You Were What You Eat

23. The Blame Game

It had been almost a week since Anna had talked about Carmine and her vampire theory to either Summer or Luke, but she was still waffling about what to do. She kept thinking about what Luke had told her – that people who weren't to blame might be held responsible if this continued.

But as soon as she would decide that she needed to do something, she would remember the times she was run out of town. Her home in Massachusetts was the first place she'd been forced to flee, but it certainly hadn't been the last. Though she tried her best not to remember, there had been other times when people had come after her. She'd been run out of Philadelphia after a neighbor saw her climbing back through her own window late one night, and she'd had to leave Baltimore when someone remembered her attacking them. She'd even been chased out of Savannah to cries of "Witch, Witch!" much to her confusion.

Each time taught Anna something, allowing her to be much more careful. After her rather short-lived time in Savannah, Anna had never been chased out of a town by an angry mob again. But that didn't mean she'd always been safe. There had been numerous other times when tensions had been running high and she'd been forced to leave a place before anyone suspected her. Each time, she moved in the night, taking everything she could carry with her and sending for the rest when she was able.

Now, for the first time in as long as she could remember, Anna was in a town that she didn't want to flee. She'd grown to like this city. And even though people were getting restless, they weren't suspecting her. It was thoughts like these that inevitably led Anna to the conclusion that she should just keep quiet. Maybe the whole mess would go away on its own. After all, if Fredrick and Jacqueline were anything like her, they would move on soon. Anna just hoped they'd do it before too much more attention was devoted to the matter.

Anna sighed contentedly, swapping out the books in her backpack for the ones she needed to take home that night. Her talk with Luke had really been weighing on her mind, and she was glad to finally be able to put the matter to rest. Even though she was still planning on doing nothing, she was glad she could say she'd at least considered his point of view. But she was convinced that Fredrick and Jacqueline would slip away, once the pressure got to be too much. And the best part was, Anna wouldn't have to do anything. Once they were gone, things would go back to the way they should be, just like Luke said.

Anna rounded the corner, heading out towards the front of the school. She was smiling the first genuine smile she'd had in almost a month. She looked up, half hoping to catch sight of Luke – they'd walked home several times together recently, and Anna had to admit she enjoyed the company. As she scanned the nearly-empty hallway for a sign of him, a streak of red and gold caught Anna's eye. She turned to see what it was – a pom-pom. But when Anna saw who the pom-pom belonged to, she ducked her head and quickly turned back the way she'd come.

Unfortunately, the sudden change in movement attracted the attention of the very person Anna was hoping to avoid. She'd barely gotten four feet down the hall when Jacqueline caught up to her. In a flash, she stepped in front of Anna, cutting her off.

"I can't believe it!" Jacqueline said in genuine surprise.

Anna looked up cautiously, staring straight into the face of her one-time best friend.

"It is you!" Jacqueline exclaimed. "Anna Ellington! I never thought I'd see you again!"

Jacqueline stood there, as beautiful and confident as ever. She was a couple inches taller than Anna, and her long platinum hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She was wearing her cheerleading outfit, and Anna realized that Jacqueline was going to be late to cheer practice in order to have this conversation. Anna wished she could feel lucky about that.

While Anna stared at Jacqueline in uneasy silence, Jacqueline continued talking. She never had been shy about saying whatever she felt like, Anna thought vaguely. As she stood there barely listening to what Jacqueline was saying, Anna couldn't help but start to feel a little foolish. Jacqueline seemed so nice, so friendly – maybe Anna had been overreacting just a bit. It had been about three hundred years...maybe she should give Jacqueline a chance. Slowly, a timid smile spread across her lips. Jacqueline didn't seem to notice. She stopped talking and looked carefully at Anna.

"Don't you remember me?" she asked Anna sweetly. "Your best friend?"

"I remember you, Jacqueline." Anna said cautiously, slowly gaining confidence.

"Actually, it's Jackie now." Jacqueline bubbled. "Jacqueline just seems too old-fashioned to me. But anyway, I'm so glad you remember me! I guess you were just surprised. I know I was! I mean, I didn't think you'd survive this long – much less that you'd actually end up in the same town as me!"

Anna stared dumbly at Jacqueline. Despite the fact that Jacqueline's tone had been friendly during her entire speech, Anna could see that something wasn't quite right; her eyes were too cold. Jacqueline smiled a slow snakelike smile, letting her words sink in.

"You didn't think I'd survive?" Anna asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She took in a slow breath, trying to calm her nerves.

"Well, to be honest, no." Jacqueline told her happily. "I mean, look at you. You haven't changed a bit. You're still the same scared little girl you always were. I mean, you're practically shaking just standing here!"

"I have changed, Jacqueline." Anna told her, willing herself to look like she wasn't feeling ill. Why did she have to be so easy to read?

"It's Jackie!" Jacqueline snapped, her eyes flashing. "I told you that! And no, you haven't changed – you'll never change. It's just not something you could ever do."

Suddenly, Jacqueline's eyes widened then narrowed maliciously. Anna could see that she'd just formed a particularly devious plan.

"This is perfect, actually." Jacqueline said, her smile widening into a brilliant flash of white once again. "There's been all kinds of talk in school about some evil monster roaming the streets at night – you're an evil monster, aren't you?" Despite the words coming out of her mouth, Jacqueline continued to talk in a tone that said she was having a pleasant conversation with a close friend.

"I'm not." Anna mumbled, barely able to hold eye contact. Jacqueline laughed, clearly unimpressed. Anna hadn't even managed to convince herself; she could only imagine what Jacqueline was thinking.

"Sure you are." she said, lightly putting her hand on Anna's shoulder. Anna shuddered inside. "So this is what we're going to do. We're going to make you take the blame for these attacks. How's that sound? You like that idea?"

Anna didn't say anything. Even if she'd been able to think of something to say, she was sure she'd never be able to get the words out.

"Well, good." Jacqueline said, deciding to take Anna's silence as agreement. She leaned back confidently on the wall next to them. "I'm glad you like it. You know, we were just talking about how we were going to have to go somewhere else – but now I've found you! They'll run you out of this city – or kill you. Either way, everybody will calm down. The town will get back to normal, and we'll continue on like we have been. Everybody wins." Jacqueline smirked at Anna, glancing down at her watch.

"Oh!" she said, straightening, "Time for me to go. I'm going to be late for practice!"

As she walked away, Jacqueline called out over her shoulder, "Take care! We wouldn't want anything to happen to you!" She dropped her voice low enough to be inaudible to any human who might happen to be in the area, but Anna clearly heard her attach the word "yet" to the end of her sentence – just as Jacqueline had intended.

Anna managed to stand there until Jacqueline was out of sight. Then, her knees buckled and she slid slowly down to the floor.