Dont touch me, he said. His voice was hoarse, and the vein in his throat was beating very, very fast. I dont want
Shaneits me, its Claire
He reached out for her then, like a drowning man clutching a life raft, and his strength shocked her as he pulled her in. His head bent, and she felt the weight of it resting on her shoulder. The feverish, damp heat of his forehead against her neck.
She felt the shudder go through him, just one, just enough to tell her how horribly wrong he felt.
God, she whispered, and gently stroked his hair. It was wet underneath, matted with sweat. What did she do to you?
He shook his head without raising it from her shoulder. He couldnt, or wouldnt, say it. His chest rose and fell, taking in breaths that felt like gasps but were too deep for that, and after what seemed like a full minute, Shanes body began to relax, uncoiling from that awful tension.
When he pulled back, she expected to get a look at his expression, but he turned away so fast it was just a blurwounded dark eyes in a stark, pale mask. He looked down at the chips he was holding, and dropped them on the floor as he walked away.
Claire quickly put them back on the shelf and followed. He kept going, right past the registers. She shelled out cash to the impatient cashier for the hamburger, grabbed the plastic bag, and hurried out into the lamplit darkness after her boyfriend.
He was already unlocking the car and getting in. She was still at least a dozen feet away when he started the car with a roar, and she saw the flare of brake lights as he shifted into gear.
For a heart-stopping second Claire thought he was going to peel out and drive away, leaving her there in the dark, but he waited. She opened the passenger door and got in. Shane didnt move.
Are you okay? she asked.
He didnt so much as look at her.
He put the car in gear and burned rubber on the way out of the lot.
.
He put the car in gear and burned rubber on the way out of the lot.
d burned rubber on the way out of the lot. .
He put the car in gear and burned rubber on the way out of the lot.
Shane went straight to his room, and didnt come down again for the dinner that Eve made spaghetti with meat sauce, light on the garlic for the sake of the vampire at the table. It was probably delicious, but Claire couldnt taste a thing. She couldnt keep her mind off the white, rigid set of Shanes face, and the panic and loathing in his eyes. She didnt understand what had happened, and she knew he didnt want to be asked. Not now.