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backwards on the shyness scale, reverting to a near high school level. I had no idea why she had done that, nor why she continued to date my younger brother, Nicolas. Aside from being several years her junior, he overshadowed her in every conceivable way.
    Kaitlin, meanwhile, refused to believe she had any help or support with her pregnancy, despite the fact that my parents were giving her magic lessons every afternoon after work. And despite my assurances that I would be there for her when the baby arrived. Maybe it was too much to hope that she wouldn’t think of her own absent – and anonymous – father at a time like this. Would her baby grow up like her, never knowing its father?
    New rumors about Jason circulated regularly. He had turned into a vampire, they said. He had teamed up with an old and powerful vampire to overthrow the newly forming magical council. He had helped kill six of his fellow hunters during an attack on said powerful vampire. Each time we heard something new, Kaitlin retreated farther into her isolation.
    My roommates had suddenly stopped talking when I entered the room. They now had the guilty expressions of those who had just been caught talking about someone else.
    “What’s going on?” I asked.
    “Nothing,” Kaitlin said, way too quickly.
    Madison bit her lip, which was getting terribly chapped, and looked away.
    “Come on,” I said. “Whatever it is, you can tell me.”
    “Evan’s back in town,” Kaitlin said.
    “Oh.” I told myself I didn’t care. I willed myself not to care. He had abandoned me and run away so quickly I hadn’t even had a chance to learn the reason why.
    “Are you okay?” Madison asked.
    “Why wouldn’t I be?”
    “Are you over him?” Kaitlin asked.
    “Yes.” I wasn’t even close to over him, but I backed up the lie with a bit of truth. “I’ve even got a date this afternoon.”
    “With who?” Kaitlin asked.
    “Matthew Blair.”
    “The state senator?” Kaitlin squealed. “The mayor’s son? How do you always get the best men?”
    I chose not to answer that particular question, not when Kaitlin was in full jealousy mode. Having had very few men in my life at all, and having held on to none of them so far, I didn’t see a good reason for her envy. On the other hand, I didn’t want to argue, especially not when Kaitlin did have problems of her own.
    “I’m glad you’re moving on.” Madison didn’t sound glad. In fact, she refused to look me in the eye. “It’s important to move on. Helps you get over people.”
    “How would you know?” Kaitlin asked. “Isn’t Nicolas your first-ever boyfriend?”
    Madison’s face went beet red. I gaped at my best friend, wondering where she had left her sense. Maybe it had burned in the fire that had consumed her first apartment and everything in it, because she hadn’t been herself for nearly that long.
    “Sorry,” Kaitlin muttered.
    “It’s okay,” Madison said. “You’re right. He is my first boyfriend.”
    But I had a sudden inspiration, an answer to a question that had been plaguing me ever since she had finally accepted my brother’s nagging date invitations. “Is he helping you get over what your father did?”
    I hadn’t thought it could, but Madison’s face went redder. “I’m not using him.”
    “I didn’t think you were,” I said.
    “I just needed someone to help me keep my mind off… things.”
    “Is it working?” I asked.
    She bit her chapped lip again. “Maybe.”
    It was the best answer I would get, and more than I had dragged out of her in weeks, so I let it go.
    “I am sorry,” Kaitlin repeated, sounding more sincere this time. “It’s hormones. It’s stress. I haven’t slept in days. I’m sorry.”
    “It’s okay.” Madison offered Kaitlin a hug, which she accepted.
    “You can’t sleep?” I said.
    Kaitlin shook her head, and I saw the truth in the dark circles under her eyes.
    “I know a sleeping potion.”
    “Is it safe for the baby?” Kaitlin