He gazed up at me with little-brother eyes. It was as if they were the words he'd been waiting to hear from me all his life.
I turned to leave.
"Hey, Raven."
"What - "
"Does this mean that you'll...?"
"What?"
"Does this mean that you'll become a vampire, too?"
I smiled at my brother and spoke to him honestly. "I can only hope!"
I gave him a wink and started for the door.
"That would totally rock!" I heard him say as I headed out of his room.
Chapter 17 Indecent Proposal
For the next few days, Billy continued to want to know all about the Sterlings, the Mansion, and their family lineage. For years, he had seen me as the outcast rebellious older sister, and now I was suddenly the coolest sister he could have imagined in the world.
"You have to swear not to speak a word of this," I said to him one day after school. Our parents were still at work, and he found this an opportune time to hound me while I was eating a snack in the kitchen.
"I just want to know more ... about vampires," he pressed while I sat at the dinette table picking at some chips. "What will happen?"
"Nothing."
"Will Stormy bite me if I see her again?"
"Uh ... no. But I may if you keep bugging me."
"Will Alexander bite you and turn you into a vampire?"
"I hope so."
"I'm serious."
"So am I."
"I know you want to be a vampire," my brother said, leaning in. "But really be one?" he asked. "Really?"
"Yes. What's it to you?"
"You wouldn't dare do it. Not for real."
I rolled my eyes and turned away. "Let me eat," I said.
"You would," he insisted. "You really would?"
I turned back. "Why not? It's what I've always wanted. Wouldn't you be a Jedi Knight if you could?" He looked at me affirmatively.
"Listen, the way I dress and the things I like," I began, "that's me. I'm not going through some phase. This is who I am. Get used to it."
"So you will get turned?" he pressed, wide-eyed.
"I'm not sure it will happen, no. But it would be cool."