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down by a pair of unseen hands. “Blake, what would possess you to do such a thing? And on your neck of all places. And when you’re immune system is already compromised?” She shook her head, her mouth opening and closing.
    “Mom, don’t—”
    She stood again and put her hands on her hips. “Did you even consider your future? You can forget about finding a respectable job now. Bill!” she called, giving me no chance to answer. “Bill, come here this minute!”
    I crossed my arms over my chest, steeling myself for my father’s reaction. “Thanks a lot, Mom.”
    Dad entered the room, a pipe tucked neatly in the corner of his mouth. A plume of white smoke wreathed his head and trailed after him like a faithful companion. “What is it, Rachel?”
    Mom gestured toward me, her lips pursed in anger. “That’s a question you should ask your daughter. Apparently she went out and got a tattoo this evening.”
    Dad removed the pipe from his mouth and turned his attention to me. “Why in the world would you do something like that? We’ve put up with some very odd behavior from you late ly , but this is crossing the line. Getting a tattoo goes against what your mother and I think constitutes as appropriate behavior. Do we need to find someone for you to talk to?”
    “ No, you don’t need to find someone for me to talk to! ”
    We’d had this conversation more times than I could count over the last two months. My parents thought I was acting out , that I was simply going through some sort of teenage rebellion. Th ere may have been so me truth to that , but it wasn’t for the reason they assumed, which was my break-up with that perfectly nice boy, John .
    I’d often wondered how John had managed to snowball my parents into believing he was the most awesome boyfriend ever , and I’d finally come to the startling conclusion that he must have worked some sort of compulsion on them. Wasn’t that a talent v ampires supposedly possessed? There was no other explanation. It was the same reason I’d worn my hair curly ever since John suggested it. No, not suggested. Commanded . I’d tried to straighten it several times, only to be physically unable to lift my arms and go through the motions, no matter how much I wanted to. It was an odd sensation, not to be in control of my mind or body.
    “Then tell me what this is all about,” my dad demanded, bringing me back to the present moment.
    His insistence struck me as particularly funny, and I laughed out loud. “ Do you realize this is the longest conversation you and I have had since I hit puberty ? ”
    “Blake,” my mother said. “Don’t speak to your father that way.”
    I rolled my eyes . “It doesn’t mean anything, Dad. It’s just a stupid tattoo. Don’t have a coronary.”
    Dad’s face hardened and he held out his hand. “I don’t like your tone of voice, young lady. Hand over your cell phone and go to your room until your mother and I decide your punishment. For starters, you can forg et about going out this weekend with Olivia or anyone else. ”
    “Whatever,” I said. “It’s not like I had any big plans or anything.”
    “Blake!” my mother warned.
    I fished the cell from my coat pocket and slapped it into my dad’s open palm. Then I turned on my heel without another word and stormed up the stairs to my room, slamming the door behind me.
    I kicked off my boots and pulled my sweater over my head, and then I just stood in the middle of my room. I had an incredible urge to sweep the books and papers from the top of my desk or rip through my pillow with a pair of scissors and make an incredible mess of everything . Instead, I collapsed onto my bed and flung my arm over my eyes, too exhausted to care. I was too tired to even cry anymore.
    There was a staccato rap at the balcony door and my entire body jerked to attention . I hadn’t seen John at all since the day we broke up in my kitchen —he hadn’t even bothered to show up at school for senior