Maybe Trinity had been feeding on her all this time. We’d probably never know.
And the worst part was that, if Trinity decided to attack any of the rest of us, there was nothing we could do about it. Other than destroying her heart, there was no defense against her, against vampires.
Except for Bo. He was our only weapon.
Bo could take care of Trinity. He was her equal. Not even that. He was her superior. Whatever was really going on with Bo, whoever he really was, he was strong. And special. There was no doubt about that.
Aisha and I sort of let the subject drop after that. I bent my head and plowed through my salad as she began engaging the people around her, evidently feeling much more secure in her sanity.
I could see life seeping back into her eyes a little at a time, though she still wasn’t 100%. Something had happened to her—physically at the very least. Of that, I was sure. I could only hope that Bo would be able to do something to ensure that this kind of thing didn’t happen to anyone else, and certainly not to Aisha again. I doubted she’d be able to withstand another attack and remain the Aisha that we all knew.
That afternoon, Aisha skipped practice, which didn’t surprise me one bit.
Even though there was the hint of a spark back in her eyes, she still didn’t look like she could make it all the way through a single cheer.
After practice, I carried my duffel to my car. I found that I was dreading going home, but at the same time, I was also strangely anxious. I knew that it wasn’t very likely that Bo would appear until after dark, especially if he had fed, which I could only assume that he had, considering his increasingly translucent state when he left my house. That’s why, rather than sitting around and watching the minutes tick by at home, I decided to visit Savannah.
The one good thing about her being blind, the condition I thought just might save her life, was that she was rarely, if ever, alone. During the day, she was with her tutor. Nights and evenings, she was with her dad. I doubted that anyone would be stupid enough to attack her when she wasn’t alone. At least, I hoped that was the case. Of course, if this was Trinity we were talking about…
When I rang the bell, Mr. Grant came to the door. He was wiping his hands, which made me want to kick myself for my second blatant show of inconsideration.
It was near supper time and he was probably cooking. Again.
I started apologizing as soon as he opened the screen. “I’m so sorry, Mr.
Grant. I’ve come at a bad time again. And without calling, too.” I cringed. “I’m sorry. I’ll stop by to see Savannah another time.”
“Don’t be silly,” he said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “She’s in her room. Come on in.”
The strong scents of Italian food smacked me in the face as soon as I stepped into the foyer.
“Mmm, something smells amazing.” For a moment, I felt a pang of envy, wishing that I came home every day to a house that smelled like spaghetti and a parent that actually cooked.
“Lasagna,” he said with a broad smile. “Secret family recipe. You ought to stay and eat with us.”
“Thank you, but I shouldn’t.”
“You know, you’re going to have to take me up on dinner one of these days, right?”
“I will.”
“I’m a gourmet chef. You just don’t know what you’re missing.”
I grinned. Somehow I thought Mr. Grant might be prone to exaggeration.
“Dad, leave her alone. She didn’t come to be pressured into food poisoning.”
“Listen to Miss Smarty Pants back there, ruling from her throne,” he teased.
“Just because you don’t know how to appreciate food doesn’t mean I’m not a gourmet chef. And I haven’t given anybody food poisoning in years,” he said, winking at me.
“Ridley, walk away. Right now. Just turn left and walk away.”
Mr. Grant chuckled and tipped his head, indicating that I should proceed to Savannah’s room.
As I approached the hallway, I saw that the ball-of-fur dog that Savannah had named after a feline was crashed on his side, right in my way.
“Hi, Kitty,” I said, bending down to scratch the dog behind its ears. He closed his eyes and grunted. “Oh, that feels good, huh?”
He grunted again, as if in agreement.
I straightened, stepped over him and continued my path on to Savannah’s room, chuckling all the way at a dog named “Kitty.”
“You saved me!” Savannah sighed dramatically when I stepped into her bright room. “He’s driving me insane.”
I had no doubt she was referring to her dad.
“Oh, yeah. It must be terrible to have a dad who loves you to distraction and cooks you dinner every night.”
“But he-he—” She growled, tripping over her words. “You don’t… I-I.”
Savannah finally stopped trying to stammer her way through reasons she didn’t like her awesome dad. With a sigh, she rolled her eyes. “Eh, you’re right. He’s pretty cool.”
“Much better,” I said as I sat down on the end of her bed. “So, wha’cha been up to?”
“You mean besides driving a bus full of kindergartners around town and practicing my blindfold-less knife-throwing act for the circus?”
“Of course.”
“Not much,” she admitted. “How was school? Give me the goods,” she demanded, pulling her legs under her and getting comfortable for a dump truck load of gossip.
“Believe it or not, there’s not much to tell. No one knows what happened to Drew. Summer’s wanted for questioning and Aisha turned up at school. Unless, of course, you listen to the rumor mill. According to those reports, Summer is a winged creature and Drew joined a rock band and is currently touring the lower forty-nine.”
Savannah barely batted an eye. “And Jason?”
“Oh, I forgot about Jason. He’s the one the winged Summer flew off with.”
“Naturally.”
I had to grin.
“And Aisha? What’s her deal?”
I snorted for effect. “She has no clue where she was all weekend. Must’ve been some kind of bender.”
Only I knew that it wasn’t. I couldn’t very well tell her what Aisha had told me, though. Besides, what I really wanted to talk about had nothing to do with Aisha. Or the other three for that matter.
“So, how have you been? Seen anything strange lately?”
Savannah’s face tightened noticeably and she got up to close her bedroom door.