The second the sun cast a pale pink haze through my curtains, I snapped my sketchbook closed and bolted from bed. I still only had two outfits, but for once I didn’t care. I slipped into my clean jeans and orange tank top and headed for the small bathroom.
When I finished showering, I smoothed my bangs to the side of my forehead and grimaced. The girl looking back couldn’t be me. Her sapphire eyes appeared grey and dull, like the life and light had left. As far as I was concerned, they had. Discolored circles had formed under them, as if she hadn’t slept in weeks. Pathetic. There was no other way to describe her.
Biting my lip, I turned away. No wonder Aiden didn’t talk to me more than he had to. People weren’t fond of the walking dead. I ran a brush through my blow-dried hair and then shuffled into the kitchen.
Aiden sat at the table, his mouth fixed in a line of concentration as he stared at a laptop screen. Like every morning, the curl on the ends of his hair was damp and the smell of aftershave lingered in the air. I stopped in front of the table and rested my hands on the back of a wooden chair. “Let’s go.”
Without looking up, he motioned to the fridge. “You should eat something first.” He slid his iPhone across the table. “Then call Skyler. He called four times last night. I’m not supposed to stop bothering you until you call him back.”
“Of course not.” Ignoring the phone, I walked to the fridge and grabbed a yogurt.
“He’s worried about you. He hasn’t talked to you since the—”
“I know!” My stomach twisted, and I took a deep breath. Dropping my gaze, I traced a finger around the foil lid before putting the yogurt back. “I’ll call him later.”
Aiden typed for a few moments. “I found something.” He rotated his laptop, showing me the screen.
I scooted a chair out and sat down across from him, throwing a skeptical look in his direction. “A map? You helping me break out of here?”
“Of the area we live in. There’re two houses within fifteen miles. If that girl exists, she lives in one of them.”
I clenched my jaw to keep it from dropping. Unknowingly, I slid forward in my chair. Maybe he didn’t think I needed to be locked up. “Seriously?”
“She’s a Drea. Maybe her gift is communicating through dreams or visions…”
At this point, anything that convinced him thrilled me. “So say we do happen to find her. What do we tell her? I saw she was going to be sucked dry?”
Aiden nodded and shut his laptop. “With a bit more tact than that.” He stood. “Ready?”
She had to know who the Kember was. I jumped up from my chair, nearly knocking it over. “Hell, yeah. Let’s do this.”