“We were trying to give you space!” he cried. “Jolene said you were taking the breakup really hard. Oh, man, is that why you haven’t been taking Jane’s calls just now?”
“Jane’s been calling me? What’s going on?”
Dick grimaced. “The music school’s burning down.”
I tried to dash across town before Dick stopped me and drove us over in the El Camino. The school was fully engulfed by the time we got there. There would be no saving it. And he’d just re-opened it. I jumped out before Dick came to a full stop.
Alex was standing in the parking lot, arms crossed as he watched the volunteer fire department aiming hoses at his building. Bright red spray paint scrawled across the pavement, “LEAVE HALF-MOON HOLLOW OR ELSE.” Jane was there, talking to someone in a fancy firefighter’s uniform, while Dick took a seat in the back of the El Camino, filling out paperwork.
When he saw me, I forgot about our stupid argument or how angry I’d been just a few hours ago. He pulled me into his arms and hugged me tight. “I’m so sorry for the things I said,” I whispered.
“No, I’m sorry. I know how hard it is to break free of a difficult family. I pushed too hard.”
“I should have been braver,” I insisted.
“We were both wrong,” he agreed. “Though maybe I was a little less wrong in the grand scheme of things.” I pulled back to glare at him. He shook his head. “Right. Not the time.”
“Your school,” I sighed. “And you’d just re-opened it.”
“It’s insured,” he said. “And the instruments inside, too. Though I’m glad to have video to show the insurer to prove I didn’t do this myself. They’re probably starting to get suspicious,” he said, pulling out his phone. “When you pointed out how silly it was not to have a camera on my business, I installed one there, on the utility pole.”
He showed me footage where a single person was painting across the pavement at lightning speed. He was some sort of supernatural creature, moving that fast. But there were so many of us in the Hollow, it was impossible to guess what kind. He was smart enough to hide his face. I couldn’t see his hands, to check for the wrist mark.
“I just want to point out that my mother now knows about you,” I said. “Just to put the ‘it’s my family’ theory back in the running.”
“I’m sure your family didn’t do this. Unless you believe they would hire an arsonist to burn down my school.”
I pursed my lips. “Let me think about it.
Tonight was the night.
I was supposed to meet Dick and Andrea at the apartment to sign the lease in an hour. I couldn’t put it off any longer. I couldn’t make more excuses. I was leaving home and my family would just have to accept it. Of course, there was always the option of moving out and not telling them…
No, that would be cowardly. And I’d probably end up on the werewolf version of a milk carton. I didn’t know what that was, really, but it was bound to be unpleasant. I took a deep breath and opened the door.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Daddy asked.
“I’m leaving.”
“What time will you be home?” he asked.
Mama stared down at my hands, dread drawing her features back into a grimace. “Why do you have bags with you?”
“I’ve found an apartment in town. I’m going to live there now.”
“You wouldn’t.” A hoarse whisper rose from Daddy’ recliner. “You wouldn’t do that to us. Not even you.”
All of the color had drained out of his ruddy face. His pupils were practically pin pricks. He looked terrified. To my surprise, my father wasn’t just upset or angry. “You wouldn’t. You wouldn’t shame me like this. You wouldn’t do this to me.”
“I’m not doing anything to you, Daddy. I’m doing this for me.”
“That’s not how we do things in this family!” he barked, shooting to his feet.
“I love you both. Lord knows you haven’t given me much reason to over the last couple of years—”
“What are you talking about! All we’ve ever done is work ourselves to the bone from you!” Mama cried.
“I love you,” I said again. “But I can’t keep living like this. I need to live like an adult. I need some control over my life. I’ll call you after I get settled.”
“This is all because of that vampire, isn’t it,” Mama exclaimed.