Free All I Want For Christmas Is A Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks Page B

Sabrina’s cat, Vanderkitty, jumped from the easy chair to weave around Toni’s legs.
    “Hey, Van.” Toni rubbed behind the orange tabby’s ears. “Have you seen your mama?”
    Van gave her an annoyed look, then marched off to the kitchen area to assume a regal pose by her food bowl.
    “Don’t give me that. I know Carlos has been feeding you.” Toni peered inside Sabrina’s bedroom.
    It looked the same as it had last Sunday—discarded jeans on the floor, textbooks lying open across the purple chenille bedspread. Before going out Sunday night, Sabrina had spent most of the day studying for finals this week—finals she had missed. Toni had visited all of Bri’s professors on Monday to explain why Bri would be absent. She would receive incompletes in all five of her classes.
    It was as if Sabrina’s life had suddenly frozen in time, and her room along with her. Toni wondered if their lives would ever be the same.
    She turned on the bedside lamp, then dug through the top drawer of Bri’s bedside table. Her heart squeezed when she spotted a birthday card Bri had kept. Toni had given it to her years ago. It was the first time she’d bought a card that was addressed to “Sister.”
    As far as Toni was concerned, Bri was her sister. They’d been best friends for ten years. They spent their holidays and vacations together. God knew their real families didn’t want them.
    Which was why it was so weird for Bri to leave the hospital with her aunt and uncle. Toni had heard so little about this couple over the years, she couldn’t even recall their full names. Joe and Gwen something-or-other who occasionally remembered to send Bri a Christmas card. Why had they suddenly developed an interest in their niece?
    Toni located a pink fuzzy address book and thumbed through the pages. It was sad how few names were in the book. Even sadder how many names had been crossed out over the years. Poor Bri. It was so hard for her to find people she could trust.
    Toni carried the address book back into the living room and flopped down on the love seat. Vanderkitty jumped onto the back of the love seat to perch by Toni’s ear.
    “You miss your mama?” Toni interpreted the loud purring as a yes. “Yeah, me, too.”
    She flipped through the pages of the address book. “Aha!” Under the Ps, she found Dr. Joe Proctor and Gwen, who lived in Westchester. This had to be them, although Toni hadn’t known Uncle Joe was a doctor.
    She reached over the sofa arm for the cordless phone on the end table and noticed the blinking message light. Four messages. Three were from her, since she’d called three times. Maybe the fourth one was from Bri.
    Toni punched the play button and listened to her voice grow increasingly worried with each message. Finally the last message.
    “Bri, this is Justin. You gotta forgive me, babe—”
    Right. Toni turned the message off. Then she dialed the number for the Proctors. What kind of doctor was he? A proctologist? Her snort was interrupted by a feminine voice with a Hispanic accent.
    “Dr. Proctor’s residence.”
    “Hi. Is Sabrina there?” Toni heard muffled voices in the background.
    A different voice came on the phone. “Good evening. This is Gwen Proctor.”
    “I’m Toni, Bri’s roommate. I’d like to talk to her.”
    “I’m afraid that’s not possible at the moment. She’s sleeping, and we hate to wake her up, the poor dear. She’s been through such a terrible ordeal.”
    Tell me about it. Toni had survived a vampire attack, too. “Is she all right?”
    “Yes, of course.” A definite chill had crept into Gwen’s voice. “Thank you for calling.”
    “Can you tell her to call me when she wakes up?”
    “We don’t want to upset her delicate condition.”
    Was that a no? “Bri will want to talk to me.”
    “Perhaps, but you’re not qualified to talk to her properly.
    My husband is an excellent psychiatrist, an expert in the type of severe psychosis that Sabrina is exhibiting right