There comes a time in everyone’s life when one has to ask themself, What is my purpose? That doesn’t always come with a simple, straightforward answer. Nor does it come with a complete one. Life is constantly changing and it doesn’t end until the end. Therefore, people must change. And so shall their destiny. The point is to never come to a stale place in your life and to always be improving. That is the war of the world that we rage on in our helpless minds.

  You create an altar ego, in a sense. You see yourself becoming great and doing great things. This you, this new and improved, world-changing you, could create a cure for ravaging diseases—saving lives and looking into tattered faces, finally being able to tell them that it really is going to be okay. This you could fight great battles and become a great war legend—receiving medals of the highest honor and bringing peace to so many hopeless people. This you could even be a super hero becoming the face of the perfect role model for children everywhere—carrying a figure of you at their breast wherever they needed protection and fighting bad guys with your fists of fury and witty catchphrases. This will, in time, help you come to the realization that, just like the tales with happy endings and the inevitable marriage of the protagonist to the fair maiden, "anything is, in fact, possible." Eventually you have to decide what you will do with your talents, your smarts, your ethic, or even your sheer good luck, and eventually, you’ll get to where you really need to be.

  So when someone tells you that you are destined to be great when you don’t even know what to do with yourself as is, what do you say to them? Thank you? I can’t? Sorry, but you have the wrong woman?

  I should be dead. By all means of science and the natural world, a world devoid of vampires and mythical beasts, I should be dead. In the real world, the world that made sense—the world that I couldn’t even remember—vampires didn’t exist, people didn’t drink black blood and turn into a snow white, immortal creature. I should be buried in a hole somewhere. Worm food.

  In my world, when you died, you stayed dead. But here I was, existing and alive, and I was supposed to come up with something to do with myself that will do the world a great favor, or a grand act of heroism, or maybe a sacrifice of body and mind for the greater good. Or maybe I’d destroy it.

  Angoroth’s words haunted me every day and every night since he spoke them aloud to me. They swam in my head and blended with the words of the man in my dreams in a sick, deafening song of madness. They drowned me and spit me back out in a current of confusion that held my head under while I thrashed.

  What was I supposed to do? What could I do that no one else could, that threatens Angoroth’s "master" so dearly? I am just a simple, freakishly different—dare I say devilishly good-looking—vampire. No big deal, right? Every time I felt like I might understand, like I just might be able to have some kind of clue, I tore at my hair and found frustration in the place of closure. I found myself feeling more alone than when I had started to unwind those words, and gave up just as soon as I had begun.

  Thinking back, I knew I should have asked more questions. I was so much more focused on staying alive that I didn’t think to ask him questions. Now that he was gone, I had one of those angry conversations you have with yourself in the shower after an argument. I suddenly knew everything I needed to say with perfect clarity. Angoroth had to have so many answers—and, if I had only just picked his brain a little more, I might not feel so stupid. I only wished I could find him now, which was foolish. The last place I needed to be was in someone’s crosshairs, someone who wanted me dead, but all I could think about, day in and day out, is what he had said to me that night.

  Laycee had been helpful. There were times when I sat and sulked, wondering about what he might have meant. She knew what tormented me, and she brightened my spirits and distracted me—because she knew there was nothing she could do either. At least I had her, and for that I was grateful. There was nothing anyone could do at this point, nothing but sit and wait for something to reach us, some news—or more assassins—which, in all reality, was undoubtedly the most terrifying thing about the whole mess. The wait was agonizing.

  ***

  I was sitting at the kitchen table when I heard the front door crash open.

  "You’re early," I called out to Laycee. I didn’t have to confirm it was her because no one else would dare come barging through my front door like a fourteen year old after a bad day.

  "Ugh!" Laycee groaned from the front of the house. The sound of a bag hitting the floor shuffled through the kitchen.

  "Is everything alright?" I frowned.

  "Yes…" she sighed. She came through the archway to the kitchen with a huff. "I just tripped on the way over here and tore a hole in my favorite pair of jeans."

  I tried not to laugh as I inspected her knee. A small hole had appeared with a tiny bit of dried blood, the black stain clearly visible where she had landed and scraped herself. Her knee had likely already healed.

  "Ah. Well, you’re welcome to anything in the house." I leaned back over my cup of coffee.

  Laycee smiled. "I think I might just patch these. Grams is teaching me how to fix all the holes with embroidery." This was certainly not the first time she had torn some of her clothes—it wouldn’t be the last either.

  She sat down in one of the kitchen chairs with a small grunt and poked at her knee. After a few moments, she perked up and looked at me with shining eyes.

  "What?" My eyes narrowed.

  "Let’s go shopping! I need more thread. I think I want to put a butterfly here." She pointed to the hole.

  I grimaced. "We just went shopping."

  "Yea, but not the market! It’s my favorite!" I groaned and she whined. "It’s the middle of the day; it’s hot. There won’t be as many people there." She paused and then looked mischievous. "We can go see Danny…"

  My scowl deepened. "How many times do I have to tell you that there’s nothing going on there!"

  "I never said there was! But there could be…" she hummed.

  "No. Absolutely not. No way. Not now. Not ever." I hunkered down into my coffee like it would protect me from this conversation.

  "Why not! He’s sweet, he’s so hot, and he clearly likes you. Why won’t you give him a chance?"

  Laycee got up and crossed the room to the coffee maker. Fumbling with the pot, she nearly dropped it on the ground. This was the second one, since she shattered the last one.

  "First of all, there’s no chance to give. He doesn’t like me like that, and he’s never asked me out or anything."

  "Why don’t you ask him out then?" She chimed.

  I sputtered. "Uhh because that just breaks like all of the rules doesn’t it? He’s supposed to court me, win my heart, then ask me for my hand in marriage. Then we ride away on a magic carpet or something."

  Laycee raised an eyebrow. She put her finger to her chin. "He should probably fight a dragon, too."

  I threw my hands up. "Yes! See what I’m saying? We can’t possibly date. Glad we can move past that."

  She chuckled, her bells chiming. "Seriously though, Eyevoree. Why don’t you just… see where it goes?"

  I thought about that for a while before answering. I could just "see where it goes." Or I don’t know, I could blow it and make a fool of myself. Or Angoroth would come back and now Danny is right in the middle, and now he’s in danger. Or maybe it would be great and I was terrified of what that might look like in this new life.

  "I don’t know Laycee. It just seems fast. I’m barely starting to settle in here. I don’t even know him. He could be a serial killer for all I know." Laycee rolled her eyes. "I just think I need to—I don’t know… date myself, or whatever it is people say. Like after a breakup—only instead of breaking up with a guy, I just broke up with my mortality."

  We both laughed and her smile softened. "I think you’re making it more complicated than it needs to be. Just go on a date and have dinner or a few drinks. What if you just met up and had a nice dinner, or maybe you could go bowling and you accidentally step too far onto the lane, and your foot slips and he runs over and reaches out to catch your hand just before you fall and—"

  "Okayyy, that’s enough Hallmark for you."

  She had reached out into the air with one dainty hand, as if she was there watching her little scene play out. "Oh just imagine it. He runs over and catches you before you fall, and the ball rolls down the lane to get a perfect strike. Fireworks go off in the background before he leans you down and kisses you. And the whole bowling alley bursts into applause!"

  "I’m gonna pretend you hit your head when you fell earlier, and you did not just say that to me."

  Laycee cackled and I joined in soon after.

  "Tell you what," I said, "if, and that’s a huge if, Danny asks me out, I’ll say yes. Will that satisfy you?" Laycee sucked in a breath. "But," I held up a finger to her, "you cannot tell him to ask me out. He has to do it on his own."

  Laycee’s face fell as I unraveled her plan before it began. "Ugh fine. But I bet he will anyway! Doesn’t need my help. He’s already crazy about you."

  I rolled my eyes, "Yea, serving me sushi and showing me bugs. Real crazy."

  "I wish you would think higher of yourself," she said with a huff. "You’re really great, and it’s not hard to see why someone would want to snatch you right up." She reached out and touched the tip of my nose with a finger. Leaning forward, I snapped my teeth at it. She squealed and pulled her hand back with a laugh.

  "Sooo… shopping?" Her eyes were full of hope.

  "Fine fine, let’s go. But I’m not happy about it."

  "You never are!" Laycee chirped.

  By the time we got to the market, I was already in better spirits about it. Being out and about with Laycee was always easier than being alone, but even being alone had gotten better. The stares had gradually started to decrease in frequency and intensity as I began to run into the same faces more and more often.

  When we entered the market, I immediately caught eyes with the man with the grapes. He halfway raised a hand in greeting and recognition. While Laycee flitted around, I popped over and picked up more grapes. His smile was soft and warm, barely any trace of reservation left in it.

  I was more comfortable taking off my sunglasses now that my eyes seemed to be less of a commodity. Few people who saw me now would startle or look for too long. I got nods from familiar faces, and many vendors would smile and wave, especially if I had purchased from them. The more that we got out, the more I realized that life here could be okay. I could be okay.

  "Oh Eyevoree look!" Laycee’s voice peeled from off to my right. I turned to see her at a booth with all kinds of sewing, crochet, and embroidery supplies; I wasn’t too familiar with their differences. Laycee was showing me a bundle of brightly colored thread. "Look at these! I could do so much with these. What do you think about this blue for a butterfly? Or should I go with purple?"

  "Don’t you have enough purple in your life?" I said with a smirk. The vendor at the booth looked at me then chuckled.

  "I think she’s so fond of it, she wants more of it around," the woman said.

  I smiled. "I do like that purple, but the blue suits you. Really any color suits you. Maybe a lighter blue so the jeans don’t wash out the color?"

  She ended up buying three packs, each with several shades of blue, purple, and many others in the rainbow. I didn’t know why she asked me.

  I walked down the market and looked for any new vendors. A lot of the same vendors would return each week if they had plenty of food in season, or supplies for whatever hobby or craft they encompassed, but sometimes new ones would rotate in. I was looking at a table with several hand-carved figurines on it when Laycee reached out and picked up a long, white carving. She lifted it to her face and looked at me with a goofy smile.

  "Look. It’s… ivory." She giggled to herself and I stared at her blankly. I turned on a heel and walked away without a word. Her roaring laughter ushered me further down through the market while I shook my head. She soon skipped after me and grabbed my hand. "Come on! I’m thirsty."

  "Liar."

  "Really! Sooo thirsty." She smiled from ear to ear.

  "Let’s head back to the house then. I just stocked up."

  "Oh gosh Eyevoree, it’s just so far. I think we need to grab something closer. Probably… the brewery."

  I knew there was no arguing with her, so I allowed her to practically drag me down the market aisle and into the double doors of the brewery. When we got inside and looked around, I found myself disappointed that Danny was nowhere in sight.

  Laycee reached out to flag down a waitress that was passing by. "Is Danny here?"

  "No. He didn’t come in today. Maybe tomorrow." She gave us a polite smile and returned to checking her tables.

  Laycee gave a frustrated humph and I smirked at her, victorious. "Not today, loser. Nice try."

  "I’m sure I don’t know what you mean." She sniffed.

  "Well come on then, Miss Thirsty, let’s get something." I waited until I made eye contact with the waitress again and held up two fingers. She smiled and gestured to a table close to the entrance. I nodded and raised a hand in thanks. When we sat down, Laycee looked downtrodden. “Oh come on, you can’t really be that invested in this marriage you’re trying to arrange."

  "I just want you to be happy," she said sadly.

  My smile fell. "I am happy, Laycee. I don’t need a boyfriend to be happy," I tried to laugh. "What makes you think I’m not happy?"

  "I don’t know," she frowned. "Maybe. I just worry about you, too. He seems like he would protect you if something else happened…"

  "Is that what this is about? You just want me to have a bodyguard?" I laughed outright and her frown deepened.

  "Well no, I mean yes that would be great, but no. I just want you to be safe and experiencing happiness. I know you’ve been so lost since you turned, and I want you to be able to have everything you want. And I really do think he likes you. He’s a great guy, he’s kind and funny and wow is he hot. I mean have you seen him? Plus he can make drinks and cook and… what? Why are you looking at me like that?"

  "Maybe you should ask him out." I wiggled my eyebrows. Her brown skin turned even darker as blood flushed to her cheeks.

  "What! No! You know what I meant!" She kicked me under the table and we both spiraled into laughter that was way too loud for the restaurant.

  We had been there for some time when I saw Laycee’s eyes widen before looking down at her drink.

  "What was that look?" I made to turn around and she grabbed my arm.

  "Hey! I should totally embroider a butterfly into your jeans like mine! Or a violet!"

  "I—what?" I stared at her, bewildered. We had just been talking about gardening in the front of my house while the summer was still warm. "What are you—"

  A hand touched my shoulder and I started. Before I turned, I glimpsed Laycee with a shit-eating grin on her face. I looked at the hand before following the arm up to Danny’s shrewd eyes looking down at mine. I felt the blood drain from my face before I whipped back around to stare daggers at Laycee. She just subtly shook her head, raising her shoulders in confusion.

  "A little birdy told me someone down at the brewery was asking for me, so I thought I would swing by and see if they were still here."

  Laycee patted the spot on the cushioned bench beside her. "Yes it was us. Please! Join us. Surely it must be your day off so," she looked me dead in the eyes, "you must have some time to sit and chat. Maybe have a drink. Or lunch."

  I spared a glance out to the floor of the restaurant. The waitress from before was standing by the register looking completely delighted. She winked at me and turned around, fussing with a clipboard. Everyone in this whole city was going to be beaten within an inch of their lives.

  Danny took the seat beside her and smiled at me. "How are you ladies doing this afternoon?" The question was to both of us, but his eyes were on me. "Was there something you needed? I was just handling some affairs at home today."

  "Nope. Nothing in particular," Laycee chirped. "We just thought we would say hi while we were out shopping. I hope we didn’t interrupt you!"

  "Not at all. Buy anything good?" He asked.

  Laycee showed him all of the threads and various items she bought as she pinballed from booth to booth. He shared patient enthusiasm as she chattered about her new hobby. When he turned to me in question, I held up my bag of grapes.

  "Grapes? Now that’s a crazy purchase."

  "Yea I feel a little obligated to buy some every time I pass his booth considering I scared the crap out of him the first time I stopped there." They both chuckled. "Plus these things are damn good." I offered the bag to him and he pulled out a small vine.

  Laycee looked between us and cartoonishly yawned. "Oh gosh, you know it’s late. I should get going!"

  I glared at her. "It’s the middle of the day, Laycee." Danny’s eyebrows raised as he looked at her sidelong, his mouth full of grapes.

  "Yea, but I was on a reverse schedule recently."

  "No you weren’t." I said, my eyes narrowing.

  "I should head home and have Grams go over these patterns with me. Could you spot me for lunch? Gotta go. I’ll catch you later!" Before I could say another word, she was practically running for the door. I could do nothing but watch with my mouth hanging open.

  "She must be in quite the hurry," Danny said quietly. A smile danced along his lips. He wasn’t stupid.

  "Yea, quite the hurry." I scowled at the window as I watched her skip back down through the market, continuing to stop at booths as she went. What a little shit.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  He watched me until I looked back at him. I wrung my hands together.

  "Uh, you don’t have to stay here. I—er—we just wanted to say hi."

  "I’m happy to stay if you’ll have me. Can I get you another drink?" He glanced in the direction of the register.

  "Danny look…I—" I don’t know why I was suddenly in such a panic. I promised I would take a date if one presented itself, but this was dirty. Surely this didn’t count right? I was going to wring her neck.

  "You’re such a mystery," he said.

  I cocked my head. "Why do you say that?"

  "I just can’t get a good read on you. Sometimes I think you so desperately want to fit into this community, and sometimes I think you’d rather swallow yourself up and disappear. What do you want, Eyevoree?"

  His words weren’t accusatory or rude. His eyes were soft and his face open. He genuinely wanted to get to know me. I sat there for a while trying to figure out how to answer that question. Several times I glanced back at him, and he never took his eyes off of me. I could feel the grimace growing on my face.

  "I don’t know." I answered honestly. "I’m fairly happy with the way things have been. Laycee is my best friend, and things around the city are looking up."

  "Are they?"

  "Believe it or not, yea. Ever since… you know—and how often Laycee and I get out of the house. Well, I guess I should say, how often she drags me out of the house. People have been nicer, less weird. I’m starting to feel like I’m not some freak show everyone wants to point at, stare at, glare at."

  "But?" He asked.

  "But… um… but." I chewed on the inside of my cheek. "But I can’t help feeling like I’m floating in this interspace. I died, Danny. I basically died and was reborn as a vampire. I now live in a city of strangers. My family thinks what… I was kidnapped? It’s only been four, maybe five months. They’re probably still searching for me. I’m alive, but the Eyevoree that used to exist died. I love Laycee, but what am I doing here?"

  "That’s the question isn’t it? What are you doing here? Maybe… what is your purpose? You don’t have to have one yet, you know."

  "Yea that’s what they always says, human or not. What are we all doing here? We’re all going through the motions in a utopian society while the world moves on without us outside of these walls. And don’t get me started on that beast. What other creatures exist in this world that none of us know about? What is happening? What is supposed to be happening?" I trailed off and felt the weight of it all hit me like a train. I didn’t think I had ever allowed myself to sit and fall to pieces like this. It took everything in me not to burst into tears.

  He nodded slowly, his eyes far away. "That’s a lot more than I expected, but not unexpected. What does Eyevoree want?"

  "You sound like a therapist." I snorted.

  "Well that makes sense, considering I have a few degrees." He smiled wryly.

  "Oh I see what this is. You’re shrinking me. Turns out you’re a professional, and this is an intervention."

  He laughed outright. "No, not this time. Though I’m happy to give you a few free sessions if you need them." He reached across the table and took my hand like he had before. I looked down at my small hand in his. His skin was so soft, despite the perfectly rugged-but-also-manicured look he always had. He slowly brushed one thumb along my skin and my breath caught. "What is it that you want?"

  "I just… want to know what I’m doing here. I came into this life with a lot of anger and pain. I’ve only just started to find joy again, but it was followed by some creature coming here to kill me and leaving me with more questions than I’ve ever had. Questions I don’t think I’ll ever get answers to." I wasn’t ready to mention that I was hearing voices in my head that echoed Angoroth’s words. I wasn’t sure I ever would be, especially not to a shrink.

  "You never mentioned what he said to you." He gently added his other hand to our embrace. He started to play with my fingers carefully; bending and unbending them, running his fingers along mine. For a while, I forgot he had just prompted me to speak. I forgot I was in the middle of the brewery and that there could be countless people watching us. I was so lost in the way his hands explored mine. I allowed it to happen, relishing in the physical touch.

  I blinked rapidly a few times and returned to the conversation, lowering my voice. "He said a lot of things about how I was a danger. He said I had powers that I had yet to uncover and that I would be a danger to everyone around me, to the world. Not sure if that meant vampire or human—or both. He talked about a master that he served and that wanted me dead. There’s some greater plan in motion that none of us know anything about, and I’m somehow caught right in the middle of it."

  I let out a puff of air. I fully expected him to pull away from me and run, but when I finally looked up at him, he was just looking into our hands. His face was blank, barely contemplative.

  "You’re a mystery." He said again, his voice nearly inaudible.

  "And what about you?" I said.

  He glanced up. "Me?"

  I chuckled. "Well yea, you. I don’t know anything about you. Who are you? What do you want?"

  "I thought we were still on you."

  "No no, no deflecting. You get a little info, then I get a little info. That’s how we’ll play."

  He raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I’ll play with you."

  I felt a bit of heat rush around my body and swallowed hard. I grabbed my beer to hide my face, and the worry that my cheeks would flush.

  "I was born in New York City. I grew up knowing I wanted to be in psychology, so as soon as I got out of grade school, I was already enrolled in college. I immediately worked towards my doctoral degree and flew through my education." As he spoke, he turned my hand over and began to trace the lines on my palm. I had to keep myself from closing my eyes at the feeling. It had been so long since I had felt such an intimate touch.

  "How did you become a vampire?" I asked.

  "I met a man that came in and became a client. I’ll still respect his privilege as a patient, but I knew right away that something was different about him. Obviously every client is different, but I knew he was something else. Over time, he started dropping hints about being a vampire. I didn’t know that at the time, but took everything in. We talked a lot about the future and mortality. One day, he asked me about my future, and what I wanted to do with it. I told him I wanted to change the world.”

  “Those are some heavy aspirations.” I chided.

  “Yes, well, I did. I do. I believe that people can substantially improve in the way they live. There are so many things that can be done to further improve the state of our world, and even the human world. When I was human, I simply wished I could tackle the growing rates of depression, and the depravity that lay dormant in the mental health of many parts of the world.”

  “What happened with the man?”

  “After talking about everything I wanted to do, I think he determined that immortality would give me the best chance of realizing my dreams for the world. He came in one day and simply told me that he was an immortal. I had major concerns for his mental health taking a drastic turn. I tried to get him to elaborate, but he pulled out a knife and held it up. Of course, I initially feared for my life. Before I could alert anyone, he slashed his arm. I watched as his wound bled black blood onto the floor of my office. He pulled a flask from his pocket, drank from it, and held up his arm for me to see his wound close right before my eyes.”

  “Wow. I didn’t think that was even allowed. How can he just reveal our existence to a human like that?” I raised an eyebrow. Everything I’d known about humans, their blood, turning new vampires. None of it seemed to make sense or fit together anymore.

  “It’s not really allowed, but he did it. Many of our kind will do it anyway in order to transform humans. Not everyone gets caught, and authorities don’t always punish for transformations. Things happen, accidents happen. The law of making new vampires is very nuanced. In the end, you’re not supposed to drink human blood, but that’s not needed. Do you know how a vampire is made?”

  “I think so. You have to drink vampire blood as a human, right?” I said, not confidently.

  “Yes. You must drink or be fed arterial blood. It’s considered a very deliberate process. You can’t just get a splash of blood in your mouth and transform.”

  “What did you say?” I asked.

  “Well I panicked at first. Truly I almost jumped right out the window. I thought I had lost my mind, or that I may be dreaming. He was calm and cool, waiting for me to settle down enough to talk. He told me he believed in my vision and wanted to offer me immortality. He said I should think on it, and I did. I thought about it for months. He continued to return to sessions, and as my fear of him subsided, I saw the truth and logic in his words.”

  I gasped. “You chose to become a vampire?”

  “Yes. I chose it. He told me the transformation was painful and could take days. That it could kill me, that many people died from the pain. He said I would need to leave everything—my practice, my family, my home. I had very little family and eventually decided that dropping everything now would be for a greater good. I got my affairs in order with work and family, and we met to make the change. He told me that he would need to transport me to a coven and we talked about different surrounding ones. I lived in another coven near New York up until recently, but ended up coming here for a change in scenery. I grew up in the city, so naturally I wanted to see what living in the woods was like.”

  “How was… your transformation?” I asked, tentatively.

  “Probably a lot like yours. Nothing but darkness and pain. I thought it would kill me. I held onto a single thought throughout the time I lay there changing: This will help me change the world. It beat in my head like a drum. I opened my eyes in a medical facility in coven Dorendium, and there I was: a vampire.”

  I sat there turning his words over in my mind. He chose to become a vampire. The confusion in me whirled as I tried to understand how someone could choose this life. I gazed into our hands, still together in the center of the table.

  I must have worn my emotions on my face again, because he softly said, “What is it?”

  “I just can’t imagine having made this choice for myself. I didn’t get a choice, and I lost everything I’ve ever known. But even if I had the choice, I don’t know if I could leave everything behind. I guess I just can’t imagine having a dream so big I would do it.”

  He nodded. “Yes I understand that it may not look the same for someone else. Believe me, I didn’t do it without a lot of thought. I went over the pros and cons of immortality. I pondered whether any of it was real, or if I was walking into a nightmare. Maybe I was in one and needed to walk out. But the more I thought about it, the more I knew it was what I had to do if I ever wanted my dream to be realized. Sometimes we need to make sacrifices in order to make the changes necessary for a better future. This was my sacrifice, and I would do it again, given the choice.”

  I let out a long, slow breath before rubbing my free hand on the back of my neck. “Can you recommend something stronger than this?” I asked, nodding towards the beer.

  He gave me one of those lazy, knowing smirks of his and stood. There was a cold absence as his hands left mine, and I pulled it onto my lap. I swirled the last of my beer before I chugged what remained. I watched him stride away, nod at the waitress, and enter the bar. He fished around behind it for a while and started making a drink. He glanced up a few times to find me watching him curiously, that smirk never leaving his face. When he was done, he lifted two cocktails up from the bar and walked to the register. After punching in a few numbers, he came back to the table.

  “Try this. If you don’t like it, I’ll make something else.” He immediately began to sip from his own. “I find these really take the edge off, especially since it’s so hard for us to get a buzz. One of the true downsides.” He laughed.

  I inspected the drink. It was a pale blue color with some orange and lemon wedges—a cherry sat on top. It smelled tropical and sweet. When I tasted it, I was sent straight to the beach. The drink was strong, but the flavors blended so well, the alcohol wasn’t overwhelming or unpalatable. I pulled a long, deep drink through the straw.

  “So you’re a doctor, a bartender, a waiter. Is there anything you can’t do?” I sipped my drink greedily.

  “Well, I thought I couldn’t get you to want to go out with me, but I guess I can do that, too.”

  I almost inhaled my drink and choked, like the first time I met him. I snatched a napkin from the table and covered my mouth, staring at him incredulously. He bellowed and I scowled.

  “Laycee put you up to this didn’t she? I knew she didn’t just want to go shopping. She’s the worst liar.”

  “Well… she may have said something, but not this time. I really did get a text from Julie about someone looking for me. A couple of ‘cute girls’ she said. I was able to infer.”

  “What did Laycee say?” I practically shouted.

  He tried to hide it, but the delight in his eyes shone. It was clear this was too funny to him. “She just mentioned that you could use a nice night out on the town, so to speak.” He gestured to the table. “I know this probably isn’t what she had in mind, but I’m certainly having a good time getting to know you.”

  “When did this happen?”

  He thought for a second. “A few days ago I think. She came in for a shipment for her grandmother.”

  That sly little dumpster cat. Of course she promised she wouldn’t intervene. She already had.

  His smile faltered at my silence. “I’m sorry. I don’t want you to think you’ve been deceived. I had no idea she would take off when she invited me to join you both. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t pleased by the offer.”

  I sighed. “No no, it’s fine. I’m just starting to realize that no one in this city can be trusted.” I shot another look at the waitress.

  His amusement returned. “I don’t think that’s true. Your turn now.”

  “My turn? Oh.” I crossed my arms. “I think you owe me another one.

  “Oh?”

  “Yes. For your sneaking around.”

  He looked shocked and faked being hurt. “Come on, I had nothing to do with this. I was at home minding my own business. If anything, I’m a victim here.”

  I rolled my eyes. “What do you want to know?”

  “What would you like to tell me?”

  “Oh don’t go in circles with me, doc. Ask me a question.”

  He pursed his lips. “If you had any power to change the world, what would you want it to be?”

  “Can’t you ask me a normal question? Like ‘what’s your favorite color’ or ‘top five favorite bands’?”

  “I could,” he said, “but I want to go deeper. I want to know how you would make your footprint on history.”

  I let out a low whistle. “Hey man, you’re asking for a lot. I have barely been trying to survive day by day, not change the world.”

  “Think on it for a while. Don’t give me an answer today. Everyone has an impact; it doesn’t have to be groundbreaking.”

  “Hmm. Well since I’m not answering that question, do you have another, or is it my turn?” I tapped my finger to my chin.

  “I’ll get that answer eventually, so it counts. Go ahead.” He took another long drink from his cocktail.

  “Why are you interested in me?” I was shocked when the words tumbled out of my mouth.

  He raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to waste your question on that?”

  “Why is it a waste?”

  “Because it has an obvious answer. You have such depth. There’s so much more to you than the broody woman who hides herself away to escape the world. I’d like to get to know the real you.”

  “Really? Not just because I’m devilishly good looking?” I batted my eyelashes.

  “I didn’t need to mention that that’s what caught my eye first.” He grinned. I flushed, but couldn’t hide the smile that danced on my lips.

  “Another?” He asked, pointing at my drink as I neared the bottom. I nodded, and he stood. When he came back to the table, he gingerly slid mine over.

  “Do you get to have free drinks or are you buying these?” I asked.

  “Don’t you worry about it. You just enjoy.”

  We went on for the next couple of hours, just asking questions about life and dreams. He asked me a lot about my family and the things that I remembered from when I was human. I asked him about his goals, his human life, and if he had any plans to return to counseling.

  We had tossed back a few more drinks each and my head was swimming. I looked up to find him looking at me. His head was slightly cocked to the side while he leaned into his hands folded at his lips—his eyes were hazy. I bit my lip and looked away.

  “You getting ready to run?” He asked. He was too damn smart.

  “I uh—”

  He stood suddenly and reached a hand out. I stared blankly for a moment before taking his hand and standing, too. I swayed briefly and he flinched to catch me. Blinking rapidly, I raised a hand. “I think I’m okay. Those are some strong drinks, but I think I totally love them.”

  He laughed. “Yes, those are good ones. Took me a while to put together a good recipe.” He rounded the table and hooked his arm towards me. “Shall we?”

  I took his arm again, the same way I had at the museum, and we left to walk back through the market. The sun was searing hot, so the market was fairly deserted. The vendors sat back in their chairs, fanning themselves and chattering. I got a few raised eyebrows at the sight of me arm in arm with Danny nearly stumbling our way down the market aisle, but I just nodded and smiled.

  When I passed the woman at the sewing supply booth, she nodded her head in approval and gave me a subtle thumbs up. I clapped my hand over my mouth to keep from bellowing. Danny’s head swiveled toward me with confusion and I just waved him off.

  “So where am I walking you?” He asked.

  “Oh you don’t have to do that. I can make it.”

  He raised one eyebrow and said nothing, patiently waiting for directions.

  “I’m going to Laycee’s grandmother’s.” I said with a sigh. “But really, I don’t want to put you out. It’s all the way across the city.”

  “I guess you’re stuck with me a little longer then.” He patted my arm in his with his free hand.

  We clung to each other the entire walk, occasionally stumbling when he or I caught a toe on the sidewalk, then bursting into embarrassed laughter. We passed by some landscaping with flowers, and he slowed to reach in and picked one. It was a little, white daisy.

  “Is this an apology for getting me so drunk?” I giggled.

  “No, I just think it’ll look nice in your hair.” He stopped to tuck some of my hair behind my ear, then put the flower in between the strands. He nodded with a small smile. “I was right.”

  He held my gaze for a little too long, still holding my arm but facing me slightly. Just before the tension was too much to bear, he gestured forward with his free hand. “Lead the way.”

  I swallowed and nodded to the next street. “We’re almost there, just a few more blocks.”

  As we rounded the corner for Laycee’s house, panic slammed into me. This was the end of our little “date,” and that usually came with one of two things: he was either going to walk away… or he was going to kiss me.

  He must have sensed me tense because he slowed and asked, “Are you feeling okay?”

  “Uh yea, I’m just thinking about how much Laycee is about to grill me. If I don’t kill her first.”

  “Go easy on her,” he said. “I would say everything worked out okay.”

  We started to walk up the driveway and I zeroed in on Laycee’s frantic, brown eye peering through a crack in the curtains. I bared my teeth at her and shifted Danny’s back to the window before he could notice.

  “Thank you for the drinks. I—oh shit! I didn’t pay for our lunch!” I clapped my hand to my forehead.

  “I know. I did.”

  “You even covered Laycee?” He nodded. “You didn’t have to do that. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. Thank you for the lovely afternoon.” He reached up and tucked some hair behind my other ear, and I saw the curtains flutter with Laycee’s hysteria. He took my hand and kissed the top of it, holding my eyes with a piercing gaze. I reached up towards the daisy in my hair and smiled softly.

  When he leaned in slightly, I braced myself for whatever was about to happen, but all he did was brush his lips against my cheek, then back up. He nodded, bowed slightly, and turned to walk away. I was left swaying in the driveway, just watching him until he rounded the corner to the next street.

  My eyes fluttered while I attempted to regain my composure. Then I wheeled on Laycee, still in the window, her face now pressed against the glass. I sneered at her, and heard her squeal before dashing away.

  I stomped to the front door and threw it open. It slammed into the wall with a loud bang. I scanned the house for Laycee and found her cowering behind the dining room table, fear and joy aglow on her face.

  “You!” I spit, pointing at her.

  “Eyevoree, we do not slam doors in this house.” Grams scolded.

  I faltered. “Sorry, Grams. But you don’t know what she—”

  “And if you two are going to fight, you take it outside. I’m watching my soaps. I hope you had a nice date, dear.” She lifted the remote and turned up the tv.

  I shot Laycee an incredulous look and she clamped both hands over her mouth as her eyes went wide. I pointed through the door. “Outside.” She just shook her head and bounced in place.

  I sighed deeply and closed the door behind me, quietly this time. As I crossed the room, I stumbled again. I swear, these drinks had settled in stronger since we left the brewery. I really needed that recipe.

  “Are you drunk?” She said in a loud whisper.

  “I might be. Who’s asking?”

  She clapped her little hands together and chimed her bells. “Tell me everything.”

  Before running off to her bedroom, she went back to the window where she had been watching my exchange with Danny. A pair of pants lay on a chair pulled over to the curtains, and some thread was scattered around. So she had been waiting for me the entire time.

  I followed her into her room where embroidery supplies and half-done projects were everywhere. She must have planned to sleep at my house because her bed was covered in clothes—mostly pants with holes in the knees.

  She planted herself in the middle of the room on the floor and began to resume working on the pants she grabbed from the window. Upon closer inspection, I could see a butterfly emerging in the thread. She went with blue after all—a stark turquoise with bits of white.

  I sat down and began my story of the afternoon from the moment she left us there together. Her eyes were wide the whole time, in complete disbelief until we reached the moment where I revealed that I knew she had spoken to Danny already.

  “And it turns out, you had opened your big mouth and planted a seed there.” I growled.

  “I did not plant a seed,” she said. “I just watered the one I found.”

  “Uh huh. Sure.”

  “Why are you drunk?” She laughed.

  “Conversation got a little heavy, so I asked if he had a stronger drink recommendation. He came back with some cocktails. And another round. And then a few more.” I fiddled with a spool of thread while I recounted.

  She tsked. “Well aren’t you two just a couple of lushes.”

  I continued the story, from leaving the market to walking to the house.

  “And the flower?” Her eyebrows raised.

  “He said he thought it would look nice in my hair.” I mumbled.

  She pressed her lips together and raised her eyebrows knowingly.

  “Hey, it was just a few drinks. Nothing more.”

  “Oh give it up, Eyevoree.” She threw her hands up. She began ticking off fingers. “He came back to the brewery on his day off just to see you. He hand made you special drinks for hours. He held your hand the whole time. He escorted you here. He put a flower in your hair!”

  “He was just being polite and a gentleman.” I looked away.

  “He kissed your cheek!”

  Okay that one was hard to dismiss. I flushed. “Fine! Okay! You win! What do you want?”

  “Nothing. I just told you. I was right.” She beamed.

  “Yea yea…”

  “Now what?” She asked.

  “What do you mean ‘now what’? We barely just got here. Let me breathe.”

  “Did he ask you out again?”

  “No, he just said thank you for the afternoon and left. But I owe him an answer for a question he asked earlier, so I’m sure he’ll cash that in later.” I thought about it again.

  “What was the question?”

  “He asked me if I could have any power to change the world, what would it be?” My brows furrowed.

  “Oh. That’s unique.”

  “It was relevant to what we were talking about. About how he had a dream to impact the world. I wasn’t really sure what to say.”

  She hummed. “I think I would want a power that made it easier for us to all live with the humans. Something that made it easier for us to be around them. Took away all those bad feelings we had when we smelled them.”

  “That’s noble of you. But you know, you just need to get used to them. It just takes time. Some people are fine being around humans.”

  “I know, but imagine you could turn and then boom, no primal instincts. You could just go right back to your life. I’d want that for you.”

  I felt a pang of sorrow thinking about my family. “You’re sweet.” Glancing around at her mess, I picked up the blue thread. “How is this coming along?”

  Laycee perked up and lifted her jeans. “Grams showed me how to get started and I think it’s coming out great!”

  The butterfly was a little rough in some places, but overall, she was doing a great job for her first few times.

  I looked at the bed. “I’m assuming you’re staying the night then.”

  She giggled. “Yes. But I’m bringing these. Oh and these.” She piled up some pants and threads before shoving them into a shoulder bag.