Solving the Vampire Murders

twelve

Mandy tried not to stare, but found it was impossible.

Faris had entered the echoey school gym like a cold gust of wind. Everyone craned their necks as the heavy metal door was pushed open and a man she didn't recognize strode in. One hand held a charcoal suit coat, the other pushed back a mop of sable curls.

"Elena," he sighed in a British accent. Greeting her with a one-armed hug.

Mandy tucked one of her blonde curls behind her ear, coyly taking in the newcomer. There was something about him that demanded her attention.

And she wasn't the only one.

There were more pink cheeks around the circle than at her hot yoga class. One girl even went so far as to straighten the fit of her bra and tug down her neckline.

"What a surprise!" Mrs. Dominga replied in a squeal. "I didn't think you were still in town. Otherwise, we would have waited for you to begin."

Mandy glanced down at her phone. Waited? He was nearly twenty minutes late.

"I hope you can forgive my tardiness. I wasn't sure if I'd make it today. Bit of a busy Saturday."

The man cavalierly flung his suit coat over the back of a free chair, scanning the group with green eyes the color of timid leaves.

"For those of you who don't know him already, this is Faris. He's been a member of Grief Group for nearly two years. Isn't that right?"

Faris lowered himself into the plastic folding chair, a hint of green peeking out from behind thick, black eyelashes. He tilted his head to the side, a little smile quirking up one side of his mouth as his calculating gaze found hers.

Mandy quickly looked away. Her heart fluttering like a trapped bird.

Get a hold of yourself, Laytham.

"That's right," Faris replied. He scrubbed the back of his neck with a hand. "This group has been a real life-saver."

The girl who had tugged down her shirt leaned sympathetically forward, and Mandy had to swallow a laugh. She let her gaze slide back to Faris, unable to decide if he was a bad idea or a dangerously good one. Maybe he was a little of both—just the kind of creature she'd been waiting for.

If she had met Faris on the dance floor at one of the many clubs lining the college town of Ypsilanti, she probably wouldn't have thought twice about letting him run his slender fingers all over her. She imagined he would know exactly when to be gentle and when to be rough.

A pulse of heat flooded her cheeks as their eyes met again.

"I'm sensing that something has brought you back here tonight, Faris. Is there something you'd like to share?" Mrs. Dominga scooted forward in her chair.

Faris cleared his throat. "As a matter of fact, yes. I'm really struggling right now. My sister and I have always had" he wobbled his hand in the air, "a touchy relationship. After our father died, we should have grown closer but...we didn't."

An uncomfortable silence spread around the circle. Death could tear people apart just as quickly as it could bring them together, a truth Mandy knew all too well. Faris propped his elbows on his knees, forehead coming to rest on balled fists.

"Two years ago, we committed to salvaging our relationship. For the sake of my father's memory, of course. Things were going alright...but now I'm afraid things have taken a turn for the worse."

Several appreciative sighs came from the girls of the group. Mandy felt her own throat tighten. Maybe he wasn't what he seemed.

After a long moment of silence, Faris lifted his gaze from the scuffed gym floor. "I just worry about her, you know? She's all I have."