H Is For Human (Garlic Is For Vampires, Book 3)

Chapter 7: Clue

My day passed in a blur I didn't seem to even notice Brendon was moving around me. Constantly moving, like a planet in orbit around the sun. I left in the early morning to go train in the warehouse by myself. Then I went on a run all the way back to the apartment. Then I spent the remainder of my day doing homework I was still making up. Brendon was home early, but we didn't talk to one another.

I just noticed when he placed a duffle bag by the door.

I was in the living room working on my homework. Brendon kept walking back and forth, making phone calls. I picked up only an, "I love you," and then Brendon walked to the front door. He picked up his duffle there and then left. I could hear his footsteps receding in the hallway outside the apartment door. Then he was gone without so much as a glance back.

I set my pen down and shook my head. I was expecting him to at least say a brief goodbye, or at least tell me where he was going. But he wouldn't have told me anyway, Matt told me. Unfortunately. Maybe I should've stopped expecting him to consider me a trustworthy friend, because I already proved myself untrustworthy. I ruined it. It was my fault and my burden to carry from now on. I sighed and leaned my head back before covering my face and laughing.

My phone rang beside me and I answered it. "Hello?"

"Bree, I've found Beebee. She wants to talk but since she can't step out into daylight, she wants to meet at her place," Matt informed me. I sat up and closed my books and folded an arm over my stomach.

"Yeah, sure. Where does she want to meet?" I asked.

"At her apartment on 13 and Apple. I'll come pick you up right now. I hope you don't mind loud noises." There was a chuckle in his voice but I dispersed it and instead wrote Beebee's number on a sticky pad. I hung up and ran my hands over my face, allowing myself to relax before standing from the couch. I put my things away and grabbed my bag, slipping a stake inside in case someone decided to play around with me. I waited for Matt. Then my thoughts went back to Brendon. I just hoped he would be okay this full moon. That's all I wanted from him right now. To be okay.

We would deal with everything else later. I had to take things one at a time, and then maybe I would look back at Brendon. But would I be too late by the time things cleared? What if they never did? I was asked out, as far as I knew. I only had vampires and one human on my side. How sad, but also good. That was a better option than whatever humans had to actually offer to me. There was nothing they could offer. I had more opportunities and some disadvantages. But I could work with them better than a pissed off half-werewolf. With a gun.

Matt knocked on my door and I answered it. I was already walking past him once my foot was out of the door. I noticed he was wearing a leather jacket. Leather in this heat?

"Protects my skin from the sun," he said. "That's a vampire thing, but humans hate getting sunburns, too."

I smirked and we descended into the garage where he said his car was. Then when we stepped out and he brought me face-to-face with a motorcycle, I stopped. He wasn't actually driving it, was he? It was a joke, right? I grumbled and then turned to look at him.

"How long have you been driving this?" I asked.

"Since I was fifteen," he chirped, sitting down on the bike. It's been a few years since he first started. He had experience. I decided to suck it in because he was my only way to Beebee's place without having to waste time while the sun went down. I got on behind him and he started the bike.

"Sorry I don't have any helmets," he yelled over the sound of the engine. "But I promise if you keep your head close to me, you'll be fine."

Sure. I pressed my head against his back and wrapped my arms around his middle. He was warm and alive, and I felt him move as he backed the bike out of the parking spot and then sped through the garage entrance at a stomach-turning lurch. I tightened my hold on him and looked over his shoulder. At least time was passing by incredibly fast. We zipped in and out through the cars and I was starting to enjoy myself. Matt laughed over the sound of the bike.