Page 4 (1/2)

I hurried home to Apple Valley to tell Jessica all about my new job But the unbelievable stench assailed o inside

I fidgeted on the front step for a , and finally told myself, well, you defeated the o, so you can do this, too

I opened my front door and followed my nose to the bathroom, where my best friend was lurched over the toilet

"Still have the flu?" I asked syroaned She retched again I observed she&039;d had chicken soup and toast for lunch "Use your super strength to pullout loud, Jess, how long you been in here?"

"What day is it?"

I noticed that she hadn&039;t had tiallop, and had initially , anyway

When she was finished scatter-puking, I picked her up like a big doll and carried her to the guest bed Before I&039;d become a vampire, there was no way I could have done this Jessica was a few inches shorter than ly and hard to lass of 7-Up and a ashcloth She cleaned herself up as best she could, and then I picked her up and ran back into the bathrooo to a hospital," I said nervously She&039;d been barfing for two days

"Marc can give ets home," she said She sounded hollow, because her head was all the way inside the toilet bowl Luckily, she&039;d gotten her hair cut last week

Marc was my roommate, a resident at the Children&039;s Hospital in Minneapolis He&039;d eous, chic little seven-room place in Edina, but she spent most of her ti sick here," I asked, "instead of at your place?"

"You don&039;t kno lucky you are," she replied, ignoring ree with you Hey, guess what? I got a job"

"That&039;s nice" She looked up at me Her brown eyes were sunken She&039;d looked better on the day of her parents&039; funeral "Why are you just standing there? Why aren&039;t you killing h my mouth Luckily I only had to do that about twice an hour "You know, this sort of reht is"-she hurped-hurped for a second, then continued-"a blur"

"Well, you werecr��me de menthe with vermouth, and then you started with Jack Daniels and tequila I tried to get you to slon, and you told et you a Zima with a bourbon chaser Then-"

"Stop!"

"Sorry" Yeah, not the brightest move But that was the last tiay, I could hypnotize you into passing out I guess I could try hitting you over the head with soirl"

I did I was ready to hurp-hurp o back to Macy&039;s in the worst way

Instead, I tucked Jessica back in-she dozed off while I was pulling the blankets up to her chin-and left her to start cleaning

I found some clothespins in the kitchen junk drawer Don&039;t ask me why-I didn&039;t have a clothesline Junk drawers are a miracle in themselves The stuff that turns up in them-ere there coupons for free bird seed? I didn&039;t have a bird

I found with the clothespin over loves on a up the blood I&039;d drank about three hours ago My donor had been an a column of a Pontiac Firebird when I found him After I&039;d taken what I needed, I called his; I wasn&039;t going to be an accessory to grand larceny

I was rinsing the mop in the toilet when I heard a knock I hurried to the living room and opened the door before Jessica could wake up

Tina stood there, looking all big-eyed and hopeful She took one look at iggles

"Get lost," I suggested I still wasn&039;t speaking to her Thanks to her, and Sinclair, I was the queen of the undead A small fact they&039;d hidden until after Sinclair and I had iveness!

"Please can&039;t I co madly

"No And don&039;t call me that" Still, I stood there with the door open I&039;d liked Tina the moment I met her Of course, whenever someone saves my life on first acquaintance, I tend to feel war loyalty to Sinclair, which s (see above: the whole queen of the va like a hundred and some years-but cool She didn&039;t act or talk like an old lady, though she could be stiff soirl with her long blond hair, high cheekbones, and pansy eyes, so dark and enormous they see? And what is that stench?"

"Cleaning up," I replied nasally I plucked the clothespin off ot the flu"

"I&039;m sorry to hear that The flu I haven&039;t had that in" Her eyes tipped up in thought "H Look, the bathroo-I would know, right? We both would So, I have to get back"

"Let et it," I said, startled Yech! A job I wouldn&039;t wish on my worst enemy Or Sinclair

"Such work is beneath you"