Betrayed

woman, but she had loved the cat as much as me. Tears stung my eyes and I wondered if there was a limit to how much someone could cry. Just then my cell phone chimed that I had a new text message. I rubbed my eyes clear and flipped my phone back open.
    R U OK? Somethings wrong.
    It was Heath. Well, at least now there could be no doubt at all that he and I were linked through an Imprint. And what the hell I was going to do about that, I didn't know.
    Bad day. My best friend died. I text messaged him back.
    It was so long that I didn't think he was going to respond. Then finally my phone chimed again.
    My friends have died 2.
    I closed my eyes. How could I have forgotten that two of Heath's friends had just recently been killed?
    I'm sorry. I typed back.
    Me 2. Do u want me to come see u?
    The instant, powerful yes! that burst through my body surprised me, but I suppose it shouldn't have. It would be wonderful to find oblivion in Heath's arms … in the scarlet seduction of Heath's blood .. .
    No, I typed hastily, my hands shaking. You have school.
    Nuh uh SNOW DAY!
    I smiled, and spent a sweet second or two wishing that I could return to the time when a snow day meant a mini-holiday of tramping through snow with my friends and then curling up to watch rented movies and eat delivery pizza. My phone chimed again, breaking into my past-life fantasy.
    I'll make u feel btr fri
    I sighed. I'd totally forgotten about promising Heath I'd meet him after the game Friday. I shouldn't meet him. I knew it. Actually, I should go to Neferet and confess everything about Heath and have her help me fix it.
    Neferet lies. Aphrodite's voice whispered through my mind. No. I couldn't go to Neferet, and for more reasons than just Aphrodite's warning. Something felt wrong about Neferet. I couldn't confide in her. My phone chimed.
    Zo?
    I sighed. I was so tired that it was getting hard to concentrate. I started to text back no and tell Heath that I just couldn't meet him, no matter how much I'd like to. I even hit the N and the O keys. Then I stopped, back-spaced over them, and resolutely typed: OK .
    What the hell. It felt as if my life was unraveling like the hem of an old skirt. I didn't want to tell Heath no, and worrying about our Imprint was just one thing too many to worry about right now.
    OK! Came his quick reply.
    I sighed again, shut off my phone, and sat heavily on my bed, petting Nala, staring at nothing in particular, and wishing desperately that I could turn the clock back a day ... or maybe even a year ... Eventually I noticed that, for whatever reason, the vamps who had cleared out Stevie Rae's stuff had forgotten the old, handmade quilt that she kept folded on the end of her bed. I put Nala on my pillow and got up, pulling the quilt from Stevie Rae's bed. Then Nala and I curled up under it.
    It felt like every molecule of my body was tired, but I couldn't sleep. I guess I missed Stevie Rae's soft snores and the sense that I wasn't alone. A sadness washed over me that was so deep I thought I might drown in it.
    Two soft knocks came on the door. Then it opened slowly. I half sat up to see Shaunee and Erin, both in their pajamas and slippers, clutching pillows and blankets.
    "Can we sleep with you?" Erin asked.
    "We didn't want to be alone," Shaunee said.
    "Yeah, and we thought you might not want to be alone, either," Erin finished.
    "You're right. I don't." I swallowed back more tears. "Come on in.
    They shuffled in and, with only a little hesitation, piled onto Stevie Rae's bed. Their long-haired silver-gray cat, Beelzebub, hopped up between them. Nala raised her head from my pillow to glance at him, and then, as if he were beneath her queenly notice, she curled back up and went promptly to sleep.
    I was just drifting off to sleep when another soft knock came on the door. This time it didn't open, so I called, "Who is it?"
    "Me.”
    Shaunee, Erin, and I blinked at each other. Then I hurried over to the door and opened it to find Damien standing in the hall wearing flannel pj's with pink bow-tied bears all over them. He looked kinda damp, and unmelted snowflakes were caught in his hair. He was carrying a sleeping bag and a pillow. I grabbed his arm and pulled him quickly into the room. His chubby tabby cat, Cameron, padded in with him.
    "What are you doing, Damien? You know you're gonna get in a buttload of trouble if you get caught in here.”
    "Yeah, it's way past curfew," Erin said.
    "You might be here getting ready to