If there was one thing Claire was certain of, it was that Granma Katherine Day did not like Myrnin. At all. Granma Day’s lips turned up into a bright smile when she saw Claire at her front door, but it quickly turned into a scowl when her eyes rested on Myrnin. He wasn’t allowed in, of course. Myrnin had to wait outside while Granma Day happily handed Claire a container filled with chocolate chip cookies.
“Now you be careful, girl,” Granma had warned Claire. “That man out there is a psychopath. You’d be best sticking with Collins, all right?”
Claire liked Granma Day. It proved to every single vampire in Morganville that no matter how old or young a human was if you had the right spirit and attitude, you could survive anything.
Katherine Day was living proof.
Myrnin, on the other hand didn’t like her too much. Claire could accept that, after all, Granma wasn’t so nice to him either. Apparently Myrnin had even stole her car one night and returned it with a damaged engine and battery. How that had happened, Claire had no idea. She hadn’t realized how much time they’d eaten away – literally – because by the time she glanced up at the round wall clock, it was already half past seven. Myrnin must have already known how late it was, but decided not to say anything to mess with Claire.
They left, and Myrnin even walked her home. That gave her a sense of safety, which was stupid because it was Myrnin. The last time she’d taken a night-time stroll with Myrnin, she’d been picked up and dropped to the floor as Naomi changed them in hot pursuit. That wasn’t a pleasant memory to think about. Claire could only image Eve’s speech when she got home. God, she already had Shane’s lecture playing out in her head. Claire wasn’t the only one engrossed in thought, Myrnin walked silently next to her with his set in front of him. As if feeling her eyes on him, Myrnin gave her a sideways glimpse. His eyes caught the moonlight causing them to shine abnormal and shiny, reminding Claire that Myrnin wasn’t as human as he seemed. Claire looked away, and her eyes moved down to her converse high-tops. She kicked a few pebbles across the sidewalk, and risked another glance at Myrnin. He was looking up at the sky now, watching the burning stars. Claire followed his gaze at a collection of bright, vivid stars.
“That’s Cassiopeia, ‘Queen of the Night Sky,’” Myrnin stated. He must have seen Claire’s puzzled expression, because he stopped and pointed to the constellation. Claire tilted her head as she watched Myrnin draw out the shape with his index finger. The constellation looked sort of like a flattened out M or W, titled so it sat on its side. It looked like a stretched out zigzag, if anything else. “It was the first constellation I spotted when I arrived in Morganville, but I was slightly mad so I kept forgetting about it.”
Claire remained quiet for a few long moments, and then she started to walk again. Myrnin took two long strides, and he was already next to her. Claire ran her hands over her jeans pockets, and then she pulled off her backpack and rummaged through it. She flipped through thick books and random papers; she even flicked a few stakes out of the way. She heard Myrnin snort, and she glanced up at him.
“Hey,” She exclaimed as she stuck her nose back in her bag. “It’s better to be safe than sorry, especially in this town.” Myrnin waved his hand, which showed he really wasn’t that bothered, but he watched Claire dig through her bag as they walked.
“Why do you carry so much nonsense in that bag of yours?” Myrnin asked.
“Half of it is the stuff I need to take when I see you. Besides, if I didn’t take all of this with me, you’d probably find a way to punish me for not bringing it.”
“Then leave it at the lab.”
“Why? So you can meddle with all of my notebooks? No thank you.”
“I am many things Claire. But a snoop, I am not.”
Claire let out a short laugh. “Yeah. That’s easy to believe.” Her words dripped with sarcasm, but Claire wondered if Myrnin thought she was being serious. Claire dug into the front pocket of the bag, reached for her mobile and swung her bag so it sat on her back again. Oh God. She’d gotten tonnes of messages and phone calls, all from her three housemates.
“I blame this on you,” Claire sighed as she began texting her friends back, telling them that she was safe and was on her way home now.
“How is this my doing?” Myrnin sounded genuinely shocked as he raised his hands over his heart.
“You just had to stop for cookies.” Even though Claire wasn’t upset that Granma had given her a whole container filled with chocolaty goodness. Maybe she could share them out with her housemates, and save some to bribe Shane with later. She could see the Glass House now, and she stopped at the white picket fence that surrounded the Glass House. She let out a deep breath and smiled. “Well, thank you for walking me home,” Claire paused and glanced towards the house. All the lights were switched on, and she swore she could hear yelling or arguing from inside. “Now it’s time for me to return to the madhouse.”
“You’ll be okay?” Myrnin asked, which caused him to get a puzzled look from Claire. She furrowed her eyebrows.
“I know that we haven’t weeded the garden for a while, but it doesn’t look that bad?” Myrnin rolled his eyes and saluted her, returning to his usual, crazy self. Then like a breath of air, he was gone. Claire blinked and then she turned and hurried towards the house.
Claire tried closing and locking the front door as quietly as she could. It was obvious that if anyone were to hear her, they would tackle her to the ground in seconds and demand answers. She tiptoed down the hallway, and peeked a look at the lounge room before leaving her bag slumped against one of the couches.
“Ahem,” Claire yelped and spun around to face Eve. She raised her eyebrows and gave Claire one of her signature; You-Are-Dead looks as she placed her hands on her hips. “And where were you, exactly?”
“I got caught up at the lab,” Well, that wasn’t entirely right, so Claire tried for the truth. “Actually, we were with Granma Day. She baked cookies?”
“And you never thought about calling?” Eve paused. “Wait, did you say cookies?”
Claire grinned and opened up her bag to pull out the contained filled with chocolate chip cookies. She held it out to Eve. “Does this mean I’m forgiven?” Eve took the container and furrowed her eyebrows as she thought hard.
“It means that I’ll consider forgiving you,” She grinned. Eve’s theme this week had been blue and green. Her lipstick was neon green, and the rest of her makeup was dark. Her black hair had a few blue streaks in it, and she wore a dark poofy skirt with blue and green skulls printed on them. Eve grabbed Claire’s hand and started pulling her towards the kitchen.
“Where’s Michael?” Claire asked as the two girls stepped into the empty kitchen. She glanced around, half expecting Michael to pop out from anywhere. “And Shane?”
“Michael bailed as soon as it was time to make dinner,” Eve rolled her hands and released Claire’s hand. She made her way over to the stove where something was boiling inside a pot. “And Shane’s on his way home from work now.”
“Oh,” Claire raised her eyebrows. “So, when I’m late home from work it’s the end of the world. But when Shane’s late, everything’s fine, right?”
“Oh come on CB,” Eve reached for what Claire guessed was salt and sprinkled some into the pot. “Besides, Shane called and actually told us he was going to be late home. You really ought to call, Claire, or even text.”
“I know, I’m sorry. I will next time, I promise,” Claire frowned. “What are you making?” She looked into the pot, but immediately backed off. The water was bubbling, and had turned a creamy colour. No matter why Michael had taken off, the thing looked alive.
“It’s supposed to be pasta, but I think the cream is off.” Claire stared at Eve and smiled. She looked at the empty tin of cream that Eve had used.
“Eve?” Claire asked. “Did you put the cream in while the pasta was still boiling in the pot?”
“Yeah? Isn’t that what you’re supposed to –” Eve looked at Claire, and saw the look on her face. “Crap. I screwed it up, didn’t I?” Claire nodded and made a pinching gesture with her thumb and index finger.
“Little bit, honey.” Eve sighed and shook her head. With a loud and puffing groan, she sunk into one of the chairs.
“I am a disgrace to the female race,” Eve cried. “I can’t even cook pasta. I mean, seriously. Pasta! How the hell does someone mess that up?” Claire tried to hold back her laughter as she patted Eve’s shoulder. Eve glared up at her. “You are enjoying this, aren’t you?” Claire’s struggle finally let out, and she broke out in hysterical giggles. Eve smiled after a while, and she joined Claire.
“Go on,” Claire smiled as she nodded towards the door. “Go relax. I’ll make something for dinner, okay?”
“Thanks Claire Bear,” She smiled as she pushed herself off the chair and made her way out of the kitchen. “Watch it, dork.” Claire heard Eve say as she walked out into the hallway.
That was followed by, “Bite me, drag queen.” It was obvious to Claire then that Shane was home, and that was proved when he walked through the kitchen door. He grinned when he saw Claire and rested two grease-stained bags on the kitchen bench. “Hey.” He smiled and pulled Claire into a hug. He lightly brushed his lips against hers, and kissed her on the shoulder. Claire licked her lips, causing Shane to give her one of his signature lopsided smiles.
“You taste like barbecue,” Claire grinned and resisted the urge to lick her lips again, but that failed and she brushed her lips with her tounge. Shane watched her with dark eyes, which were fixed on her lips. His arms snaked around her waist, and he pulled her close to him so his warm lower body pressed against hers. He lent in close to her ear, and his warm breath against her neck caused goose bumps to form on Claire’s skin. She felt weak at the knees, and heat built up in her stomach. His fingers spread out and crept under her shirt, caressing her bare skin. Claire’s breathing got heavy as she placed her hands on his chest and felt his washboard abs move in and out as he breathed.
“Want to mess around?” He murmured in her ear. Claire already knew the answer to that, hell yes! She felt her heartbeat quicken as Shane planted hot kisses on her neck. Those kisses trailed up, past her jawbone and landed on her sweet lips. Shane’s lips tasted like spices and barbecue, but then it was all pure Shane. Hot, spicy and tasty. Unconditionally delicious. Shane’s hands trailed up, and brushed past her breasts. Claire gasped into his mouth, and she heard him growl deep in his throat. Shane backed her up against the stove, and she could feel the heat of the flame at her back, but it was nothing compared to the passion in her insides. Claire tangled her fingers in his hair and gently nibbled on Shane’s bottom lip. She moaned when Shane lifted her onto the counter.
“I heard that,” He whispered into Claire’s lips. Claire felt a slight blush in her cheeks, but she smiled as he lent his forehead against hers. His lips moved to hers again, and he traced her bottom lip with his tounge. Claire parted her lips, allowing Shane’s tounge to bond with hers, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, bringing him closer. His lips roamed all over her body, and when he started kissing the skin above her bra, Claire recalled that she was in the kitchen for a reason. A reason other than making out with Shane. She pulled away, breathing heavily through her kiss swollen lips. Shane backed up a few steps, so Claire could slide off the bench, but he came straight back over to wrap his arms around her waist.
“I have to make dinner,” She panted as she licked her lips. They tingled, and she couldn’t get Shane’s taste off them. Not that she minded that.
“No need,” Shane nodded towards the two bags he had brought in with him before things got so… heated. “Got takeout on the way home. It was Eve’s night to cook after all.” Claire heard a sizzling sound, and she looked over her shoulder to see boiling water overflowing and splashing out of the pot.
“Crap,” Claire exclaimed as she switched off the flame and grabbed at the tea towel. She picked up the pot, wrapping the cloth around the handle and placed it in the sink.
“What the hell is that?” Shane wrinkled his nose in disgust as he peered down into the pot. “Looks like demon spawn that an alien shat out.” Claire elbowed him and told him to be quiet.
“She might hear you,” Claire whispered and glanced over her shoulder at the kitchen door. When she turned back, Shane was poking the pasta with a fork. He pulled the gluggy pasta out and dangled it around. “Stop it. That’s so disgusting.”
And just like any boy – man in this case – would do, he held it in front of Claire’s face and laughed. “Ew!” She exclaimed and backed away. “Shane, cut it out!” He pretended to throw it at her, but the gluey pasta actually flew off the fork and landed on Claire’s shirt. She squeaked and flicked it off, and glared up at a hysterical Shane. “You think this is funny?” Claire picked up the abandoned pasta fork that Eve had left behind, and scooped up some of the sticky spaghetti. She was aiming at his head, but because of her height it only reached his chest and neck. He raised his eyebrows at her and gave her his Challenge-Accepted look as he reached in and grabbed a handful of the pasta. Claire squealed and tried running away, but Shane wrapped his free arm around her waist and pulled her in close to him. He dumped the pasta on her head, and rustled her hair. They must have gone on for at least half an hour, flinging the spaghetti at each other and dodging each other’s attacks. They both froze when Eve stepped through the kitchen door, and she stared at them.
“You’ve got to know how much it pisses me off that you two would have a food fight without me, but it pisses me off even more that I cleaned this kitchen a couple days ago!” Eve gritted her teeth and clenched her hands into fists. It looked like she was prepared to hit somebody, and Claire hoped that it wouldn’t be her. “Clean this up. Now.” And with that, Eve turned on her heel and stalked out of the room. Once Claire and Shane were certain that they were safe, they turned to each other and erupted in laughter.
* * *
Shane and Claire had been the last ones to sleep, since Eve had made them clean the kitchen until it was sparkling. They’d taken breaks when she left the room, and they sat on the floor talking and laughing. Eve and Michael went to bed late, and left Claire and Shane in the kitchen. Shane suggested that they ditch cleaning duty and head upstairs, but Claire wasn’t going anywhere until he helped her clean the mess up. By the time they’d cleaned and showered, it was around midnight. Claire snuggled into Shane’s bed and they messed around for a bit; kissing, hugging, gossiping and just talking. They’d put in a movie in the end, one from Shane’s favourite collections: The Ugly Truth.
Claire wasn’t sure how long Shane had stayed up for, because Claire had fallen asleep in Shane’s embrace not even halfway through the movie.
Claire sighed as she turned on her side to face Shane, who was still asleep. She lightly kissed his cheek, before she carefully slid out of the bed. She quietly moved to her room to change into her clothes, and she padded into the bathroom to freshen up.
“Oh my God,” Claire blurted as Shane stood at the bathroom door. He wore his jeans, but he’d decided to leave off his shirt. He had major bedhead, and Claire smiled before running her hands through his hair. “What are you doing up?”
Shane raised an eyebrow at her and kissed her cheek. “It’s past eleven,” Shane said quietly. “Even I don’t sleep in that much.” Claire rolled her eyes and moved so Shane could use the bathroom, then she headed downstairs. As she past the lounge room, Claire spotted an envelope on the coffee table. Frowning, Claire picked up the envelope.
‘Claire Danvers and Glass House Residents: Michael Glass, Eve Glass and Shane Collins.’
Claire raised her eyebrows. That was the first time she’d officially seen Eve Glass before. It was still a little strange to process, but they were married. Claire flipped over the envelope, and felt her eyes widen as they rested on the Founder’s symbol. She felt a shiver run through her body as she started to open the envelope. A letter and four small slips of paper fell out. She read the letter first.
‘Claire Danvers,
Due to your pleasing success and grades at both school and work, you have been granted a week outside of Morganville. All three of your housemates are permitted to accompany you. Leave passes have been filled out and delivered.
The Orrington Beach House in Santa Monica, California has been booked and reserved for you attendance. The cost is free, and the house is stocked with all the necessities for both vampire and human.
If you do not wish to take up the offer, you are expected to remain in Morganville.
If you do accept the offer, you leave on Monday this week. Do not underestimate my words. You must return to Morganville on the eighth day.
The Founder of Morganville.
Claire stared at the letter for a few moments before lifting the small slips of paper and reading them. Amelie was true to her word. All three of her housemates and herself had their own leave pass for eight days. Claire took in a deep breath and blinked at them. She’d never been to California before, and she could only image all the places she could see. Hollywood, San Francisco and Palm Springs. She could even see Disneyworld Universal. She heard someone coming down the steps, and Claire hastily stuffed the letter and passes back in the envelope and hid them behind her back. What the hell was she doing? She didn’t need to hide them. She pulled them back out in front of her and pounced at whoever walked past the lounge room.
“Whoa!” Shane cried as he steadied himself. He smiled as he grasped her hips. “I know I’m hot, but there’s no need to go throwing yourself at me. I already have a hard enough time trying to control myself around you.” Claire rolled her eyes, but she grinned straight after. She moved his hands from her waist and shoved the envelope in his hands.
“Open it,” Claire demanded.
“Yes ma’am,” Shane raised an eyebrow, but he pulled the letter out and read it. Claire watched his eyes as they read every word. He took in a deep breath and looked at Claire. “California. Shit.” Claire laughed and jumped up and down in excitement.
“Isn’t this great?” Claire took the envelope out of his hands and slid out the passes. She showed them to Shane just to prove that Amelie was being true.
Shane smiled and he hugged Claire, lifting her off the ground. She squealed and laughed, and met Shane’s lips as she was let down.
“Three days, and we are out of here for a week!” Shane looked like he wanted to say something, but he decided that Claire’s lips were better.
And right now, it seemed like nothing could spoil the moment.