The only person who had ever shown me this much devotion was Cora, but even then I always felt deep down that pity was a part of it. With Dana, I didn’t feel that way. It was genuine.
Also, Cora’s loyalty to me didn’t give me butterflies in my stomach.
A part of me wanted to tell Dana that she was making me feel this way, but I knew it wasn’t fair. Regardless of whether Max’s plan worked or not, I probably wouldn’t survive the night. Master could somehow be beaten and bloodied on the ground and he would still find a way to take me out with him. It wasn’t fair to give Dana hope that something could ever happen between us, just for her to lose me in the end. That was downright cruel.
Dana waited for me to say something, but when I didn’t respond, she frowned. “I’ll see you downstairs,” she said and then walked away.
I put my hand to my chest and sighed. For a girl who's supposed to be dead, my heart did a lot of racing.
Chapter Thirty-Five
CORA
They left me on the floor in the chapel, with the wounds and the bite marks scattered all along my arms and body. They left me on the carpet soaked with my blood.
It felt like they left me there to die.
Was I to become a vampire now? The rules were still unclear to me. I told myself that if I became a vampire that I’d be all right and that I’d make it work. I never much cared for the sun anyway. It wouldn’t be such a loss. Right?
It’s the drinking of the blood that I wouldn’t be able to handle, or the idea that I’d outlive everyone I knew, or never even have children. Having a baby was never something I focused too greatly on, but knowing I’d never mix my DNA with Max and watch it grow up was gutting. I don’t think I realized how much I wanted that future with him until it seemed impossible.
I already had all the empathy in the world for Melanie, but this made it even more intense. These things had to have run through her head a million times.
I crawled off of the floor, got to my knees, and ran my hand against the side of my neck. There was dried blood and a gaping hole where Master’s teeth had been. Molly and Veronica had left that part of me alone and mostly focused on drinking from my arms and legs. Never in a million years would I have guessed that someday they would do that to me. Life can really take a goddamn weird turn.
The chapel doors opened, and Molly walked in. She saw me attempting to get off the floor and tossed a towel at my face. “Clean yourself up,” she ordered. “Master doesn’t want you looking skuzzy.”
I removed the towel from the top of my head. “Are those his words or yours?”
“How are you feeling?” she asked. I didn’t get the impression it was a genuine show of empathy on her part, but a sinister curiosity. She wanted to know I had suffered.
I wouldn’t let her know how much pain I was actually in, so I sarcastically answered, “Like my arms, neck, and legs have been cut open.”
She smirked.
“You come here to gloat?” I asked.
Molly sat down at the altar and crossed her legs. Her dress was so torn up on the ends I could see her knees through the weak fabric. “Now that we’re alone, there’s something I need from you.”
“What more could you possibly take?”
“The truth. A confession, really.” She leaned toward me and draped her arms across her knees. “I know you killed my brother, but I want to hear the words from your lips.”
It was one of many moments I dreaded. No matter my reaction, it would be wrong. If I told her the truth, she'd be outraged and if I lied to her, she’d be equally outraged. I couldn’t pick one option in the hopes of her sparing my life, because I didn’t know what would set her off.
I sighed. “Your brother was sick,” I told her.
She cocked her head to the side. “That’s not a confession.”
I shut my eyes and took a deep inward breath. “He asked me to end his life.”
“Liar,” she hissed.
“Owen practically begged me. He couldn’t live with what he had done, with what he had done to you. You were his world, Molly.”
Molly jumped to her feet. I fully expected her to leap at me and rip my throat out, but she turned away and paced. “He knows I wouldn’t have wanted that for him. We talked about this a million times.” Her pacing ended and she looked to me, her eyes misty red with rage. “Just admit your sketchy little ass got trigger happy and killed him without thinking twice! That he was just some beast to you.”
I shook my head and said, “That’s not what happened.”
“Like you’d ever admit it if it was,” she spat.
“You might not give a shit about me, Molly, but Owen did. I wanted to help him, but losing you was the last straw. He had nothing left.” I sighed. “God, Molly, you knew him better than anyone. You know I’m telling the truth.”
She panted, her white skin flushed. “Why did you listen to him?!” she screamed. Her voice was layered with so much emotion that it echoed throughout the chapel. “Why couldn’t you help him?! If you had done for him what you did for Max, I wouldn’t be alone!”
“Is that why you’re so angry?” I softened my voice. “Because you’re lonely?”
