“I’m sorry,” said Vince.
Say, what kind of tactic was that? “Hunh?”
“I’ve been a jerk.”
I folded the program and fiddled with it. “Okay, so, I’ve been kind of a jerk too. Maybe we’re even now for the Ned excursion?”
He smiled. “You always keep score.”
“Only a sucker doesn’t keep score, Vince. So, what’s the story with you and Coral? Are you a thing? I need to know what to tell Marty.”
Vince’s attention went above my head, which meant he was thinking. “I think we’re a thing. I mean, we haven’t said anything about being a thing. I think she thinks that I, well, that we’re a thing.”
“How do you feel about her right now?”
“Mind control theory again?”
I raised my hands. “If you’d had my week, you wouldn’t doubt it.”
He chose not to ask about my week. “I miss her,” he said.
“Vince,” I said, turning to him, “I’m gonna go out on a limb and give you some advice. Coral isn’t a good fit for you, or for anyone human. My parents will back me up on this. The jury is still out on William. He seems okay so far.”
“Unless he’s the vampire who attacked me,” said Vince. “Ned thinks he is.”
“Ned never tells me anything.” I said. “Does it make a difference if Coral is one hundred percent for sure vampire?”
“She’s not.”
“She is. She’s jealous of me, you know. She thinks I’m interested in you.”
“Are you?” said Vince. He pinned me in place with his sincere Vince look.
I swallowed. “Irrelevant,” I said.
The curtains swished, and our conversation was cut off. Jennifer found her way through the part in the middle, and began the conversation about Dad and Mr. Christopher and the Gill Monster and blah, blah, blah. The lights dimmed. I glanced around to see if William had come in, but the lights were too dim. I touched Vince on the arm. “I’m gonna go look for Austin Von Trapp.”
“Do you want me to come?”
“Nope. You haven’t seen the film.”
I got up before our whispering could disturb any more audience members and made my way down the aisle. An usher opened a door for me discreetly and I blinked as I came into the bright lights of the lobby. There were still a few people lingering. I headed up the stairs towards concessions. The smell of melted butter was a potent lure.
William was there talking to a woman. She was not much taller than him, with straight blond hair. She had on a white dress with one frill over the shoulder. I stayed where I was, watching.
William waved at me, so I wasn’t nearly as well concealed as I thought. I wandered over. “I wanted to see what was keeping you.”
“Abby, this is my mom.”
“Your mom?” My mom looked like a mom. This woman had probably never baked a chocolate chip cookie in her life.
“Larissa Petrova.” The woman extended a bony hand covered with rings. Various colors of gemstones flashed under the lobby lights. She smelled like rose perfume. “William and Coral have told me much about you, Abigail.”
I thought I would ask William why his mother was here, but that idea sort of didn’t make it any farther than my thoughts. “Nice to meet you,” I said. I waited, to see what they wanted me to do next.
“You should come with us,” said Larissa.
I nodded. No one would miss me, and I had seen the film before. We wandered down the stairs and headed for the Alex’s forecourt. It glowed in the night, the Greek figures that decorated the arch dancing against a background of shadows. William took my hand and I smiled. We headed toward the parking lot.
When William opened the door for me, I thought he was quite the gentleman. “Thank you,” I said.
“You’re welcome,” he said. “We’re going to my house now.”
“Excellent,” I said. That was exactly what I wanted to do.
“Hey!”
There was a voice in the background.
“Don’t worry about that, Abby,” said Larissa. “Get in the car.”
Ned landed on the roof of the car with a metallic thud. He was doing his best Lost Boys impression, although his jacket was more army surplus than cool leather. I shook my head and didn’t get in the car. Someone touched my arm. Vince. He turned me around. “Come on, Abby. Let’s go back to the movie.”
“Abby?” William’s voice echoed in my head.
“Leave her alone,” said Vince.
“Abby wants to go home,” said William. “Don’t you, Abby?”
“Yes,” I said. Because I did. “Hey,” I said, “is it cool for Ned to be harassing Mrs. Petrova?”
“Back off, Cooper,” said William.
Vince’s hand moved away from mine, trembling, like he wanted to keep hold of me, but he was losing the battle. There was yelling in the background. My spare hand reached into my backpack and I touched various things. “It’s okay,” my voice echoed.
“Ned,” Vince said, “it’s okay. Abby wants to go.”
“We’re going back inside,” said Ned. “You’d better leave tonight while you’re still in one piece.” Ned’s fangs showed a little.
“Who are you?” William asked. “Don’t you serve snacks at the roller rink?”
“Yeah, but I’m also the bodyguard. Now, beat it, or you’ll be sorry.”
“I don’t think so, boy.” Larissa glanced at me, and I froze like a statue. “You might be like us, but you are outclassed. Just walk away and I will let you live.”
“Ned, it’s okay,” I said. “Don’t do anything silly.”
Ned did do something silly. He launched himself from the roof of the car and right into Mrs. Petrova’s midsection. One of her high heels flew off and clattered on the concrete.
Larissa’s claws extended like knives and she punctured Ned’s t-shirt, right through his gut.
Ned rolled onto the ground. He
