Her eyes grew big. "Really?"
I nodded, spit, and rinsed.
"But..." She wrapped a hand around her neck.
"You're safe," I said, flipping off the bathroom light.
She inhaled ragged breath. "Okay, good."
I hid a smile.
"This used to be Dorian's room. Remember?" Cindy flourished her hands toward the bedroom walls, and continued, "Everything used to be covered in Patriots paraphernalia. The walls were a different color. Also, it smelled like dirty socks and," she paused waving a hand in front of her nose, "dude sweat."
I smiled, spinning in a slow circle, seeing the room the way it used to be. Of course I remembered. I spent the night here after I was bitten.
An ache formed in my throat.
Gabe, I thought, but shook thoughts of him away.
He was the leader of the chayot. He was supposed to kill me, but went against his father. Then I killed Oberon, his biological father. An unforgiveable sin.
Whether Gabe forgave me or not, I would do everything in my power to protect him-those I loved, from the Vampire Queen.
Sharra's words ..."Stay asleep, Snow. Because if you wake, I'll hunt down, and destroy everyone you care about, starting with that dimwitted child leader you call Gabe. That's right, dear one. I'll kill him first." ...
Her threats lit my veins with worry.
"Snow?" Cindy touched my arm, bringing me from my reverie.
"Before all the Patriots decor, he was way into astronomy. A large telescope used to stand in front of that window. When we were little, the guys and me stayed up late to check out the constellations. We saw lots of shooting stars." I edged the bed, stepping over the red velvet cake stain on the carpet.
"Yeah, I'm sure when you were around it was all about the stars. After you went home..." Cindy let her words trail off.
"What do you mean?" I asked, peering back.
She gave me a look, one that said, duh. "They're boys, and Dorian had a telescope. I'm guessing they checked out the neighbors... probably even you."
"What? No they didn't." I walked over to the window, touching the glass. It was cold against my warm fingers, and my fingertips left foggy prints. Outside, the sky shone bright blue. All the trees stood stark and bare, like knotted appendages.
Cindy edged beside me, and pointed. I knew before she said anything the direction she was headed. Her breath clouded the glass. "Yep, there's your house. And I believe that's your room."
I followed her gaze. "They wouldn't do that."
"Um, yeah they would."
"But only in the winter. When leaves are on the trees his view is blocked." I said the words, but a flush ran the length of my body. I thought about whether I'd changed or done anything embarrassing with my curtains opened. At the moment my room was dark, making it difficult to see inside. But I wondered how the view changed with my bedroom light on. "No way," I added.
"Tell yourself what you need to." She went to the bed. "Abreegis. Totalis." The covers and pillows organized themselves. The comforter had cake crumbs on it, and Cindy bent over, wiping them off. "Ta. Da." She had a please smirked on her lips.
"Awesome," I said, admiration at her magic abilities overflowing.
She beamed. "After your father left, Dorian and Pops agreed this should be your room." A hand went to her mouth, and her face fell. Mine did too. My heart crashed into the pit of my stomach. "I'm sorry... about your father. I'm an idiot," Cindy whispered.
I didn't respond, focused instead on fighting back the sudden tears filling my eyes. My father. Why did he leave? Had he stopped believing in me?
Did he ever believe in you, my inner voice seethed.
I wanted to trust he had.
Cindy patted my arm. "He was so sad, Snow. Broken. After your stepmother left, he quit doing anything, except drink. A lot. We think," she stopped, placing my hands in hers. "We hope he went to get help. He left a note..."
I took a deep breath. It was nothing new. He hadn't been around in a long time. "It's okay. I know he worried." I went to the door. I needed to get downstairs stairs. The guys, Christopher, and Professor Pops were waiting.
"Come on. We'd better go make sure the guys haven't killed each other."
"Wait."
I turned. "Yeah?"
"You sure you're okay with Gabe and I?"
Relationship problems were the least of my worries. "Of course."
I changed my mind though. I wasn't sure I could see Cindy and Gabe in the same room yet. "Can you ask Christopher to come here? I need to talk to him alone first."
"You sure?" she asked.
"Yeah." The idea of spending time with my Hunter sent my blood racing. What I really wanted was his blood.
Chapter 5
While I waited, I checked out the closet. It was huge. A whole other room with white walls, and clothes hanging everywhere. I recognized some of them, as well as the perfume bottles that'd been on the dresser in my room. T-shirts in every shade of every color hung on one rack. Underneath were lots of jeans, hanging by fabric and shade. To the left were drawers, which I opened and found a dozen different sunglasses. The drawer under that held beautiful scarves. Then belts. On the other side were more drawers situated next to cubbies filled with the Converse Professor Pops gave me for my birthday. Inside those drawers were socks, watches, and jewelry. Another rack held my dress from the Masquerade Ball, and coats, as well as more dresses. Across the room was an overstuffed red chaise. On either side were more drawers that contained bras and undies.
"Good grief," I whispered, pulling out a lacy fuchsia bra with matching undies. The tags were still attached, and they weren't cheap. "This is crazy."
"Hellooooo?" Cindy called rounding the corner.
"Oh," I responded, quickly tossing the obscene undies back in the drawer.
"Were those?" she began, but I shushed her as Christopher stepped into the closet.
"Hey, Frosty," Christopher said.
Cindy snorted.
"Hi," I responded shyly. To Cindy, I asked, "Wanna meet at Warehouse Video later?"
She shook her head. "I wish, but the place shut its doors a few months ago."
"No," I cried, slamming the drawer shut harder than I planned.