Cadence slept like a rock. While she was very comfortable in the apartment she shared with Aaron in Kansas City, there was just something about being at home that always made her feel comfortable, and while she hadn’t always fallen right to sleep during any of her previous visits, the events of the last week had left her exhausted. For once, she was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.
The sun was peeking through the pink curtains that hung over each of the three windows in her bedroom when she opened her eyes to realize her sister was sitting next to her, jabbing her in the arm. “Cadence, are you awake?” Cassidy asked, her voice a forced whisper.
Rubbing her arm and wondering if her sister just didn’t know her own strength or was trying to be mean, Cadence groggily said, “I am now. God, what am I? A pin cushion?”
“Sorry,” Cassidy muttered as her older sister rolled over, pushed her hair off of her face, and yawned. “I’ve been trying to wake you up for, like, five minutes.”
Stretching her arms up over her head, Cadence arched her back and then slowly slid up to a sitting position. “Is everything okay?” she asked, fighting another yawn.
“Yeah,” Cassidy said with a shrug. “I just wanted to talk to you.”
It seemed like it had been a very long time since her little sister actually voluntarily wanted to talk to her, so Cadence fluffed up the pillow behind her and scooted against the headboard. “What’s up?” She noticed her sister wasn’t wearing her colored contact so the contrast between the color of her unaffected eye and the steely gray one was striking, and she tried not to let it distract her as she began to speak.
Cassidy let out a deep breath and readjusted on the bed. “I guess, I don’t know. I was just thinking about how everything is so different now. You know? It’s so hard to believe that Elliott is back and Grandma is gone. I was thinking about what Aaron said about the portal. Do you think… do you think something actually did come through? Something bad? And that’s what the Vampires were talking about when I heard them say ‘the time draws near’ and all that stuff?”
The thought had crossed Cadence’s mind, even before she’d opened the portal, although she had likely been in denial at the time. After a thoughtful moment, she shrugged and said, “I honestly don’t know. But I’m sure, if something did come through, whatever it is, we can defeat it.”
Cassidy nodded her head, although her expression didn’t show complete confidence. “It will help now that Elliott is back.”
“Absolutely,” Cadence agreed.
Scooting over toward her sister a bit, Cassidy drew one leg up under the other one. “Brandon and Elliott seem to be getting along really well.”
“That’s good.”
“Yeah. At first, I was kind of afraid that Brandon might be kind of weird around him, you know? I mean, I’m not sure he’s forgiven Elliott for not being around—even though he realizes his dad didn’t even know he existed. I think he was kind of mad about that before.”
Cadence nodded. “That’s understandable.”
“Right. But they are a lot alike. I think it’ll be good for both of them. I just hope….” She paused, looking thoughtfully down at the carpet, as if she wasn’t sure if she could voice her concern.
“Cass?” Cadence asked, putting her hand on her sister’s arm. “You just hope what?”
“I don’t know,” Cassidy shrugged. “I guess I just hope that both of them still have time… for me.”
Cadence held back a laugh, but she did smile. “Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that,” she assured her sister. “They both adore you. Honestly, Cass, I don’t think Elliott was going to come through the portal until he realized I was worried about you. I didn’t tell him what happened until after we were back in Reno, but he said he could tell that something was off when he asked about you and I hesitated. He loves you. A lot.”
An alarmed expression in her eyes, Cassidy asked, “You don’t think he wanted to come back?”
“I wouldn’t say he didn’t want to; he just didn’t want to give all of that up. And he didn’t know about Brandon, either. So, I think he’s happy with his decision. It just must be hard to know he can never go back.”
That answer seemed to satisfy her, and Cassidy nodded. “It would have to be a difficult decision.”
“For sure.” They were both silent for a moment, and Cadence assumed there was more that Cassidy wanted to say or else she would have bolted out of the room. “Why are you concerned about Brandon?” she asked, trying to make her voice as nonchalant as possible.
Cassidy didn’t answer for a moment. She shifted her weight and pulled the corner of her mouth in. Her eyes flickered back and forth between Cadence’s face and her hands. Just when Cadence thought she needed to probe further, Cassidy finally said, “He tried to kiss me.”
Cadence’s eyebrows arched, and she held back a smile. “Oh?” she asked, not wanting to say more.
“Yeah. It was… awkward.”
“It was?” Cadence asked, not sure how to proceed.
Letting out a loud sigh, Cassidy said. “I stopped him. I mean… I moved out of the way. I knew what he was doing, but I was… afraid. So I didn’t let him.”
“That’s understandable,” Cadence offered, hoping to reassure her sister that her reaction was perfectly natural. “If you’ve never kissed a boy before, it’s not surprising that you would be hesitant.”
“I’ve kissed boys before, Cadence,” Cassidy said, her eyes narrowing and a bit of that snarky attitude back. “Geez, I’m sixteen.”
“Sorry!” Cadence replied, trying not to be defensive. “You never told me about any of that.”
“I don’t have to tell you everything.”
While she realized the statement was true, Cadence was still slightly offended that her sister hadn’t felt close enough to her to discuss such things. Not that she talked to her younger sister about her romantic adventures. “Okay. Well, why were you afraid then? I thought you liked Brandon.”
“I do!” Cassidy exclaimed, her hands flailing. “I was afraid about… you know.”
Cadence had no idea. “What?” she asked, leaning in closely and trying to keep her voice calm.
“Seriously?” her sister asked, rolling her eyes. “I was afraid that I might….”
“What? Miss? Drool on him? Pee your pants? What?’
“Arghh!” Cassidy proclaimed, running both hands through her hair. “No, that I might… bite him.”
“Huh?”
“With my… fangs.” Her voice was a harsh whisper, her teeth gritted together. No fangs visible at all.
Despite not wanting to offend her sister or discourage her from sharing such personal conversations, Cadence began to laugh. At first she wasn’t even sure what she thought was funnier; the idea of her sister accidentally biting her boyfriend or the expression on Cassidy’s face. The more she laughed, the harder it became to control, and even though her sister told her to stop more than once, she continued until her sides hurt and Cassidy was ready to storm out of the room. “No, no, stay. I’m okay,” Cadence assured her, trying to control herself. Eventually, she recaptured her emotions, and pulling on her sister’s arm to keep her from getting up, she said, “Cassidy, I’m sure that wouldn’t happen. Don’t you only get fangs when you’re angry or in attack mode?”
“No, I guess not since I don’t have any right now!” the younger sister snarled. “Stop laughing at me! It isn’t funny!”
“I’m sorry!” Cadence assured her. “I didn’t mean to laugh. I wasn’t making fun of you. I was just picturing it in my head. Cass, I’m sure you wouldn’t accidentally bite Brandon.”
“Okay, but what if I did?” she asked, still clearly upset. “God, Cadence. Do you have any idea what it’s like to have to live like this?”
“No, I don’t,” Cadence freely admitted, no humor left in her voice at all.
“I mean, I go to school, and I avoid everyone because I’m afraid they’ll know. I can’t go out with my friends because I’m afraid my fangs will pop out, or my contact will slip and they’ll see my stupid eye. I have voices in my head all the time. And unlike your voices—they’re not talking to me, and they don’t even make any sense. I am the poster child for a freak show! Hell, I can’t even kiss the one guy I even care about anymore because I’m afraid I’ll accidentally rip his face off.”
