The Cover Story

The study rug was a sea of crimson in my mind, the copper smell so sharp I could taste the blood on my own teeth. I gasped, the kitchen air finally rushing back into my lungs as the memory retracted like a snapping tendon. I was back in the light, my hands still gripping the granite island, but the modern world felt like a flimsy overlay on top of that dark December night.

"Aunt El?" Leo was right in front of me now, his hand hover-ing near my arm. "You were... you were staring at the floor like you were seeing a ghost."

"I'm fine," I lied, my voice a hollow rattle. My skin was clammy, the cold sweat of withdrawal making my shirt stick to my spine. "Just dizzy. The flu is hitting me harder than I thought."

I fumbled for my phone as it began to vibrate against the counter. The caller ID flashed a name that made my heart stutter: *Harrison*.

I pressed the phone to my ear, my fingers trembling so violently I almost dropped it. "Hello?"

"Eleanor. Your heart rate has been erratic for the last hour. My tablet is flagging multiple spikes into the hundred-and-forties." Harrison’s voice was calm, clinical, and utterly devoid of mercy. "And your pharmacy notified me that you didn't pick up the refill. I need you to come into the clinic for a blood draw immediately. We need to check your serum levels."

He was testing the leash. He knew I’d flushed the pills, and he was waiting for the biometrics to give him the excuse to commit me.

"I can't, Harry," I rasped, leaning my weight against the counter. "I’ve been over the toilet all morning. It’s a stomach bug. I can barely stand up, let alone drive across town."

"A stomach bug," he repeated. I could hear the tap of his pen against a desk—the sound of a man calculating the next move. "Or a neurological reaction to a sudden cessation of your protocol. If you're too ill to travel, I’ll come to you. I have a portable kit in the car. I can be there in twenty minutes."

"No, really, I just need to sleep it off—"

"I'm not asking, Eleanor. As your doctor and your brother, I cannot ignore a cardiac event in a patient with your history. I’m leaving the hospital now. Have Leo unlock the side door."

The line went dead. I stared at the blank screen, the room beginning to spin again. The memory was waiting for me in the shadows, a monster under the floorboards, but Harrison was a monster in a white coat, and he was coming to claim my blood.

I looked at Leo, then at my own reflection in the darkened window. My pupils were blown wide, my face a gaunt mask of chemical hunger and ancient terror.

She couldn't let him see her shivering. He would know.