They’d probably think I was delusional if I told the truth.
But it didn’t matter. They’d see I was desperate when I showed up late at night and unannounced. They’d take me in.
I had to laugh over how stupid I’d been. I’d started having feelings for Frederick. Meanwhile, he’d been waiting for the perfect opportunity to bite my neck!
“Cassie,” Frederick said, looking panicked. “I can explain.”
“I think you just did.”
“I did not. I gave you some information that I should have shared with you at the outset, but—”
I huffed a breath. “I’ll say.”
He looked chastened, gaze dropping to the floor. “I would still like a chance to explain myself fully. If you will allow it.”
But I was already inching my way towards the front door. “What is there to explain? You’re a vampire. You’ve been biding your time, waiting for your chance to pounce on me, sink your teeth into my neck, and drink my blood.”
“No,” Frederick said, emphatically. He shook his head. “It has never been my intention to harm you.”
“Why should I believe you?”
He paused, considering my question. “I realize that I have not given you much reason to trust me. But really, Cassie. If I were going to feed from you, wouldn’t I have done so before now?”
I stared at him. “That’s supposed to be reassuring?”
He winced. “It . . . sounded better in my head,” he admitted. “But please believe me when I say that for all intents and purposes I have not fed on a living human in over two hundred years.”
In over two hundred years.
The room went all spinny again as the full extent of what he was telling me sunk in.
Frederick wasn’t just a vampire.
He was also seriously, seriously old.
“I can’t do this,” I mumbled. I had to get away. “I’m leaving.”
“Cassie—”
“I’m leaving,” I said, stumbling out of the kitchen. “Throw out all my stuff if you want. I don’t care.”
“Cassie.” Frederick’s voice sounded pained. “Please, let me explain. I need your help.”
But I was already throwing open the front door of the apartment and dashing down the stairs, my heartbeat pounding in my ears.
SEVEN
Text messages between Mr. Frederick J. Fitzwilliam and Mr. Reginald R. Cleaves Hey Freddie
You okay?
No. I am the opposite of okay.
The woman who I had hoped would teach me how to live in the modern world has fled from me because of you.
What were you thinking, behaving that way in front of my roommate?
She deserved to know the truth about you.
I was still working my way up to telling her.
She’s human Not telling her ur a vampire right off the bat was a dick move I do not know what “a dick move” is.
Im insulting u
Well I suppose, in this case, I rather deserve it.
Why hadnt u told her
It’s complicated.
Complicated?
Yes.
lol
Cassie says “lol” in some of our notes to each other, but I do not know what it means.
Wait
You and Cassie leave notes for each other?
Also since when do you call her Cassie instead of Miss Greenberg?
I call her Cassie because she asked me to. And yes, we leave notes for each other.
We are roommates, after all.
Or we were roommates, rather.
Do you text each other too?
Sometimes.
But you HATE texting
That is true.
You never text me back unless ur having a crisis
Yes. But you are an asshole.
How often do you and Cassie text?
I do not keep track of such things.
Our typical method of communication is to leave notes for each other on the kitchen table. That way I do not need to use this infernal device to communicate with her.
Sometimes she draws me pictures on the notes.
They are lovely.
She’s quite a talented artist.
In fact, she’s quite good at a lot of things.
I dont believe this
What don’t you believe?
You’re into her
You REPROBATE! How dare you?!
What?????
Oh. No, lol
“You’re into her” is just a modern figure of speech, bud
It just means you have romantic feelings for her.
Oh.
I see.
You’re still wrong, though.
Right, lol
Listen. How long have I known you?
I shudder to think.
Have you EVER talked with a woman more than once a month before No. But I’ve also never lived with a woman before, either.