Dark Side

Chapter 50

“What’s all this?” Hope asked, closing her door in slow motion. Kaleb and Lizzie had made quite a mess of her nice room, and yet, there was MG, still unconscious on her bed. “I thought you would’ve fixed him by now.”

“It’s a little more complicated than we thought,” Lizzie started. She treaded carefully, knowing that any wrong word could lose any hope they had for MG - literally. “We tried a head dive, but … he only wants to see you.”

“Okay.” Hope stuck out her hands. “Send me in.”

“R-Really?” Lizzie’s eyebrows rose as she leaned back.

“Yeah.” Hope shook her hands insistently. What was the blonde waiting for? MG needed them.

Lizzie bit down on a smile. This was … very unusual for Hope. Judging by the look on Kaleb’s face, he knew it as well. It was looking more and more like her theory that Hope’s humanity was cracking could be true. If she was willing to do something Lizzie asked without having to be persuaded … it was a good sign. 

“Okay.”

Their hands formed a circle around MG.

“Get us a little closer this time, Lizzie?” Kaleb asked. “I really don’t want to make the ten-mile void-hike again.”

Lizzie closed her eyes and muttered something about not knowing how to steer. She pictured that scene in her head - not that it was one she ever thought she’d be able to forget. She knew MG was a ripper, but knowing it and seeing it were two different things. She didn’t open her eyes again until she heard the music, louder than the first time.

“Where to?” Hope asked dutifully, gesturing for Lizzie and Kaleb to lead the way. She followed after them eagerly. 

When they reached the edge of the crowd, the three of them stood on their tiptoes to survey. The vampire was nowhere to be seen. 

“Hey!” Hope said brightly, spotting a familiar redhead. “I know her!”

“What?” Lizzie turned to furrow her eyebrows at Hope.

“You mean these are real people?” Kaleb asked.

Hope shrugged. “That one is. Her name is Cheryl.”

“And who is Cheryl?” Lizzie asked. She didn’t like the way the name twisted in her gut. 

“Relax.” Hope laughed and knocked her shoulder into Lizzie’s. “We didn’t sleep with her or anything. We just fed. Come on, let’s follow her.”

“What?”

Lizzie elbowed her way through the crowd after Hope. It felt like hours passed as they cut through the crowd - some more gracefully than others. And then they spotted MG.

Cheryl smiled at him and he pulled her in, wasting no time in biting her neck. Hope took her spot on the other side wordlessly.

“What the fuck?” Lizzie crossed her arms, watching the scene unfold with more curiosity and confusion than disgust. 

“You’re here,” MG grunted around the warm blood gushing in his mouth. 

“Of course.” Hope wrapped a hand around the back of his neck and bit into her other one, letting Cheryl take a sip. They fell into that same old rhythm - feed, heal, repeat. “You remember the first time we fed on her?” Hope asked, putting her fangs away but not releasing her grip on Cheryl.

“Mm-hmm.”

“You remember how you stopped?”

“Yeah.”

“I need you to do that again.”

MG pulled back just long enough to shake his head before he dove back in again. 

Lizzie rolled her eyes. Did Hope really think she could just tell a ripper to stop and he would? That wasn’t how it worked. Even Lizzie knew that.

“MG?” Hope tried again with the same soft tone. “It’s time to stop.”

To Lizzie’s surprise, it worked. MG yanked himself back, holding Cheryl at an arm’s distance. He took a moment to collect himself and then lowered his chin, locking eyes with her.

“Go back to your friends, and forget this ever happened.”

“What … the … fuck …” This time it was Kaleb to speak as he watched Hope lean in to MG’s ear.

“Do you want to get out of here?” she whispered.

MG turned to smile at her. “So bad.”

“Come on.” Hope offered him a hand and led him back through the thinning crowd. As she reached the edge, she could feel MG’s hand being yanked away from her. She turned to protest, but when she looked behind her, she was back in her bedroom. “MG?”

His eyelids fluttered, and something in Hope washed over her. Relief. Happiness. He was okay.

“Hope? Lizzie? Kaleb?”

The two of them piled on MG, pulling him into a tight group hug while Hope watched.

She wasn’t supposed to be feeling relief. She wasn’t supposed to be fucking feeling anything.