C a p t u r e d

34: The First Finale

       

Chapter Thirty-Four- The First Finale

Veneer

1.      A way of behaving or appearing that gives other people a false idea of your true feelings or situation.

2.      Basically, "faking it" all.

  My veneer was the most important thing in the universe.

  True me. I'd lost everything. I'd gotten kidnapped. Faking it was all I'd ever had.

  Luckily for us, Tyson's next party came too soon. I guessed that he was feeling empty again, so he decided to put on a show. And that show, that party, that huge mess, came seven days later.

  Suddenly, vampires and donors were flocking through our doors and making their way downstairs. Tyson wandered downstairs, as well, wearing a black-and-white European tuxedo. It was so strange to see him cleaned up. Like he actually cared about these parties and all the drinking and all the emptiness. It was actually kind of sad.

  Leyla and Natalia winked, handed the potion to Hayden, and began whispering to him. It was clear that they'd chosen him to give the potion to Tyson. Hayden could pretend to be happy with his new vampire-ness, and say, "Hey Tyson! I love being a vampire now, because of the Hungarian potion! Try it!"

  Not that it was really a Hungarian potion. Tyson knew about the twins and the potions. Well... God, Hayden would have to wait until he was really drunk.

  Uzair hovered near Hayden, like a father-and-son in their white-and-black outfits. Even though Uzair was Middle Eastern and grey-haired, Hayden had always been a foster kid, so though it was sad to think about, Uzair was probably the closest thing Hayden had ever had to a dad.

  I watched them go downstairs, with protective arms around each other. Sure, Hayden was the vampire. But it looked almost like he was the one being protected.

  The party was starting. Hayden knew this was a big deal. Uzair too. This was Hayden's big reveal as a vampire.

   Meanwhile, Nam Ha smiled, wearing one of her lingerie outfits, and stood near the door, to let in people. She was good at faking. Good at schmoozing. She could've been an actress in an alternate life, if she didn't have that cocaine problem.

   Aubrey, introverted, happy, and clueless, like usual, hovered in and out of the kitchen, offering other Donors food and wine and chattering loudly in that obnoxious old Australian accent. I almost felt bad for her. After all, we were about to hurt her chosen foster father, too. Unfortunately, that was Tyson.

  "This is so wrong," Sasha muttered from behind me.

   I closed the living room door and stopped staring into the corridor. Sasha was outstrewn on the couch, trembling, with an old plastic blood bag that she'd nearly finished. She had bloody teeth that she cleaned up hurriedly, with a mirror and a napkin.

   Since she and Hayden were younger, artificial blood was fine for them. But it still didn't stop my discomfort. Sasha was anxious.

  "Tyson's a kidnapper," I said. "I know he's not the worst vampire, like Paul and Ji, but he has to at least do what he can. He can't keep hurting people. He can't keep acting like he knows what's best for them."

  "I know that," Sasha said. "But this won't change anything. He'll find new Donors. Or he'll search for us."

  "I know," I said. "But the idea is that if he can't smell us, he'll start rethinking things. Maybe he'll actually look around and find people who fetishize vampires. Like Twilight fans. They can replace us, and unlike us, they'll actually fucking love this."