play games, he’d play games. Like rubbing her nose in the fact that she’d been just as petty and callous only a minute or two before. Moving around them, he continued on toward the door, seeming uncaring whether they followed. He knew they would. They couldn’t afford not to.
'God, you’re such an idiot.' Analie hauled Freddy after her as she hurried after Royce. 'Such a big, flaming idiot. You are throwing everything he’s ever done for you in his face. Real freaking nice of you.'
“Maybe we should just head on out—” Freddy began.
“Freddy, no,” Analie said tersely.
Royce was still walking, now moving easily through the crowd. Analie followed in his wake, and Freddy kept a hand on her shoulder. When she glanced over her shoulder, she couldn’t help but notice the White Hat was staring right at them. If Analie had a tail, it would be between her legs. This was not what she intended at all. Now Royce was angry with her and she’d maybe just put herself and her best friend in danger. Not exactly upsetting, but it certainly didn’t make her feel good.
'I could be locked up somewhere. He didn’t have to get me schooling, job training, nice clothes and digs. Damn it, I screwed up.'
She reached out and caught part of the back of Royce’s coat, hanging onto it as they walked. She had to grab for it a few times, judging where exactly it was by the light from street lamps, and she accidently thumped him in the lower back when she misjudged the distance. Once she managed to grab some of the material, she noticed she could actually see a bit of it, right by her fingers. Elsewhere there was a haze, fading away from her hand.
Hanging onto the person ahead of you was a typical thing for a cub to do when following someone, though usually it was holding onto the other’s shoulder or arm. Analie had a brief mental image of her grabbing Royce’s shoulder only to be thrown judo-style into the path of a taxi.
“Analie, what are we going to do?” Freddy whispered.
“Follow him back to the house,” Analie whispered back, clasping her other hand over Freddy’s as it rested on her shoulder. “I owe him an apology at the very least.”
“He’s a vampire,” Freddy hissed.
“He could have left us back there with the White Hat,” Analie snapped, keeping her voice down. “But he didn’t.”
“Yes, he did. He just walked away.”
“I’ve seen him move. Like, really move,” Analie whispered. “Trust me, if he wanted to leave us behind, we’d be alone right now.”
“So let’s get the hell out of here,” Freddy pleaded.
Analie looked over her shoulder at him, tightening her grip on Royce’s coat. “No. I owe him.”
Royce had stiffened slightly when he felt her fumbling at his coat. Though he heard what the two said to each other, he was put off by her accusations and attitude, and wasn’t about to relax because she was clinging to him.
It didn’t sit right with him to have anyone, least of all some… some child show him such disrespect. He was miffed over that more than anything else. He’d been called far worse things than a liar, but to have it done in front of another, particularly after already defying his orders, got under his skin.
He’d have to reconsider whether he wanted to keep her at the apartment now. Obviously she wasn’t appreciative of what he had done for her. Even if it had all been done in cold calculation, he didn’t like that she wasn’t showing the slightest appreciation for what he had and could do for her. Maybe he had erred in showing her kindness from the start. If she knew what the alternatives were, perhaps she wouldn’t be so ungrateful after all.
So he stayed silent, brooding, thinking about how to handle her and what to do with her after this little fiasco. They were not accosted by White Hats on the way, and he didn’t stop to speak or send her or Freddy away when they turned onto the walkway leading to his apartment building. Once inside, he went directly for the stairwell at the end of the hall, making no effort to order Analie around one way or the other. She could find her own way, he was sure.
Analie let go of Royce’s coat once they were inside the building. She wasn’t sure what to do with Freddy now. Holing up in her room and hiding like a miserable