It felt like something deep inside my chest had been scooped out and left hollow. All I could think for those first few seconds was about filling it back up to stop the rushing emptiness from eating me inside out.
I went downstairs, not bothering to tame my hair or change out of my pajamas.
All my roommates were scattered around the kitchen and dining table in various states of morning bleariness like nothing had ever changed. Parker had some website pulled up on his phone that looked like it was made in the early 90s, complete with pictures of UFOs and poorly rendered aliens in the borders.
Mooney had a freshly cut head of hair, a well-put together, trendy outfit on, and a smug expression on his face as he read something on his phone. Probably a sext.
Niles was lurking in all his ten foot whatever of lanky, shaved-headed glory as far from the mess on the kitchen counter as he could.
The only one who seemed to notice me was Zack, who had his arms crossed and was watching me from beneath a ridge of curly brown hair. There was an unusually perceptive glint in his eyes. “Missing something? Or someone?”
“Have you seen him?” I asked.
My voice garnered the attention of my roommates, which lead to a barrage of accusations—some playful and some serious—about how they hardly saw me anymore and how I was avoiding them.
I knew Zack and Mooney knew the real truth, but Parker and Niles were still out of the loop. It meant I couldn’t just blurt out what was wrong, even if I thought Zack and Mooney suspected something from the way they were watching me.
I twirled my hand in the air, hoping some convincing near-truth would pop out of my mouth if I started talking. “It has been a really long time since I liked a guy,” I tried. “I just got carried away. We don’t need to turn this into an interrogation. All I want to know is if anyone saw Lucian leave?”
“You mean the vampire?” Parker asked. He had half turned in his chair and had one arm thrown over the backrest to go with the crooked, cocky smile on his patchily bearded face.
Niles normally gave Parker’s conspiracy theories about as much attention as Zack gave to expiration dates on food. But he was watching me with interest now.
“Am I supposed to even dignify that with a response?” I asked.
Parker scoffed. “Come on, Cara. Lucifer? What kind of name is that? Wait, what was his last name again? Bloodsucker? Crossburner?”
“Lucian. His name is Lucian.”
“Last name!” Mooney chanted in an exaggerated deep voice.
I wanted to punch him. The asshole knew what was going on and he was still trying to make this worse? Although if I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, I guessed it would’ve been weirder if he didn’t help antagonize me.
The other guys chimed in, pounding their fists on whatever they could reach like a frat-guy drum beat. “Last name! Last name!”
“Undergrove,” I muttered.
All four guys cupped fists in front of their mouths and let out low, immature “oooh” sounds. Suddenly this was a group project, it seemed. Even Zack was joining in, hopefully for the sake of not being suspicious and not just to torment me.
“And the pale skin?” Parker noted. “I’ve never seen someone that pale. I mean, if you looked like that guy, would you really be avoiding the beach?”
“It sounds like you have a crush,” I said, hoping to change the subject. My comment earned three cupped fists and more “oooh”’s.
“Okay,” Niles said. “You do have to admit the way he dressed was super weird.”
“I helped him pick out those clothes,” I said.
The guys all threw their fists up again, bulging their eyes and whooping like I’d just revealed some big secret.
“Oh my God,” I groaned. “You are all children. Oversized, ridiculous children.”
“And even we can see as clear as day that your boyfriend was a vampire,” Parker said. “Let us see your neck.”
Mooney discreetly covered his wrist by crossing his arms at that moment.
I took a step back. “My neck is right here, doofus. Look all you want.”
Niles approached me and gave me a once over. “Maybe he’s got really small teeth.”
Another round of whooping laughter and jibes. “Cara’s boyfriend had small fangs!”
I rolled my eyes. “If you’re all done having fun with this, can someone please just tell me if you saw him or not?”
“Nah,” Niles said. “Sorry, Cara. I didn’t see anything.”
The others, who were still wearing smiles from their last round of immaturity gradually sobered up and shook their heads. “Sorry,” Mooney echoed. “Nope.”
I left the apartment and ignored the fact that I was going to miss my morning classes. At least I knew I wasn’t missing any tests, but I was going to have to beg somebody for their notes in advanced biochem if I would have any hope of keeping up.