how light she was . Then he realized with a horrified jolt that Lita was so light because she had just had her blood drained .
Grey turned back to Tabitha , who was crying . Where her tears ran , the skin became translucent , revealing red veins and arteries underneath .
“ I didn ’ t mention it before ,” she said . “ But when Daddy feeds me blood , I — I like it . It ’ s tasty , and I feel good when I drink it . And afterwards , I-I always want more .” She hiccupped , then said , “ I am a vampire , aren ’ t I ?”
Grey hesitated , but then nodded his head . “ Yeah , I think you are a vampire . I ’ m sorry , Tabitha .”
The tears flowed faster , but Tabitha nodded her head , producing that weird crinkling sound . “ Then kill me ,” she said . “ What ?” Grey and Knives said in unison . “ Kill me !” Tabitha insisted . “ That ’ s what should be done to vampires , isn ’ t it ? Kill me before I drink someone else ’ s blood . Before I get strong enough to seek it out myself .”
“ We can get you to a hospital !” Knives told her . “ They can figure something out for you , I ’ m sure .”
Tabitha shook her head . “ And then what ?” she asked . “ I ’ m an orphan now . One who drinks blood . Do you really think anyone will want to adopt me ? And what if I start craving blood ? What if that ’ s all I want to do after I get well , instead of going to the ocean to swim or becoming a baseball player ? Even I know that , and all I know about the world is what I hear in books !”
Grey realized with horror that Tabitha — poor Tabitha , poor sweet Tabitha , who had become wise and jaded well before any child should — was right . Even if she did leave this room and go to a hospital and get better ,
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