“What? Already? That was way too short, so short it’s almost like it never happened,” I whined, but instead of looking at Rocky, I stared Ryan dead in the eye. I didn’t want him talking to Yaz or anybody else about something he wasn’t supposed to remember. He gave me a wink, and I knew that he got the message.
“Fifteen minutes, like we agreed, let’s go,” Rocky said, ushering me out of the room. Another one of Diego’s guards took over standing at the door while Rocky walked with me.
“Are you walking me all the way to the fifteenth floor, Rocky? What a gentleman!” I attempted to joke with him.
“No,” he said flatly. Rocky was still a little sore about my escape, and I knew he would rather be doing anything other than babysitting me again. “You have a meeting with Diego and Claire.”
Shit, I forgot about that.
“You didn’t even let me hug them goodbye,” I argued.
Rocky let out a huff. “Lady Drew, your restraint is incredible. Any normal fledgling wouldn’t be able to handle being in an enclosed room with humans, let alone hugging them.”
“Well, I’m not a normal fledgling. I’m Drew Lane, vampire extraordinaire.”
Rocky grunted, which was his way of saying, Like, omg, you are totally extraordinary, Drew. Let’s get our nails done next week and drink mimosas on the beach.
Claire’s quarters looked nothing like the rest of the building. They had large windows draped with elegant curtains, bright marble floors, and pink floral wallpaper in a trendy print. Her couch was neon yellow, and the art on the walls was a collection of mismatched designers from a variety of eras.
I loved it.
“Drew! Come join us in the sitting room. Diego was telling me about your unique situation.” Unique situation? That felt like a politically correct term. Like when I got bangs when I was twenty-one and Ryan called the style “unique and brave.”
I made my way down the marble hallways and toward the sound of their combined voices. This room had deep purple tile and a white couch. Claire was wearing a flapper dress and had her jet-black hair pulled into a tight bun. I wanted to be Claire when I grew up.
Claire and Diego were sharing a couch, talking and laughing comfortably in the way only old friends can. Claire stood up and gestured toward the loveseat directly across from where they were sitting.
“Please, have a seat,” she said graciously.
I sat and crossed my legs at the ankle, doing my best to be classy. Diego’s face gave no hint of what he was feeling. I’m pretty sure if he were mad, he wouldn’t be hiding it so well. I would take neutral over mad any day of the week. How come he could feel my shit, but I couldn’t feel his?
“Drew, can you tell me about your experience with Diego earlier this evening?”
“I had some time before my group session tonight, so I was spending some time in my room charging—” Diego interrupted with a loud cough. I took that to mean Claire wasn’t supposed to know I had my phone. “I mean, relaxing and recharging before facing the rest of my night. I closed my eyes for a minute and became overwhelmed with emotion.”
“What kind of emotion?” Claire asked, not picking up on my little mistake.
“It began as a feeling of intense loss over my old life. I realized that my life is never going to be the same. I will never feel like my old self again. I was grieving the world as I knew it and trying to figure out how to fit into this new one. It made me miss my friends, and I was overwhelmed with sadness.” Saying it out loud brought more tears, and I fought to keep them from falling. I had to keep it together, I did not want to cry in front of Claire.
Claire nodded and pulled out a notebook and pen. I watched her take notes. “Those are normal feelings. It is a very difficult transition. That’s why we are so particular about who we change. We try to prepare and support fledglings as much as possible, but you will have to process and navigate this on your own. Tell me what happened next, Diego.”
He shifted in his seat, as if embarrassed to explain. “I was meeting with Asher in my office when an overwhelming need to be with Drew took over me. It’s like I could feel her despair. I rushed to her dorm