He glanced back up at me. “Best thing that’s happened to me all day. Let’s hit the road.”

We got back on the highway, and I found myself distracted by two things. First was my hand. It still tingled and felt warm from where I’d touched his, which was kind of funny. People always thought vampires were cold, but they weren’t. Certainly not Adrian. The sensation was fading the longer I drove, but I kind of wished it’d stay.

The other thing that kept distracting me was all that sugar I’d just consumed. I kept running my tongue over my teeth. My whole mouth was coated in sickening sweetness. I wanted to brush my teeth and then drink a bottle of mouthwash. Liquid sugar. Yes, that was exactly what it had been. I hadn’t wanted to drink one, but I’d known if I’d just brought a slush for Adrian, he really would’ve read that as pity and refused. I had to act as though I’d wanted one too, with him as an afterthought. He seemed to have believed my lie about the drink’s sugar content, though a quick trip into the gas station would have quickly alerted him to the fact that Jumbo Jim’s most certainly didn’t carry sugar-free slushes. I’d asked them. They’d laughed.

Skipping lunch wasn’t going to compensate for those calories, I thought glumly. And I wasn’t going to get that sugary taste out of my mouth anytime soon. With as quickly as Adrian had sunk back into his depression, I suddenly felt stupid for even attempting this ruse. A slush couldn’t change what his father had said, and I’d be a pound up on the scale tomorrow. This probably hadn’t been worth it.

Then, I thought back to that brief moment by the car, and Adrian’s fleeting look of contentment, followed later by: God, those are awesome. I think I needed that.

A brief moment of peace in the midst of his dark despair. That was what I had wanted, and that was what I had gotten. Was it worth it? I rubbed my fingertips together, still feeling that warmth.

Yes, I decided. Yes, it was worth it.

CHAPTER 10

THE SAN DIEGO TRIP continued to bother me, even though I knew I should let it go. As I often reminded myself, Adrian wasn’t my concern, not like Jill and the others. Yet, I couldn’t stop thinking about the terrible confrontation with him and Nathan—or Adrian’s face afterwards. I felt even worse when a worried Eddie came to talk to me about Jill during breakfast on the following Monday.

“Something’s wrong with her,” he told me.

Immediately, I looked up toward the cafeteria line, where Jill was waiting with her tray. There was a vacant look on her face, like she was barely aware of her surroundings. Even with no magical talent for auras, I could practically see the misery radiating off of her.

“Micah’s noticed it too,” Eddie added. “But we don’t know anything that could be upsetting her this much. Is it because of Lia? Or is she being harassed again?”