Chosen

actually was to be around Aphrodite. I mean, not that she wasn't still a bitch, but I was kinda liking her. Or maybe this was just another sign that I needed to give some serious consideration to therapy, and I wondered abstractly if Prozac or Lexapro or some other lovely antidepressant worked on fledglings.
    At the Philbrook sign I turned left and Aphrodite said, "Okay, we're almost there. It's the fifth house on the right. Don't take the first driveway, take the second one. That one goes around behind the house to the garage apartment."
    We came to it and all I could do was shake my head. "This is where you live?"
    "Used to live," she said.
    "It's an f-ing mansion!" And I meant a cool one. It looked like something I'd imagine rich folks in Italy would live in.
    "It was a fucking prison. It still is." I was going to say something semi-profound about her being free now that she'd been Marked and was a legally emancipated minor and that she could actually tell her 'rentals to get lost (kinda like I had), but her next smart-alecky comment made me forget the kinda nice thing I meant to say. "And it's really annoying that you're too damn pure to cuss. Saying fuck won't kill you. It won't even mean you're not all virginal."
    "I cuss. I say hell and crap and even damn. A lot." And why did I feel the sudden need to defend my non-cussing preference?
    "Whatever," she said, clearly laughing at me.
    "And there's nothing wrong with being a virgin. It's better than being a skank."
    Aphrodite was still laughing. "You have a lot to learn, Z." She pointed at a building that looked like a miniature version of the mansion. "Go around behind there. There's a back way into the apartment and your car will be blocked from the street."
    I pulled up behind the totally cool garage and we got out of my Bug. Aphrodite used her key to unlock the door, which opened to a stairway. I followed her up to the apartment.
    "Jeesh, servants must have lived pretty well back in the day," I mumbled, looking around at the dark, shiny wood floors, the leather furniture, and the gleaming kitchen. There weren't a bunch of cheesy knickknacks polluting the decor, but there were candles and some vases that looked totally expensive. I could see that the bedroom and bathroom were at the other end of the apartment, and could just peek in to see a big bed with puffy down comforters and pillows. My guess was the bathroom was nicer than my parents' master bathroom.
    "Do you think it'll work?" Aphrodite asked.
    I went to one of the windows. "Thick curtains—that's good."
    "Shutters, too. See, we can close them from in here." Aphrodite demonstrated.
    I nodded at the flat-screen TV. "Cable?"
    "Of course," she said. "There's a bunch of DVDs around here somewhere, too."
    "Perfect," I said, moving to the kitchen. "I'll just stick all but one of the blood packs in here, and then go get Stevie Rae."
    "Fine. I'll watch Real World reruns," Aphrodite said.
    "Fine," I said. But instead of leaving, I cleared my throat uneasily. Aphrodite looked up from messing with the TV. "What?"
    "Stevie Rae doesn't look or act like she used to."
    "Really? I wouldn't have had a clue about that if you hadn't enlightened me. I mean, most people who die and then come back to life as bloodsucking monsters look and act totally the same."
    "I'm serious."
    "Zoey, I saw Stevie Rae and some of the other creatures in my visions. They're gross. Period, the end."
    "It's worse when you see them in person."
    "No big surprise there," she said.
    "I don't want you to say anything to Stevie Rae," I said.
    "You mean about her being dead and all? Or about her being gross?"
    "Either. I don't want her scared off. I also don't particularly want her to jump on you and rip out your throat. I mean, I think I could probably stop her but I'm not one hundred percent sure. And besides the fact that it would be disgusting and hard to explain, I really hate thinking about what all that blood would do to this cool apartment."
    "How sweet of you."
    "Hey, Aphrodite, how about you try something new. Try being nice," I said.
    "How about I just don't say anything."
    "That would work, too." I headed for the door. "I'll try to get her here soon."
    "Hey," Aphrodite called after me. "Could she really rip out my throat?"
    "Absolutely," I said, and closed the door behind me.

CHAPTER TWELVE

    I knew Stevie Rae had gotten to the gazebo before me. I couldn't see her, but I could smell her. Eesh. Seriously, eesh. I hoped a bath and some