Dead Girls Don't Cry Read Online Free Page A

into a bloodsucking fiend due to extreme hunger or fatigue.
    Jay leaned over and pulled me into his arms. He spoke softly to me in Hindi, the language we spoke together in our youth. “I will watch over you. You have nothing to fear. Sleep.”
    And I did.
     
    ~ * * * ~
     
    I woke to the alarm radio’s blare of commercials, touting the latest in … breathable cotton underpants? Late afternoon sun filtered through the bedroom window’s lace curtains. They had yellowed with age, but I refused to part with them. The left panel, neat stitches and a balanced design of flowers and birds, was created by my sisters Faith and Grace. The right side panel’s messier design and looser threads – clearly my handiwork.
    A ragged tear marred the bottom corner, courtesy of my baby brother Edmund by way of bayonet. He had “borrowed” one of Father’s old muskets and put it to use stabbing bedding and other linens. His nurse had been furious when she caught him. A small sad smile formed on my lips. God, I still missed them so much.
    The few worldly possessions I had managed to carry into my undead life were all I had to remind me of them.
    I rolled out of bed. Four o’clock p.m. Plenty of time to make it to work.
    After another shower, what can I say, I like to smell nice, I padded out to the living room. “Jay? You here?”
    I found a note on the table.
    C-
    In classes until later afternoon. Will see you at Club.
    J
    p.s. – Jonathan noticed you didn’t feed from him last night. Stop putting it off.
    I poured a glass of orange juice, then sat down at the vintage, red Formica table. Vampires can drink whatever we want. Our bodies can absorb any liquid. We ate solid food for pretense, but it had to be purged later. Don’t ask how.
    One thing we couldn’t live without was blood from our own kind. I had been delaying my feeding from Jonathan.
    We both knew why.
    I have vampire daddy issues. Not only did I hate having to rely on him for my survival, but I despised my body’s craving for comfort. When feeding from my sire, I felt safe, protected. For vampires it’s a biological directive: feed and enjoy it so much you come back for more . I couldn’t move past the circumstances that led me to my undead life.
    Tonight. After the show. I’d feed.
    I sipped my juice while I perused the newspaper. Nothing exciting there. The usual stories: political corruption, murder, the Astros got spanked again. Humanity hasn’t changed much. The wealthy still run the political scene, humans still kill each other for stupid reasons, and baseball is America’s past time.
    While gathering the paper for recycling, I grabbed Jay’s note to add to the pile. He had written it on the back of a battered red flyer. I flipped it over.
    The Undead Space Initiative? I read the text twice.
    Wanted: Adventurous individuals, fearless self-starters and hard workers. Mouth breathers need not apply for this opportunity to settle Mars. Join The Undead Space Initiative. Spots are filling fast. Don’t wait!
    There was a website, a toll free number and an address. It had to be a joke. I crumpled the flyer and tossed it in the recycle bin with the newspaper.
    Who in their right mind would want to go to Mars? As if such a thing was even possible.
    Putting the ridiculous notion out of my mind, I packed a bag for work and headed back to Austin for another fun-filled night of the bump and grind.
    No alleys and no stopping to help strangers this time. No matter how gorgeous.
     
     

 
    CHAPTER TWO
     
    “God damn it, Charity!” Jonathan yelled at me as soon I entered the building. He used my real name. Not good. “Where have you been? Lemmy tells me there are reports of revenants in the area.”
    Lemmy, our evening doorman, winced at Jonathan’s shrill statement. Lemmy gave me an apologetic look, then quietly shut the back door and returned to the alley outside, exiting the area, like any sensible person would do.
    Perhaps now was not a good time to mention my