by Jodi Vaughn
“I found that this book touched me in a way that made me want to connect more deeply with these characters.” Judith ignored Meredith’s comment and kept talking.
Michelle shrugged and took another cookie and dipped it into her wine before taking a bite.
Judith’s eyes grew wide at the irreverent act Michelle had just committed against her confectionary art.
“Judith, why are you referring to the author as Karen Marie? Do you know her?” Gina arched her brow.
“How about we stay on track.” Meredith clutched her paper and scanned it for her next question.
“How about we just drink wine. Wine is what I need.” Michelle stared into her glass and then took a large drink.
“Easy, girl, you still have to make it home. Don’t need you stumbling and falling in the street. You might get run over.” Gina laughed.
I froze. An image flew through my mind, one of being in the street and cold.
Of seeing Miles with someone else. In our bed.
I grabbed my wine glass and downed it. The harsh oaky taste burned my throat, but I didn’t care. I’d rather that pain instead of the one in my heart.
“Gosh, Rachel. You must really feel bad.” Michelle gaped at me.
“I do.” I cleared my throat and did my best to give everyone a sheepish smile. I didn’t feel embarrassed. I felt like a fraud and a fool.
Worst of all, I felt utterly alone.
“Poor thing.” Judith’s mouth dropped into a frown, and she grabbed my faux fur throw off the ottoman in the living room. She hurried over to me, draped it over my shoulders, and then patted my back.
I fought a cringe. I didn’t want anyone to touch me. I felt raw and sore.
“I know just what you need,” Judith said.
“To go to bed,” I said. I didn’t care if they thought me rude or not.
“First, you need a toddy.” Gina cocked her head and studied me.
“Why don’t I just go to bed.” I honestly didn’t feel like drinking anything. I was afraid it would come up.
“You need to get something warm in your stomach. It will help you sleep.” Meredith walked into the kitchen.
I stood and followed after her, my throw slipping off my shoulders and falling to the floor on the way. It was my years of being a hostess that made me get up. I still felt like I needed to be serving them. It was my house, after all.
“You need some soup.” Meredith stopped and turned to me. “Where do you keep your canned goods?”
“Oh, you really shouldn’t eat anything from a can.” Gina’s eyes widened. “Too many additives. You should only eat whole, clean foods.”
Meredith snorted. “When there’s chicken noodle soup available without a can, let me know. Until then, I’m eating my soup from a can.”
“In the pantry. Middle shelf.” I didn’t feel like putting up a fight anymore. At least if they thought I was sick, they wouldn’t expect much from me.
Michelle and Judith joined us in the kitchen with their wine and cookies. Michelle had half a cookie dangling out of her mouth. She had a second cookie in her right hand, and her glass of wine in her left.
I’d heard Michelle complain too many times that the kids always ate her favorite cookies before she got a chance to have one. I guessed tonight she was over-compensating to make up for lost time. It would probably have to last her until next month’s book club meeting.
Meredith had gathered a can of chicken noodle soup and dug out a pot from my cabinet. She began mixing the condensed contents with water over the stove to get it to the right consistency.
I didn’t want soup. I didn’t want wine. I didn’t want book club.
I was heartbroken and dying inside, yet I knew I had to keep it together until they left.
“Here, honey. Sit down, and I’ll get this served up.” Judith smiled and gently pushed me down onto the barstool.
Her words were more irritating than comforting, and I had to bite my tongue.
Meredith ladled some chicken noodle soup into a pot and heated it on the stove. She then poured the soup into one of my decorative bowls. Judith swept in and took it out of her hands before Meredith could hand it to me. Meredith narrowed her gaze on the woman, and for a second, I thought she was going to say something.
“Here we go.” Judith set the bowl in front of me and took the seat to my right.
“I think we should go.” Gina glanced at the smartwatch on her wrist. I didn’t know if she wanted to leave because she wanted to let me rest, or if she wanted to go because her watch was reminding her to get her steps in.
I didn’t care. At that moment, Gina was my favorite.
“Do we have to? I don’t think the kids are asleep yet.” Michelle gave me puppy-dog eyes and then shoveled another cookie into her mouth. I knew she didn’t have much of a life and never put herself first. So, just getting cookies without having to hide them from her kids was a big deal. “Anyone know any gossip?”
I forgot to breathe.
“No, but I did hear on the news that a woman is missing. Samantha Sims is her name.” Judith shook her head. “She’s a student at Ole Miss.”
“I heard about that on the radio. Said she went missing last night during the snowstorm,” Gina said. “Can you imagine what her poor parents are going through?”
I managed to relax a little. The conversation had turned from me, and that’s all I cared about.
“Poor girl. I bet they’re going to find her car in a ditch somewhere. And her, frozen to death,” Michelle said.
“I’m going to add her to my prayer list, “Judith stated and gave a solemn nod.
“Well, while you’re at it, you might as well add Dr. Franks to the list.” Meredith snorted. “His wife just left him for her yoga instructor.”
“But isn’t the yoga instructor a woman?” Michelle asked.
“Oh, yeah. They said Dr. Franks nearly had a heart attack. The wife cleaned out his bank account and filed for divorce, right before flying to New York.”
“Damn. That’s rough,” Gina said.
I could feel the heat rising in my face. If they knew about Dr. Franks, then they would surely find out about Miles.
“Rachel, are you okay? You really don’t look so good,” Liz stated. “Maybe we should go.”
“Book club is for two hours, minimum. That’s the rule.” Meredith looked at Liz, waiting for her to challenge the statement. “When we started this group, we knew things were going to crop up and demand our attention. The rule is two hours. We’ve only been here thirty minutes.”
I felt nauseated to the point of passing out. I wasn’t going to make it ten minutes with these ladies, let alone two hours.
I clutched my stomach and shoved away from the island. I ran to the closest bathroom.
I was going to be sick.
I locked the door and knelt in front of the toilet.
“Honey, are you okay?” Judith’s sugary-sweet voice called from the other side of the door.
“No. I think I have the flu.” I sat on the floor and leaned against the cold wall, slamming my eyes shut.
“We need to go,” Gina insisted. “I’m training for a marathon, and I don’t need the flu.”
“Yeah. She’s right,” I said. “If your kids catch this, it’s going to mean cleaning up vomit twenty-four-seven.”
I heard collective gasps from the other side of the door. I could picture Michelle’s look of horror as she thought about mopping up vomit from her three little ones. A door slammed, and I was pretty sure Gina was the first to leave.
“You’re right, Rachel. I’m heading home. Feel better,” Michelle said as she rushed past the bathroom door.
“Bye, Rachel,” Liz called out.
“I’ll call and check on you in the morning,” Judith said. I knew she was going home to Clorox her entire house.
“Fine. Fine,” Meredith said. “Hope you feel better, Rachel. Remember, book club is at Gina’s next month. She still has to pick the book.�
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I didn’t dare move from my position on the floor until I heard the last footstep followed by the door closing.
I reached up, opened the door, and peeked out.
I was, once again, alone.
I should have felt relieved, but I didn’t. Loneliness descended on me so quickly that it stole my breath away. I scrambled up from the floor and headed into the kitchen to grab my phone off the counter and check my messages.
Nothing. Miles hadn’t called.
I had no one to call and talk to. No one that would understand.
I punched in some numbers and held the phone to my ear. I held my breath until my daughter’s sweet phone voice came over the phone line.
“Hello?”
“Arianna. Hey, sweetie.” I swallowed back the lump in my throat and tried to sound happy. I didn’t want my daughter to sense anything weird going on.
“Hey, Mom. What’s up?” Her bored tone made me smile.
“What are you guys doing?” I swiped at the tears trailing down my face and took a deep breath.
“We’re on Snapchat.”
“What’s Snapchat?”
“It’s an app. Where you take selfies. You can morph the pictures or make yourself look like a rabbit and stuff.”
“Ah, sounds like fun.” Just when I had mastered Facebook, there was another app to learn.
“Well, not when you say it like that.” Again, her boredom came through the phone loud and clear. “What’s wrong? You sound weird.”
“Ah, nothing. Just missing you and Gabby.”
“Well, she went to bed early because she clearly can’t hang with the big girls. One movie, and she was down for the count.” Arianna snorted.
“Be nice to your sister, Arianna.”
“I will.” I heard the hesitation in her voice. “Mom, is everything okay? Are you home alone?”
“Well, I am now. Just finished up book club.”
“You mean wine club. Let’s not kid ourselves, shall we?”
A laugh bubbled out of me at my daughter’s words. If anyone in the world could make me feel better, it was her.
“We had to cut the meeting short.”
“Someone get too wasted?”
“Arianna, no.” I forced the authority back to my voice. “I just wasn’t feeling well. So, we cut it short. I’m sure it’s just a bug, and I’ll be right as rain in the morning.”
“Well, if you’re not, and I catch it, can I stay home from school Monday?
“Only if you’re really sick,” I said. “And, like I said, I’m sure it will be gone by the time you come home. So, you need to make sure you have all your homework done on Sunday night.”
“Ugh. You’re no fun.” She groaned just as a girl’s giggle came over the phone. “I’ve got to go. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Okay, sweetie, love you.”
“Ditto, Mom.” She hung up the phone.
She never would say she loved me back when she was around her friends. I understood that, but tonight I needed to hear it more than ever.
All I wanted to do was put on my PJs and climb into bed.
I made my way through the empty house, turning off the lights as I went. I walked into my bedroom and refused to look at my bed. I didn’t think I could ever look at it the same way. Instead, I looked at my reflection in the mirror. Despite my broken heart and lack of makeup, I still looked pretty. My eyes were shining, and my skin looked even more youthful. I stepped closer and turned my face to look at my crow’s feet.
They were gone.
I’d always done my best to moisturize, use sunscreen, and do the occasional preventative Botox. I knew I was approaching my forties, and I didn’t want to go down without a fight.
While those things had helped, they hadn’t erased the tiny lines around my eyes when I smiled.
Now, they were gone.
I unbuttoned my shirt and shimmied out of my jeans. I threw them both on the floor and walked over to the full-length mirror in my walk-in closet.
I gasped.
When I got dressed, I’d noticed that I had lost weight. Now, my body looked firmer, and my stretch marks were gone. I turned to look at my butt. And…oh my God, my butt! It was small and firm and looked amazing.
I looked absolutely amazing.
“What the hell? How can this be?” I stepped closer and pulled off my bra and panties and let them fall to the floor.
I reached down and touched my breasts. They were full but firm. And very sensitive. I hissed as I ran my fingers across my nipple.
“It’s like I’m aging in reverse.” I blinked. Maybe I was hallucinating. When I woke up in the morning, I’d probably have gained twenty pounds and have my crow’s feet back. Perhaps even my husband.
The doorbell chimed, and I jumped. Miles. He must be coming back to me.
I grabbed my robe and threw it on. I ran my hands through my hair and quickly tied the sash. I ran out of the bedroom and straight into a wall of steely brawn.
I didn’t remember Miles having so much muscle on him.
I blinked as the wall of muscle grew arms and reached down to steady me.
I looked up and froze at the sight of my kidnapper.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I stepped back and tried to look fierce. “And how the hell did you get inside? I locked all the doors.”
“I have a key.” He held up the extra set that I kept in my purse in case I ever got locked out of my car.
“You asshole. Give me those.” I made a grab for them, but he held them out of my reach. The dude was as tall as a mountain. “How the hell did you get those?”
“I swiped them the last time I was here.” He shrugged.
“You what?” I cringed at his smell and covered my nose with my hand. “You really should think about stepping up your hygiene game. I’m not sure how I didn’t smell you coming from a mile away when you kidnapped me.”
“That’s because you were splattered on the highway, like roadkill,” he replied casually.
“Which reminds me, I need to call the cops.” I turned, but he caught me by my arm and spun me around.
“You won’t do that.” A slight smile played at the corner of his lips, and his eyes darkened.
“Don’t think I won’t.” I tried to act brave, but my quivering voice betrayed me.
“All right, then. Go right ahead. And while you’re at it, you should tell them that you were beheaded and that I saved you by giving you my blood and now you’re a vampire.”
I gritted my teeth. “I think you’re full of shit. If I was a vampire, I’d be drinking blood. And the only thing I’ve had tonight was wine.”
“That’s because you’re not fully turned yet. Becoming a vampire is a process.” He shook his head. “Don’t you listen when people talk? I already told you this. Maybe if you weren’t so self-absorbed, you would listen when others speak.”
“You don’t know anything about me, you overgrown, smelly, skunk guy.” I shoved my finger into his muscled chest with each word, wincing at the resistance. I think I jammed my knuckle.
“I know everything I need to. Housewives like you are a dime a dozen.” He narrowed his gaze on me. I could feel the hatred pouring off him.
“You know nothing about me.” Something inside me cracked, not out of fear but from sadness.
“You don’t have to work because your husband is a doctor or lawyer. You stay home with the kids, you probably have two, and you drive a luxury car. You fill your days with meaningless activities like chauffeuring your children to activities, and in between that, you go to exercise classes then meet up with your other skinny-ass friends for Starbucks, where you order a drink and substitute everything in it when you should have ordered a black coffee. You don’t leave your house without having all your makeup on and dressed to the nines. You host parties where you serve up wine, appetizers, and insults. You spend your days worrying over every little line in your face and fighting time in the mirror. You bring nothing to s
ociety except your disdain for others who make less than thirty-five thousand a year, and you wouldn’t be caught dead in anything sold at Target.” He said all of this as if ticking the items off a list.
The air whooshed out of my lungs at his harsh assessment. I blinked back tears that were stinging the backs of my eyes as loneliness overwhelmed my heart.
I swallowed and met his gaze.
“If I’m so worthless, why are you here?” I lifted my chin and fought to keep my lip from quivering. I felt as if he’d just stabbed me in the chest.
“Because I’m your Maker now. And under vampire law, I’m obligated to help you. You have to leave your human life and come live as a vampire. It’s my duty to show you how to survive.”
“Obligation. Duty.” The words sliced through my chest and I wasn’t sure why. I hated this man. He’d kidnapped me. He’d turned my life upside down. He’d taken my humanity—if I believed him.
So why did it hurt to hear him be so dismissive?
I began to tremble, and I wasn’t sure if I was going to start crying or hitting. Either choice would be bad.
Gathering up my anger and desperation like armor, I looked him in the eye and swallowed the lump in my throat.
“I’m no one’s obligation or duty. I release you of any responsibility you have for me. From here on out, you are free.” I turned on my heel and headed for the bedroom.
Like Miles, I listened to see if he followed.
And like Miles, the stranger did not.
Chapter 12
I did not sleep in my bedroom last night. Instead, I lay in the guest bed, staring at the ceiling and contemplating what I had done to deserve being betrayed. I must have drifted off right before dawn because, when the alarm went off at six, I didn’t want to get out of bed. I must have hit the alarm at least five times before forcing my feet to the floor.
As much as I wanted to sleep, the crippling fear of losing everything: my family, my marriage, and my home had me crawling out of bed and into the shower.
After showering, I made an effort and put on makeup and get dressed. I didn’t feel more put-together, and every movement was painful. But I knew if Miles were to come home, I wanted to look my best—not necessarily for him, but for me.
