iced-tea-colored eyes. It really worked for her.
She smiled wide, showing off her now brace-free teeth. âI wanted to surprise yâall,â she said. âI just couldnât stand one more year in that crappy little wannabe town.And after Katrina, we had to find somewhere permanent. It feels good to be back in a house without ten other family members.â
âI canât think of a better surprise. Isnât it awesome, Bridge? Weâre a tripod again!â
âYouâre gonna regret this,â Noah spat.
Crap. I had almost forgotten about Noah. He stood there bleeding and scowling. My senses were returning to normal, but I could still smell his rage.
âItâs obvious the only thing that matters to you is helping little Noah park his Ark. Why donât you call Twittany? Iâm sure sheâll be happy to reopen her tunnel of love.â
âHere,â Bridget said. âSounds like you need this more than I do.â She handed him a beer.
He took the beer and drank it down in one long pull. Bridge, Malia, and I hooked arms and turned to walk away.
âYou coming?â I asked Ryan.
âNot just yet,â he answered.
âDonât be stupid, Ryan. Heâs not worth it.â
âIâm sure heâs not,â Ryan said. âBut itâll make me feel a helluva lot better.â
Fine. Let them sort it out in testosterone. Ryan obviously wasnât in any mood to listen to reason.
âWanna tell me what happened?â Bridget asked as she tugged me away from the boysâ pissing contest.
âNo, I just wanna catch up with Malia, then go home.â
âAre you okay to drive?â Bridget asked. âI know you didnât drink much, but wow, you look a little wild-eyed.â
âIâm fine. I didnât even finish the second beer, and that was a while ago. Besides, if that thing with Noah didnât sober me up, nothing will. Câmon, letâs get out of here.â
Chapter 4
T he sound of feet pounding down the stairs echoed through the house, waking me from my dead sleep. The twins were laughing as Rayden screamed at them about staying out of his room, especially when he had his âDo not disturbâ door hanger on. Poor kid. âDo not disturb,â to the twins, was like an open invitation to snoop.
My head was still foggy. I barely remembered getting home. And I didnât remember going to bed at all.
I mustâve passed out right away, because I was still wearing last nightâs outfit. I slipped off my tank top and started to toss it on the floor when something on the shirt caught my eye.
Little dots of crimson were sprinkled on the shirt. Weird. Where did that come from? I glanced toward my bed and saw a larger red stain on my pillow. Thatâs when I really started freaking out.
I rushed into my bathroom and sighed with relief when I saw the crusted blood around my nose. Generally, vampires only experience nosebleeds when weâre overstuffed or overstressed. I hadnât had a nosebleed since I had over-indulged on bloodsicles as a kid.
Since I was currently starving, I could rest easy knowing that I had not gone into a sleepwalking feeding frenzy and stuffed myself with hemoshakes.
Doreenâs voice echoed after the slamming screen door. âYeâll mind each other well, ye will! Stop this foolishness.â I heard a pop, like a giant tree limb breaking. The twins squealed in unison.
I glanced out my bathroom window. Sure enough, a giant limb had broken off of a pine tree and crashed to the ground. Doreen and Rayden stood next to it, talking to each other. The twins were nowhere to be seen.
Disappeared, just like that. If I didnât know better, Iâd think theyâd inherited the rare trait of invisibility. Man, what I wouldnât give to have that power.
A knock sounded on my door, followed by my Momâslyrical Southern voice. âAJ? May I come
Dick Bass, Frank Wells, Rick Ridgeway