Huh. “What about the Clann kids at school? Dad said to avoid them, but how can I when I’ve got classes with them, have to pass them in the halls, eat with them in the cafeteria?”
“You should be okay at a distance. Like your father said, they’ve probably got charms on them to dull their attraction to any vampire. And even if you do start to feel the bloodlust at some point, if you keep your distance and pay attention to your body, you’ll know if it becomes a problem. If it does, you call me or Nanna or your father immediately and go to the nurse’s station till one of us gets there. Okay?”
I thought of how close Tristan sat behind me in algebra, and the pain in my chest and stomach that hit me every time he was near. Keeping my distance might be a problem. I’d just have to try to sort out my usual confused feelings around him from anything new that might come up. Like a sudden attraction to his neck.
“Why is the Clann even letting us stay here? Wouldn’t they want me as far away from them and their kids as possible?”
Her smile turned sad. “You know that saying ‘keep your friends close and your enemies closer’? I think it’s like that. They don’t want you to get too close or spend time alone with any of their descendants. But they also want to be able to keep an eye on you. Plus there’s the chance that one day you might decide to … help them out.”
“Help them out?”
“You know. Be on their side if there’s ever another war with the vampires.”
The Clann thought I would side with them against my own father? I snorted. They must be insane. After the way the Clann kids had treated me and my family for the past five years …
Well, not all of them had bullied me all the time. A memory flashed through my mind of emerald eyes staring back at me. Of strong, warm hands on my shoulders, stopping me from falling in algebra class, when he could have just let me do a face-plant onto my desk.
“I guess it’s a good thing I don’t want to date anyone in the Clann anyways, huh?”
Laughing, Mom picked up a hairbrush and began to tug it through my tangled hair, ignoring my facial expression each time she found a new snag. “Uh, yeah. Dating someone from the Clann could start another war. Lordy, I can see it now. The Clann would think you were stalking one of their own to drain them. The vamps would think you were siding with the Clann. It’d be mass chaos in no time.” She shook her head and grinned. “But we don’t have to worry about that, right? You’ve hated the Clann’s kids for years now.”
I forced a weak chuckle and took the brush away from her before she could accidentally brush me bald. “Yeah. Right. They’re first-class jerks.”
“Any other questions?” Her tone had turned bright and cheerful, like she had simply been helping me with my homework or something.
I shook my head and tried to remember how to breathe normally past the lump in my throat. Why couldn’t I just go back to my life of a week ago, back when things weren’t perfect, but at least they were normal?
“Aw, honey.” She patted my shoulder. “Please stop worrying. You’re going to be okay.”
“How do you know I’ll be okay? What if—”
“Because you come from my side of the family, too. And we Evans women are strong. With or without magic, we know how to kick butt in life.”
“And throw a mean plate?” I managed to joke.
She laughed. “Exactly. And speaking of which, aren’t you starving by now? Your Nanna made her special fried chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy just the way you like them.”
I made my lips curve into a smile. “Sure, sounds great.” Why wouldn’t I be hungry? After all, just because normal life as I’d known it was over, that shouldn’t affect my appetite, right?
I didn’t want to talk to anyone for the rest of the weekend. But Nanna said that my friends had been calling for me all week. So I made myself call Anne later that evening.
After chatting for a few minutes, I thought I’d better warn her about the changes in my appearance. But when I tried to describe how different I looked, she just laughed.
“Don’t worry about it, Sav. Every year I get the flu for a few days, and afterward I swear my head looks way too big for my body. Anyways, if you want to start coming early to school next week, I could help you get caught up on all the algebra homework you missed.”
“Mmm, good idea.” I hesitated, curious to know if anyone else had missed me while I was gone, one boy in particular. But I couldn’t find a casual way to ask and not make a big deal out of it. And why would anyone other than my friends have missed me? So I gave up and said goodbye instead.
When I called Carrie and Michelle, I didn’t mention the changes in my appearance. For all I knew, I was the only one who would notice them.
But when I returned to school Monday morning, too late to meet Anne at the picnic tables for tutoring, I felt more like a freak than ever. While some of the changes in my appearance might be my imagination, the bigger chest size definitely wasn’t. I’d gone up a full cup and a half. Mom and I had been forced to do emergency shirt and bra shopping yesterday so I’d have something to wear to school that didn’t scream slut.
Still, even with the bigger shirts, I felt conspicuous in the main hall before first period. So I made sure to carry my notebook against my chest. The freshmen boys weren’t exactly kind in their comments toward the curvier girls in our grade, and I so didn’t need more hall harassment in my life right now.
Unfortunately, even my notebook couldn’t block what happened next.
“O. M. G. Worst boob job ever!” Vanessa called out to me, laughing as she and her sister passed by, their voices somehow loud enough to carry over the noise of the hall even though they didn’t sound like they were actually yelling. Magically amplified? I wouldn’t doubt it. They would want everyone to be sure to hear them torture me.
And then I felt it. It was like a poisonous gas spreading over my skin, seeping past my shirt to make my skin crawl. And alien … whatever it was, the sensation definitely wasn’t coming from me.
What the heck was it? Nobody had warned me about this.
It had to be either magic- or vampire-based. Or had the Brat Twins hit me with a spell just now? I would have to call Mom as soon as I could find a restroom where I could talk in private.
I kept walking, forcing my hands to be still when all I wanted to do was scrub the vile sensation from my skin. I tried to think about something else, anything at all.
But then I had to refocus on the weird sensation, because it was changing now. In fact, the farther away I got from the Brat Twins, the more the sinister feeling of evil intentions faded away. Now it was more a mixture of stuff I couldn’t sort out. Kind of like cobwebs made of worry, happiness, sadness and fear all twisted together. Maybe I was going insane from learning too much crazy crap about my family and myself this weekend.
Unless … somehow I could sense others’ emotions now?
Oh, Lord. When I concentrated, it grew worse, until I could feel each person’s mood as they passed me. Experimenting, I matched up what I felt with each person’s facial expression and overheard bits of conversations, and was able to piece clues together. Happiness nearly made me laugh from its tickling sensation. Worry was heavy and cold, an ice chunk sliding down my skin. Love was warmth and softness, heated cotton balls. Anger, a knife that slashed and ripped across my skin.
I managed to make it the hundred yards to my locker, then closed my eyes and tried to think about something else. Anything else to make the overwhelming mix of emotions go away. Something soothing. Something …