A Grave Problem

22. A Bad Idea

Mia lay in bed, lights off, the covers pulled up to her chin. The clock on her nightstand said 10:48. She was waiting for her parents to go to bed, but it was taking forever. Why did it always seem that whenever she really needed to hunt, her parents stayed up late?

Normally, Mia would have passed the time reading. But her book was downstairs on the living room couch. She knew there was no excuse she could make up for why she needed it that her parents would believe. She knew exactly what they would ask: if she wasn't going to read it right now, why couldn't it wait until morning? And that was true. She couldn't even find something to read on the computer – she was afraid the light from the monitor would let her parents know she was still up. Even though she didn't need the sleep, her parents sure didn't know that, and Mia didn't want to get in trouble for arguing about her bedtime. So she decided to lie in bed and daydream.

The dance had been two nights ago, but Mia could still remember almost every detail. She'd had a lot of fun – more than she ever would have thought was possible at a dance. Going with a group of friends had been great, and even though she didn't know Tala or Heath before that night, they seemed to fit right in. They were a little shy, maybe, but Mia knew if she hung around them long enough they would open up.

As Mia thought back on that night, she couldn't help but remember that kiss. Truth be told, it was pretty much all she'd thought about since it happened. She could still remember his smell, the way his lips felt against hers – just thinking about it made her heart start to do flips all over again.

Mia's train of thought was shaken suddenly and everything seemed to get darker. It took a minute to realize that it was just the hall light going off. Finally. She sat up in bed and listened closely as footsteps walked down the hall and her parents' door opened and shut. After that, there was only silence. Mia sat listening for almost ten minutes. She knew that if either of her parents were still awake, she'd be able to hear them without too much trouble. Nothing. It looked like she was the only one still up. She walked over to her closet and picked out her favorite T-shirt and a pair of jeans; if she was going out tonight, there was no way she'd be doing it in pajamas.

She got dressed and listened. Silence. Her parents weren't up, and just as important, she didn't hear any wailing coming from outside. Still, she decided to wait twenty more minutes, just in case. When she was finally sure that she wouldn't be caught – either by her parents or a banshee – Mia finally snuck over to the window. Carefully, she slid it up as high as it would go. Then glancing back, she listened carefully one last time to make sure no one had heard her. The light in the hall stayed off; the house was completely silent. Turning back to the window, Mia stuck her head out and looked around. Then she climbed out.

Like Mia's own room, her parents' room faced the backyard. She glanced over, making sure their light was still off. It was. She continued across the roof and down to the garage. She hopped down to the driveway, and five minutes later, she was at the bus stop, waiting for the bus that would take her downtown.

When the bus pulled up and Mia got on, she'd had every intention of going out to hunt. It had been two days since she'd been out last, and it really was about time for some fresh blood. But the longer she sat on the bus, the more she got a nagging feeling in the back of her mind. It had been a while since she or her friends had gone to the hospital. Not that that had really bothered Mia; she was perfectly happy with pretending she didn't know anything about the banshees. But Summer and Heather were still staring at her during class. Mia couldn't say for sure, but it seemed like their stares had gotten more angry over the past couple of days than they had been at the start of the school year. Today, for example, the two had not only stared at her menacingly before class, but they'd managed to take turns during class as well. And Mia was sure she'd seen Summer sneer at her. If the fae were getting more upset, Mia knew it was only a matter of time before they decided she'd taken too long. And she could only imagine what would happen after they'd made that decision.

Remembering how annoyed they'd been, Mia decided she really should go to the hospital. She didn't necessarily need to catch a banshee tonight, but she should at least make sure there was still one to catch. Maybe if she went by herself, the thing wouldn't be so scared and she could actually talk to it.

Ten minutes into her bus ride, Mia had made up her mind; she would go to the hospital and see if she could talk to the banshee there. Her determination lasted all the way until they crossed over the freeway. But as the bus started getting closer to the hospital, Mia started to waiver.

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to go there by herself. Besides, it was really late, and there wouldn't be that many people around. Mia didn't want a crowd to watch her or anything, but if she was the only one there, her odds of being remembered would be much higher. And there was safety in numbers. What if the banshee tried to attack her since she was alone this time? With each stop the bus made, Mia thought up a new reason why she probably shouldn't go to the hospital alone. By the time the bus rolled up to the hospital, Mia had convinced herself it was a death trap. She'd go some other time – when it wasn't so late, or so dark.