
My heart plummeted. It was as if he was the detective in a whodunit novel and he was holding the stolen goods with my fingerprints on them.
I was speechless. And so was Billy. It was as if all the color had washed away from his cherry-red cheeks.
"You're dating a vampire," Billy said, his voice quavering.
I didn't know what to say. My brother looked to me for a response.
Just then my mom burst into his room. "What is going on?" she asked. "No hellos? Only screaming?"
"Uh..." I said.
"I was just showing Raven this picture of me and Stormy," he said.
"Oh, really? I'd love to see it."
I gave my brother a stern glare.
He looked to me. He knew that if he showed it to my mother, then he would be putting Stormy in jeopardy. I could see him contemplate if that was worth the joy of harassing me.