Life Blood: Cora's Choice #1 by V. M. Black Read Free Book Online Page A

dude’s car.  Lisette thought you’d be back in a couple of hours.  When nine o’clock rolled around and you still weren’t answering your phone....”
    “Lisette said your new doctor is really sketch,” Hannah said.  “You didn’t tell her where you were going.  He could have been some kind of serial killer rapist or something.”
    “Seriously, though, he could have been really dangerous,” Lisette said.
    I sank onto a corner of the couch, edging Hollee to the side.  I felt emptied, hollowed out, and my finger was throbbing. 
    They were right.  So very right.  Mr. Thorne was dangerous, the most dangerous man I’d ever met. 
    “I’m so sorry, guys.  The meeting ran long, and I had my ringer off, and I was so tired afterward that I forgot to check my calls.”
    Lisette’s face softened instantly.  She always forgave easily.  “It’s just that it’s not like you to disappear for so long.  If it had been Chelsea or Christina—”
    “You know we’re sitting right here,” Chelsea said, lobbing a pillow at Lisette’s head.
    The girls all laughed, and I joined in, terror and regret and relief somehow all spilling out at once.  The tension dissipated.
    Slumping back against the couch cushions, I thought about it for a minute.  I said, “Wait.  You all thought some guy had me locked up in his torture dungeon or something, and you thought the smart thing to do then was to huddle in our apartment?  And, what, send Mike to walk around campus looking for me?”
    “Shut up, Cora,” Emily said.  “You’d be a lot more embarrassed if you’d come back to find that we’d called the campus cops.”
    “I’m glad you’ve got my back,” I said, completely deadpan.  “Otherwise, I could be in some serious trouble.”
    This time, the pillow was thrown at me.
    After another round of hugs and threats, Emily, Hannah, Sarah, and Hollee headed back to their rooms, and Christina and Chelsea grabbed their purses and headed out to for the frat party that they’d heard about—all the hardcore partiers started Thursday night, since that homework wasn’t due until the next Tuesday.
    Lisette and I were alone in the apartment.  We’d become friends our freshman year when we realized that we were in all the same economics lectures.  She’d dragged me into a study group she’d created, but eventually, Geoff Nowak and the others had dropped out except for midterms and finals, and it became just the two of us.  We’d been rooming together since our sophomore year.
    “What did the doctor say?” Lisette asked.
    “I actually spoke to the CEO,” I said.  “He said I was a good candidate.  He went through the procedure and outlined the risks.”
    “And?” Lisette prompted.
    “And I’m going to tell him yes.”  I shrugged.  “Even a slim chance is better than none at all.  And I’m not ready to call hospice.”
    Her expression was fierce.  “You shouldn’t be.  Well, good for you.  When will the drug trial start?”
    “It’s more of a single-dose thing,” I said.  “In two weeks, I can call and make an appointment.  If it works, the results should be pretty immediate.”
    “And if it doesn’t?” Lisette asked.
    I shrugged.  “I’m dying, anyway.  There’s not much worse than that.”
    Lisette made a face.  She hated when I talked about death.  “That won’t happen,” she said confidently.
    And however foolishly, I felt sure that she was right.
    “So,” I said, changing the subject, “you worried about me being gone for four hours, but you let C-and-C walk out of here dressed like that, knowing just what kind of trouble they’re headed into, without a word of protest?”
    “Eh,” Lisette said with a dismissive shake of her head.  “They went nuts the day they turned twenty-one.  Worrying about them is kind of pointless now.  Besides, they’ve got each other.  More or less.”  She raised her eyebrows.  “And if I lost you, I’d have to find another study