hear what you’re saying? These are the ravings of someone delusional.”
He shook his head. “I’m not mental.”
“Well, you’re either mental or vampires exist,” she said. “I know which one I believe.”
Mason scratched at his face. “Calvin came after me, Ellie. He tried to grab me. I was lucky to get out of there. His teeth. Christ. His eyes were red like the thing that killed him, for fuck’s sake…”
Ellie didn’t look convinced. “This sounds ridiculous, Mason. This is horror movie stuff. Maybe your friend Calvin is fucking around, playing a joke. Contact lenses and Halloween make-up. You don’t know him. You don’t know anything about him. This could be some prank he and this Zeke bloke play on newcomers.”
“It’s real, Ellie. I swear.”
“You need help.”
“I agree, but not for the same reasons. Calvin said he’d see me soon.”
“Calvin the vampire?”
“Yeah.”
She sighed. “Of course.” Then she eyed him, tapping one finger on the table. “Did you take one of my bread knives?”
The question caught him off guard, and he just sat there and avoided her gaze. He took the knife from his pocket and placed it on the table.
“Oh my god, Mason. This is getting worse and worse. If the police found that on you…”
“I know. But it’s a risk I had to take, so I could defend myself.”
“You didn’t…hurt anyone, did you?”
“I didn’t. I was too scared.”
“This is madness.”
He tapped ash into the dregs of his tea. Ellie glared at him. “I know it sounds mental. I’m aware of that. But you weren’t there. You weren’t there last night or today. You don’t know what happened.”
“You’re scaring me, Mason.”
“ You’re scared?” he said, staring at the floor. “You have no idea.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Darkness had fallen by the time they’d finished talking.
Ellie remained unconvinced by his talk of vampires. When she looked at him, it was with distrust and pity in her eyes, and it made his heart sink into his stomach.
Now he stood on the upstairs landing and watched the deserted street outside the front of the house. His insides jittered and broiled. The streetlights flickered on, but they gave him no comfort. Beery light filled windows in the houses across the road. He glimpsed people preparing dinner; families gathering and talking. The glow of televisions past net curtains. Domestic contentment and warmth. Something he longed for and craved. But it was a pipedream, a forlorn hope, something to be nurtured inside his mind and never exposed to cold reality.
For a while he just sat on the top step, lowered his head, and whispered the name of the girl he’d killed on that remembered summer’s night. His punishments for destroying a family were to never be allowed a family of his own and to always remember the face and name of the girl in the car. The Dead Girl. He understood and accepted the penalties; he even considered them lenient. If his mother were alive, she would have told him about the hellish afterlife that awaited him. And if that were true, then his only hope was that the bitch would be already down there burning when he arrived.
Glass shattered downstairs. A stifled shout from Ellie. Mason stumbled down the stairs. When he entered the kitchen, panicked and twitchy, he found Ellie crouching on the floor, sweeping broken glass into a dustpan. She rose and walked over to the bin in the corner and tipped the glass inside.
“I thought something had happened,” said Mason. “I thought…” He saw Ellie shake her head. “Doesn’t matter.”
She put the dustpan and brush in the cupboard under the sink. “I dropped a wine glass. Nothing to worry about. No bloodsuckers tried to seduce me with their
He shook his head. “I’m not mental.”
“Well, you’re either mental or vampires exist,” she said. “I know which one I believe.”
Mason scratched at his face. “Calvin came after me, Ellie. He tried to grab me. I was lucky to get out of there. His teeth. Christ. His eyes were red like the thing that killed him, for fuck’s sake…”
Ellie didn’t look convinced. “This sounds ridiculous, Mason. This is horror movie stuff. Maybe your friend Calvin is fucking around, playing a joke. Contact lenses and Halloween make-up. You don’t know him. You don’t know anything about him. This could be some prank he and this Zeke bloke play on newcomers.”
“It’s real, Ellie. I swear.”
“You need help.”
“I agree, but not for the same reasons. Calvin said he’d see me soon.”
“Calvin the vampire?”
“Yeah.”
She sighed. “Of course.” Then she eyed him, tapping one finger on the table. “Did you take one of my bread knives?”
The question caught him off guard, and he just sat there and avoided her gaze. He took the knife from his pocket and placed it on the table.
“Oh my god, Mason. This is getting worse and worse. If the police found that on you…”
“I know. But it’s a risk I had to take, so I could defend myself.”
“You didn’t…hurt anyone, did you?”
“I didn’t. I was too scared.”
“This is madness.”
He tapped ash into the dregs of his tea. Ellie glared at him. “I know it sounds mental. I’m aware of that. But you weren’t there. You weren’t there last night or today. You don’t know what happened.”
“You’re scaring me, Mason.”
“ You’re scared?” he said, staring at the floor. “You have no idea.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Darkness had fallen by the time they’d finished talking.
Ellie remained unconvinced by his talk of vampires. When she looked at him, it was with distrust and pity in her eyes, and it made his heart sink into his stomach.
Now he stood on the upstairs landing and watched the deserted street outside the front of the house. His insides jittered and broiled. The streetlights flickered on, but they gave him no comfort. Beery light filled windows in the houses across the road. He glimpsed people preparing dinner; families gathering and talking. The glow of televisions past net curtains. Domestic contentment and warmth. Something he longed for and craved. But it was a pipedream, a forlorn hope, something to be nurtured inside his mind and never exposed to cold reality.
For a while he just sat on the top step, lowered his head, and whispered the name of the girl he’d killed on that remembered summer’s night. His punishments for destroying a family were to never be allowed a family of his own and to always remember the face and name of the girl in the car. The Dead Girl. He understood and accepted the penalties; he even considered them lenient. If his mother were alive, she would have told him about the hellish afterlife that awaited him. And if that were true, then his only hope was that the bitch would be already down there burning when he arrived.
Glass shattered downstairs. A stifled shout from Ellie. Mason stumbled down the stairs. When he entered the kitchen, panicked and twitchy, he found Ellie crouching on the floor, sweeping broken glass into a dustpan. She rose and walked over to the bin in the corner and tipped the glass inside.
“I thought something had happened,” said Mason. “I thought…” He saw Ellie shake her head. “Doesn’t matter.”
She put the dustpan and brush in the cupboard under the sink. “I dropped a wine glass. Nothing to worry about. No bloodsuckers tried to seduce me with their
Similar Books
