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She faced Lilly, but someone called her name.
“Della Tsang?”
Della turned and saw Mrs. Chi inching closer. She was an older neighbor who co-owned a small jewelry store with her husband, just a couple of blocks away from Della’s house. “I have not seen you in forever, young lady.”
“Hi,” Della said and noticed her neighbor glance at Lilly. “This is my friend Lilly Shay.”
“Hello,” Mrs. Chi said. Lilly barely nodded. She hadn’t even met the woman’s eyes and was already pulling her phone up. Had her mother never taught her manners?
“How is Chester?” Della asked. Before she’d left for Shadow Falls, she’d cared for the Chis’ cat when they’d gone on vacations.
“The same. He brought me dead rat yesterday. I call exterminator out and they say I have no rats in my home or the store. Where does that cat go to find them?”
“He gets around,” Della said, remembering she’d seen the cat snooping around her dad’s shed three nights ago when she’d gone out late to the supernatural blood bar.
Mrs. Chi patted Della’s arm. “I will go and grab dinner for Bojing. He is at store … closing.” She glanced at Lilly. “Have good night. Be careful. It is dangerous for two girls to be alone. The neighborhood is not safe as it used to be.”
“We will.” Della watched the elderly woman move to the counter. Then plastering on what she hoped was a friendly expression—but still irritated by Lilly’s rudeness—she faced the blonde. “Did you finish your hamburger?”
“Yeah.”
“Then maybe you can drop me back home.” She didn’t know if Chase had been serious about coming by or if she could add that to his list of lies. Probably a lie, but she should be there, just in case. She wouldn’t let him get away this time.
“But we’re going over to Susie’s to watch a movie.”
“Yeah. Sorry, I’m just not up to hanging out. It’s that time of the month.” She pressed a hand low on her abdomen. It was of course another lie—Aunt Flow had already come and gone. But Mother Nature had plagued women with the monthly curse, and Della figured that meant women had the right to use it as an excuse whenever needed.
Lilly frowned. “But your mom already…” She shut her mouth and even curled her lips as if wanting to pull the words back in.
“My mom already … what?” Della asked, sensing Lilly had her own secrets.
The girl rolled her green eyes, and Della remembered she’d never really cared too much for Lilly. Even before she’d gone off to Shadow Falls, she and Lilly had drifted apart. “Spill it,” Della snapped.
“Your mom paid me to get you out of the house.”
Della stood there, mortified and furious that her mom had paid someone to be her friend. Della had friends. She had the two best friends in the world back at Shadow Falls.
Right then she wanted nothing more than to go home, grab her bags, and get back to where she belonged. Where she didn’t feel like a monster.
“It’s not like I didn’t want to see you or anything. But I wasn’t going to turn down twenty bucks.”
“Take me home.” Leaving the stench of grease and beef behind, Della hurried out of the restaurant, fighting the temptation to fly home herself. When the cold Texas air hit her face, she inhaled and swallowed the tears down her throat. She might be hurting on the inside, but she’d be damned if she’d let Lilly know it.
* * *
Della didn’t say another word. When the car stopped in front of her house, Lilly looked at her. To the girl’s credit, she looked sorry. “Should I return your mom’s money?”
“No. Keep it.” Della jumped out and stopped outside her front door to listen. Her sister was staying over at a friend’s house. With any luck, Della could sneak upstairs without a confrontation. She didn’t hear the television on. Slowly she turned the knob and made a mad dash inside.
The living room was empty—thank God. She got to the bottom of the staircase and had her foot on the first step when she heard a whisper of music from her dad’s study. Della recalled when she would have been in that study with him, playing chess, laughing, and solving the world’s problems. Or at least solving Della’s problems. Whatever was going on in her life, her father had advice.
Now, there was no advice. He barely acknowledged her presence. As he had done every night in the three weeks that she’d been home, he’d already barricaded himself in his room. She wondered if he hid in there to avoid her. Then again, with a murder conviction hanging over his head, he was probably hiding from life. Earlier today she’d heard him tell her mom that he didn’t know how long he could continue to work. People were whispering behind his back.
I’m so sorry, Dad. The knot in Della’s throat doubled. It was her fault. Her fault that the cold-case file of her aunt, Bao Yu’s, murder had been pulled and reopened. Her fault that her father was being falsely accused of murder.
Yes, the blood on the knife used to kill her aunt had been a perfect match to her father’s. Only an identical twin could carry the same blood. Too bad Uncle Eddie, her father’s identical twin, had already faked his death. Something most teens did when they were turned vampire. Living with a human family and trying to hide your new nature was near impossible. Della knew that all too well.
Right then it hit her. If she’d done it, if she’d faked her own death, walked away, none of this would have happened. Her family wouldn’t be suffering now.
