The Afterlife of the Party

by Marlene Perez

  “I’ve been thinking about last night,” I said, coming back out to the bedroom.

  His smile grew wider. “Yeah?”

  “About what you said about Skyler,” I clarified, feeling the blush creep up my neck.

  We were quiet for a minute. It was sinking in that Vaughn and I were a couple. The hottest guy in school was my new boyfriend, but also, of course, still one of my best friends. What did we do now? I’d never had to maneuver a relationship before.

  “This is weird,” I said. “Isn’t this weird?”

  “This is wonderful,” he countered.

  While I stood there fidgeting, he got up and took his turn in the bathroom. As he came back out, the muscles on his bare chest flexed when he stretched and yawned.

  He caught me looking and grinned. “C’mere,” he said. “I haven’t had my good-morning kiss.”

  He didn’t wait for me but wrapped an arm around me and pulled me close. His lips trailed along my neck. “We could go back to bed,” he said.

  I tilted my head to give him better access. “I wish I could call Sky to tell her about last night.”

  “You want to tell her what happened?” Vaughn stopped kissing my neck. I glanced up at him and saw his expression.

  “Not a play-by-play,” I assured him. “Maybe just the highlight reel.”

  “What were the highlights?” His lips curved upward a tiny bit.

  “All of it.”

  His smile grew and grew until it turned into a full-on laugh, and I couldn’t help myself—I started to laugh, too. When I finally could control myself enough to speak, I said, “I know what we did is private. I just wanted to tell her that it happened and that we’re…”

  “Happy,” Vaughn said. “Together. You’re my girlfriend.” He nuzzled my neck, which sent shivers through my body.

  …

  But in the middle of the night, my stomach started cramping again. I slid out of bed, careful not to wake Vaughn, and tiptoed to the kitchen. I grabbed a glass and filled it from the tap.

  I guzzled the water, but I was still thirsty, so I drank another glass, then another. When I shut the fridge, Vaughn stood there, wearing only black lounge pants. I stared at him—all that smooth, tanned skin on his chest. I wanted to sink my teeth into him.

  My stomach cramped, and when I bent at the waist from the pain, the glass flew from my hand and shattered on the tile floor.

  “Are you okay?” Vaughn started toward me.

  “Be careful,” I said. “The glass.”

  “Stay there,” he said. “I don’t want you to cut yourself.” He bent and started to scoop up the shards but then let out a short grunt of pain.

  Drip. Drip. Drip. My hearing was suddenly amplified, and I could hear the drops of blood as they hit the tile.

  “Did you cut…?” A delicious scent wafted through the kitchen. Vaughn crossed to the sink and put his fingers under the water. He let it run for a second, then dried his hand on a paper towel.

  “It’s just a nick,” he said. “Where are your bandages?”

  My eyes were focused on the drop of blood welling on his finger. My jaw tightened. My teeth elongated. I wanted that blood more than I’d wanted churros from Alvin’s churro stand. More than I’d wanted Vaughn to break up with Ashley. More than I’d wanted for my mom to come back. I was sure at that moment I would have done anything for it.

  “The t-tonic,” I managed to say. “I need the tonic Evelyn left.”

  Vaughn caught on right away. “Shit, Tansy, I’m sorry. I forgot that…” He reached into the fridge and handed me the container of tonic. I chugged it until the fog lifted from my brain.

  “Sorry,” I said.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  I nodded, even though I was pretty sure that what I had, even a tonic couldn’t fix.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  The day Granny was due back from her conference, Skyler and I were hanging out at my house. It was starting to feel like we might be getting back to normal. Or as close to normal as we’d ever be. I was having a hard time with the fact that she’d brought a vampire into my life and the consequences of that.

  “Thanks for inviting me over,” Sky said.

  Since when did she thank me for hanging out? Since the vampires.

  “You’re welcome,” I said, a little stiffly. Then, “It’s what we do, right?”

  That got a real smile from her. “Right.”

  Skyler was teaching herself to crochet and swearing every five seconds while I tried to finish a novel that I’d started at the beginning of summer.

  “I’m hungry,” Sky said. “How about you?”

  Famished, I thought.

  She went to the pantry and got out ingredients. “I feel like making brownies.”

  But there was more than chocolate and sugar on the kitchen counter. My stomach gave a weak gurgling noise when I saw the blood. “None for me, thanks.”

  “It’s pig’s blood,” she said. “Granny M got it from the butcher.”

  I wanted to be grossed out, but instead, I watched those brownies bake like a dog watched a bone.

  When they were out of the oven, the treats were a pretty reddish-brown color, like red velvet cake.

  Skyler snickered at my hungry look. “They need to cool for ten minutes or so.” She wandered into the backyard, but I sat at the kitchen counter and watched.

  The smell of blood was overwhelming me. I reached over and scooped out a handful before bringing it to my lips.

  “The brownies should be…” Skyler stopped when she saw me with brownies dripping from my mouth. “Jesus, Tansy,” she said. “Get a plate.”

  “More,” I growled. “More blood.”

  She edged away from me. “What’s wrong with you?”

  I growled at her. “Blood. Now.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said. “Maybe have some water?”

  “I want blood,” I wailed.

  She edged closer to the door. “Granny left you something,” she said. She went to the fridge and rummaged in it before pulling out a different silver flask.

  “Is that the tonic?”

  “Yeah,” she said. “Just like the one she gave me.”

  She handed it to me, and I unscrewed the cap, sniffing it. “It smells different than the one Evelyn gave me. This one’s more like honey and flowers.”

  The scents of orange blossoms and honey fresh from the hive and something I couldn’t describe wafted out of it. I took a sip, the taste lingering on my tongue. I drank it slowly. It made me want to laugh and to cry. It made me want to live. It tasted like hope in a silver flask.

  I felt calmer afterward. “Sorry about the brownies,” I said, studying the mess I’d left.

  “I can make more,” Skyler said. “You know, there’s probably a market for edibles like these.”

  “A market?”

  “Did you see how many sick and hungry girls there were at The Drainers’ shows?” I nodded, and she continued. “He doesn’t feed them well. He likes them hungry. When he’s the only one who can give them what they need, he can use it against them.”

  Despite the coldness between us, I was touched.

  “This is really good. Maybe we could sell it to the ones who could afford it. Kind of a pay-what-you-can plan.” We’d make it for free to help those who couldn’t. But I was broke after not working for so many weeks, and selling something like this would be a way to make money.

  “Don’t take this the wrong way,” I started to say, but Skyler stiffened.

  “When someone says that, there’s usually only one way to take it,” she replied.

  “I was just trying to understand what you saw in Travis,” I said. “When you first met him, I mean.”

  “He’s tall, good-looking, and a musician,” she
said. “There’s something about a guy and an instrument.” Truth. Vaughn was living proof of that, but he and Travis were polar opposites.

  “And after that, you heard him play live, and the music compelled you,” I said. “I understand that. Even I had a hard time resisting it.” I thought of the way my heart sped whenever Vaughn picked up an instrument and nodded. “And musicians are sexy.”

  “He made it seem like he couldn’t live without me,” she said. Then we both snickered. “Not like that,” she continued. “After Connor broke up with me…”

  “Via geographical relocation,” I said. “Like a big ol’ chicken.”

  “‘Geographical relocation’ sounds so much better than ‘he bailed,’” she said. “Maybe you should start writing books instead of just reading them.”

  I laughed. Now there was a way to make money. Or maybe I could go back to being a cater-waiter, where the real money was.

  She continued. “Travis was so take-charge. He knew what he wanted. It was powerful. He was powerful.”

  “Power,” I said thoughtfully. “He has the power. And we need to take it away.”

  “Exactly,” she replied.

  “We need to hit up another one of his shows.”

  “Vaughn won’t like it.”

  “Vaughn’s not here,” I said.

  “We can talk more about it later,” Skyler said.

  “Later?” I asked.

  “Opal Ann and I are going to the movies,” she replied. I waited for an invitation, but it never came.

  Finally, I said, “Okay, have fun.” I smiled, but inside, I was hurt.

  I walked outside with her, squinting in the bright sunlight before waving goodbye. Thankfully, I managed to keep my lunch where it belonged.

  I dropped the smile I’d been faking and went back inside. My best friend and I did almost everything together. I wasn’t jealous that she was making new friends, but our friendship was in need of repair, and hanging out, doing normal things, would have helped.

  I decided to curl up and read. It seemed like it had been months since I got lost in a good book. I fell asleep halfway through it.

  …

  When I woke up, my head was throbbing.

  I sat with a groan, an army of steel-toed ants crawling through my brain.

  My mouth was dry. I wanted more blood. I started for the fridge, but dizziness made me stop, and I gripped the countertop so I wouldn’t fall over. It finally passed, and I reached into the fridge, grabbed a bottle of water, chugged it, then rummaged through the fridge until I found more elixir.

  Granny came home, her arms loaded with book bags. “Where’s Skyler?”

  “She said she was going to the movies with Opal Ann,” I said. I checked the time and frowned. “They should have been back by now.”

  I explained about the blood cravings. Granny nodded. “I did make that elixir for you,” she said.

  I snorted in frustration. “It doesn’t work for nearly long enough.”

  “Probably,” Granny agreed.

  “I have to find Sky,” I told Granny. “She needs me.”

  She shook her head. “Tansy, I know you love Skyler,” she said. “But you’ve got to stop hovering. And there are other girls who need you, too.”

  She was right. No matter how worried I was about Skyler, I had other people to think of, too.

  But no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t stop worrying about Skyler. If we all worked together, we could triumph over the vampires. I knew we could.

  My phone chimed with a text from Skyler. At first I was relieved. Until I read it.

  Went to find Travis. I have a plan.

  No. No, no, no. I’d been so naive. My best friend had lied to me.

  While I was making plans on how to defeat Travis, she was just playing along, waiting until my guard was down, so she could go back to the guy who considered her little more than an appetizer.

  Another chime. It’s not what you think. Opal Ann and I are going to stop him. Permanently.

  They were going to get themselves killed.

  I slipped out of my room and knocked on Granny’s door.

  “I need your help.”

  Skyler hadn’t gone to face the vampires alone. Opal Ann was with her, but I wasn’t sure either of them would make it out alive.

  Chapter Thirty

  After I texted him with the latest, Vaughn met us at our bungalow.

  “Skyler and Opal Ann went to find Jure,” Vaughn said, the incredulity clear in his voice. His face was red. I’d rarely seen Vaughn lose his temper, but it looked like I was going to get a front-row seat.

  “We have to find them. The vampires will rip them apart,” I said. “What was Skyler thinking?”

  “She was thinking that it was all her fault, and she was trying to make it right,” Granny replied.

  “I don’t blame her,” I said, ashamed of how I’d scared Skyler by almost vamping out—especially after what she’d been through with Travis. “But I still don’t understand why she’d do something like this,” I added. “We risked so much to get her away from him, and then she runs right back?”

  “I think she may have heard Edna and me talking,” Evelyn admitted.

  “What about?” I asked her.

  “How it might be possible to reverse vampirism,” she said.

  “Rose and Thorn’s folder said it was possible,” I agreed. “But they also told me it was dangerous.”

  “We were talking about how killing your maker—the one who turned you into a vamp—would reverse the process,” Edna said. “And that if Travis was dead, you’d go back to a Mariotti witch, instead of a striga vie.”

  Granny quirked an eyebrow. “And?”

  Edna looked at Granny with a guilty expression. “I only made one batch.”

  “One batch of what?”

  “We’re calling it Sunburn,” Evelyn replied. “Skyler took it.”

  “So Skyler thinks she has what it takes to kill Travis?” It was reckless, but it reminded me Skyler would do anything for someone she loved. Even if it meant facing a predator like Travis. Despite it all, my heart warmed.

  “We think so, since he’s the one who bit you,” Edna said.

  “I’m going to find her,” I said.

  “I’m coming with you this time,” Granny added.

  While Vaughn drove, I searched social media for clues. It was already after seven p.m. Not long until sundown. The Drainers were playing in Huntington Beach, at a venue ten blocks from my house. Those vampires had a lot of nerve.

  I gave Granny Mariotti the name of the place. “That used to be a bookstore,” Granny said sadly.

  “I can’t believe Skyler and Opal Ann are going to try to take on a band of vampires,” I said. “How reckless can they be?”

  “Reckless? I think they’re brave,” Granny Mariotti said.

  “Travis is a waste of space, but Jure is attached to him,” I said. “Or as attached as a vampire can get. It won’t go well for them.”

  “You think Jure will show up?” Granny asked.

  “I know he will,” I said. “Travis had Sky in thrall to him for weeks. Do you think she’s strong enough to resist him?”

  I was so angry at my best friend for going back to him, even if it was to trick him into drinking the Sunburn drink the crones had cooked up. But at the same time, I was also incredibly touched by Skyler’s loyalty.

  But when we got to the venue, it was clear we were walking into a trap. The only vehicles in the parking lot were The Drainers’ tour bus and Skyler’s red convertible.

  The front door was open, so we went inside. It didn’t creak ominously, but maybe it should have.

  The main part of the restaurant was empty, so we headed backstage.

  “Travis must really be pissed off,” Vaughn murmured.
“He canceled a gig just to lure you here.”

  “He does love the sound of his own voice,” I said. “But that doesn’t make any sense. How did he know we’d show up?”

  “That part was easy,” Travis said. “I just scheduled a show in your hometown and waited.”

  I whipped my head around. Travis stood near an amp, and he had Opal Ann in a cinch. The image of her clutched in Travis’s hands made my heart pound in desperation. I scanned the area, but I didn’t see Skyler anywhere.

  Where could she be? I wanted to cry when I saw the tip of a shoe peeking out from behind a couch. I wanted to run to her, but I couldn’t. Not until I got Opal Ann away from Travis.

  He grinned at me before he sunk his teeth into her and took a long drink.

  “Let her go,” I commanded. He didn’t. Why wasn’t it working?

  Blood was spilling from her, running down her neck as Travis scooped it up. “Finger-lickin’ good,” he said. He put each bloodstained digit in his mouth and slurped.

  I gagged, and he laughed.

  “It’s about time you got here. I’ve been waiting.”

  “Waiting for what?” I didn’t stop to hear his answer, just raced toward them. I was too late. He let go of Opal Ann, and she dropped to the floor, her eyes unseeing.

  He’d killed her. He’d killed sweet, innocent Opal Ann.

  He needed to pay, but first I needed to get Skyler, Vaughn, and my granny out of there.

  “You’re a little old for a groupie,” Travis said to Granny Mariotti. Then he took a good look at me. “You’re not a groupie at all,” he growled.

  I fluffed out my hair. “No, genius, I’m not a groupie.”

  “You’re that witch. My dad’s been looking for you.”

  “And I’ve been under your nose the whole time.”

  “He’s really pissed about his face,” Travis said.

  “What?” I asked. “He’s not going to be voted prom king anymore?”

  Travis sneered at me. Then, out of nowhere, he lifted his guitar and smashed Vaughn in the face with it. Vaughn went down.

  “Vaughn!” I ran to him. “That’s my boyfriend, asshole.”

  Relieved when Vaughn sat up, I stalked toward the vampire.