The Afterlife of the Party

by Marlene Perez

  We couldn’t get in that car. No matter what.

  I twirled my hair around a finger and pouted, trying to channel my inner Skyler. I’d seen her talk her way out of a speeding ticket a couple of weeks ago. I’d been miffed that day that an officer of the law would be so easily convinced a girl was clueless, but today—today, I was praying this particular guy was just a creeper.

  “Can’t you let us go, Officer? We were just trying to find a place to be alone, if you know what I mean.” Eww, I was grossing myself out. I needed a shower. Now.

  I glanced at Vaughn under my lashes, but he was staring at me like I’d grown two heads.

  And unfortunately, the cop wasn’t buying it, either. “No, you need to come with us.”

  I suddenly remembered my file. It had said I could use something called “magic mesmerizing.” I clearly wasn’t doing it right, but then I realized I’d asked him a question instead of giving a command.

  “Let us go,” I said and held his gaze without blinking, my heart racing in my chest. “You’re going to get into that squad car with your partner and leave. You’re not going to follow us.”

  I held my breath. At first, the officer just blinked at me, but after a minute, he nodded, returned to his squad car, and drove away.

  I was still shaking with nerves and wanted to throw up again. The damp coldness of the cave clung to my skin, and I couldn’t blot out the image of a cold, white body, the life bled from her too soon.

  “Do you think they work for The Drainers?” I asked. A headache was starting to pound at my skull.

  “It was a little weird that a vampire cop would show up,” he said. As if he could hear the fear in my voice, he wrapped my hand in his, his fingers curling around mine and squeezing.

  I pulled my hand from his. I’d just done something scary and I didn’t deserve his warmth. Vaughn looked at me in astonishment. “You totally Jedi Mind Tricked him.”

  “I think it was magical mesmerizing,” I corrected him. “I’m a witch, remember?”

  It was true. I was a Mariotti witch, and for the first time, I understood what that really meant. It wasn’t just primo parking spots and minor magic. The thought was actually a little comforting until I admitted I was becoming a vampire, too. And I was a striga vie.

  I was so, so screwed.

  Chapter Ten

  After I calmed down enough to drive, I grabbed the key and turned the ignition, and this time, the Deathtrap roared to life. “Now you decide to work,” I muttered, but I was relieved.

  “We should find somewhere safe to park the car and get a few hours of sleep.”

  “I’m not sure I can,” I said. “Not after seeing that dead girl.”

  “I think they did something with the body,” Vaughn said. “And obviously, there are more vampires than we thought.”

  I nodded. The understatement of the century. “Since most of the world thinks that vampires exist only in the pages of their favorite paranormal romance, I think you’re right,” I replied. How many vampires were there, exactly? I didn’t want to think about it.

  We drove around until Vaughn spotted somewhere that looked safe: a big-box store that opened early. I pulled the Deathtrap into the farthest corner of the lot, then we kicked off our shoes and crawled into the back.

  We lay facing each other in the small space, eyes locked, almost close enough for our bodies to touch. It was like there was no one else left in the world.

  “I can’t sleep,” he whispered in the silence.

  “Me either,” I whispered back. “Today has been tough.” Our bodies drifted closer, and our hands tangled.

  “Not just today,” he said softly, reaching up to push a strand of hair behind my ear. “The whole week. But there’s been one bright spot in this whole mess.”

  “What’s that?” I swallowed.

  “You,” he said. “You’re the best thing about my day, Tansy.”

  I gave up on trying to sleep after that. I was learning new things about Vaughn. Was he just flirting with me? Did he have romantic feelings for me? Flirting was fun, but it didn’t mean you wanted to get serious about the other person. We were friends, but were we more than friends? I had no idea. Either way, though, I liked it. I liked it a lot.

  I had expected a weird sort of awkwardness the next morning, but there wasn’t any, even though we’d woken curled up together. Vaughn was spooning me, his arm tightly around my waist.

  I’d stretched like a cat as I yawned—and then realized my butt was now right up against his junk. “Oh god, sorry,” I whispered and bolted upright.

  “It’s okay,” he said. “You smell like strawberries.” His delivery was deadpan, but his eyes were twinkling.

  Before we’d fallen asleep, I’d told him about Travis’s weird obsession with the way I smelled. I gave him a little shove. “Shut up. You smell like strawberries.”

  He lifted his arms over his head, and his T-shirt rode up, giving me a glimpse of his stomach. “I smell like something, but it isn’t strawberries.”

  We looked at each other and burst out laughing.

  “Let’s get breakfast and then find Skyler,” he said.

  Ten minutes later, we pulled into the parking lot of a McDonald’s.

  “I need to brush my teeth,” Vaughn said. I definitely did, too, but I wasn’t going to advertise it.

  We split up to brush our teeth in the restaurant bathrooms before we ordered breakfast sandwiches and smoothies. It was nearly empty, but I still showed the girl behind the counter Sky’s photo and asked if she’d seen her. She hadn’t.

  Vaughn and I spent the day showing strangers a picture of Skyler, but nobody seemed to recognize her. I had the urge to call the police and report her as missing now, real fear beating against my chest, but we couldn’t be certain the cop who took our statements wouldn’t just be another vampire.

  Throughout the day, I caught myself turning to tell Skyler something, to text her a silly GIF or ask her where she wanted to go for lunch, but she was never there. “I miss her so much.”

  “We’ll find her,” Vaughn said with so much conviction that I believed him, especially when he pulled up The Drainers’ Instagram page and showed me a post from today that said something about “Dead in Diablo.”

  “They’re still in town.”

  But by the end of the day, my faith was wearing thin.

  “What’s next?” I asked. It was late, and I wasn’t looking forward to sleeping in the Deathtrap again. “Do you think we can find a campground with a shower?”

  “I think we should get a hotel room,” he said.

  There weren’t butterflies taking up residence in my stomach—they were big black bats. Especially when I remembered the quip Granny Mariotti had made about us sharing a bed…

  “Vaughn…” I started to say, but he put up a hand.

  “To sleep, Tansy,” he said. “I know you’re worried about Sky, but you need some rest. We’ll find her at their next gig. We need information if we’re going to break whatever hold he has on her.”

  “You know hotels are practically impossible to find this time of year.” It was tourist season, which meant rentals were at a premium. I didn’t want to tap into my college fund for one night, but Skyler was worth it. I’d spend every penny I had to make her safe again. “Maybe we should just crash in the car.”

  “It’s okay,” he said, seeming to read my mind. “Dad gave me permission to use my emergency credit card.”

  “Of course he did,” I said. “Your dad is so nice.” Mr. Sheridan was almost too nice, but I was relieved.

  “He likes you,” Vaughn said softly. “And Sky. He’d want to help.”

  “Did you tell him what happened to her?” I asked. Vaughn’s dad was so practical. I couldn’t picture him swallowing the idea that vampires really existed.

  “Not exactly,�
� he admitted. “I just told him that Skyler got mixed up with a bad guy and she took off. If I told him about the vampires, he’d think I was hallucinating or something.”

  “Not a lie,” I said.

  He gave me that rare, crooked smile of his. “I never lie to my dad.”

  “I never lie to Granny, either,” I admitted. “She’d put a hex on me.”

  “I think I should call Connor,” he said.

  My eyebrows shot up. “What?” I asked. “No way. Sky would kill us. Besides, he’s in Europe.”

  Vaughn’s expression changed.

  “He is in Europe, right?”

  “Not exactly,” he admitted.

  “So on top of everything, Connor is a liar, too?” I blinked back tears. Did everyone lie to me?

  “He was in Europe,” Vaughn defended. “He’s back.”

  “For how long?” I asked. “How long has he been back without texting or calling Skyler?”

  “Not that long,” he said. “A month. Maybe two.”

  “Two. Months,” I repeated, my fury quickly replacing the hurt. Connor had broken up with her via text and then left. Didn’t even tell her where he was going. He’d been back for two months, and the guy couldn’t be bothered to pick up a phone to let Skyler know he was home. Or even that he was okay. Or why he’d suddenly decided to study abroad.

  I narrowed my eyes at Vaughn. “I didn’t see him at school before classes ended.”

  “He’s doing independent study,” Vaughn replied.

  “He is, is he? You seem to know a lot about it,” I said.

  “Tansy,” he said. “He asked me not to say anything to Skyler.”

  “And now I’m telling you not to call him about this,” I said.

  “He’d want to know.”

  “No, I mean it, Vaughn. Telling Connor Mahoney one single thing about Skyler will only make it worse,” I said. “She’s wrecked. She doesn’t need her ex-boyfriend waltzing in and breaking her heart all over again.”

  I didn’t remind him that it was Connor’s fault. If he hadn’t broken her heart, Skyler would never have gotten mixed up with an asshole like Travis.

  “But—” Vaughn started.

  “I don’t want to talk about Connor,” I said. “He chose to walk away from her. He doesn’t get to walk back into her life now.”

  I didn’t know why I was pinning this all on Connor, except that he and Skyler had seemed like the perfect couple, happy and in love, until suddenly, they were over. No explanation, no closure—he was just gone.

  My phone pinged with another anonymous text, giving us more details on The Drainers’ next gig.

  “Did you give Rose or Thorn your phone number just in case?” he asked. “Maybe this is them.”

  “No, but they probably already had it, judging by the thick file they gave me,” I said. “I would have given it to Bobbie Jean, but she took off.”

  “They’ll turn up,” Vaughn said. “They’re looking for Travis, too.”

  “I hope the twins don’t find him before we find Skyler,” I said.

  “We’ll find her, however long it takes. Let’s look for a place to stay,” he said. He made a couple of calls and finally found a place that wasn’t completely booked up. “We can still make late check-in,” he said.

  By the time we pulled into the hotel parking lot, I was exhausted. Still, I hesitated near the purple jacaranda framing the front door. “This place looks expensive.”

  “It was either deluxe or dump,” he explained a little sheepishly. “It’s tourist season. Tansy, don’t worry about it,” he said. “I mean it.”

  I studied his face and then nodded.

  He checked us in while I looked around the lobby. The place was swanky, all marble floors and quiet voices.

  Our room was on the fifth floor. It was enormous with plush carpets, a little eat-in area, and a comfortable-looking oversize sofa. I walked around, marveling at the amenities.

  The bedroom was separate from the main area. And it had a king-size bed. The drapes were open, which revealed French doors that led to a balcony with an ocean view.

  “This room must have been expensive.”

  He blushed but didn’t elaborate.

  I swallowed nervously. “This makes the Deathtrap look like a dumpster fire.”

  “Hey, don’t knock your car. It’s nice and roomy.” He cleared his throat. “So…where should I sleep?” His voice sounded hoarse.

  Vaughn had crashed in my bedroom lots of times, but it felt different now, and not just because Skyler wasn’t here.

  “I’m sure we can sort it out. This bed is massive,” I replied, looking anywhere but at Vaughn. Or the bed.

  “Okay,” he said. “We can order room service later. I need a shower and some sleep before we go out again.”

  I nodded. “Me too. You go first while I check in with Granny.”

  “You should give her the address of the hotel,” he added. “I reserved the room for the week.”

  “Do you think it’ll take that long?” I asked.

  “It might be a while. We don’t know where Skyler is, and you’d mentioned their concert site said they were playing here all week,” he pointed out.

  He went to take a shower while I sat and fretted. The worry about whether or not I was doing the right thing didn’t leave me, even when I sent Granny a text to check in and she replied with a thumbs-up emoji. I felt a glow of pride that she trusted my witchy abilities enough to let me take on a band of vampires in order to save Skyler.

  Vaughn came out of the bathroom. He’d put on joggers, but his shirt was still in his hands. “Your turn.”

  I was too stunned by all the muscular sun-kissed skin he’d revealed. “Tansy?”

  “I—I.” I was stuttering

  “I’ve rendered you speechless.” He gave me a cocky grin like he knew the effect he was having on me. I didn’t know why I was reacting like this. I’d seen his bare chest a million times at the beach. It felt different somehow.

  “Not at all,” I finally managed. “I just remembered I forgot to pack body wash.”

  I made a dash for the shower before he could say anything else.

  After my shower, I dressed in a comfy tee and shorts and headed into the main area. “Anything new on Skyler?”

  “Nothing,” Vaughn replied. He saw my expression and added, “We’re tracking the band through their social media. It’s a start.”

  “Speaking of which,” I started as I pulled up the band’s website. “There’s a new video.” The camera jumped around a bit, but it looked like they were in a hotel room with the drapes pulled closed. The only light was from one small lamp.

  Armando sprawled on the bed, still in a dark suit but with no tie and his dress shirt unbuttoned. Three girls stood in the background behind him. Travis stepped into view, followed by Skyler, who was holding a small cage, and my heart leaped into my throat.

  I gripped Vaughn’s arm. “I see her! She’s on camera.” Skyler handed Travis the cage and then stood next to him, clapping eagerly.

  I held out my phone so we both could see, and Vaughn scooted closer to me.

  Travis took something out of the cage.

  “What’s he going to do with that bat?” Vaughn asked.

  “An Ozzy Osborne,” I guessed, and boy did I hate it when I was right. Travis’s fangs sank into the defenseless creature, and he bit off its head. I clicked off the feed, too sickened to watch any longer.

  “That dude has been kissing Skyler with that mouth,” Vaughn groaned. “I need brain bleach.”

  “And Skyler just stood there,” I said. “She loves animals. All animals. She’d never cheer that on.”

  But she had.

  My stomach twisted as I considered a terrible new thought. What if Skyler truly didn’t want to be saved?

>   Chapter Eleven

  Our second day in Diablo had been a bust, and I knew I needed to get some sleep, but I couldn’t shake the thought that Skyler wanted us to leave her alone. She’d even told me so in a text.

  I opened the heavy drapes and then the balcony door and stepped out to enjoy the sun and, perhaps, to get away from the intimacy of being alone with Vaughn.

  But he followed me out. He stepped toward me when a knock at the door made him pause.

  I raced back inside and threw open the door before Vaughn could stop me. “Skyler?” But it was Bobbie Jean.

  “Did you get my text?” she asked before walking into the room. Without an invitation. Guess she wasn’t a full-fledged vampire yet. Or the whole vampires must be invited in thing was a myth.

  Vaughn sighed. “Bobbie Jean, what are you doing here?”

  “How did you find us?” I asked her.

  She shrugged. “I saw Rose and Thorn about an hour ago. Rose told me to look for you. And that they’ll meet us later.”

  “What are they doing right now?” I wondered if Bobbie Jean and the twins had started working together. When we’d originally met, I hadn’t gotten a sense that they were particularly friendly.

  “They’re scoping things out. Getting intel,” Bobbie Jean explained. “The Drainers always stay together with their roadie; he guards them all day while they sleep. They’re too worried one of their pissed-off donors will stake them all.”

  “Donors?” I snarled the word. “Is that what they call them? Those girls aren’t donating anything. They’re compelling them.”

  I wanted to tear the vampires apart with my bare hands, but I’d settle for finding Skyler and making sure nothing bad ever happened to her again.

  “Why are you here, Bobbie Jean?”

  “Same as you,” she said. “Looking for Travis. What’s your problem?”

  I didn’t know what my problem was, but she made me nervous. I felt like she was keeping something from me, even though, on the surface, she was sharing information freely.

  “Just watch TV or something,” I snapped, then sighed. Maybe I was being paranoid. None of this was her fault.