“You can find anything on the internet.” He waved off my doubt. “I’ve seen some brutal ones.”

“You’re a twisted guy, you know that?”

“It was research!” Bobby looked defensive for a moment before moving on. “Anyway, the point is, maybe Jane had a little more overkill, so there was more blood.”

“I don’t wanna think about that,” I grimaced.

“Sorry. But I’m just saying that when things have overkill, it usually means its personal,” Bobby said.

“Lots of people were pissed at Jane,” I sighed. He had a point, but I felt too agitated to think. I kept my eyes on the club, but I could see her blood stains out of the corner of my eye. “Look, can we walk and talk?”

“Uh, yeah, sure thing.”

“The sun is bothering me,” I lied.

The sun had started shining over the buildings, but it hadn’t bothered me yet. I walked across the street, more towards V, so I’d be in the shadows again.

“So, what do you think?” Bobby hurried to keep up with me. He slipped on snow again, and I caught him, but this time I made sure to do it more slowly, like a human would.

“I don’t know what to think,” I admitted.

We reached the alley by V, and I glanced at it out of habit. But I saw something that made my heart skip a beat, and I stopped.

“What?” Bobby asked.

“Oh no. Please tell me it’s not another one,” I whispered under my breath.

In a snow pile pushed up to the building, I could see long blond hair. A long coat lay next to it, covering the shape of a body. The entrance to V was kinda hidden in the alley, so it wouldn’t be as out in the open as the others had been, but it appeared to be a body discarded near the door.

“What?” Bobby repeated.

“Stay behind me,” I commanded.

I held my arm up in front of him, and we walked slowly down the alley. By the time we reached the snow bank, my heart hammered so loud in my ears, I could barely hear myself think.

My hand would’ve been trembling, but I stopped shaking. In the past month or so, I’d become incapable of it. Inside, my muscles felt rubbery, even though I knew they’d react like marble if I needed them to.

I reached forward and peeled back the jacket. I expected a corpse, but what I found scared the hell out of me. Bobby screamed behind me

A vampire jumped up, moving with the speed only we could master, and she nearly lunged at me before she saw who it was. Violet stared at me, her weird purple eyes wide and shocked. Her skin looked bluish from where it had pressed against the snow bank, and her clothes were dirty and wet.

“Why are you always bothering me?” Violet snapped. “Are you like stalking me or something?”

“No, I’m not stalking you,” I said. “I just saw you and I thought-” I didn’t want to admit what I’d thought, so I let it hang in the air.

“You know each other?” Bobby asked, once he got over the scare.

“Not really.” Violet tucked a strand of blond hair behind her ears and crossed her arms.

“What are you doing out here?” I asked.

“It’s not really any of your business, is it?” She glared at me for a moment but almost instantly lost her nerve. She turned away and pulled on her long jacket. “But I guess I better be on my way.”

“Do you even have anywhere to go?” I asked, and Violet swallowed hard. “Why were you sleeping outside, during the day?”

“I didn’t have anywhere to go, okay?” Her intense eyes met mine, and her lip quivered a bit. “I usually find somebody to take me home so I can crash with them, but the clubs have been dry lately. That damn serial killer is keeping people off the streets.”

“Yeah, he’s making it rough on all of us,” I muttered dryly.

“I already apologized about your friend,” Violet said, but she softened a little. I think she felt guilty about everything that had transpired between us before, and that counted for something.

“Why do you have to find people to crash with? Why don’t you have your own place?” I asked.

“I’m sixteen and I look sixteen!” She gestured to herself, and she had a point. Sometimes, she even looked younger than that. Her eyes had a strange innocence to them when she let down her guard. “I don’t have my social security card, so I can’t get a job, but even if I could, working part-time at Starbucks won’t pay the bills. Even when I do have money, nobody will rent me an apartment or a hotel room. I don’t even have a frickin driver’s license. What else am I supposed to do?”

I’d never thought about what it would be like for everyone else to be a vampire. I’d come into a rich family who take care of everything, from money to housing and phony social security cards. I couldn’t imagine how anyone else survived without them, especially someone that looked so young, like Violet.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve gotta find somewhere new to sleep.” She started to walk past me.

“Wait,” I said, stopping her.

“What?” Violet asked, giving me an impatient look.

I didn’t want to leave Violet on the streets, but I couldn’t take her home. We didn’t really have the room for it, and even if we did, I didn’t trust her that much. Fortunately, I knew of someone that would know exactly what to do with wayward teenage vampires.

“Come on. I know a place you can stay,” I said.

“Really?” Violet asked.

“Yeah, really?” Bobby raised a skeptical eyebrow, probably afraid I would suggest our house.

“Yeah.” I nodded towards the entrance to V, and Violet scoffed.

“It’s closed. They close at 7 am and kick everyone out,” Violet said. “Trust me. I’ve tried staying in there.”

“Yeah, well, you don’t know the owner like I do.”

I walked over to the door, and even though they were dubious, both Violet and Bobby followed me. I pulled the keys out of my pocket. I often came over before Olivia got up, and she got sick of me calling and making her come down to let me in.

The door opened with a heavy push, and I held it so Violet and Bobby could walk past. The dim red light that normally lit the hallway was off, and I grabbed Bobby’s hand to help him through. We had to go down a steep staircase in total darkness, and I knew Bobby would break his neck, so I gave him a piggyback. It was the only way I could ensure he wouldn’t get hurt.