Hollowed (44 page)

"Where's my hug?"

"Non-existent." I manage a
smile
and
jab him
in the ribs. "Do I want to ask what you two little fire
-
starters got up to?"

Oliver frowns, rubbing the back of his neck. "We couldn't take them all one-on-one, so..."

"You should've seen it, Briar." Fred is practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Oliver blew up the boiler and we sealed the vampires in there."

"Obviously after you both go
t chewed up a bit," I point out
. The boys exchange looks and shrug.

"What about you?" Oliver asks, and I know he isn't referring to my health. In that regard, I'm fine. The
injuries are healing. After a meal, they'll be as good as gone.

"
Ruby and Joel are taken care of
."

Even though he looks like he's waiting for me to say something
more
, there's nothing
to
say. Especially not with Fred there. I like the guy, but he isn't about to find out all the dirty details of my night.

All I offer is, "We can go home."

Back at the hotel, n
either of us
see a
reason to kick Fred out, so he passes out on my bed while Oliver and I wait in Cole's room. Oliver vanishes into the bathroom for a shower and when he
emerges
, I can only
watch him, relieved
that his wounds are gone. He lo
oks like himself again, just...
the exhausted version of himself.

He towels off his hair and sinks down into a chair. "You haven't moved from that spot since I went in there."

From my seat on the foot of the bed, I shrug. "Too tired to mo
ve. My whole body just feels...
dead."

"Mm." Oliver drapes the towel around his neck and leans back, studying me. "
I guess I'm supposed to ask if you want to talk about it."

For a second, I consider not saying anything and letting him take the hint. But without thinking:
"
I killed someone the other night.
"

Not what he was referring to,
I know, but after all the lies I
'
ve been told, I can
'
t stomach keeping something from him anymore.

Oliver takes a deep breath.
"
I know.
"

I blink.
"
What?
"

"
I already know. When you got home that night, you smelled like human blood.
"
He shrugs.
"
And you were acting weird. I sort of pieced it together.
"

"
You could have said something.
"

"
Why? You obviously didn
'
t want me to know.
"
He looks down at his hands in his lap.
"
I figured you would tell me
eventually
. And I hope you aren
'
t beating yourself up over it.
"

"
Still feeling guilty. Don
'
t think I
'
m quite at the forgiving myself stage yet.
"

He nods slowly, eyes rolling up to watch me.
"
So...what about everything else? That c
an
'
t be the only thing on your mind.
"

What is there to talk about? In this case, talking isn't going to change a thing beyond making me feel worse. Making me reflect more. My eyes fall shut.
"
I
'
m comfortably numb right now. Want to hold onto that for a little longer.
"

Oliver shifts
, taking a deep breath.
"Look, Briar... Daniel and Cole are better at this whole talking
and comforting thing. But
I'm here if you...need something. Or whatever
.
"

I open my eyes to watch him and, yeah, he looks as uncomfortable as he sounds. When he catches my gaze, he turns away.

"
And
since you still have a lot to learn about what you are now,
you might as well
come with us when we leave. Our house is big enough.
"

A new home? Guess I do need one of those. This isn
'
t the first time I
'
ve thought about what to do now that my whole life has changed. Though it doesn
'
t feel like it right now, I know being with Oliver, Daniel
,
and Cole is what is best for me. These boys who took me in and protected me, taught me, cared for me. Even when
I'm not sure I deserved it.

I nudge his leg with my foot. "Well...I hope you know you can't take that back later."

Oliver smiles. He has a nice smile; he should do it more often. Before I can tell him as much, the bedroom door flies open and in rushes Daniel, with Cole on his heels.

"
Mes chéris
. J'avais si peur!"
"
he gasps, and we both stand while he puts his arms around us, touches our faces and smothers
us
in kisses. Making me grin and laugh while Oliver blanches and tries to pull away.

"
He was worried,
"
Cole clarifies.

Oliver leans his head back, gaze fixed patiently to the ceiling.
"
Clearly.
"

Only when Daniel is done fussing over us does Cole bother to speak. He looks just as relieved to see us in one piece as we are to see him and Daniel.
"
You
'
re both
unhurt?"

I can
'
t help but wind my arms around Daniel
'
s skinny waist, soaking up the feel of affection, of his fingers stroking my hair.
"
We
'
re all right,
"
I confirm.
"
Freddy
'
s passed out in my room. What happened?
"

Cole
takes a seat on the bed
.
"
Maverick is dead.
"
He says this so quietly and sadly that my heart aches for him. And for Fred, too. He already kn
ows, but having it confirmed...
I know it
'
s going to be hard on him. I wonder if he
'
ll come with us
now that he has no one left.

"
There were many vampires waiting for us, too,
"
Daniel says, more solemn than I
'
m used to him sounding.
"
They could not be saved.
Aujourd'hui est un jour triste.
"

Oliver sighs.
"
Joel was
a busy guy.
"

Cole
'
s attention zeroes in on Oliver
, waiting for the report of our night.

Really,
I don
'
t want to hear it. There
'
s nothing Oliver can
'
t tell him and no one protests when I slip
into the hall
. Since Fred
'
s in my room, I retreat to Oliver
'
s instead. Daniel joins me, keeping on my heels like a lost puppy.

I find solace out on the balcony, squinting against the morning sun and soaking up the fresh air. Daniel slips up behind me and his arms wind around my shoulders.

"Your Noah. He is gone?"

"Yeah. He strolled off into the sunset, like any good cowboy would do." I lean
back into
Daniel
, close my eyes
,
and try to let tonight wash away.
Trying to remember that I
'
m not as alone as I feel.

I spend the next twenty-four hours alternating between sleeping and talking to Daniel. Or rather, listening to Daniel talk to me.
About
everything
from
his life in Paris prior to meeting Oliver, to his and Cole
'
s great adventure finding Maverick
'
s body and the vampires waiting for them.

Cole told him the vampires were turned, locked up and starved, up until Joel had Ruby in custody. Her blood was the only blood they were allowed before he set them loose on us. No wonder they were ravenous.

E
ventually, as I lay in the dark and listen,
Daniel
goes still and silent and touches my hair with a sigh.

"
My darling... You have lost much in these last few weeks. I wish you would say something.
"

That's all it takes
for me to start crying and not be able to stop.

Sherry. My friends, job, sister, home, boyfriend. Everything I
'
ve ever known is gone and I feel the entire foundation of everything I am has been yanked out from under me. I
'
m left falling, with no clue of where I
'
ll land and what kind of state I
'
ll be in when I do.

But we
'
re leaving town soon. And when the tears stop, Daniel helps me realize I have three things I want to do before I go.

One:

After hours at Howell's Family Bar, I know Paul will be the only person there
. He
'
s bent over paperwork and hardly hears me when I come in and stand in the door to his office, waiting. When he notices, he bolts right out of his chair like he
'
s just seen a ghost.

"
Briar—
"

"
Don
'
t talk. And please,
please
, for the love of God, don
'
t scream.
"

Paul swallows thickly and slowly falls back into his chair.

"
I just wanted to tell you that it was
n
'
t
me. I didn
'
t kill Sherry.
"
I pause, waiting for the look of pain on his face to pass. It doesn
'
t.
"
But the guys responsible for it are dead. I don
'
t know if that gives you some kind of closure on things, but I just thought...
"
I shrug, looking down.
"
I thought it might be something.
"

Paul opens his mouth, closes it.
"What happened to you, Briar?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

"A vampire."

Oddly enough, his expression doesn’t change. He looks at his hands.
"
I don
'
t know what to say.
"

"
Say you won
'
t tell anyone you saw me. It
'
s better if I disappear.
"

That
'
s all I came to tell him.
Paul nods, and I leave.

Two:

John
'
s apartment
is the
part of my to-do list I debate all the way up until
I
'
m
actually standing at his door. Daniel agreed with me when I said I wasn
'
t going to knock. I d
on
'
t even know if his girlfriend is home, but I don
'
t want her to see me. I don
'
t want her to attribute my face to her boyfriend
'
s death. Don
'
t want it
to
haunt her for the rest of her life.