Survivor - By Kaye Draper Page 0,43
should have gotten close to you.”
I sighed. “No, probably not. I shouldn’t trust strange men I meet on the subway either, but here we are.” I was tired and foggy, and not in the mood to deal with this right now.
Peter sighed. “We shouldn’t see each other anymore. I’m just a danger to you. And you are so vulnerable.”
I shook my head. “Idiot. Don’t say things like that,” I said softly. “If it wasn’t for you I would still be alone. I’d be sitting up there in that apartment right now still hating myself for all the things I can’t change.”
I unbuckled my seatbelt and opened my door, waiting patiently for him to come carry me upstairs. “It’s worth all the crap that just happened to be able to say I had an adventure.”
He scooped me up, giving a wry laugh. “Some adventure.”
I shrugged and snuggled into his arms. “Whatever.”
“I’ll get you a new wheelchair tomorrow. We need to get you cleaned up, then we have to decide what your story is going to be.”
I craned my head back to look at him. I was so damned tired. Tired, hungry, and sore. “What do you mean story?”
He shouldered open the door and took me straight to the shower. “I mean we need to explain where you’ve been for the past four days. You can’t exactly tell everyone you were kidnapped by vampires.”
I let out a massive sigh. “Oh…right.” Tomorrow was going to be a long day.
*****
I was sitting at the kitchen table staring at my cornflakes when Chelsea decided to drop by. Taz went to greet her for a few seconds, then returned to his post under the table, resting his big head on my knees. Poor guy was a little clingy since I’d left him alone for days on end. My family had left several messages on my cell during my disappearance. The first message was my Mom. She had been annoyed when she tried to stop in for a visit and found that I wasn’t home. The next was Chelsea telling me to call Mom because she was sick of hearing her complain about how thoughtless I was. The third message was mom again, a day later, concerned because I hadn’t shown up for our monthly dinner date. After that, the messages were less angry and increasingly worried. I would have felt guilty, if I’d had any say in my absence.
I had called them back first thing this morning. Peter wouldn’t let me call them last night because it would have aroused suspicion- not to mention given my Mom a heart attack- if I called at three a.m. after being out of touch for days. So, I had called this morning. I chickened out and called Chelsea instead of my parents. I didn’t have the energy to deal with Mom’s freak out right now. Being held captive by errant vampires was a bit draining. Hardy har-har.
Chelsea showed up at about ten, swooping into my apartment in a haze of expensive perfume and smartly clicking heels. She never looked less than perfect, even at ten a.m. on a Sunday. She draped her pink trench coat over the back of one of the dining room chairs and patted her purposefully messy, honey colored hair. I noticed she’d had it highlighted again, and the lighter strands were so pale they were almost platinum. She looked like sorority pin-up gone high class. I rolled my eyes and awkwardly tucked my feet under my wheelchair to hide the hole in the toe of my sock. Geez. After the last few days, the last thing I wanted as a welcoming party was Princess Chelsea. Still, it was better than Mom.
She plopped down at the table and gave me a petulant look. “So what the hell have you been doing for the last three days? Mom and Dad are about to stroke out.”
I shrugged. “Like I told you this morning, Peter and I went out of town for a couple of days. No big deal. Geez.”
She scowled. “And neither one of you thought- hey, maybe I should let someone know where I’m going?” She snorted. “You have a brain injury, what’s his excuse?”
I lifted my bowl and drank my milk before answering her. I nearly sloshed it everywhere, but it gave me time to formulate an answer. I might as well stick to my usual character. What would she expect from me? Oh, right...“Fuck you Chelsea. I’m not an idiot or a child. I can