“What’s not to understand about clothes?” I sat down on the small bench by the shoe rack.

It was overwhelming being in the closet, surrounded by all of Jack’s things. I had to go in here every day to get clothes, but I hurried out as quickly as I could. I lay back on the bench so I could stare up at the ceiling instead of Jack’s stuff.

“Half of this closet is Jack’s stuff,” Jane touched one of his shirts. “But nobody’s made any mention of him since I’ve been here. Where is he?”

“I don’t know.” My phone was in my hand, and I looked down at the screen, willing him to call me.. I hadn’t tried calling or texting him today, but I hoped giving him some space would make him come home. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Jane had moved on to leafing through my clothes, and she looked at me sharply. “Aren’t you two like in love or something ridiculous like that?”

“Something like that,” I muttered and lay my phone face down on my belly, so it couldn’t taunt me anymore. “We got in a fight, and he left.”

“What’d you fight about? Who left the lid off the toothpaste?” Jane asked dryly.

When she found something she liked, she just took off her top. She’d just been wearing an oversized tee shirt, having kicked off the pants a long time ago. While she straightened out my dress before putting it on, she stood there, dressed only in lime green panties, but at least they were bikini cut and not a thong. Her spine stood out rigidly, but I looked away before I could think too much of it.

“No. It was a little more serious than that,” I sighed. Peter’s emerald eyes flashed in my mind, and I shook my head.

“I can’t imagine you doing anything serious,” she said absently.

Her focus was on her reflection in the mirror, modeling the strapless cocktail dress she’d slipped on. Even though I had lost weight, so had she, so my clothes were still too big on her. I’d say they were too short too, since Jane was still two inches taller than me and the hem fell way above her knee, but that was probably just right for her.

“What do you think of the dress?”

“It’s great,” I lied. For once, I’d look better in something than she did. Her shoulder blades stuck out like wings, and the top was made for a larger chest, so it was drooping weird in the front.

“Do you have any heels to go with this?” Jane turned, admiring herself from a different angle in the mirror. “Every good dress needs a good shoe.”

“Somewhere, probably. Dig around.” I gestured to the expansive shoe racks.

“So what did you do that made Prince Charming run away?” Jane wasn’t quite ready to get shoes yet and returned to the task of stealing my clothes.

“Kissed Peter.” I closed my eyes and grimaced.

Instantly after I said it, I don’t know why I told her the truth. It wasn’t something I was proud of, but since it had happened, I hadn’t really been able to talk to anyone about it.

Milo had said very little on the subject, mostly because he’d been too wrapped up in Bobby drama, and Mae and Ezra had never mentioned it. Besides that, Jane was really the only friend I had. Everyone else was family. Or Bobby.

“What?” Jane wheeled on me, her eyes wide. “You kissed Peter? That really incredibly foxy guy I saw earlier? You kissed him? I didn’t even realize that was an option!”

“It’s not.” I shook my head. “It was just a stupid mistake. I don’t even really know why I did it.”

“I do. That boy is irresistible.” Jane looked wistful thinking of him. “If I were you, I’d say good riddance to Jack and move onto Peter.”

“I don’t want to move on to him!” Too late, I realized that telling Jane was a really bad idea. I sat up and shook my head again. “I love Jack, and I want to be with him. Peter was an accident.”

“Okay. Fine, I believe you,” Jane said dubiously. She kept staring at me though, chewing her lip. “So… does that mean he’s single?”

“Jane!” I groaned. “Peter is bad news! And you need to stay away from vampires for awhile. Look what they’ve done you.”

“Yeah,” Jane shrugged, “but look what they’ve done to you.”

She had a point. Vampires were literally sucking the life out of her, but me, they had given immortality, beauty, power, and money. In fairness, those were all things that Jane already had, except for the immortality part.

“But I’m still miserable. So there.” I stuck my tongue out at her, and she shook her head.

“Oh, Alice, you’ll always be miserable no matter what you have.” Jane turned back to my clothes, picking out something hot pink and skimpy that I had never worn. “That’s your lot in life.”

“Maybe,” I exhaled resignedly. “But what’s yours?”

“My lot in life is looking beautiful.” She held the dress up in front of her and looked at herself in the mirror. “Do you have any accessories?”

Sure, Jane was irritating and self-absorbed, but it was oddly comforting having her around. I always knew exactly what I was getting with her. Despite myself, I actually sort of enjoyed her.

For the hour I spent with her, I didn’t check my phone at all to see if I missed a call from Jack. I didn’t forget about him, exactly. The dull ache in my chest wouldn’t let me, but I wasn’t quite as obsessive as I had been.

After Jane went to bed, I went downstairs to get something to eat. The slow burning spread from my stomach, and soon it’d gnaw all over me. Jane didn’t entice me at all, but Bobby was starting to, so it was time to eat. I gulped down the bag of blood, then went back to my room and curled up in bed.

I was having a dream about this incredible warmth growing inside me. It wasn’t a burning, like a fire, but something different and more wonderful. Like a bright white light spreading out over me, until it became so much I couldn’t stand it, and I opened my eyes.

When I woke up, my breath was ragged, but the feeling from the dream hadn’t dissipated. I sat up, and I nearly screamed. Someone stood at the end of my bed, but when I saw who it was, I couldn’t even speak.

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” Jack said quietly.

- 28 -