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I STOOD BY THE WINDOW, expecting hi apart froht

Then, still s, he turned and walked away Within a ht

I shut theand fled to the safety of my bed, wherehad he been down there? If he knehere Madaht he’d be furious, but he seemed amused Why hadn’t he ripped out my throat like Steve said he would?

Sleep was iht after stealing the spider Back then I could tell myself that he didn’t knoho I was and therefore couldn’t findDad After all, a vaainst us Dad should know He should be warned and given a chance to prepare a defense But

He wouldn’t believe ined trying to convince him that vaht come back He’d think I was insane

I was able to snooze a little when dawn rolled around, because I knew the vampire couldn’t launch an attack until sunset It wasn’t ood and I was able to think clearly when I woke I realized, as I thought it over, that I had no reason to be afraid If the vaht when I was unprepared For some reason, he didn’t want me dead, at least not yet

With that worry off my mind, I could focus on Steve and my real problem: whether to reveal the truth or not Mo care of Mrs Leonard, calling around to let friends and neighbors know of Steve’s illness If she had been ho Dad filled me with dread

Ours was a very quiet house that Sunday Dad cooked eggs and sausages for breakfast, and burned them as he normally does when he cooks, but we didn’t coulped it down I wasn’t hungry The only reason I ate was to pretend it was any other average Sunday

Mo talk with Dad He didn’t sayto hear as being said He ca

"How is he?" I asked

"Not good," Dad said "The doctors don’t knohat to ht: it is poison But not like any they know They’ve sent samples to experts in other hospitals, and hopefully one of them will know more about it But" He shook his head

"Will he die?" Annie asked quietly

"Maybe," Dad said, being honest I was glad for that All too often adults lie to kids about serious matters I’d rather know the truth about death than be lied to

Annie started to cry Dad picked her up and perched her on his lap "Hey, now, there’s no need to cry," he said "It’s not over yet He’s still alive He’s breathing and his brain doesn’t seeht the poison in his body, he should be fine"

"How long does he have?" I asked

Dad shrugged "The way he is, they could keep hi time with machines"

"You mean like so before they have to start using machines?" I asked

"A few days, they think," Dad answered "They can’t say for sure, seeing as how they don’t knohat they’re dealing with, but they think it will be a couple of days before his respiratory and coronary systein to shut down"

"His what?" Annie asked between sobs

"His lungs and heart," Dad explained "As long as those are working, he’s alive They have to use a drip to feed him but otherwise he’s okay It’s when if he stops breathing by hiins"

A couple of days It wasn’t much The day before, he’d had a whole lifetio see him?" I asked