Big Vamp on Campus - Molly Harper Page 0,33

around my waist. This was what girls my age were supposed to do. Flirt with nice boys and stay out late, not worry about bills and my hours getting cut. “I thought Hufflepuffs were supposed to be all forthright. This whole conversation reeks of Slytherin sass.”

“Oh, wow,” he said, his lips barely brushing against my own. “You are a nerd.”

“Still better than being a Hufflepuff,” I murmured against his mouth.

“You’re gonna have to let that go,” he said, his mouth closing over mine. As far as first kisses went, it was . . . pretty amazing. Sweet and slow and warm, with just a hint of tongue. I felt it all the way down to my toes, which were currently curling in my cute little black boots. We only broke apart when kids leaving the party came filtering out of the lobby and catcalled us.

“It’s not likely,” I said, when he pulled away.

“So . . . dinner,” he said. “In a place without sporks. When would be a good time for you?”

“Saturday would be good,” I told him.

“Six?” he asked. I nodded and he gave me another quick peck on the lips. “Awesome, I will call you. And if I don’t call, you text me, call me a dumbass, and I will send apology cookies.”

“Cookies?” I asked as he backed away.

“Flowers have been overdone,” he called back.

I giggled—honest-to-God giggled—but I managed not to do the awkward little wave my arm ached to give.

Suddenly, I heard a quick bark of warning, but before I could even respond, I felt a crushing blow against my chest. I was knocked off my feet and thrown into the wall behind me. I felt my head collide with the stone with a sick crack before I collapsed to the ground like a broken doll.

Ben screamed my name but I couldn’t even lift my head. His voice grew closer, but I couldn’t make out what he was saying. I had never known pain like this in my life. My chest felt hot and wet, on the inside and outside. I couldn’t feel anything below my waist. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move enough air through my throat to produce words. People gathered around me, staring down at my twisted body with expressions of horror on their faces.

Ben lifted something off my chest. It appeared to be a forty-five-pound dumbbell weight. The vampires were playing Ultimate Frisbee with a forty-five-pound weight. And they’d missed.

My brain was going dark, as if I was slipping away into some corner deep inside my head, where it didn’t hurt so much. I could feel the grass under my back getting slick and hot while I got colder.

Ben was screaming for help, for someone to call 911. I managed to lift my arms enough to feel that my ribs were definitely going the wrong direction. Tina, our dorm director, suddenly appeared over me, her frizzy brown hair forming a cloud around her head. Through the haze of pain and blood pounding in my ears, I heard her squeaky voice say, “This is bad. I can see her ribs poking out through her shirt. This is really bad.”

That was exactly what I needed to hear.

I opened my mouth to point out how unhelpful this was, but blood was bubbling up between my lips, making it hard to push air through to form sounds.

Please, help me. Please.

I didn’t want to die. I was too young. I hadn’t seen anything of the world. I’d barely left Kentucky. I’d barely lived.

“You’re going to be OK,” Ben told me sternly, like he could command me to get up and shake it off. He cupped my chin in his hand and moved my head gently so I was forced to meet his eyes. “Meagan, just keep breathing. Stay awake.”

I was trying. Couldn’t he see how hard I was trying? The tiny flow of oxygen I was drawing in through my nose seemed like a championship effort.

“Meagan,” Tina said, wiping at my mouth and smearing her hands with bright red. “I’m not a doctor, but you have a lot of injuries and they are pretty bad. The chances of you surviving this . . . I don’t know if the ambulance will get to you in time. You signed your consent form before you moved in, but I have to ask you again: Do you want to be turned?”

I nodded my head, or at least, I thought I did. I couldn’t really feel much anymore.

Anything to make the pain