City of Whispers (City of Whispers #1) (12 page)

Back outside, the rain was beginning to let up. I knew
I had to go now if this was going to be believable.

I took a deep breath, stepped outside, and ran to my
apartment. Halfway down my block, I slowed to a quick walk. When I got to my
building, I burst through the front door.

Dwayne was lounging on the loveseat we had stationed
in the lobby. “Some guard you make, Dwayne,” I tried to say casually. “What if
I had been a vampire?”

“It’s the middle of the day,” he said defensively, as
he swung his feet off the arm of the loveseat and onto the floor. “Besides,
what are you doing back without the others?”

I sighed, knowing that I had to make my story work so
that when Dwayne compared it with the others it would be believable from all
sides. “Listen,” I said, looking around. “I don’t really want to talk too much
about it right now in case John and Rebecca come down here.”

“You found Tony right? Beth told me.”

“Yeah, but we also found his wife, Sophie. Apparently
she’s been hanging around their apartment every night. Tony went out to either
reason with her or put her out of her misery. He said she tried to attack him
and he had to kill her.”

Dwayne whistled and shook his head “Poor guy, is he
okay?”

“He’s fine,” I said. “I mean physically she didn’t get
him, Paulo checked. But of course he’s pretty shaken up and I don’t want to be
the one to tell John and Rebecca about their mom.”

Dwayne nodded. “That’s terrible.”

“I mean it really shook me up too. I just couldn’t
handle it. Maybe because of the kids. I had to get out of there and get some
fresh air. So I just walked home. I got rained on so I had to borrow a few
things.” I hoped that Dwayne wasn’t a fashion aficionado, and wouldn’t
recognize my Burberry gear, and then ask why I waited until I was so close to
home to get a raincoat and galoshes. If he did ask maybe I’d just tell him I
couldn’t find anything closer, or I could lie and say there was another
Burberry store on the Upper East Side.
Fortunately, he didn’t ask.

“I’m actually freezing so I’m going to go change and
dry off now.” I forced a smile. “Keep up the good work down here, will you? And
when the others get back tell them I’m sorry. I made kind of a quick exit.”

“Will do,” Dwayne said. “Get up there and warm up
before you catch a cold.”

Ha! In a day or two he might think I’d caught a cold,
but I’d be hacking up vampire germs. I quickly trotted up the stairs, praying
that I wouldn’t run into Beth or anyone else. I was fortunate and made it all
the way to my apartment without seeing a soul. I unlocked the door and went in.

I didn’t have time to sit around and cry about my
fate. I had to keep my plan moving. I didn’t want to be killed, but I wanted to
give myself a chance...if there was a chance. Desmond had bitten me and I was
probably going to die, but what was it about me, about my blood that made him
sick? What was it about me that made the vampire in the basement hesitate
before she bit me? Could I really be vampire-resistant like we joked?

If there was any chance at all I wanted to take it,
but I also didn’t want to risk hurting anyone else. I would have to keep myself
locked in my apartment and ask someone to watch me, but who?

Beth and Kim would be afraid of me and would probably
tell someone. I couldn’t blame them for that. Paulo would probably keep my
secret and carry out the plan without a hitch. But Paulo had lost a lot in life
and had been through plenty of hard times already. I didn’t want to ask him to
sit with me and watch me die, and then deliver the final blow.

James and Scott would both likely help as well, but
did I want to enlist them both? I liked and trusted each of them. I certainly
wished I had followed James’s advice and bought a collar a long time ago. At
the same time, James was a bit of a loose cannon. I didn’t want him to get
overly emotional about it and go raid Tony’s apartment building looking for
Desmond. Scott was smart and calm, and I thought I could trust him to keep his
emotions in check. He seemed like the best choice.

I began to clean the bite with a first aid kit my mom
had given me. It looked exactly like the bite of a vampire in the movies—two
perfect little puncture marks rising out of my neck with bright spots of blood
in the center. They barely even stung any more. I put some Neosporin on them,
just in case. Then I covered them with a Band-Aid to keep the blood from oozing
out again.

 There was a knock on my door. “Who is it?” I
shouted as I rushed to my sweater drawer. I found a bulky brown turtleneck and
threw it on over some sweat pants.

“Beth.”

“Just a second.” I adjusted the sweater in the mirror
and pulled the collar down to make sure no blood was coming out from under the
Band-Aid. I pulled the collar back up and tried to look nonchalant as I opened
the door. “What’s up?” I asked.

“Dwayne said you were back, why didn’t you come by?”

I stood in the doorway, not wanting Beth to come in
and make herself comfortable. “I walked back through the rain. I was soaking
wet and freezing cold. I wanted to change.”

“Oh. Well Dwayne said you were pretty upset. Are you
feeling better? Do you want to come over?”

“Yes...no...I’m fine.” I was worried the bite would
start bleeding through my sweater any minute despite the Band-Aid. “I just want
a little time alone. I think the kids might start asking me questions and they
should hear it from their dad…about their mother I mean.”

“Okay.”

I thought Beth’s eyes seemed to dart past me, into my
apartment. Was she looking for something? Did I leave the first aid kit out for
her to see? Was she going to start asking me questions?

“I talked to Paulo on the radio,” Beth said. “He was
surprised you were back here. They were worried about you.”

“Oh yeah.” I felt my face turn bright red. “I told
them I was going out, but I didn’t really plan on walking all the way home. I
guess that was stupid of me.”

“Well, I think they’re just glad you’re okay. They’re
heading back now.” Should I tell her to ask Scott to come by when he got back?
I couldn’t think up an excuse quickly enough so I didn’t say anything.

“Okay, well sounds good. I might take a nap or
something.”

“Maybe you can come over for dinner later,” Beth
suggested.

“Yeah, sounds good. I might do that.” I stifled a yawn
to look extra convincing.

“Okay, well I hope you feel better.” Beth finally
walked back over to her apartment and I shut my door behind her.

I was feeling tired all of a sudden. I wondered if it
had something to do with the bite. Maybe I was already becoming nocturnal. I
tried to shake the thought off. I had been bitten less than two hours ago, and
I wasn’t feeling sick yet. I had to figure out how to get Scott to my apartment
without alerting the others.

The best idea I could come up with was to ask him to
come fix the boards over my fire escape window. But if he was with other
people, they would likely volunteer to come along and help. I’d just have to
wait for an opportunity to catch Scott alone, but I didn’t want to wait too
long.

The rain stopped and soon I could hear the guys
lumbering up the stairs. They weren’t talking much. I heard them go straight to
Beth’s apartment. They knocked on the door and called out. I heard the door
open, then excited squeals as Rebecca and John were reunited with their father.
I wondered if I would ever see my dad again.

I heard Beth’s door open again and people coming into
the hall. I assumed they were taking Tony and the kids to their new apartment
downstairs. I looked out through my peephole and hoped to see Scott go into his
apartment, but I couldn’t see his door. It sounded as if everyone was headed
downstairs anyway. Tony had probably brought things from his old apartment and
Scott and the others were helping him bring them in.

Suddenly, James appeared in front of my peephole and
knocked loudly. I jumped back. I tried to think. Would it be more suspicious if
I didn’t answer? Then I heard a “
Shhhh
,” come from
down the hallway and Beth’s voice, “She’s tired, James, let her sleep.” I
sighed and mentally thanked Beth. I had already forgotten I told her I wanted
to take a nap.

I peered out of my window and saw the guys removing
suitcases from the Escalade. They looked tired and wet—both the guys and the
suitcases. I knew the guys would come up to their apartments soon to change. I
went back to my door and listened. After what seemed like an eternity I heard
footsteps in the hallway. I heard two doors close. I looked out through my
peephole and couldn’t see anyone nearby. I didn’t want to risk calling Scott on
his
walkie
talkie, because someone else might hear,
and he might not even have his turned on.

I opened my door. The hall was empty. I tried not to
make any noise as I walked over to Scott’s apartment. I knocked quietly on his
door, hoping he was alone. There was no answer. I knocked again, more
frantically. A few seconds later, the door opened.

Scott was standing there in his boxers with a towel in
his hand. His wet clothes were lying on the floor. He must have looked through
the peephole first and seen how upset I was. That or we had turned my floor
into a college dorm.

“What is it Ailis? Are you okay?”

“I’m sorry to bother you, Scott. It’s not an
emergency...”

“You sure look like it’s an emergency.”

“I know, I’m sorry. Can you just come over after you
change?”

“Of course, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, it’s not a big deal, but please just come
over and don’t bring anyone or even tell anyone else.” I must have sounded very
sketchy, but I didn’t know what else to say.

“Ailis, please tell me what’s wrong.”

“It’s not a big deal, I’ll tell you when you come
over. Please just don’t tell anyone.”

“Fine,” he agreed. “I’ll be over in a minute. Do you
need me to bring anything?”

“No.” I went back into the hallway. “Just you. And
thank you, Scott.”

“Yeah, sure.” Scott shut the door behind me and I
practically dashed back into my apartment.

It was late in the afternoon and my apartment felt hot
and stuffy after the storm. I wanted to take off my turtleneck, but I wasn’t
sure that I should just open the door and see how Scott would react to the bite
on my neck. I still didn’t have a sore throat or a cough. I tried to remember
what Tony had said about Sophie. How long had it taken...a few hours, or a day?

I heard a knock, it was Scott. I opened the door and
tried to smile and act normal. “Come on in.”

Suddenly, James popped out of his apartment. “Hey
Ailis, what was that all about, going crazy and leaving us?”

“Sorry,” I said lamely. “I just had to get out of
there. Something about seeing Sophie and Tony just got to me. I should have
said something.”

“Yeah you should have. You had us really worried.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry, it was stupid.” I didn’t know what
else to say.

“Well what are you two up to?” James asked.

“I’m just going to help Ailis fix some of the boards
on her window,” Scott lied for me.

“Oh, I can come help,” James volunteered, just as I
knew he would.

“No,” Scott said quickly, too quickly I thought, or
maybe I was just being paranoid. “I’ve got it. They just need a few extra
nails.”

“Oh yeah?” James said. “Where are your tools?”

My heart sank. He was suspicious. I knew he was
wondering why Scott would turn down his help and wondering why I was bundled up
in a turtleneck when the whole building was warm and muggy.

“I have my own tool kit, silly.” I wasn’t lying. I did
have some tools in my apartment. My dad had insisted I always have a
well-stocked tool kit ever since I left home. It had come in particularly handy
when Beth and I were trapped in my apartment.

“Thanks man, I really don’t need any help.” Scott
sounded irritated. I hoped he wasn’t making James more suspicious.

James grinned, “Yeah, okay, you’re right. I’m sure you
don’t need any help. You two have fun.”

“Oh fuck off,” Scott said and walked into my apartment
and shut the door. I thought I heard James giggling in the hallway. I had been
too paranoid. James’s first suspicion had been that Scott was trying to make a
move on me. I blushed at the thought. I had gotten into enough trouble with men
for one day.

Scott’s face was red. “So what is it?”

I didn’t know where to start or how to say it, so I
just blurted it out. “I’m bitten.”

Scott’s face went from red to white. “You’re what?”

“I was bitten by a vampire back in Tony’s building.
That’s why I ran away. That’s why I’m wearing this stupid turtleneck even
though I feel like I’m about to suffocate.” I waited for a reaction, but Scott
seemed to be processing this information. “I’ll give you a few minutes to
absorb this while I go change.”

I went into my room and exchanged the turtleneck for
an orange and white tank top. I trusted Scott wouldn’t dash out into the hall
and tell everyone. When I came back into the living room he was still standing
in the same place. His eyes went straight to the Band-Aid on my neck. “Are you
being serious, Ailis?”