Eternal

21 ~ It’s Gotta Be You

Jenna Holley is what?” I asked, my voice rising shrilly.

Sophie sank onto Cece’s bed with a sigh, her eyes red and swollen. “Moving into my room. Right now.”

“Bu-but why?” I stammered. “It’s only a couple of months until graduation. Anyway, what about Marissa?”

“I asked Marissa if she wanted to move in.” She unzipped her hoodie and shrugged out of it.

“And?” I prodded.

“And she said no. You know, the whole empath thing. It makes her uncomfortable to be around other people all the time, vulnerable to their emotional state. Blah, blah, blah.”

I shook my head, confused. It didn’t make any sense. I mean, okay, I guess I could understand Marissa’s point, although some empaths chose to have roommates. Max was living with Tyler now, after all.

But why would they assign Sophie a new roommate so close to the end of the year? And why Jenna Holley, of all people?

“Well, what happened to Jenna’s roommate?”

Sophie shrugged. “I don’t know. I think she might have transferred to Summerhaven at the end of the semester or something.”

“I just don’t understand what difference it makes. It’s not like they needed to free up a room or anything.”

Sophie’s hazel eyes filled with tears. “Mrs. Girard said she didn’t think it was a good idea for me to be living alone right now.”

I kind of had to agree with Mrs. Girard there. I couldn’t even imagine having to stare at the empty side of the room that was Kate’s on an everyday basis. As it was, we all avoided Sophie’s room now, unable to bear it. Sophie needed company—needed someone to fill that empty space. But Jenna Holley?

“Maybe you should try talking to Marissa again,” I suggested. “It’s not like it’ll kill her to have a roommate—”

“It’s too late—Jenna’s already moving in.” She sighed heavily.

“Well, you know you’re welcome here anytime. Seriously, you only need to go to your room to sleep, right? You could even leave a change of clothes here if you wanted. Shower on our floor.”

“I guess. Or I could just suck it up. How many weeks are left?”

I glanced up at the calendar on the wall. “Ten or eleven, maybe? Wait, have you gotten any acceptance letters yet?”

Her mouth curved into a smile. “Princeton.”

“Princeton? That’s great, Soph! Wasn’t that your first choice?”

“Yep. I’m still waiting to hear from Dartmouth, but I think my mind is made up.”

“Wow,” I said. “I knew you’d go Ivy.”

“I just can’t believe you’re going to Paris. It’s so far away.”

“I know. But you’ll come visit, right? I mean, it is Paris.” And Sophie’s parents had plenty of disposable income.

“Sure. And you’ll come back to New York, too, right? You’ve still got Aidan’s town house, and Princeton’s just a train ride away.”

I shook my head. “I don’t understand why Aidan won’t take his house back. You know, now that he’s back. It just feels weird, keeping it in my name and all.”

“That boy’s a funny one. Dr. Byrne thinks he’s made another breakthrough, by the way. With his cure,” she clarified. “He’s pretty sure we’ll have it by the end of the semester.”

“I hope he’s right,” I said, but I refused to get my hopes up. I’d heard it before, too many times. The closer they got, the more impossible it seemed.

“Hey, have you booked your plane ticket for England yet?” Sophie asked.

“Yep.” Just as I expected, Patsy had been fine with the idea of a trip to Europe with my friends. She’d given me her credit card number to book the flight, calling it a graduation present. “Cece and Josh did too. What about you?”

“Just yesterday. I guess we can somehow try to get seats together once we get to the airport. I left my seat selection blank for now.”

“Yeah, me too.”

Sophie reached for her backpack. “We should probably get started on our homework.”

“Probably,” I agreed, even as my thoughts returned to our original topic of conversation. “But . . . what are you going to do about Jenna?”

“What can I do, Violet? It looks like I’m stuck with her.”

“Okay, so why the lab?” I leaned against a black-topped table watching Matthew as he dug around inside a drawer. He’d sent me a text asking me to meet him there rather than his office for our usual Saturday-morning rendezvous.

“It’s just an idea I had,” he said. He set several items on a tray and then turned to face me. “I know it sounds kind of weird, but I’d really like to take a sample of your blood. Just to see if I can pinpoint anything out of the ordinary that might serve as a Sâbbat marker or something. Do you mind?”

“No, I guess not.” My gaze strayed to the hypodermic needle lying on the tray beside two test tubes and a piece of narrow rubber tubing.

“I’m told I have a gentle touch,” he offered with a smile.

“Yeah, sure. You know I can’t stand the sight of blood, right?”

“Said no one ever while dating a vampire,” he quipped.

“Very clever. Ten points to Gryffindor.”

Matthew reached for a pair of rubber gloves and slipped his hands inside, securing them with a snap. “I’ve always thought of myself as more of a Ravenclaw.” He tipped his head toward one of the stools on the far side of table. “You want to sit for this?”

“I probably should. Less distance to fall when I faint.” I trudged around the table and took a seat, offering up my right arm.

“You’re not really that bad, are you?” he asked as he swabbed the inside of my elbow with an alcohol pad.

“Almost.” I took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as I gathered my nerve. “Okay, let’s get this over with.” I turned my head, staring at the clock on the wall while he inserted the needle into my vein. True to his word, he was so gentle that I barely even felt the prick. “Why two tubes?” I asked, trying to make distracting conversation.

“There are a lot of different things I want to test.” He fell silent for a while, and I continued to stare at the clock, watching the second hand make its lazy circuit. “Okay, I’m just about done,” he said at last. I was vaguely aware of the sensation of the needle being removed, and then he pressed a cotton ball against my skin, bending my elbow to hold it in place.

“Wow, that was quick. Do I get a Band-Aid, Dr. Byrne?”

“Of course you do.” He held up two. “SpongeBob or Disney princesses?”

“Seriously?” I shook my head. “I’ll take SpongeBob. I’m not even going to ask what you’re doing with princess Band-Aids.”

He tossed away the cotton ball and replaced it with the bandage. “Done. Okay, now what? Do you want to go back to my office for a bit?”

“Sure, why not? Maybe you can talk me through a replay of one of my visions, one that still hasn’t happened yet.”

His gaze met mine, a muscle in his jaw flexing perceptibly. “The one where you saw yourself kill Aidan?”

I swallowed hard. “Yeah, that’s the one. You haven’t seen it yourself yet, have you?” It was weird to think that he sometimes experienced my visions—it made me feel somehow . . . exposed.

And yet it could be helpful. I almost wished he would see this particular one, mostly to save me the heartbreak of describing it to him.

“Haven’t seen it,” he said. “Just let me put this stuff away, and we’ll give it a try.”

Five minutes later, I settled into the chair across from his desk. His office was warm, comfortable. It didn’t take long for Matthew to lull me into a trance-like state as I concentrated on the familiar ticktock of the clock.

An unfamiliar room. Plush carpet beneath my feet, robin’s-egg blue with a dark brown pattern—scripty curlicues and little birds. There was a window, I noticed this time; beyond the panes of glass, I saw green. Green, rolling hills. A willow tree. I tried to look around for more clues, but I was crying too hard, deep gulping sobs that racked my entire body.

“You have to do it, Vi,” a voice pleaded. Aidan. I turned to face him, horrified. “Please, I beg of you,” he continued on. “It has to go into my heart. You can do it; I’ve taught you how. Don’t let me down, not now. You promised.”

“No,” I said, wanting it to stop. “Please, no. Don’t make me, Aidan. I can’t do it.”

“Yes, love. You can. Right here.” He tapped his chest, above his heart. “There’s no time to waste. You must do it now. Now,” he repeated, his tone urgent.

“I can’t,” I cried. “I can’t do it. How can you ask me to?”

“Because I love you, Vi. I love you, with all my heart. It has to be you—don’t you see?”

“No!” I screamed, suddenly back in Matthew’s office. I was shivering violently, my teeth clattering as I tried to catch my breath. “I can’t watch it again. I can’t.”

Instantly, Matthew was on his feet, hurrying around the desk to wrap me in his arms. “It’s okay, Violet. I’ve got you.”