Kiss of Death by Rachel Caine

parents could only watch from the outside.
    She turned to her father and saw him watching her with that same sad, quiet expression. He moved a strand of hair back from her face. “My little girl,” he said, and shook his head. “I expect you for dinner soon.”
    “Okay,” she said, and kissed him quickly. “Bye, Daddy. I love you.”
    He smiled, and she quickly got out of the car and ran up the cracked walk, jumped up the steps to the porch, and waved at him from the front door as she got out her keys. Even so, he waited, watching until she’d actually opened the door, stepped in, and closed it. Only then did she hear the engine rev as his car pulled out.
    Michael was playing in the living room. Loud. That wasn’t normal at all for him, and as Claire came around the comer, she found Eve and Shane sitting on the floor, watching the show. Michael had set up an amplifier, and he was playing his electric guitar, which he rarely did at home, and damn. That was impressive stuff. She sank down next to Shane and leaned against him, and he put his arm around her. The music was like a physical wall pushing over her, and after the first few seconds of fighting it, Claire finally let herself go; she was pulled away on the roaring tide of notes as Michael played. She had no idea what the song was, but it was fast, loud, and amazing.
    When it was over, her ears were left ringing, but she didn’t care. Along with Shane and Eve, she clapped and whooped and whistled, and Michael gravely took a bow as he shut down the amp and unplugged. Shane got up and high-fived, then low-fived him. “Nothing but net, man. How do you do that?”
    “No idea, really,” Michael said. “Hey, Claire. How are the folks?”
    “Okay,” she said. “My dad says I can officially move back in.” Not that she’d ever really moved out.
    “I knew we’d wear them down,” Eve said. “After all, we really are amazingly cool.” And now it was Eve’s turn for the high five with Shane. “For a bunch of misfit geeks, slackers, and losers.”
    “Which one are you?” Shane asked. She flipped him off. “Oh, right. Loser. Thanks for reminding me.”
    Claire dug in her backpack and came out with the passes Myrnin had delivered. “Uh—I got these today. Somebody want to fill me in?”
    Michael, at vampire speed, crossed the distance and snatched the paper out of her hand. He spread out the individual passes and stared at them with a blank, shocked expression. “But—I didn’t think—”
    “Apparently, somebody agreed,” Claire said. “Eve?”
    Eve frowned. “What? What is it?”
    “Passes,” Michael said. “To leave town, to go to Dallas. To do the demo.”
    “For you?”
    “For all of us.” Michael looked up and slowly smiled. “You know what this means?”
    Shane threw back his head and let out a loud wolf howl. “Road trip!” he yelled! “Yes!”
    Michael put his arms around Eve, and she melted against him, her pale-painted face against his chest, hands around his waist. Claire saw her dark eyes flutter closed, and a kind of peaceful happiness came over Eve’s face—and then her eyes snapped open. “Wait,” she said. “I’ve never—I mean—outside? Of Morganville? To Dallas ? You can’t be serious. Michael?”
    He held up a pass with her name on it. “It’s signed. Official.”
    “They’re letting us leave town ? Are they insane ? Because once I hit the shops in Dallas, I don’t think I’m ever coming home.” Eve made a face. “And I can’t believe I just thought of Morganville as home. How much of a saddie am I?”
    “Eight out of ten,” Shane said. “But we do have to come back, right?”
    “Right,” Michael said. “Well, I have to come back. I’ve got nowhere else to go. You guys ...”
    “Stop,” Eve said, and put a hand over his mouth to enforce the order. “Just stop there. Please.”
    He looked down at her, and their eyes locked. He took her hand away from his mouth, and then lifted the backs of her