"Be alone. I don't want to deal with your friends." He ended the call.
"Good job, Glory. He actually bit." Rafe gave me a high five.
Jerry squeezed my shoulders. "I know why you couldn't meet him tonight. Go rest, sweetheart. We'll talk about the actual meeting later." He looked at Rafe. "I think Penny's room needs a thorough cleaning. What do you say we prove to Gloriana that we can work together on a project, Valdez?"
"Sure. I can get behind that. And we don't need to leave Glo alone either." Rafe winked at me. "Should do you good to see Blade pushing a vacuum cleaner. Am I right?"
"That's not necessary. I can do it. Later." I struggled to my feet. Jerry kept his arm around my waist to steady me.
"No, we've got this. Take care of yourself." He settled me in bed and strode back to the living room. I heard Rafe tell him where he could find that vacuum cleaner.
I lay back and thought about calling Flo. No, it would just upset her. She was safe in Richard's hands and didn't need to be anywhere near me and my angst. Instead, I called CiCi and gave her an update about my meeting with Simon. It felt good to be proactive instead of waiting for something else to happen to me. I fell asleep to the roar of the vacuum, glad that a vampire couldn't have nightmares.
Sixteen
"Are you sure you're feeling okay, Glory?" Penny asked me for the fifth time. She still thought I'd just suffered a fall in the bathtub.
"Yes, I'm fine. Healing sleep does it every time." I wished that healing had done a job on my soul; it still felt violated. But the fact that I'd sent Lucifer away short of reaching his goal had to count for something. At least that was the positive self-talk I was using to try to get through this night.
"That's amazing. So if I broke a leg or got shot, I'd heal overnight?" Penny settled on the couch.
"Yes, as long as you'd fed well. It can take a couple of nights if you're severely hurt, but that's part of the miracle of immortality. The healing thing. You saw some of that with Ray, though his alcoholism slowed the process." I smiled. "Now I'll ask you for the umpteenth time. Do you need another bottle of synthetic? Are you okay to be around mortals?" I had finished my second bottle and was eyeing the vial Ian had given me. Was it worth the risk? I'd wait and see if Penny's mom's food looked tempting enough. I'd never forget the side effects from Ian's diet drug. Of course Ian had sworn I was the only vampire to ever experience those. Surely I wouldn't be that unlucky twice.
"I'm good to go. Jenny will be here any minute." Penny inhaled. "Can't believe you got rid of the rat smell. The lavender is a nice touch. And then there's my room. Spotless!"
"Thank Rafe and Jerry. They worked like maniacs. It became a contest, apparently. To see who could do the most, get things the cleanest." I laughed. "Everything between those two ends up a competition but at least no blows were exchanged. I'd like to see them go head-to-head over getting my sheets white enough."
"Yeah, but how did that hole get in the wall?" Penny lifted the picture of Ray, which I had to admit was in an odd spot. "A blow that missed?"
"No, Rafe heard something upsetting and hit the wall. Since the guy he was mad at wasn't in the room. He'll get it fixed." I adjusted the picture. "Hey, Ray looks good anywhere. You can throw his name into the conversation. Tell how it was with him here for a while. Make Jenny jealous again."
Penny grinned. "Can't say I'd hate that." Her nose twitched. "Mortal at the door. And I think I recognize my sister. I'm getting better at this sniffing thing."
"Good for you." I sat on the sofa and settled my skirt around me. I'd dressed carefully, successful businesswoman but hip and trendy in my print skirt and purple sweater. My shoes were expensive, my bridesmaid's gift from Flo. I'd picked the whole outfit just so I could wear them.
I still hadn't gotten into my bathtub again. Not sure when I'd be able to. It was sponge baths for me until I was sure Lucifer was permanently back in hell where he belonged. I'd probably have to go to Jerry's to wash my hair, but that was okay; he'd be happy to have me.
"Come in. You remember Glory." Penny showed Jenny into the living room.
"Sure. Cute place. Too bad you had to bring that monster computer, Pen. Where are we supposed to eat?" Jenny dropped her purse on the coffee table.
"We can eat on the table where you just dumped your purse or we have some TV trays." Penny frowned. "Lighten up, Jen. You know I need my computer."
"Sure, sorry." Jenny smiled at me. "Hi, Glory. Nice place, really. It's great that you took Penny in." She said this like maybe Penny had been a street person.
"Penny's a cool roommate. We have a lot of fun." I smiled back. "Show her your room, Penny." I reached for my copy of InStyle. "Nice shoes. Last year?"
"Oh, yes." She noticed mine when I crossed my legs but didn't comment. Hah. I knew jealousy when I saw it. "Come on, Pen. Let's see how bad you've trashed your crib."
Penny headed down the hall. "Not trashed at all. Who has time to mess up when I'm so busy dating?"
I heard Jenny snort. Interesting. She had to know Penny wasn't lying. So what was that about? I just stayed on the couch and flipped through my magazine, perfectly able to hear their conversation.
"You've had quite a run lately. What about your research?" Way to bring Penny down, Jenny.
"Oh, luckily I'd turned in the important part of my grant work before the break-in. Now I'm thinking of going in a new direction since the ongoing experiments were trashed. No use crying over what can't be fixed. I talked to the department chair. I'm not using animals for research again." Penny's voice was muffled. "What do you think of this blouse? Glory found it for me. She's a genius bargain hunter."
"Cute and on sale. Of course they wouldn't have anything in my size in that store." Oh, could Jenny poke the knife any deeper?
"Quit being a bitch, Jen. What's got you so bummed?" I heard the mattress squeak, Penny sitting on her bed. "Tell me all about it."
"Okay, smarty-pants. Here it is." Jenny sighed. "My grades are gonna suck this time. If I don't ace my finals, I may not be able to do the cheerleading next year." Big sniffs from Jenny. "They have grade-point standards. So does the sorority. And I was supposed to be in charge of rush next fall." More sniffles.
"I'm sorry. What happened? This isn't like you." Penny must have pulled out tissues because I heard Jenny blow her nose.
"Some of this is your fault. We usually met in the mornings. You checked my homework, finished a few problems for me. It's our thing. What happened to that?" Jenny's voice was hitting high C. "Huh?"
"Mornings don't work for me now. And was that all our meets were for? To get some free answers?" Penny's voice wobbled.
"Chill, Pen. I admit I got caught up in the college thing. Having fun. Partying. Not anything you'd understand." Seems the bitch was back. "Damn it. I wish we looked more alike. You could go in there and ace those tests. But . . ." A long pause. "Maybe if you could tutor me? Just this week? The math and science. Stuff you could do in your sleep."
Nice. Treat your sister like dirt, then ask for a favor. If Penny said yes, I was going to shake her till her new fangs rattled.
"Sorry. No can do." Yes! I wanted to hug Penny and see Jenny's face.
"But, Pen . . ." Bet Jen was getting ready to try some serious tears. Or a guilt trip. Penny must have seen it coming.
"Don't even. I'm starting a new job, might even get to go to California. I was going to tell the family tonight after dinner. It's a chance to do cutting-edge research in a new field." Penny kept going, throwing out technical words that I'm sure Jenny understood about as well as I did. "Bottom line: I'm not missing this opportunity. Certainly not because you spent more time having fun than hitting the books."
"Thanks for nothing. As usual, it's all about you. The big brain. Doing something important. Forget me. I'll just stay here and fall into the abyss." The way Jenny's voice cracked on that last word was pure drama.
"You want to talk about an abyss?" Penny's voice rose and I jumped up. Oh, she was not going there. "Let me show you an abyss."
Jenny shrieked. "What the hell is that?"
I got to Penny's door in time to see my fledgling giving her sister the full-fang treatment. I shook my head but Penny ignored me.
"It's my fangs, sister dear. I'm a vampire, a bloodsucker. I'll never see daylight again thanks to Josh and his Ugly Chick caper."
"No, I don't believe you. Get rid of them. You're creeping me out with your stupid Halloween teeth." Jenny backed up and bumped into me. "Glory, what's the matter with my sister?"
"Penny, quit playing games now. Can't you see how upset Jenny is?" I gave Penny a stern look.
"Yeah? Funny thing. Since I can read her mind, I'm not so sad that she's ‘upset.' " Penny marched closer, until she was nose to nose with Jenny. "Why do you hate me? I'm the fat sister, the one who never got to be cheerleader. Who went to her senior prom with cousin Ollie, who spent the whole time in the men's room smoking weed. Weed he bought with the money Daddy paid him to take me there."