Conner didn't respond to this, though Chloe thought he looked a little brighter. Then his expression faded again. "What are we going to do about Sam?"
"He'll go home," Chloe said. "It's like he said, Phoenix is the perfect place for him. There's a ton of vampires there. He'll find a place. He'll be able to help a lot more too. Imagine a vampire than can shape-shift into a bear! He'll be unstoppable."
"You think that makes it better?" Conner said.
"No," Chloe said. "But it's something, isn't it?"
Conner shrugged.
"Come on," Chloe said. "Let's swim. I'll race you."
"You won't stand a chance," Conner said.
"Oh really? I bet I can take you."
"Really."
"I'll take that bet," Conner said. "But I don't have swimming attire, and neither do you."
Chloe shrugged. "We could swim in our underwear."
Conner stared at her.
"I'm kidding," she said. "Look, they have swimming suits you can use." She gestured over at a kiosk nearby. "Just have to rent them by the hour."
"What if we don't return them?"
"They charge our credit card," Chloe asked. She hopped up and headed over. It didn't take long for her to find a one piece in her size. She selected a pair of trunks she thought would fit Conner and rented them too. She tossed them to him, and went to change.
As she studied herself in the mirror, Chloe sighed. She wished her hair would hurry up and grow back. She hated that it had almost all burned off in the fire. Wren had done his best to trim it up but she still liked it better long.
Once she was finished, she went out and met Conner at the pool. She grinned at the trunks she'd picked out; they had little sailing boats on them. He didn't seem amused.
Chloe dipped a toe in the water. "It's cold," she told Conner. He ignored her, went to the deep end, and jumped straight in. She rolled her eyes and slid in slowly. As she acclimated, the water gradually grew more tolerable and she stopped shivering.
She swam over to Conner. "Are you ready?"
"Yes."
"One, two, three!"
Chloe pushed off from against the back wall and swam as hard as she could. She was only halfway across the pool by the time that Conner reached the other end. He turned and laughed at her.
"Should have been working out with Sarah," he teased.
She didn't care that she lost; she was just grateful to see Conner in a better mood. They raced a few more times but Conner won each time by a wide margin.
"You know," he said after. "I should have bet something. I should have bet that you had to clean my apartment or something."
"Too late."
Conner laughed. "I guess we should go back."
Chloe shook her head. "Why? They don't need us right now. Let's go to the hotel bar and get drunk."
"I like the way you think," Conner said. They showered and changed back into their regular clothing and met by the bar. There were a few others drinking in there so they chose a corner that was rather secluded.
Once their drinks were delivered, Conner took a sip. "I just can't believe Samuel's a vampire. How's Sarah going to deal with that?"
"I don't know," Chloe said. "I can't imagine they'll have much of a future. Just look at Alec and Harper -- sorry."
Conner shrugged.
"If it makes you feel better, I'm not sure things are going to work out with me and Brittney either," Chloe admitted. She hadn't told anyone about this, and she wasn't sure she really wanted to deal with the idea. But Conner was hurting, and she loved him.
Conner stared at her. "What? You two belong together. Anyone can tell that. When you two are together, you're both so happy. Why wouldn't you work out?"
"Wren's a love fairy," Chloe said. "What Brittney calls a Cupid. He told me I'd end up with someone from the fey. Brittney isn't fey."
Conner thought about this for a moment. "Fey don't usually marry outside of other fey, do they?"
Chloe shook her head.
"Well maybe he just disapproves," Conner suggested. "Maybe saying you'd end up with a fey was his way of trying to drive a wedge between the two of you so you'd end things and get together with one of your own people. It's possible, right?"
"Maybe," Chloe said doubtfully. "But I don't think so. He's with Heather, remember? She's about as far from fey as you can get. Besides, it's not the place of a fairy of love to judge who others end up with. Their job is simple. They find the person you're meant to be with, nothing more and nothing less."
"He could be wrong."
"He could be," Chloe said. "That's what I'm hoping because I love Brittney." She hesitated. "Do you love Harper?"
"I don't know," Conner said. "Do I like her? Sure. Do I care about her? Absolutely. But I think it's a little early to be worrying about love. I guess some people just know and others have to wait and find out."
Chloe nodded. They both ordered more drinks from the waitress. "Want to know a secret, Conner?"
Conner nodded.
"Sometimes I'm jealous of you and Alec and Sarah," Chloe said.
"Why?"
"Because you guys are so strong," Chloe said. "You and Alec can both snap someone's neck if they look at you wrong. Sarah can rip someone's throat out. Me, I can hover over the ground and sprinkle fairy dust."
Conner laughed. "That's not true. Before you met, Alec, you killed hundreds of vampires. That's nothing to scoff at, Chloe. You can fight."
"Not like you guys though," Chloe said. "Sometimes I feel like the most useless member of Afterlife. Harper has the Sight, Brittney plays an amazing FBI agent and even has aim that's insane, and I'm just... well, I'm just me."
"We couldn't survive without you," Conner said.
Chloe shook her head. "Most of the time, I'm just an errand girl, and we both know it."
"Errands are important."
"Yes, getting groceries is really important to stopping the bad guys," Chloe said.
"Well, we can't fight on empty stomachs," Conner pointed out. They both laughed. "So what do you want to do now? We're halfway drunk. Do you really want to stay in this bar and drink all night?"
"Well..."
"Well, what?"
Chloe said. "We could go up to my room. Or yours."
"Chloe," Conner said. "Are you suggesting what I think you are?"
"God, no!" Chloe frowned. "What's wrong with you?"
Conner rolled his eyes. "I wasn't suggesting we sleep together. Get your mind out of the gutter, girl. I thought you meant we could order room service and watch television while we drink rum until we both pass out."
Chloe brightened up. "That sounds good."
The two of them got up, paid, and went up to Chloe's room. She'd paid for one with a king size bed. They raided the small alcohol bottles above the mini fridge and then flopped side-by-side on the bed. Chloe texted Harper that everything was fine, and that they'd see them back at Afterlife tomorrow. Then they drank, watched cartoons, and talked about a number of things.
Eventually, they both passed out.
Chloe dreamed of the fey. She dreamed of her parents tucking her into bed and the home she'd left behind. Her mother had been beautiful. She'd had long, blonde hair that floated behind her when she walked. It was her father that Chloe took after, though. He had brown hair, and angular features that made him look more feminine than most of his human counter parts.
During her waking hours, she had such a hard time remembering them clearly. She had no pictures of them and their faces had blurred over the years. It was a true tragedy because she'd loved her family so much. In her dreams, though, they were clear as day.
It had been such a long time since she'd been home, really home, and she didn't think she'd ever return. But in her dreams, she could walk through the town and greet the people who she'd grown up with. It made her feel homesick, and she had to wonder if she'd ever return.
Conner woke her up by shaking her shoulder. "Chloe. Chloe!"
"Wha
t? What is it?"
"It's morning," Conner said. "We need to get back and see how it went with Marissa."
"I was sleeping," Chloe said grouchily.
"Yeah, and I'm hungover," Conner said. "So keep complaining girl. It was your idea to drink. Let's go get some breakfast and head over."
"Fine, fine," Chloe said. She struggled out of bed, slipped on her clothing, and brushed her teeth with the complimentary toothbrush provided. "How do I look?"
"Like me," Conner said. "Which is to say, a mess. Stop worrying and let's go."
NINETEEN
"Stop it!" Sarah had screamed. "You're going to kill her! I'll kill you! I'll call the police!"
Sarah's father, Paul, ignored her, as he continued to swing fist after fist into her mother's face. Little Elizabeth had cowered in a corner, unsure what to do. She was only nine years old but had sometimes regressed to that of a five-year-old, especially when their father was beating their mother.
He'd never laid a hand on his two children fortunately, but the emotional abuse was bad enough. Watching their mother get beaten to an inch of her life on a regular basis was enough to scar anyone.
Sarah rushed over to Elizabeth. She pressed a phone into her hand. "Call 911," she told her. "Give them our address. Tell them that he's killing her!"
Elizabeth stared at Sarah, her eyes wide and unblinking. She wasn't even crying. It had become common place for tears not to come anymore, at least for the younger girl. Sarah watched her face. She was in shock. She had no choice. She swung her hand back and hit Elizabeth across the face.
That seemed to snap through the fog the younger girl was in. "You hit me," she whispered. "Sarah, why'd you hit me?"
"I need you to call 911," Sarah said. "Now."
Elizabeth nodded, taking the phone, her fingers trembling as she pressed the three digits. With that taken care of, Sarah ran over to the kitchen. She grabbed a frying pan, considered it, and switched it out for a cast iron. She ran back to where Paul was beating on her mother and hesitated for only a second before swinging it with all her might. It connected with his head with a deadly clunk. He said something, but his words were slurred, and she couldn't understand them. Then he fell face forward, his legs twitching.
Sarah ignored him and went to their mother. Her face was bloody and the back of her head had a lump. She was unconscious. Sarah shook her. "Mom. Mom, wake up! You're going to be okay. You're going to be alright. Just wake up."
When nothing happened, she went and grabbed a wash cloth from the laundry. She wet it down and began washing the blood from her face. Her nose was broken, and several of her teeth had fallen out. Both of her eyes were blackening. Sarah carefully dabbed at these areas, trying to be careful. She could feel tears streaming down her face.
She didn't know what to do. "Please, Mom," she whispered. "Please wake up."
In the distance, she heard several sirens wailing. She propped up her mother's head in her lap and stroked her hair, begging her to wake up the entire time. She didn't stir. It took her awhile, but Sarah finally found a pulse, but it was weak.
"No," she said. "No, you're going to be fine. I promise."
She looked over at Elizabeth, who was still cradling the phone and keeping a safe distance. Her sister still wasn't crying. She looked sick, though. Her hair stuck to her head in sweaty clumps.
"Come here, Bethy. Come here."
Elizabeth didn't look like she wanted to come closer but she did, dragging the phone along with her. She stepped up to Sarah and their mother. "She's going to die, isn't she?"
"No, no," Sarah said. "She's going to be fine. She'll be fine, Bethy. He's beat her worse than this before. She's going to be alright."
"Is he dead?" Elizabeth asked, looking over at their father. "Did you kill him, Sarah?"
"No," Sarah said. "I think I just knocked him out."
Before they could speculate further, the door crashed in. Police and paramedics flooded the place, eventually pulling Sarah and Elizabeth apart.
"No," Elizabeth said. "I want to stay with Sarah! Let me stay with Sarah!"
"Come with us, dear," the lady said. "You'll see your sister soon, I promise."
Another officer, a male, approached Sarah. "Are you the one who hit him with the pan?" Sarah nodded. "We're going to need to talk for a little while. Is that okay?"
"What about my mother?" Sarah asked. "I want to go to the hospital with her. I want to stay with Bethy. Please. Please, don't take me away from them."
"I need you to come with me," the police officer said, not unkindly. He led her out to a squad car, and put her in the back seat. His partner took the other seat in the front, and a woman from Child Protective Services sat in the back next to Sarah.
She held out a hand, but Sarah didn't take it. She didn't trust strangers. Instead, she stared out the window, wondering about her mother and Elizabeth. Her sister was too young and fragile for this sort of thing. She couldn't handle it alone. She needed Sarah.
The drive didn't take long. Soon they were at the station, where Sarah was taken in a small room and asked several questions. She told them the truth; that her mother had been beaten on several occasions. She explained that she'd begged her mother to call the police or leave her father over and over and that her mother had never listened. For all his faults, she'd loved him.
"This time, though?" the social worker asked. The police stood back, taking notes.
"I don't know what made me do it," Sarah admitted. "I woke up to them arguing. When I came downstairs, he was hitting her. I thought he was going to kill her. That's the only reason I hit him, I swear. I thought she was going to die. Am I in trouble?"
"No, of course not," the woman said. "You did the right thing, Sarah. I only wish she could have gotten help sooner. Did he ever hurt you or your sister?"
"No," Sarah said. "I would have killed him if he hurt Bethy. She's so little. He was mean, though. He called us names. He wouldn't let us wear dresses. He said we looked like prostitutes. He didn't want his daughters looking like they wanted sex. That's what he told us."
She started crying again, and the woman tried to put her arm around Sarah, but Sarah shrugged it off. "Is she going to be alright? Please, is my mother going to be alright?"
The woman glanced at the police officers. "I'll go find out right now."
She disappeared into another room and was gone for a long time. Someone brought Sarah a soda and a sandwich, but she didn't touch either of them. She waited with her hands folded on her lap, slow tears dripping down her nose.
Eventually the woman came back. She sat down next to Sarah. "You weren't hungry?"
"No."
"Sarah," she said. "There's something I need to tell you."
"Is she dead?"
"No," the woman said. "But she's in a coma. They're not sure when she's going to wake up."
Sarah nodded. "And Bethy?"
"Your father came to and was arrested," the woman said. "That means you two are without a guardian for the moment. We're going to have to find a safe place for you to stay. We're going to do our best to keep you together, though, alright?"
"Can I go see Bethy?"
The woman nodded. "Let's get your coat on first."
Sarah looked down at her pajamas. "I didn't bring one," she said.
"That's alright," the woman said. She disappeared again and returned with a jacket that was too big. "You can wear this for now."
Sarah slipped it on, and followed the woman to her car. "Am I in trouble? For hitting him?"
The woman was quiet for a moment. "You're not in trouble. He's going to prison for a very long time, Sarah. They charged him with attempted murder."
"Good," Sarah said viciously. "I hope he rots there."
When they got to the hospital, the woman led Sarah down a corridor and through several doors. Eventually they reached the ICU. "We don't allow children in here," the nurse said.
"I'm with Child Protective Services," the social worker said. "Can yo
u make an exception?"
The nurse conferred her chart and then nodded. "Yes, we can. But ten minutes only, alright?"
Sarah nodded. She had gone in and seen Elizabeth standing with another social worker. She'd rushed up to her sister.
"Bethy. Are you alright?"
"They said she's in a coma," Elizabeth had said. "They said she might not wake up. What if she dies?"
"Then we have each other. And we always will."
TWENTY
When Sarah woke up she looked over at Samuel. They'd shared the bed in Alec's guest room, cuddling all night. It was the first time that Sarah had truly held someone without any ulterior motives.
Samuel was still asleep. She nudged him gently. "Hey sleepyhead. You want to wake up?"
Samuel moaned and then opened his eyes. When he saw Sarah, he smiled, but she could tell it was forced. "Hey, how long was I out?"
"All night," Sarah said. "How are you feeling?"
"Terrible," Samuel admitted. "Do you think that's part of it? The turning?"
"You'll feel like that during the day from now on," Sarah said. "At leas that's what Alec says. Looks like you're going to be a night owl. Good thing there's twenty-four hour gyms here and in Phoenix."
"Sarah..."
Sarah lofted an eyebrow. "What's up?"
"I'm not coming back."
"What?"
"I'm not coming back," Samuel said, sitting up. "To Las Vegas, I mean. This is it for us."
Sarah shook her head. "No. We've barely just begun. You think a little thing like this is going to keep us apart?"
Samuel had fallen asleep almost immediately the night before but Sarah had plenty of time to think about what she wanted. She'd been scared of falling for Samuel, but she realized her fear was misplaced. She was scared because of her mother and sister. She was scared because the people she loved always left. But Samuel wasn't going to leave, she decided.
"Yes," he said. "You're not going to date a vampire."
"That's not your decision."
"Actually," Samuel said. "It is my decision. It takes two people to make a relationship, and I'm out Sarah."
"You can't do this," Sarah said. "Not now. Not when I've finally realized we could be something together. We really could. I know I haven't been the best to you. I've ditched you when I shouldn't, and I haven't let you get close, but I'm not scared anymore. I'm ready to make this work."
Six-Spot (Afterlife Book 7) Page 10
