“Hey.” My voice was damaged, as if my vocal cords had been cut and only recently sewn back together. “I’m glad you’re speaking to me again.”
He frowned, and suddenly I could see the storm brewing beneath his exhaustion. “I wasn’t ever not speaking to you.”
“You were avoiding me, then.”
A stilted pause before he admitted, “Yes.”
A second later, the world around me tunneled so that only Cole existed. Elation speared me—finally we were having a vision— —in the Ankhs’ game room, Cole stood across from me. He was smiling at something Veronica was saying. I stood in front of Gavin, my hands cupping his cheeks.
“You are a better man than I ever gave you credit for,” I told him.
“I know,” Gavin replied.
“And you’re so modest.”
He chuckled. “Are you happy with the way things turned out?”
My gaze strayed to Cole. The tension he’d worn like a second skin all these weeks had utterly vanished. “Yeah. Yeah, I am—”
—the vision vanished in a blink, right along with my elation, and Cole let his head drop into his upraised hands. He scrubbed his fingers through his already disheveled hair.
“Gavin’s a man-whore, you know. Never been with the same girl twice. And he’s never liked blondes. He won’t stay with you for long.”
There was ice in his tone, and it scared me. “I’m not interested in Gavin.” I struggled to sit up. “Cole, you have to—”
“Don’t say anything. Just...don’t.” Motions jerky, he shoved two pillows behind my back and reached over to lift a glass of water from the nightstand.
I was in my bedroom, I realized. Determined sunlight shoved its way through the curtains. The iPod Cole had given me was stationed in its dock on the desk and turned on. Soft music filled the room.
He placed the straw at my lips. “Drink.”
I obeyed, the cool liquid sliding down my throat, soothing for a moment only to churn in my belly, frothing up acid. “Thank you.”
He nodded stiffly and set the cup aside. “Let’s talk about what happened with Justin.”
Yes. Okay. A safe topic. “Has he recovered?”
“Yeah, and a lot quicker than you.”
The accusation in his voice threw me, and I glowered at him. “Hey, don’t blame me. I’m the victim here.”
He massaged the back of his neck, somewhat contrite. “Yeah. I know. Sorry. It’s been stressful, watching you suffer and not being able to help.”
Slowly I relaxed. “Has a slayer ever bitten another slayer like that?”
“Not to my knowledge. Not while both are still human.”
Why Justin? Why me? What had been different? “Did I try to bite anyone while I was...out of it?” The moment I asked, memories came flooding back to me. Cole. I’d tried to bite Cole.
“Just me,” he said without any hint of emotion.
I soaked in horror like a sponge. “I’m sorry,” I rushed out. “I know I failed. Wait. I failed, right?”
He gave one, sharp nod. “You did.”
I relaxed again, but only slightly. “I’m so sorry, Cole. I don’t know what came over me, but I do know I’m not going to do it again. I promise you.”
He shrugged—and I wasn’t sure whether he was trying to tell me he believed me...or that he didn’t.
“I mean it,” I insisted.
“You tried to bite me more than once,” he said flatly.
Oh. I didn’t remember the other times. “I’m so sorry,” I repeated. “I didn’t realize...”
“I know.”
I gulped. Was he disgusted with me now? “Do you think Anima put Justin up to hurting me? Causing this kind of reaction, thinking we’d destroy each other?”
“Maybe, but like you, I don’t think Justin knew what he was doing.”
Agreed. The red I’d seen in his eyes... “Where is he now?”