“Prove it.” I’ve made the demand before I’ve considered what I’m asking, but Gunnar gives me a guilty look, and gold lights spark to life in his eyes. At first they’re just pinpricks, but they expand rapidly—and, just as quickly, they retract and vanish. He opens his mouth to speak, but before he can get out a word, I shove myself back from the table and clamber to my feet. “Stop. Just … stay there! Don’t come any closer.”

“Auggie, I’m not going to hurt you,” he says quietly, fingers knitted together in his lap.

“No, that’s right. You are absolutely the fuck not going to hurt me!” My crucifix is in my pocket, and I wrap my fingers around it hard enough for the metal to bite into my skin. “What was all this, anyway? Some kind of sick game? You thought you’d see how many things you could get some pathetic human to do without having to mesmerize him into it?”

“It’s not like that.” His tone is still quiet, his expression miserable, and suddenly I want to cry. This was supposed to be my bucket list night, going on an actual date with an actual boy before I die—or worse—but it’s all been a lie. Clearing his throat, Gunnar gives me a plaintive look. “All I wanted was … I didn’t realize this was your first date.”

“Apparently, it’s not.” My voice catches, anger and sadness crashing together in my chest, and I start hobbling for the desk where Gunnar exchanged our shoes for these ice skates when we arrived.

He’s on his feet in an instant, moving easily beside me. “I wasn’t trying to mess with you, Auggie, I swear. Please—can you just give me a minute to explain?”

“No! I’m sick of listening to vampires explain shit to me,” I snap, hobbling faster, as if he has any idea what I’m talking about. As if I have any idea. “Just stay away from me. I’m going home.” Infuriatingly, he follows me to the desk, exchanges his skates alongside mine, and then follows me to the parking lot. When we’re outside again, alone in the chilly darkness, I finally yank the crucifix from my pocket and force him to back away. “Stop. Following me. Okay?”

“You don’t need that.” His shoulders sag. “And you don’t need to be afraid of me. I drove you here, I’ll take you home.”

“Yeah, right.” A few heavy flakes of snow fall from the sky, dissolving as soon as they hit the ground. “How could you possibly think I’d trust you now?”