dad’s voice called from the hallway.
“Shit.” I released the gun and unlocked the door, plastering on a fake smile. “Sorry, Dad.”
My father was the strongest person I knew growing up. I never feared anything because nothing could ever hurt me with him around. Today, his hair is peppered gray and his face shows long lines from a terrible life of loss and regret. The world had changed a lot since I was a kid. Now no one was safe.
“I wasn’t invited to the party.” He held up my empty beer bottle as he cocked his eyebrow.
“It’s been a long day.” I snatched the bottle from his hand bracing for a long father/daughter talk.
“The family is worried about you. You never call or show up for family functions,” his voice trailed off, concern written all over his weathered face.
“I’ve had a lot on my mind.” Tossing the empty bottle in the trash, I grabbed two cold ones from the fridge. I opened them both before handing one to my dad as a peace offering.
“Yeah, so it seems.” He eyed his drink before taking a long swig. I expected a lecture about my drinking but he only sighed, a faraway look in his eye. “You know, when Marcus died it hurt all of us. You don’t have to be alone, Eva.” Staring off at the television, his gaze went unfocused and I knew he was struggling to keep his emotions under control. Slipping inside of my room, I put my gun on my dresser so I wouldn’t have to listen to him drone on about gun safety.
My brother Marcus had gotten mixed up with a bad crowd. He had always been in and out of jail, but it was usually for relatively harmless crimes. Until the night a group of locals decided they would rob a vampire owned business, whom they thought owed them something for taking away jobs from the living. Marcus couldn’t resist a quick buck, regardless of the cause.
They broke into a local vampire blood bank during the early morning hours, stealing thousands in cash and destroying a huge cache of blood. It had been purchased from people in need of money or donated by vampire rights supporters. I knew he brought trouble on himself, I just don’t think he deserved to die for it.
“How’s Mom?” I asked, trying to change the subject.
“She’s seen better days.” A deep sigh escaped him as guilt settled deeper in my chest.
I took a long pull from my bottle, struggling to form the correct response in my brain. I couldn’t come up with anything that wouldn’t come off sounding callous and insincere. Mom always favored Marcus. He was a perpetual screw-up, but she never seemed to lose faith. I, on the other hand, tried everything I could to be noticed, but it only seemed to happen when I made a mistake.
I picked at the label on my bottle as my father watched me, the pity not hidden in his expression.
“She needs you, Kiddo,” he said, finally breaking the silence.
“She needs Marcus,” I replied and chugged the last sip of my beer, wiping a wayward drop from my bottom lip.
“Nothin’ you do or say is gonna bring him back. Getting’ angry at us won’t help either.” The irritation in his voice caused me to cringe. I hated disappointing everyone but it was inevitable. The world we knew had changed and no amount of lying to myself would correct that.
He drank a sip of his beer and sat it down hard on the coffee table before walking out. I jumped when he slammed the door, but I refused to run after him. All I could offer was empty promises. Picking up our bottles, I tossed one as hard as I could against the wall. Glass rained as it made an impact, shattering like my heart into a million shards.
“Just great.” It was another mess I would have to clean up, just like the mess Marcus left behind with the vampires, and neither could be swept under the rug. I scooped up the broken pieces and threw the other bottle in the trash before grabbing a pair of shoes from the coat closet. I needed to get out of this freaking house before the stress alone killed me.
***
As I walked out onto the sidewalk, I lit a cigarette, blowing the smoke out hard as I contemplated where to go.
“Screw it,” I muttered under my breath as I decided to head to my ex-boyfriend, Grayson’s house. He