Stan nodded slowly. “I understand.”
“Good.” Rowan stepped away from him. Finally, he regarded me. “Let’s go.”
I nodded, sparing a glance at Stan as we left him standing there. Experience told me he’d be like that for another ten minutes before he snapped back to his senses. He’d do what Rowan told him to do for a few days at least. I wished it lasted longer, but that wasn’t likely unless Rowan bit him, which he hadn’t done.
Well… it would buy me a little time.
Without speaking, we walked together to my car. I didn’t know how Rowan got to the store so fast, but he apparently intended to come back to the house in my car with me, since he slid into the passenger seat.
Or at least that’s what I thought until I pulled onto the road. “Turn left instead of right.”
He didn’t ask or even explain where he wanted to go. The old Rowan would have. He would have explained and explained—what he wanted to do, where we were going, why we were doing it—and then he would’ve squeamishly told me that he couldn’t explain the big gaping hole of whatever had to do with the vampire world.
I was so desperate for friendship and understanding, I’d gladly put up with not knowing, as though it was all I deserved from him.
Sometime during the last year or so, I figured out I sort of hated him—all of them—for that. But I only had myself to blame for accepting so little as my due, and I had to live with that, too.
What was it about Rowan—alive or as a vampire—that always made me do so much self-reflection? Being in his presence just made me want to be a better version of myself, and I had no time for that sort of undertaking.
“Where are we going?” I’d start small by asserting myself, and we’d go from there. If he didn’t want me to go home, he needed to at least tell me where we were going.
That hardly seemed like too much to ask.
“I want to show you something.”
Well, that tells me nothing. “Rowan, I’m not just going somewhere with you. That’s too vague. Please, tell me where we’re going or I’m driving home.”
He turned to me. “You trust the others but not me.”
He didn’t phrase it as a question, so I didn’t take it as one. “You left me to die. I would be dead, if it wasn’t for Ace’s father sending help for me, and I still don’t know why he did it, so, no, I don’t trust you.”
“Stop the car.” He paused for a second. “I would like to have a conversation without you crashing this car and ending your brief human life. I’d survive it. You wouldn’t.”
Well, harsh… but true.I pulled the car to the side of the road and parked it. The streets were quiet, and it wasn’t that busy around us, but if he really thought his words might devastate me to the point that I would accidentally kill myself driving, then I would take him seriously.
“We’re going to look at something I think could be illuminating to you, and then we’re going to speak truth to one another.” He looked away. “If you’re going to refuse, there are ways for me to force you to comply. Obviously, I’d rather not do that.”
I almost argued. I could point out the threat alone was enough to force me to do it. I could even turn the car around and drive home, calling his bluff. I didn’t know if Rowan really intended to force me or if he was just testing me. Hell, I didn’t know if vampires bluffed at all.Did they?That was a good question. They said they didn’t lie, but I found that to be sort of bullshit. It depended on how long you stretched the word.
Even knowing all of those things, I did nothing. First off, I found it pointless to argue with vampires. Also, I didn’t know at this point if Rowan was really one of mine or if he was still too connected to the ones who had hurt me.
But I also wanted to know what he wanted to show me.
I might regret it later, but better to know what drove him out to my work so soon after sunset. I needed to hear what he had to say.
With a nod, I pulled my car back onto the street. “I don’t know why you thought that would make me have an accident.”
“Humans are unpredictable. They make big things out of small things. I had no idea how you would react.”
I shook my head. “Do you see humans just driving off the road all the time? Every conversation pushing them off the road? That was ridiculous. You said nothing of significance, so there was no reason I couldn’t have kept driving.”
He titled his head and looked up toward the sky through the front window. Was that the equivalent of a vampire rolling his eyes?
I was pretty sure the others just outright did it, but Rowan was different, more powerful than the others. I supposed he had been born to be great.Or reborn. Whatever.
He pointed in the direction he wanted me to go, and I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel as we traveled. The slight ping on my fingers was a distraction but not enough to stop me from speaking the first real thought that crossed my mind. “I could havedied.You left me to die.”
“Yes, you could have.” He stared straight ahead. “But you didn’t. That’s curious, but not the most interesting thing about you at this point. I’m sure the human I was would be horrified with what you went through, but since he did, in fact, perish in a box, there isn’t anything he can do for you now. I’m afraid you’re stuck with me. I see you as very much alive, and I’m not going to apologize for events I didn’t even know about.”