Free i f2cd308009a8236d by Guinevere Page A

it.
    “Mum will be home in about thirty minutes, and it’s my turn to make supper.”
    Rebecca looked up suddenly, grinning widely. “Something to look forward to,” she
    teased.
    “Just because you’ve now got a taste for the red stuff, doesn’t mean you should mock
    my broccoli cheese bake.” Mark pretended to be indignant. Rebecca chuckled, and stood
    up. I stayed where I was, watching their easy interaction.
    “What about tomorrow?” Mark asked. “Should we come here after school?”
    I nodded. “Both of you, please. We don’t want to give the neighbours cause for
    concern.”
    Mark seemed to think that was hilarious and launched into a long loud baying laugh,
    clutching his abdomen, and tears streaming down his face. I wondered if all the excitement
    of the afternoon was catching up with him, and he was becoming hysterical. Then he
    spluttered, “If only they knew!” He was still giggling as he crossed the road with his sister. I smiled. Nice kids. Brave. But very vulnerable too. That worried me.

    Rebecca
    I knew Mark was going to make trouble for me as soon as we got in the house and he
    started making loud smacking noises with his lips.
    “Smooching a vampire! Woohoo!” he ducked away from my attempted swipe, grinning.
    “Mark! Someone might hear you!”
    “There’s nobody home yet, Bex.” More kissing noises. Brothers!
    “Seriously, Sis, it might be a good idea for you to go on the pill or something. Angus
    didn’t look like he was going to stop, and I seriously thought he was going to kill me when I
    interrupted you two.”
    “I’m considering killing you myself, you irritating lttle…” My voice tapered off. Someone
    was turning a key in the front door. “If you’re not careful, I will bite you,” I hissed at him, showing my teeth. He giggled again, and ran up the stairs.
    “Hello, baby! How are you feeling” Mum sounded slightly breathless.
    “Much better, thanks.” She looked at me carefully and nodded.
    “You look a lot better. You’ve got some colour in your cheeks now. Amazing what a
    morning in bed can do.” And half a pint of blood to drink, I thought, smiling inwardly. What
    a bizarre day. All I wanted to do was go upstairs and curl up in bed so I could think, but Mum wanted to talk about her day. She went into the kitchen, chattering away about some man
    that she’d met at work. I made encouraging noises, and asked questions at the right points
    in the conversation. She didn’t even notice that my cast had been replaced by a knee brace.
    Mark appeared in the doorway after a few minutes.
    “Hey Mum,” he said. “Broccoli cheese tonight?” He grinned sideways at me. I pulled a
    face.
    “Sounds lovely!” Mum wasn’t fussy.
    Joe arrived shortly afterwards, and we ate our supper and drank tea and watched some
    crime drama on television. I excused myself just after nine, pleading exhaustion, and
    crawled into bed. I had anticipated this moment all evening, and was looking forward to
    thinking it all through, but I fell asleep within minutes of putting my head down, and the last thing on my mind as I drifted off was the feel of Angus’ body against mine.

    Angus
    Fergus phoned me at about nine. I was grateful for the interruption. My house was
    beginning to feel eerily empty without the Hardings. Even the kitten had disappeared.
    “How did she take it?” That was Fergus. No preliminaries. Hello was a word that
    happened to other people. I grinned. I missed my brothers.
    “Surprisingly well actually. Her brother was here, and I had to tell him too.” I explained
    how I had found Rebecca dying, and what I had had to do to bring her back. I described
    Mark’s levelheadedness, and his easy acceptance of a peculiar situation.
    “Hmmm,” said Fergus.
    “No.” I said it flatly, with finality. I knew what they would think – that Mark knew too
    much and would need to be eliminated. I liked and admired that boy, and I’d felt his
    determination to keep our secret. I