The Night House by Rachel Tafoya Read Free Book Online Page A

helpful one, but she does it in a bossy way. It can be annoying, but she knows if she’s too nice, I’ll turn her down. She’s the big sister I never had.
    “A steak,” I say. “Medium rare. With mashed potatoes and corn on the cob.”
    “Beef jerky and a peanut butter sandwich it is!” she declares. “Don’t move an inch. And did you take your vitamins today?”
    Alex continues talking to me as she disappears, leaving a lingering scent of vanilla in her place. She always smells like vanilla.
    Sleep clings to me desperately, but I fight it off when Alex returns. She’s right. I need sustenance. With a thin arm, she supports me and I take a glass of orange juice. It’s way too cold and it stings my dry throat, but in a second I realize how thirsty I am and I gulp it all down. Then she feeds me three large vitamins one at a time, followed by chunks of beef jerky. The sandwich is dessert.
    I don’t know how old Alex is. I’d guess 21. I don’t know where she came from or why she’s here, but she doesn’t deserve to be. She’s the most optimistic person I know. If she’s not nursing me out of a nauth hangover, she’s talking to me about what she’s going to do when she gets out of here. It’s the sweetest thing to hear her make these plans that’ll never happen. I’ll marry a rich guy with great hair, and we’ll lunch every day at this nifty little café…
    “Feeling better?” she asks.
    I nod and take more juice.
    “Hey, did I tell you about the weirdo I had the other night?”
    “No.”
    “God, it was like he was drunk. Practically tripping all over himself, slurring. I didn’t think vamps could get wasted, but I don’t know what else it could have been.”
    “I guess I’ve never seen a vamp drink alcohol.”
    “He didn’t smell like booze though. More like garlic bread.”
    I snort. “Garlic bread? Yeah, that makes way more sense than alcohol.”
    We both laugh.
    “I told Finn about it, and he said that guy wouldn’t be coming back.”
    “That vamp,” I correct her. “They’re not guys.”
    “Right.” She tousles my hair.
    Then she sits on the edge of the bed. “You get paler every day, Bee. Whatever you’re doing out there, you should cut back. I knew this one girl who had a side job. This vamp got carried away and killed her, and no one found out for weeks because he dumped her body in the river. Side jobs don’t have Finn to tell them the rules.”
    “Thanks for the bedtime story. Bye.”
    She takes the hint and backs up, but she doesn’t leave yet. “Take the night off.”
    “Already done.”
    “And do something nice for yourself. Buy that steak dinner. Lots of red meat. Just take care of yourself.” The concern in her voice is sweet. She’s always so sweet.
    “I’m on it,” I mumble, eyes closed.
    As annoying as Alex can be, I’m grateful for her. She and Micah are my family, if you can call it that. I don’t know why she wastes her time trying to make me better. Whatever the reason, I hope she doesn’t stop. Because sometimes, she does make me feel like I could be better. Like I’m worth it.

James
     
    The wind picks up as Shiloh and I head back to my house. He wants to see Ally. That makes the extra blocks worth it for him. Anxiety swells around him as he thinks of what to say to her, but I’m trying to shut him out. His nerves are making me antsy.
    I want to know what I feel, but I’m not so easy to read, apparently. Not when there’s an extra person in my head. The girl is sick. I know because I’m nauseous. It makes me feel clammy and porous, like I’m hollow. But I’m fine.
    I think.
    Shiloh grabs my arm.
    “Dude, your house is that way.” He points away from the street I was about to cross.
    “Oh, right.”
    He studies me. “She really got to you, huh?”
    “Who?”
    This time he punches my arm. “The girl you just ranted about for five minutes.”
    We reach my door and I shake my head—like that could shake her out of me. “Yeah, I