“I think I’m gonna head back inside and see if Mae needs a hand,” I said to no one in particular, which was just as well. Matilda was far more captivating than I was.

By the time I made it to the shore, I heard the loud splash and their shouts of triumph. Matilda finally jumped in the water. If only my resolution with Jack could be that simple.

Wrapping the towel around me, I stepped in through the French doors. My skin froze instantly, thanks to the arctic draft from the air conditioner. Amy Winehouse blasted out of the stereo, Mae’s one new guilty pleasure. Jack was always trying to get her to listen to new music, and so far the only things that took were Winehouse and Norah Jones.

Mae danced around the kitchen, singing into a spatula, and despite my aggravation over the Jack situation, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Oh my gosh!” Mae put her hand over her heart and her golden eyes flashed with embarrassment. “You scared me!”

“Couldn’t you hear me come in?” I asked as she turned down the stereo. “Aren’t you guys supposed to have super hearing or something?”

“Well, yes, when we’re paying attention,” Mae smiled sheepishly at me. The fruit snack looked complete and nicely arranged on the island, and she was just cleaning up when I interrupted.

“Do you need a hand?” I offered.

“No, and you need to go put some clothes on first.” She nodded at me, and I had begun to shiver. “Unless you’re not done for the night.”

“Oh, no, I’m definitely done,” I replied grimly. The thrill completely wore off the instant Jack pushed me away.

“I should probably go change too.” She started untying her apron.

“You don’t need to stay in on my account.” I held up my hand to stop her. “You can go out there and swim while I clean up.”

“Nonsense,” Mae laughed, as if she would ever let me clean up after her. She whipped off her apron and set it on the island. “If you and Ezra are in the house, I can’t imagine what kind of fun I’d even have with the boys. They’ll probably throw frogs at each other.”

She wasn’t that far off base. When left to their own devices, Jack and Milo turned into very silly little boys. Once, when it was raining, I split up a mudball fight in the backyard. It’s very similar to a snowball fight, except with mud. That seemed like a genius idea to them both until Milo started getting bruises, because as it turns out, vampires can throw much harder than weakling sixteen-year-olds.

Mae shook her head and headed off down the hall to change. I followed her to the main bathroom across the hall from her bedroom.

In the bathroom, I changed into my ordinary clothes, and I wondered if I was being too stubborn not letting Mae buy me new clothes. After she’d spent decades buying for only boys, it would thrill her to take me on a shopping trip. The suit I set in the tub to dry had cost over a hundred dollars, and she’d bought me three of them. But then again, they already gave me far too much, and I returned so little.

I tried to dry my hair as best I could and clean myself up. Before I had even finished washing my face, I heard a yell. I turned off the faucet, and Mae was shouting Jack’s name, so I rushed out into the kitchen.

Jack was yelling, and he sounded terrified.

Mae stood on the patio when I ran outside. Jack was still several feet away from her, standing closer to the shoreline. When I tried to run past her, Mae grabbed my arm, and her face blanched.

It was too dark for me to really see what was going on, but I could feel pure heartbroken terror. Something terrible had happened, and Jack felt worse about it than he ever had before.

“Ezra!” Jack bellowed, and he stopped walking forward. “Ezra!”

“I’ll go get him,” Mae whispered nervously. Her hand squeezed my arm so tightly it hurt, but I barely noticed. “Alice, you stay right here. Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”

“Hurry!” Jack pleaded, but she was already gone.

Even though I didn’t move any closer, my eyes adjusted to the darkness, and the moonlight splashed on him through the branches of a nearby tree. Something lay limp in his arms, and my breath caught in my throat.

Immediately, I thought that something had happened to Matilda. The boys had gotten too rough, and she’d gotten hurt somehow, and Jack knows how freaked out I get when animals are hurt.

Then Matilda whined by his feet, her white fur soaking wet. I noticed dark patches running through it, dripping off whatever Jack held in his arms. But I still couldn’t see it.

It was perfectly visible, but my mind just couldn’t process. I felt dizzy and disoriented, like I was looking down at the world from an amazing height. I couldn’t make sense of anything.

A wind rustled through the trees, moving the branches, and the moonlight struck him just right. I saw his face, his eyes rolled back into his head, and I saw exactly what Jack held in his arms.

“Milo!” I screamed, and Mae wrapped her arms around me just in time to keep me from running at Jack.

- 3 -

Ezra ran past us, down the embankment towards Jack and Milo. I kept wailing Milo’s name, as if that would help somehow.

I only saw my little brother, bloodied and limp in his arms.

“Get him inside,” Ezra told Jack.

Jack cradled Milo like an injured child as they hurried to the house. Ezra placed himself between them and me, shielding me from as much of it as he could. I bucked futilely against Mae’s arms as they walked past us, screaming at them, but I don’t even know what I said.