Xander's Chance

"Okay. What if I can't?" She took the paper and saw the Beverly Hills address.

At Jonny's silence, she looked up. His hard gaze was enough of a hint.

"I end up dinner," she answered her own question.

"No. Ashley does."

Cold fear filtered through her, taking her breath away at the image he painted. Unable to speak, she nodded to show she understood.

"Your goal is to steal a necklace with a red gem on it. He wears it often."

"And who am I robbing?"

"His name is Xander." Fire flashed in the teen's gaze. "He's unusual, but you should be safe from him. Your special gift will protect you."

"Unusual like you?" she asked uncertainly.

Jonny shrugged. "You'll find out."

She read the paper again, struggling to digest that she just saw someone disappear. And met a vampire. And traveled from the hospital into some field god-knew-where without ever really moving. She had the urge to crawl into bed and sob or at least, never leave again.

"We good?" Jonny asked.

There's nothing good about this! She thought. "Wait. How do I know you won't hurt Ash and Brandon this week, when I'm trying to get this thing?"

He was quiet for a moment. "You'll just have to trust me."

"Sure, because that makes total sense."

"Look, you don't have a choice. I don't want to hurt them, and I promise not to, so long as you're doing what you should," he said, irritated. "I don't think hurting them is the right kind of motivation."

What the hell did she say to that?

"In the morning, you'll have a key code waiting for you," he continued. "I'll put it somewhere in your house where you can find it."

Her mind went to the quadruple locks on the front door and bars on the window. They didn't live on the nice side of town, but she suspected Jonny didn't have to worry about security, when he could just use his weird magic to get him places.

"Ready to go back?" he asked and held out a hand.

Jessi closed her eyes and took it. In a matter of ten minutes, her world turned into a freakish nightmare.

The scent of pine trees disappeared, replaced by the overpowering smell of cleaning solution. She opened her eyes to see the floor was wet, marked by yellow signs. A janitor was mopping down the hall, and she stood once more in front of the closed door to Ashley's room.

Was any of that real? Had she maybe just passed out and hit her head?

"I'll be watching everything you do," Jonny said quietly from behind her.