In the Dark Read Online Free PDF Page A

vampire he knew had survived losing his heart, and that had
been for much less time than Kent had apparently hung on. Sebastian
stood, scattering the dust with a flick of the plastic bag.
    The sound of
footsteps warned him of the arrival of the police. He slipped out of
the alley in silence before they could discover him there.

I AN
    I stayed in the action-hero car the whole time Sebastian left me alone.
Thinking of Kent smiling, or dancing, or singing, or anything.
Turning it over.
    Dead.
    Kent was my
family, my dearest friend, my everything. Well, I still saw my real
family. I would drop in unannounced for a night occasionally, then
vanish again. My mother, my father, my sister . . . I cared about
them, but they couldn’t replace Kent. He’d changed me,
cared for me, taught me, loved me.
    “Ian.”
    Sebastian got in
the car, started it, and pulled into traffic. A light, hopeful
feeling rose in my chest. Maybe Sebastian would tell me Kent was
okay.
    “I’m
sorry, Ian. Kent is gone.” Sebastian didn’t look at me.
    The airy feeling
stayed a moment. Giving me hope, filling me with the urge to yell, you’re wrong, you’re wrong. And then it deflated.
I already knew. Something deep inside me had already begun mourning.
    “Oh . . .”
My chest tightened. I wanted to go home. “Do . . . do the
police have him?”
    Sebastian gave
me a strange look, face blank, eyes curious. Like he didn’t
know why I would ask that.
    “No. The
police do no have him.”
    “Then
where’s . . .” I didn’t want to finish that
sentence. I didn’t even want to think the last words.
    “Vampires
return to the earth upon their deaths.” He didn’t look at
me. “Kent is gone.”
    My jaw worked a
couple of times, like I wanted to talk, except I didn’t. Return
to the earth. He meant we decomposed instantly. Kent had mentioned
something like that in passing. Dust. Gone. I couldn’t pinpoint
why, but learning that there was no . . . body . . . somehow that
piece of information upset me even more.
    “I’m
going to take you to my home,” Sebastian said. “I am not
certain yours will be safe.”
    I wasn’t
certain my home was safe either, and I didn’t care. My eyes
burned and red tears blurred my vision. Kent was gone. My handsome,
funny, talented best friend was gone.
    “He told
me to . . . he wanted you to know he loved you.”
    Those words felt
like a punch in the throat. I glanced at Sebastian. He watched the
road, not looking at me or giving me any clue how he felt. Kent loved
me. While in pain, dying, his last thought had been of me. I started
to cry.
    I love you,
too, Kent. But I can’t have anyone tell you that. I hope you
know.
    Sebastian drove,
silent, as if I didn’t exist. In a way, I felt like I didn’t.
I didn’t notice where he had headed until he stopped.
    We’d
pulled into a ritzy neighborhood; tall buildings, expensive cars. He
pulled his expensive car into an underground garage, and I heard the
door roll shut behind us. He parked in a spot that probably had his
name on it and got out. I followed woodenly, not bothering to look
around. Sebastian activated the car alarm and led me to an elevator
labeled “Penthouse Only.” He hit the call button and the
doors slid open. The elevator had better décor than my house.
Mirrors, wood paneling, thick red carpet. I sniffed and felt
outclassed.
    Sebastian got a
key out of his pocket to put in a keyhole beside the buttons. The kid
had his own private elevator. I shifted and stared at the LCD numbers
above the door, watching them go higher and higher. The elevator
opened silently into a plush room. The room had the same rich décor
as the elevator, mostly wood, marble and shades of red. For a second
I thought the doors had opened into an incredibly elaborate hallway –
then realized they’d opened on an entryway that led into his
living room. His place took up the entire floor.
    The –
apartment? – had class, which struck me as odd for someone so
young. Heavy oak